I have been a Liberal in Central Alberta for decades and during that time I have researched greenhouse gas sequestration. I travelled to different municipalities, universities, research centres and conferences, (on my own time and dime) to develop plausible and viable methods to sequester CO2.
My writings on this issue and supplemental uses and benefits, have been published across the country, in Germany, New Zealand and in the U.S.A. I was invited to and attended the Eastern Provincial Premiers and New England State Governors Conference on Climate Change, and was solicited for information from the City of Toronto. International oil companies have requested computer models for various methods of sequestering CO2 from flue gases for enhanced oil recovery.
But a common response from some politicians and commentators will be: “You are a Liberal” or “All you people do is criticize.” The response to an outline involving injecting CO2 into coalbeds to produce methane could be: “You Liberals should offer solutions instead of just criticizing.”
I suggested that during this time of economic downturn and stimulus financing, instead of building ice rinks and passing lanes, why not build environmental solutions that would have generational benefits? Building a closed-cycle power plant with minimal environmental impact would be more beneficial to Canadians than depreciating, high maintenance buildings like new curling rinks.
A professor at the University Waterloo detailed that the proposed costs of CO2 would decrease significantly after the initial research and after it has gone into mainstream usage.
The professor explained that in the long run, the cost of sequestering CO2 could be as low as 85 cents per tonne.
I have acquired a lot of information from my travels and my hours of study on my limited time and resources and have offered this information to the public and industry at little or no cost.
Can you imagine what could be accomplished if I had government’s vast resources to cover my expenses, but then again I am a Liberal and all I do is criticize.
Garfield Marks
Red Deer