Slavery continues to be a global problem.
The economics of humans being used to enslave more humans has haunted me since I read Empire of Cotton. Fortunately, slave owners can no longer secure capital from legitimate banks by mortgaging their slaves.
The topic of mortgaging slaves is far removed from the topic of Saskatchewan's Boundary Dam Carbon Capture and Storage Demonstration (CCS) project. There is one similarity though. After capturing carbon dioxide, SaskPower sells it to Cenovus Energy. Cenovus uses it for enhanced oil recovery. Yes, like the slaves who were used to produce more slavery, the CCS carbon dioxide is being used to produce more carbon dioxide. For every one ton of carbon dioxide captured, the enhanced oil recovery process results in an estimated 1.4 tons carbon dioxide—an additional 0.4 tons.
In a column in 2014, Murray Mandryk calculated CCS will cost Saskatchewan taxpayers approximately a billion dollars even though Cenovus pays royalties. He asked wouldn't a billion-dollar investment "in wind, solar or even hydroelectric power accomplish as much or more?" One "more" possibility is lower energy costs for taxpayers.
Give your MLA, Minister Dustin Duncan, and Premier Scott Moe (www.legassembly.sk.ca/mlas/) a "stop loss order." Tell them to stop selling carbon dioxide that produces more carbon dioxide. At the same time, insist the government legislate all future tax funded energy projects be in clean power. Power that liberates us from the economic and environmental costs of fossil fuel or other extracted energy.
-- Nancy Carswell
Shellbrook, Saskatchewan
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
