As Kelowna burns...

I can't sit and do nothing. Especially when Alberta's premier is backing away from renewable energy and putting her power behind the fossil fuels that create the greenhouse gas emissions that have created climate change. 

I know, I know. I rely on oil and gas and all the products and plastics that they make so that I can live just as much as everyone else. But we aren't given any choice, are we? Imagine if the wealthy folks who are running oil and gas companies decided to turn around spend their money on sustainable forms of energy and renewable products instead. The world would change. 

And that's the exact kind of revolution we need right now. 

As timing would have it, I watched this video, forwarded from my friend, Mark, at the end of June, just yesterday. Kathleen Dean Moore's presentation is actually from 9 years ago, but what she has to say about what we should do still holds very true. I'm including it below, because it is what motivated me to write the letter to my premier. I've set the video (I hope) to start at the most essential point, but if you have time for the whole thing, I encourage you to hear what she says in its entirety. 

And I invite you to write your own letter to your own politicians about supporting renewable energy over fossil fuels. If you live in my neck of the woods, keep an eye out for Solar Alberta's #RiseUpForRenewables campaign. Maybe I'll even get me a lawn sign...

Dear Premier Smith and members of the Alberta Utilities Commission,

As I watch people fleeing for their lives from Kelowna and Yellowknife, I urge you to end the pause on renewable energy projects right now. We need clean energy more than ever. If you should be pausing anything, it is fossil fuel projects and subsidies. 

I am really angry that Premier Smith has called for this pause, especially when our fossil fuel industry is not being held to the same standards when it comes to end of life, land use, and reclamation concerns. I have seen with my own eyes the huge solar farm on poor soils/alkali flats near Claresholm, AB. I believe that our renewable energy community has the welfare of the planet in mind, unlike the fossil fuel industry that is padding the pockets of the wealthy in spite of evidence that emissions are causing climate change and killing too many of our planet's ecosystems.

I want my children and grandchildren to be able to breathe clear air. With AQHI reaching 10 or worse at times, that's not possible. Have you even noticed that Alberta's blue skies aren't as blue as they used to be? Pausing renewable projects is dooming us all to have to rely mainly on the fossil fuels that are changing our climate so quickly. If we haven't already reached the tipping point, we are most certainly running out of time.

End the pause on renewable energy projects now.

Sincerely,

Maria K