Canada is an energy superpower, on par with Russia. It is the biggest supplier of oil and natural gas to the biggest market in the world, the United States. Canada’s oil reserves are the second-biggest in the world, and the world’s thirst for oil is insatiable. We produce a third of the world’s uranium, and the world is undergoing a massive renaissance in civilian nuclear energy.

How will we manage Canadian energy resources as global demand for them rises? What value can we add to them? As interest in nuclear energy grows, so do concerns about proliferation; what can Canada do to prevent proliferation as more countries embrace the atom?

And how will we manage the environmental problems that go with ever-expanding energy use, in Canada and around the world?

Energy and environment issues have converged at senior government levels. Governments are under increasing pressure to develop responses to these issues. Recommendations are plentiful, and their quality ranges from excellent to terrible.

Government action on these recommendations will affect everything—our disposable income, our physical and economic health, our national security, and the global climate itself.

If you are on the receiving end of this action, it pays to pay attention to who’s recommending what. When you know that, you can help shape the debate.

This blog monitors the public debate on how to reconcile the often conflicting priorities of energy and the environment. I look at how governments manage these competing priorities, and explore the on-the-ground impacts of actual and proposed policy responses to these priorities. When it is warranted, I try to propose alternative plans and actions. Have a look at my posts, and feel free to comment.

You can contact me by e-mail at s.aplin@hdpgroup.com,
or by telephone at +1 613-567-5300.

For realtime information on the link between electricity use and air emissions, visit my new website, Electric Power Statistics.