Canada and The USA dialog on clean energy

This past Thursday, February 19th 2009, United States President Barak Obama made his first international trip. His destination was Ottawa, the capital of Canada. One of the central issues discussed by the two leaders was clean energy and the research and development of technologies to help North Americans combat the growing dangers of climate change. Specifically the 'green issues' that Obama and Harper discussed were threefold: development of advanced bio fuel pilots and demonstration plants, coordinated efforts on building carbon capture and sequestration sites and a sharing of technologies on smart-tech energy grids for the efficient distribution and use of renewable energies such as hydroelectricity.



The issue of bio fuels is one that has been growing in interest for green communities over the last several years because it offers a cleaner alternative to conventional fuel sources such as diesel and gasoline. In North America especially, where so much of the freight trade going back and forth over the border is trucked by fossil fuel burning dinosaurs such as 18 wheelers a cleaner alternative fuel source could make a big difference for the environment, significantly reducing green house gases (GHGs). Alternative fuels such as B20 (20% Bio diesel mixed with 80% regular diesel) appears to be an good option, decreasing CO (carbon monoxide) emissions by 12% and particulate matter (PM) by 12% as well (link 1: http://www.greenfuels.org/biofaq.php?id=f1397af8-4285-102b-b3dc-0030488d2a96). In addition little or no retooling is needed for the engines of the trucks which keeps the start up costs low for shipping companies. Prevalent issues that could stand of the way of making a smooth transition to fuels like B20 possible are issues such as accessibility and cost at the pump. Hopefully the governments will see fit to divide the funds allocated to this area on both research and the development of practical infrastructure to get this alternative up and running as soon as possible. For all this good news fuel techs like B20 are essentially little more than a finger in dam because even though they do cut harmful GHG emissions they do not eliminate them altogether. There needs to be more creative and far sighted options discussed such as alternative forms of transportation techs and investment in clean engines and electric vehicles before this emissions problem can truly be solved.

Carbon sequestration is another new technology that is being heralded as a possible champion of green solutions that will help us to solve the looming two headed hydra of climate change and global warming. Essentially the basic concept is rather simple; on major CO2 producing sites like coal burning energy plants and oil refineries (like the plants refining the 'dirty oil' out of the tar sands of Alberta and Saskatchewan) you attempt to capture the CO2 emissions before they can be released into the atmosphere and sequester them in deep underground storage facilities. Harper and Obama discussed collaborative efforts between the two countries and indeed there are already pilot projects under way in both Alberta and Saskatchewan, some of which are storing CO2 for coal burning plants from the USA (information sources on the cbc news show the National February 20th, 2009). This is a technology that does have potential to stem the tide of two of the most harmful sources of large scale emissions from industry in North America but it does not get to heart of the problem, which is that if consumers continue to choose to buy vehicles that use fossil fuels we can not completely solve this issue. In addition there are some concerns that this kind of out of sight out of mind mentality to 'storing' harmful wastes is short sighted. It begs such questions as: what will happen to the stored CO2 in the future? how much can be safely stored? how expensive will the storage facilities be and will they be cost effective? More discussion on this topic will follow in future posts are further research has been conducted.

The final technology discussed seems to be very logical. Improving the end efficiency, distribution and use of the resources that we already have is a must do. This is a hallmark for what is to come. As the energy needs of humans around the globe increase, if there are no rapid jumps in the green production technologies, then there will have to be a global belt-tightening of our energy use. Increasing the intelligence and distribution of renewable energy resource, such as hydroelectricity is a good start. Again further posts will elucidate this matter once properly researched.

In closing it is heartening that in his first international trip in office of the US President Obama is pushing hard to put environmental issues to the forefront. Hopefully both the Canadian and American government will show initiative beyond rhetoric and actually follow through with efficient and sagacious use of the funds that have been earmarked to stimulate the 'green sector'; hopefully they will do so quickly. Further the greater the transparency of the use of these valuable tax dollars the more confidence the citizens of these two great nations can place in their leaders. Obama's leadership on making environmental issues a priority this early in his term makes me feel optomistic that he will exercise similar leadership and force that the upcoming coference in Copenhagen this winter. It could be a turning point for all nations; for humanities interaction with the planet that sustains us.

Perhaps we might ask ourselves: What can we do to make sure that this prospective 'green push' stays on course and moves us closer to living healthier more productive lives in harmony with the Earth. The answer is simple: make your voice heard. Write letters to your local, provincal and federal constituents telling them of your interest in these issues and the importance of getting the green solution right. Research these salient questions on the Internet and tell your friends about it. Basically make a stink about making things green. Be active, get involved and don't take no for an answer. Together we can make the Earth a greener better place! Let's get to it.