It was good timing indeed for Banff Community High School to officially launch a new 10 kW solar power project, Wednesday (Jan. 29).
We realize that the kilowatts generated by the school’s system won’t shake the world as far as energy production goes, but it shows that at least somebody is looking toward the future when it comes to power – and it might as well be students facing a future without fossil fuels.
Launch of the BCHS project is particularly welcome as a “good news” power event – especially in light of all the angst Neil Young created in recently speaking out against the bitumen sands in the Fort McMurray region via his Honour the Treaties Tour.
The BCHS solar project is also good timing in respect to a recent public inquiry into the health effects of bitumen emissions causing problems in the Peace River region.
People in that area have complained of headaches, dizziness and cognitive impairment due to emissions from bitumen storage tanks. At the same, doctors in the area apparently haven’t spoken out on the issue as they feel threatened that their licences could be pulled.
Then there are the ongoing pipeline debates, where opponents and proponents argue over the advisability of pouring petroleum products through structures with a poor safety record… or discussions of the ongoing costs of the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico… debates over whether or not vehicle emissions are causing climate change… debates over cancer rates in the Fort Chipewyan region of Alberta…
The list goes on.
We feel that, while it’s all well and good for provincial and federal governments and big oil to treat oil and gas and tar sands like it’s the only thing this province has going for it as they keep collecting money from its extraction, the future may well lie in the hands of young Canadians like those at BCHS.
Of course, few MLAs or MPs live in the Fort Mac/northern Alberta area, for example, and we assume (possibly incorrectly, we admit) that not many energy corporation CEOs do either and therefore have little chance of being exposed to hazardous emissions. This makes it much easier to promote ongoing extraction of a non-renewable resource – “to get while the gettin’s good” as it were, before it runs out.
Speaking of big oil, we do find it refreshing that in recent Cenovus Energy TV commercials by the Calgary-based oil company, they highlight oil being used to run tractors, helicopters, aircraft, school buses, fire trucks, ships, cars, garbage trucks, trains, etc.
They then throw on screen the much less than comforting message – Oil will keep people, products, and the global economy moving forward, for decades to come.
Decades. Decades… not centuries. Decades… not until some undetermined point in time.
Think about it. If Cenovus is providing actual clarity regarding our petroleum-based future, Bow Valley residents with youngsters now in kindergarten, say, may see them planning to do without in their retirement.
No more SUV to the grocery store… no more pulling a 36-foot RV… no more flying south to warmer climes in winter… no more heating fuel…
We hope we don’t have to wait for those grim days to approach before all Albertans, like the students at BCHS, embrace solar and other alternative power sources.
Really, is there any reason, other than that it goes against the grain of big oil, that every south-facing rooftop in this province couldn’t be graced by solar panels silently collecting energy from the sun?
If only our provincial and federal governments would take a more serious look at a resource that is running its course.
