OKAY, on Oil, Gas and the Environment

So there is this whole thing going on in the world about oil, gas and the environment where the world is running out of its nonrenewable resources. Let me tell you what I think, the world definitely needs a change - there is no doubt about that, but we can't just run forward without thinking of the consequences.

I live in Alberta, which is one of the world's leading suppliers of oil and gas - this fact makes our province bloody rich, and we have the world's largest oil sands. Oil sands, for those of you who do not know, are large deposits of sand with Bitumen (or crude oil and other substances) mixed with the sand molecules (Refer to Figure 1).

Figure 1: Alberta Oilsand Product

The most efficient way to extract this oil from the sands, unfortunately, involves using pure drinkable water (and so far it's the only way). Then they send the Bitumen to an upgrading plant south of Edmonton and turn it into Crude Oil (Refer to Figure 2).

Figure 2: Alberta Upgrading Plant, Fort Saskatchewan.

Okay, so where am i going, you ask? Simple, the world is researching new and efficient ways of creating energy. Although i completely agree that the world should take a step towards a greener environment - what about the people who work in Oil and Gas now? What will become of their jobs? According to Statistics Canada - Employment there are ~191,514 Canadians working in mining, oil and gas. These people could potentially all lose work if the oil and gas industry is suddenly cut back, what of a recession we seem to be in?

What will Barack Obama do to help North America realize a greener world and help all those people (in both Canada and the United States) retain their important jobs?

The answer is nothing...