“Wait! Was that ‘carbon cap’ or ‘carbon capture’?” Does a mix-up of these terms explain why the provincial government is investing billions of dollars into the strange, expensive and unproven ‘solution’ called carbon capture technology?
Mother Nature already has very effective carbon sinks that we are feverishly knocking down and cutting away, namely forests and peat bogs. Sometimes the answers are just too obvious and we think we need to reinvent the wheel, or find caverns and build pumps to capture carbon!
What about some very simple and obvious solutions for our government to implement? First, invest in the reduction of carbon emissions by funnelling lots of money into public transit and carpool, bus and bicycle lanes. How about a variety of subsidies for citizens and businesses that are implementing carbon-reducing technologies? Maybe we could even pass legislation to cap emissions by establishing the legal limits on pollution and letting the market determine which energy technologies are most effective and efficient. This way the people who are running our government don’t have to take wild and uneducated guesses about which carbon-reducing technology is the best solution, risking major and costly blunders.
If capture really ‘needs’ to be our temporary solution, then at least implement a carbon tax so that those who are doing the polluting are paying to have it socked away. This tax would encourage investment in the development of the alternative fuels we so desperately need.
Second, we need government to cease subsidizing the polluters (oil, coal and gas). This will make clear the toll they take on our environment and health and reveal their true cost per kilowatt or barrel created.
This whole carbon capture boondoggle brings to mind a satirical headline from the irreverent magazine called The Onion: “Scientific Breakthrough Fixes Problems Caused by Last Scientific Breakthrough.” We seem to be scrambling to invest in an expensive and cumbersome technology compared to the simple and practical suggestions I put forward here. Remember, cap the carbon, not our common sense.
Jill Cunningham, St. Albert
