Dear Editor,
Re: Editorial: “Alberta needs a Break.”
Businesses related to the oil and gas industry are suffering for three reasons:
1.The greed and lack of concern for the environment and people’s health that led to the development of horizontal “fracking,” and the consequent oversupply of oil and gas.
2. The changes that people are making in their own lives which have led to lower demand for these polluting sources of energy.
3. The huge wildfire that affected Fort McMurray, just one of the increasing wildfires around the world and one of the horrendous effects of climate change.
I agree completely that Alberta needs a break; however, this does not mean supporting a polluting industry at the cost of our environment and our children’s future.
Those who deserve our support are the former employees of oil and gas companies who are imploring government to retrain them for renewable energy jobs, the companies which are endeavouring to change their operations to fit renewable energy development, and those who have made the commitment to these truly sustainable projects. The agriculture industry will be our mainstay for the foreseeable future and also deserves more respect and attention.
Ideology has nothing to do with efforts to reduce the effects of the climate changing burning of fossil fuels. The actions taken so far are little enough; we are in the midst of a global emergency, and fracking is still spewing huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere, in addition to the greenhouse gas emissions from the oil sands. We must be an example to developing nations in the fight against climate change, not lag behind and wait for others to act first.
Sincerely,
Nielle Hawkwood
