With the present Alberta government so dependent on the fluctuations in the price of gas/oil and its impact on the general coffers on which we as citizens depend for our necessary services such as roads, hospitals and health care, educational programs and the care of the poor and elderly, I am becoming very concerned with this one horse industry that is suffering from international criticism and no doubt is creating concern due to the spill in the Gulf.
We in Alberta have sufficient talent and the means to begin an alternative way of reliance on renewable and zero emission energy.
I am prompted by this weekend's convention of the Wildrose party in Red Deer, a party that seems to suffer even more from its fixation/tunnel vision than the PC party to advance the digging up and poisoning of the watersheds of Northern Alberta. This activity is fast becoming redundant and unnecessary. Examples of moving ahead with renewables are established in China, Spain, Germany, England and the Netherlands.
To start modernizing Alberta, it is a fact that the jobs are there in the wind/solar sector, of which we have a limitless supply. Bullfrog Power has entered the field, as has Enmax with its experimental testing in Red Deer. Retrofitting homes in all of Alberta will not even use the $2 billion for sequestration of C02.
I am looking for a political candidate who will 'bell the cat,' who will act on moving into a cleaner renewable way of life. One who espouses the cause of living in a more natural and benign way; who is not interested in re-election, who believes that our present way of extracting energy is destroying Aboriginal culture, polluting the Delta and sucking up our potable water, not to mention wildlife.
An individual who will actively search for doctors and nurses and mental health professionals and who will correct the injustice of the crime of de-regulated utilities.
I'm not concerned about the political bent of the individual. I know for a fact that the person(s) will attract the attention of the 'Alberta Party' and will be welcomed by many ‘living room groups’ as well as the many of us who are forgotten and left on the sidelines.
Hermann Miedema, St. Albert
