CAGC

By: Christine Van Geyn, Director, Canada Taxpayers Federation Article originally published on Dec 21, 2015 by the Globe and Mail and can be accessed here:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/ms-wynne-painting-wasteful-policies-with-a-green-brush-wont-fool-ontarians/article27865553/  In the card game Euchre, the trump card is one you hold back and use to win if nothing else works. Kathleen Wynne seems to have found her trump card, and it is green. Whenever she is cornered with clear facts of a failed policy, she throws down her green trump card and claims the moral high ground over her critics. Take for example, the recent scathing report from the Auditor-General that found the Ontario government’s Green Energy Act policies have cost consumers $9.2-billion more for electricity than they would have paid under previous programs. Consumers have been paying far above market rates because of 20-year contracts for wind and solar energy. Specifically, Ms. Wynne h...

Article was originally published in a special report called "Climate Change" done by The Economist in their November 28th - December 4th print edition.  This article can also be found online here:  http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21678955-renewable-power-good-more-renewable-power-not-always-better-when-wind-blows   And the entire report can be found here:  http://www.economist.com/climatechange Renewable power is good. More renewable power is not always better.  On a breezy, sunny day  in north-east Germany it seems as though the world is running on renewable energy. Near Altentreptow 50-odd giant wind turbines, the tallest 200 metres high, spin above a potato field, making a gentle swishing sound. The hum from the base of each turbine is the sound of electricity being generated, much of it bound for Berlin. The view from the wind farm, across flat fields, is of another wind farm. Sadly, this is not how the world’s power is gene...

Below are excerpts taken from an article written by Pat Roche of the Daily Oil Bulletin. The excerpts we're pulled from the article because we feel as though they're the most relevant and important pieces of information; however, the full article is available here:  http://www.dailyoilbulletin.com/article/2015/11/26/social-licence-risk-management-or-mob-rule/   Excerpt 1 Crowley sees the three top challenges facing Canada’s oil and gas industry as public ignorance about how a natural resource economy works, the rise of the social licence movement, and the growing power and authority of Aboriginal people over decision making in the natural resource economy ( see separate story ) . He sees ignorance of how a natural resource economy works as by far the biggest challenge: “All the other challenges — things like environmental policy and so on — flow from that ignorance on the part of the public. I’m not blaming the public for being ignorant; it’s industry and governme...

By: Margaret Wente Article originally published by the Globe and Mail on December 15, 2015 and can be found here:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/the-paris-summit-a-colossal-waste-of-time/article27751521/?ord=1  What a cliffhanger. As delegates from 195 countries pulled all-nighters in search of a climate deal, the world held its breath. At last, success! Perhaps we’ll save the planet after all. In fact, a deal in Paris was always in the works and everybody knew it. After the Copenhagen debacle of 2009, the mighty UN climate juggernaut desperately needed a victory. And here it is – an agreement that’s unenforceable and toothless, but makes everyone feel good. Especially Canada. Prime Minister  Justin Trudeau , our fearless and photogenic leader, took a delegation of 300 politicians, functionaries and hangers-on with him just to prove it. “Canada is back, my good friends,” he announced in Paris. Naturally, there’s a cranky old skeptic or two. “It’...

By: Richard Bronstein Article originally published in the December 2015 issue of the Business in Calgary magazine. The full issue can be read here:  http://issuu.com/businessincalgary/docs/bic_dec2015_lo-v2/1 I hope somebody in Alberta quickly discovers the ancient science of alchemy, the secret ritual that was supposed to change lead into gold. And many more wondrous things. We need something like that today to change our oilsands from becoming a liability into being a valuable long-term asset. That is one lesson from President Obama wielding his mandate to kill Keystone XL and bring about the second coming of global clime justice. It took only a split second for Green Crusaders to claim credit for sacking the Jerusalem of oilsands and restoring the glory of God of Climate for all time to come. Unfortunately, President Obama and the green movement are peddling a false messiah. Selling us beads and blankets with smallpox. Because Obama and the greens are lying ...

By: David Yager Article originally published by EnergyNow on December 9, 2015 and can be found here:  http://energynow.ca/heres-how-the-recent-opec-meeting-will-affect-canadian-oilpatch-spending-david-yager-mnp-llp/   The OPEC meeting held December 4 in Vienna went worse than anticipated. Although there is no humor in what transpired, there may be something to be learned from the old joke about the scorpion and the frog. Somewhere near the Persian Gulf, a scorpion wants to cross a stream but obviously cannot swim. So the scorpion asks a frog if it can ride across on its back. The frog responds, “But you’re a scorpion and you can kill me with one poisonous sting.” To which the scorpion replies, “But if I did that we would both drown. Why would I kill us both?” This made sense to the frog so it allowed the scorpion to hop on its back and across they went. Halfway to the other side, the scorpion did indeed sting and poison the frog. In a dying gasp, the frog asked “W...

By:  Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief, The Economist Article originally published in The Economist on Nov 2, 2015.  The open, globalised world faces growing threats – and too little is being done to counter them, warns Zanny Minton Beddoes Look around the world as 2015 draws to a close, and it is hard for a liberal internationalist to find many reasons for optimism. Yes, digitally driven technological progress – from artificial intelligence to gene editing – is dazzling, and digital access is transforming the lives of ever more people in poor countries. But on three important counts the outward looking globalisation of recent decades is in worryingly poor shape. The first danger comes from China’s slowdown. By loosening monetary policy and launching yet another stimulus package or two, China will probably avoid a hard landing. But there is little sign of the debt clean-up, state-enterprise reform and overhaul of monopolies that are needed for a service-and...

By: Heather Douglas Article originally published by the Roughneck Magazine in their 2015 November issue. Order the Roughneck magazine here:  https://www.northernstar.ab.ca/the-roughneck   “Under Al Qaeda (and now ISIS’) leadership in Saudi Arabia, the (jihadis) were able to lure impressionable young recruits through a mix of religious and political rhetoric, as well as by promising them everlasting glory and heavenly bliss. Many joined and a murderous and highly visible campaign of kidnappings, shootings and bombings was launched across the Kingdom. “If the Saudi experience holds a lesson for Western policy-makers seeking to redefine their engagement with the Middle East, it is that established states should be bolstered. The chaos that results from even the most well-intentioned efforts to replace the powers-that-be wholesale is the best breeding ground for terrorism and unhappiness.” Path of Blood – the Story of Al Qaeda’s War on the House of Saud by Thomas Sm...

By: Jeffrey Simpson Article originally published by the Globe and Mail on Dec 2, 2015 and can be found here:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/globe-politics-insider/jeffrey-simpson-realism-not-rhetoric-must-drive-the-climate-discussion/article27549989/%3bjsessionid=tNhHWgnZc1K2Gv8Wp0GhW027WJ7fGZ1LFNSQpvyNQlzGrp2gCnhX!1362456394/?ts=151203160516&ord=1   About 80 per cent of global energy consumption is based on fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency. This consumption is the major reason for global warming that produces climate change. Reducing the share will take a long time; eliminating fossil fuels completely is a pipe dream. Fossil fuels – coal, oil and natural gas – will be with the world for a very, very long time because they are abundant, cheap and reliable. Alternatives such as solar and wind and tidal power are more expensive and produce energy only intermittently. The idea that renewables will any time soon replace f...