More hot air isn’t going to help cut emissions or develop sustainable energy. It’s time to get to work.
Many people are wondering about a survey the federal government is launching to see what Canadians think about green energy. The cost is $240,000 – at a time when advocates of renewable energy projects feel more has to be invested in the actual development.
The Canadian Press recently obtained documents revealing plans for this extensive public-opinion research on issues ranging from the clean-energy economy to the Energy Star symbol seen on household appliances.
We can expect that response will show that Canadians realize alternate sources of energy are crucial for a number of reasons. Dirty air in cities, emissions into the atmosphere and the inevitability of sky-high prices for fossil fuels as resources shrink are all reasons people in this country and worldwide understand well.
It’s been said often that oil companies have traditionally been on the receiving end of subsidies, generally because they’ve long been a major driver of the economy.
Developing alternatives, too, will be dependent on funding for research. But environmental groups say the federal government’s support has been lacking. Renewable energy producers said Ottawa has imperilled their industry by failing to guarantee long-term funding for the ecoEnergy program
Yet, those making such decisions want to know what Canadians think. They want to know, for example, what the tolerance is for higher costs, since, developing new technologies will cost more at least in the beginning.
It would be encouraging to see governments being more proactive on this. Polling people – particularly when a government does it – is a timid approach. They’re certainly prepared to hurt people’s feelings on other issues they deem essential. The best outcome would be that respondents resoundingly give them the answer they should already know.
