A common theme of this newsletter has been my concern we increasingly focus on the macro (where we have almost no influence) and miss the micro (where we have considerable influence).
Natural gas, and certainly nuclear power, are the stepping stones to a carbon-free future, and we could be leaders in both, but we hesitate, waiting for the perfect solution to suddenly appear. The manufacture of fertilizer is a major source of carbon pollution, certainly many times that of cars, and the number one key to its manufacture without polluting is a source of clean energy. Natural gas, or propane from the refinery would be an enormous improvement in the process, but nuclear combined with hydrogen would be the perfect. We are still decades from the perfect, and there are dark forces hindering the effort. The world needs natural gas to bridge the gap, and it is a safe bet that New Brunswick has a lot of it.
We have the ingredients, but we don't have the will to lower carbon emissions significantly in the short term. Electric cars are a huge investment in a concept that may contribute over tha long term, nuclear fusion will take even longer, and perhaps will never work economically. Solar and wind won't do any good at all past a point we are swiftly approaching without huge changes in the grids and clean stand-by power sources that could be generating that power in any case without dependence on the fickle wind or sun.
New Brunswick is certainly blessed with the ingredients, but presently we are afraid of the heat it takes to cook them. Your crusade to reach the reasonable is laudable, and I thank you for it. Unfortunately, you are trying to convert a society built on fantasy, not reason.
Natural gas, and certainly nuclear power, are the stepping stones to a carbon-free future, and we could be leaders in both, but we hesitate, waiting for the perfect solution to suddenly appear. The manufacture of fertilizer is a major source of carbon pollution, certainly many times that of cars, and the number one key to its manufacture without polluting is a source of clean energy. Natural gas, or propane from the refinery would be an enormous improvement in the process, but nuclear combined with hydrogen would be the perfect. We are still decades from the perfect, and there are dark forces hindering the effort. The world needs natural gas to bridge the gap, and it is a safe bet that New Brunswick has a lot of it.
We have the ingredients, but we don't have the will to lower carbon emissions significantly in the short term. Electric cars are a huge investment in a concept that may contribute over tha long term, nuclear fusion will take even longer, and perhaps will never work economically. Solar and wind won't do any good at all past a point we are swiftly approaching without huge changes in the grids and clean stand-by power sources that could be generating that power in any case without dependence on the fickle wind or sun.
New Brunswick is certainly blessed with the ingredients, but presently we are afraid of the heat it takes to cook them. Your crusade to reach the reasonable is laudable, and I thank you for it. Unfortunately, you are trying to convert a society built on fantasy, not reason.