Premiers Wall and Stelmach, selfish ...

Oil.

The one substance on the planet that can light fires both literally and figuratively.

You would think from the statements of the two Premiers mentioned above that someone was going to take it away from them or at least prevent their provinces from exploiting the resource. Talk about a persecution complex.

One thing about fossil fuel is it is the only practical energy source we have. All other sources are either too expensive, even in these times of high oil prices, or hopelessly impractical to develop as a mass energy source. And by no means has the human species come up with a technology or process to replace fossil fuel as the primary world energy source.

Solar energy: Certainly it will have a niche market but it will not come close to reducing our dependency on fossil fuels.

Nuclear energy: Too expensive and then there is the problem of what to do with all of that waste, which remains lethal to humans for thousands of years.

Wind and tide energy: See my comments about solar energy.

Biofuels: Eat or drive. Hmmm, tough choice.

Hydrogen: Sounds promising but technology to exploit it has been under development for decades without a marketable breakthrough. Perhaps, because the best source of hydrogen is hydrocarbons, which brings us back to our dependence on fossil fuel.

All of this to say that fossil fuel is not going anywhere as our main source of energy any time soon. As well, there is no magic bullet to replace it because it was the magic bullet. There is nothing else on Earth that can replace it.

So why are these two Premiers in such a frigging hurry to exploit it?

One other thing about fossil fuel is there is a finite amount of the stuff. It will inevitably run out. So leaving aside the arguments about saving the atmosphere for our children and grandchildren should we not be endeavouring to save some of the most practical source of energy for our children and grandchildren?

For Premiers Wall and Stelmach, apparently not.

Listening to those two yahoos yesterday I am very happy that I am in my 40s and that I have no children. By the time the full effects of our wasteful exploitation and use of fossil fuels is felt, I will be in my dotage or my grave. And I will not have to worry about any children and grandchildren cursing my name and my generation for wasting their inheritance.

Premiers Wall and Stelmach, the bounty under the soil of your two provinces will provide for the needs and wants of your people for generations, provided you exploit them carefully and there are generations still walking around in a few decades or so. So stop with the persecution complex and get with the program of stopping global warming and climate change.