Declaration of political emergency for energy sanity

Declaration of political emergency- note that point #21 says we must start TODAY!

From

Tar Sands : Dirty Oil

by Andrew Nikiforuk

12 Steps to Energy Sanity

1. Admit the magnitude and complexity of the energy crisis
2. Slow down tarsands development and cap production at 2B barrels/day
3. Establish a national strategy for energy security and innovation
4. Impose a carbon tax with 100% dividend (to decrease fossil fuel consumption by 50% by the year 2020
5. Challenge the first law of petropolitics ( and the erosion of democratic  life) by:

a)      Mandating transparency and freedom of information

b)      Separate tarsands corporate tax revenues from general revenue to build a national sovereign fun (an IMF recommendation to oil-producing states) – see Norway’s Petroleum pension fund;

c)       Reassert accountability in tax regimes to encourage more efficient use of capital, slow the pace of development, and foster better project management

1. Challenge continental energy integration
2. Relocalize food production
3. Abandon economic dead-end activities like carbon capture and storage which are not only expensive but which only benefit oil and gas companies; money should go to alternative public investments to decrease greenhouse gases
4. Rural and urban planning reorientated to renewable energy;
5. Go after low hanging fruit by measuring fuel consumption and encouraging conservation
6. Don’t wait for government; power down; eat locally; walk more; travel less; be a community leader; challenge the petrostate
7. Renegotiate NAFTA (which guarantees U.S. unlimited access to our oil and gas supplies, even in the event of shortages

Declaration of political emergency

1. Oil consumption is going to end – Canada has adopted a new geodestiny providing the U.S. with bitumen, a low quality, high cost substitute
2. Northern Alberta’s bitumen fields are the last remaining oil fields on the planet;  attracted 50% of global oil investments
3. Neither Alberta nor Canada has a rational plan for the tarsands other than full-scale liquidation;; richest deposits could be exploited in 40 years
4. Rapid increase of tarsands development has created foreign policy favouring bitumen exports to the US. Canada is now a 3^rd world energy supermarket
5. Tarsands development is the world’s largest energy project but no comprehensive environmental, economical, or social impact studies have been done
6. Canada now accounts for 1/5 of U.S.  oil imports; while ½ of our oil supply comes from the middle east (makes us vulnerable as to supplies)
7. SPP has rapid tarsands development as a central goal – leads to political integration of a continent dominated by the U.S.
8. Bitumen is a signature of peak oil
9. Each barrel of bitumen produces 3x as many GHGs as conventional oil
10. Bitumen is the world’s most water intensive oil product. Each barrel needs 3 barrels of fresh water from the Athabaska River, part of the world’s 3^rd largest watershed. One million barrels of bitumen are exported to the US daily
11. Tailings ponds along the Athabaska River leak into the groundwater
12. To mine or steam out bitumen requires enough natural gas to heat 4 M homes daily. This could compromise our natural gas supplies by 2030.
13. A decrease in the amount of natural gas will drive nuclear renaissance
14. Bitumen development is unsustainable and will destroy the forest, rivers, and surrounding environment
15. Oil hinders democracy and corrupts the political process; Alberta has one of the least accountable governments in Canada and the lowest voter turn-out
16. Without long-term planning and policies, Canada and Alberta will fail to secure reliable energy supplies for Canadians or develop resources for the future
17. Tarsands development will enrich a few powerful companies, hollow out the economic, industrialized ¼ of Alberta’s landscapre, and erode Canadian sovereignty, and destroy the watershed
18. Albertans and Canadians have become too tolerant of politicians who exploit. Don’t liquidate tarsands for global interests but use the resources for the transition to low-carbon economy
19. Every Canadian who drives a car is part of the political emergency and must be part of the solution.
20. Transforming our fossil fuel dependent economy takes place in small humble ways; it’s not glamorous
21. We must begin today