Speaking Out Louder by Jack Layton

Author:Jack Layton [Layton, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-7710-4616-2
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Published: 2011-09-13T04:00:00+00:00

Energy for a New Prosperity

Everything we do requires energy, from the food we eat, to the electronic equipment we use, to the vehicles we drive, to the products we build, to the buildings we live in. The types of energy we use, the ways in which we transport it (electrical grids, natural gas pipes, gas stations, and so on), and the levels of energy use all contribute to drive our economy. For over a century now we’ve been largely completely reliant on hydroelectric power and fossil fuel. Since the 1950s, some Canadian provinces have also developed nuclear power. In all the industrialized countries, this type of power production has evolved into a highly centralized system in which multinational corporations wield enormous economic and political influence. Oil-producing regions, particularly in the Middle East, have become powder kegs; and nuclear power plants around the world remain potential targets for terrorists. In short, our current energy system is not only fundamentally undemocratic and environmentally unsustainable, it is a security threat.

The solution to the biggest environmental problem facing our generation is also a way to ensure new prosperity for future generations of Canadians. We now have a unique and historic opportunity to be held hostage no longer to this system and to replace it with a new system of renewable energy resources.

Imagine a Canada where we are the recognized world leader in developing the most innovative and sustainable economy in the world. Imagine a Canada where over three million new person years of jobs have been created to build this new economy. Imagine a healthier Canada that practises conservation and energy efficiency with a growing range of more livable buildings and factories powered by electricity generated without creating the smog that kills thousands prematurely every year. Imagine a Canada where there are no nuclear power stations or coal-fired generating stations.

Impossible, you might say; it would cost too much money and create too many economic hardships for Canadians. The fact is this new prosperity is not only imaginable, the way to make it a reality has already been outlined by some of the most innovative minds in Canada. At a minimum, it wouldn’t cost us any more money than we are currently spending. In the longer run, it could even save us substantial funds as healthcare, pollution, and climate-change remediation costs decline.

How do we get there? Let me outline key elements of a green energy plan that, if implemented, would usher in a new prosperity for Canada, the likes of which we have never seen. Much of the thinking in the next few pages is reflected in the detailed programs that are part of the NDP Kyoto Plan. Which means many of the ideas that follow are ready to be implemented immediately. All they require is political will. I have drawn on a number of sources, but in particular, the 2002 report for the Suzuki Foundation by Ralph Torrie, one of Canada’s foremost energy consultants.

We all live and work in buildings. Bad insulation, leaky doors

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