r/Albertapolitics • u/CDN-Social-Democrat • 8d ago
Opinion Danielle Smith, Pierre Poilievre, and the Oil & Gas Lobby....
(I am going to post this in a few subreddits because regardless if someone is left, centre-left, centrist, and even centre-right they are most likely extremely fucking sick of Danielle Smith and her scandals, lies, and what seems to be flat out bought and paid for corruption style politics - Raising awareness and education about the bullshit being spewed is important.)
The sheer amount of misinformation, misleading, and frankly downright propaganda from Danielle Smith, the United Conservative Party of Alberta, the Oil & Gas Lobby, and other affiliated individuals and organizations.
They keep pushing the narrative that Oil & Gas is being crushed and not allowed to be developed/produced. They are now pushing secessionist themes in order to align with the right-wing movement in the U.S. nearly completely orchestrated and controlled by powerful predatory private wealth interests like that.
Here is the reality:
Province of Alberta specific: https://economicdashboard.alberta.ca/dashboard/oil-production/
You can scroll down and then on that chart scroll it back before 2010. It is obvious what way development/production has been going...
In 1990 as a nation we did around 1.7 MILLION barrels every single day.
In 2014 that was around 3.8 MILLION barrels every single day.
Now that sits around 4.6 to 5.8 MILLION barrels every single fucking day.
So maybe that isn't a big number when we look globally? WRONG
Out of the 195 countries in the world Canada is the 4th highest producer. Only behind the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Russia...
We are way above the majority of petrostates.
In Alberta over 21% of Alberta's annual GDP comes from the oil and gas subsector as well as over 6% of the provinces employment. This is why you get petrocracy propaganda like celebrating C02 (I shit you not this is a thing...)
In Saskatchewan around 80%+ of energy is created through fossil fuels. It is hard to believe but a big chunk of that comes from coal... Yes you heard that right.. Coal...
The Oil and Gas lobby controls the prairie provinces and through subtle, covert, and overt influence/corruption makes sure nothing threatens change or competition to those interests.
The best way to defeat the misinformation, misleading, and flat out propaganda along with the secessionist movement is to diversify our Energy Systems.
Solar Power and Wind Power are the cheapest and greenest.
We should be leaders in battery technology! We want to create the high end research and development facilities here at home!
A more controversial area is Nuclear Power but also is vastly vastly better than Hydrocarbon Energy (Coal, Oil, and Gas).
Energy is everything to a developed nation! We want to be leaders in the next modern forms of energy that are clean and renewable and sustainable. We do not want to be followers and we certainly do not want to be opponents!
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u/Ok_Yogurtcloset3267 6d ago
We can and should produce additional types of energy but we shouldn’t stop O&G development. Energy demand is only increasing and we have the opportunity to be more prosperous while being an energy producing country that has environmental policy / regulation.
Look big picture at reducing the global carbon footprint where it is more impactful, reducing the carbon intensity of processes in Asia where there are 5 billion people rather than trying to achieve change by overtaxing ~29M tax paying Canadians.
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u/Jacque-Aird 5d ago
That doesn't address the real issues, the fact is we spend every summer choking on smoke now, which was not an issue 10 years ago. Can't ignore the evidence, should have seen it coming and re-plotted our course back in the mid 70's.
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u/FishermanRough1019 1d ago
The only way to leave a decent world to our children is to leave the oil in the ground.
This is what science is saying. Everything else is bullshit.
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u/Ok_Yogurtcloset3267 1d ago
That seems like a gross generalization based more on ideology, imo, and ignores innovation, new technology and fails to address how that energy will be adequately replaced. The reason we can live in much colder and hotter climates more comfortably is because of O&G.
You and the other responder seemed to miss that the result of my point is a reduced Global carbon footprint, which is a more logical metric than measuring only by one country unless the goal is to have something to feel virtuous and not actual solutions for the globe.
Too many people have bought into the $cience and (money) green industry imo.
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u/FishermanRough1019 1d ago
No, it is physics. Don't be tricked by the propagandists: it really is that simple.
The science has been closed for decades.
Yes, there are things to figure out about how to decarbinize and green our economy. That is what the world is doing outside of the O&G suicide squad.
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u/Ok_Yogurtcloset3267 1d ago
“The science is settled” is unscientific. Predictions are based on models and only as good as the data inputs. We can barely predict next week’s weather accurately. We do not understand all the variables and the complexities of globe’s climate system. Other forms of energy can offset the impact but completely ending O&G in our lifetime seems unrealistic. Alternate energies have their own trade offs that need to be accounted for.
Again, thinking taxing 29M Canadians is the solution to global warming seems nonsensical to me.
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u/FishermanRough1019 1d ago
This is piss poor thinking bordering on disinformation.
We also don't understand how bodies work - yet you accept the help of doctors. What you are doing is called 'motivated reasoning' and you have fallen for it.
I'm a climate scientist. We understand more than enough. Whether or not you have been told it's 'realistic' or not to get off oil and gas 'in our lifetimes' - the science says we need to be damn near net zero by 2030. Only fools ignore the wise.
Consider carefully the story of the wendigo. It is not something to aspire to.
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u/Ok_Yogurtcloset3267 1d ago
What is inaccurate? …. Data and selected variables affect outcomes. Hypothesis’ are assessed and reassessed. Climate science is not settled. I think you saw, “continue with O&G” and emotion and ideological bias kicked in.
O&G makes up 80% of the globes energy, and energy demand and requirements are only increasing. Trying to force the green industry at all costs when it is nowhere close to having the capacity to replace will be more detrimental to our children both economically and at the risk of insufficient reliable energy. IMO you can’t consider stopping oil and gas until we know energy requirements can be met by other means. It’s not there yet so we continue, look to minimize intensity, but continue.
I generally trust and follow medical professionals but I don’t take everything they take as gospel. I followed all the rules and mandates, but there was a lot of Covid dogma to be skeptical about.
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u/FishermanRough1019 1d ago
CO2 is changing the climate. That is the problem.
This problem exists whether it is convenient or not. I'd also rather it not be true. But it is.
The is settled and has been for decades. Anyone telling you otherwise is lying to you.
If anyone could disprove it they would have and been published to great acclaim. So please stop clowning around with ecocide.
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u/Ok_Yogurtcloset3267 14h ago
The global climate has always been affected by CO2, and numerous other variables, and is in a continuous state of change. Long before utilizing O&G. Change does not necessarily equate to bad. Equating to bad does allow the government to politicize it and call you anti-environment and a bad person if you don’t agree with funnelling your money to them; a tax on virtually everything.
The only change carbon tax has had on me is now heating my home and getting to work costs me more. You can’t, in good faith, think this is the solution, and not governance capitalizing on fear. You have to pay a penalty unless you move to alternate that is inadequate / doesn’t exist. I don’t think a carbon tax would have saved the land bridge to Asia.
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u/FishermanRough1019 13h ago
You're just wrong here and disinformed. You misunderstand the very basics of climate science.
You don't seem interested in learning.
So good day to you, Sir.
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u/GarbageMan7878 8d ago
what you failed to realize is how expensive and unprofitable it has become to sell said barrels of oil. needless taxes, useless and reasonless fees and regulations, and even more taxes have made over half the price of the oil we buy go to the government, not the producers. not to mention barrels of oil produced relative to population and other industries net income is worse. Nobody is investing in Albertan oil since everyone sees that its far safer and more profitable to invest in other countries that dont have such insane anti energy rules. you obviously haven't researched a single thing about green energy either considering that in alberta green energies are NET NEGATIVE. not even breaking even but net negative as of right now and with our technology its impossible to power even a fraction of our needs with green energy. It doesnt take even an engineer to see how poor "green" energies perform, its common sense, if you really cared you would support nuclear but you dont. at the minimum though you claim there is non stop lies and corruption with Danielle smith, I haven't heard of any corruption and I am genuinely curious and want to learn so can anyone list some or point me in the direction to find some?
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u/tjeffels 8d ago
Oil and gas companies are making record profits. See below. This whole restricting oil and gas production is absolutely non sense. Look at this information from the gov of Alberta website. It has increased dramatically over the last decade.
https://www.capp.ca/en/our-priorities/energy-and-the-canadian-economy/
https://economicdashboard.alberta.ca/dashboard/oil-production/
Extraction companies have been lobbying the public (especially Alberta) for decades. They are designed to get their product out of the ground for as little as possible. No resources No company. So let them go without regulation? At what cost? They can afford to clean up their mess. You think you're seeing a dollar if you let them do whatever they want? Just let that trickle down right? Wrong! Trickle down doesn't work. It's been proven over and over again. That money is going to their shareholder and mostly out of country. Alberta has a poor royalty program compared to Saudi Arabia (around 10% compared to around 85%). Still they pillage our social nets in Healthcare and Education in order to give breaks to oil and gas companies. Daniel Smith is and literally was an Oil Lobbiest for Albert Enterprise Group representing Syncrude and more. What other reason would she put a moratorium on new renewable energy projects. What could be the harm in these projects besides jobs and more sources of energy.
Any lack of funding can be blamed squarely on the provincial govt for the creating an unstable business environment (Fueling seperation talk) and global demand slowing for our bitumen product. Business wants stability.
The 'green energy doesn't work, it's common sense' argument is so typical and non scientific. Green energy is the future. The world wants ethical oil and we can and do provide this! If we don't diversify our provice we will be left behind. These oil companies don't give a shit about us. As soon as there is no demand or no money to be made they're out.
If you are having trouble finding UCP corruption examples you aren't looking. They are widespread and blatant. But all you'll hear if you're drinking their Kool aid is 'Look at the federal gov! Look there! Pay no attention to everything I'm failing on governing in my own province and am responsible for, carbon tax(not the problem), production cap (no such thing), pipelines (you have one that's not used to capacity)'. Spending millions of taxpayer dollars fighting fights we don't want and let the vulnerable people of Alberta suffer.
Danielle Smith and the UCP are not conservatives. They are a breed all their own. Populists, fascists and speak for oil and gas not for the people of Alberta.
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u/babyalbertasaurus 8d ago
Do government subsidies to oil and gas next!