Posted by Jocelynn Briggs on Sep 10, 2017
Hugh gave a great presentation on Climate Change and how we can make a difference.  Here are some of his ideas on what Canada needs to do;

1. Emissions from transportation could be reduced 25 per cent by replacing half the vehicle fleet with battery-electric cars and hydrogen-electric trucks. (Batteries are too heavy for large commercial trucks.)

2. Emissions from electricity generation could be eliminated by using advanced nuclear reactors.

3. Emissions from oilsands extraction and refining could be drastically reduced by replacing coal fired electricity with nuclear power and using the surplus heat from nuclear reactors to replace heat and eliminate emissions from natural gas.

4. It is clearly possible to reduce emissions from buildings, industrial processes, and agriculture by 10 per cent.

5. Emissions from waste could be reduced 20 per cent by replacing landfill practices with incineration/co-generation of electricity and building heat as is widely done in Europe.

A well designed carbon tax could facilitate these changes without impeding our exports. Another topic.

What is preventing this change? Charles Darwin observed that, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most the most intelligent that survives, it is the one most adaptable to change”.

Solving Canada’s energy, environment, economy dilemma will require a change in mindset by all concerned. All citizens need to become better informed. Environmentalists will have to change their irrational faith in wind and solar energy, their irrational fear of nuclear energy, and their irrational fear of pipelines. Political parties and First Nations will have to modernize their ideologies. Can we do that? Are we adaptable?  To read Hugh's full article please click the link provided.