Further to this week’s editorial on Warren Buffet and investing in oil: America is now the world’s largest oil producer, mostly because of shale oil production. Shale wells can be brought on quickly. The downside is a well has a short lifespan. So when it goes dry you dig another one. This does make operators more flexible in responding to oil demand and prices, allowing them to shut down and restart quickly.
Buffet, speaking to the Financial Post, said this: “In the United States, we’re lucky to have the ability to produce the kind of oil we’ve got from shale, but it is not a long-term source like you might think by watching movies,” he said, dubbing it “short-lived oil.”
Buffet also said “both extremes” in the climate debate have gotten “ridiculous” in their arguments.
“We will make rational decisions,” he said. “We do not think it’s un-American to be producing oil.”
Meanwhile of course, Canadian Liberals and NDP continue to look down their noses at Alberta.
But Quebec? The preferential treatment they get is the kind of stuff that fuels resentment.
Do you ever think that it was God who gave us another six billion neighbours, all so we could blame them all for everything, especially our own mistakes and failures?
“Common sense, common courtesy, common honesty – why on earth do we use these weird expressions?”
“By the time a man is mature enough to make a good husband, he is more likely to make a good corpse.” – Richard Need- ham
Alberta Crop reports only come out once every two weeks. Although they are on Friday, which is good for most weekly newspaper reporting that is a tad late for this column. Oh, well!
The report from July 11 for the Peace Country was pretty good. And with the rain last week, things should be tickety-boo good right now. Best news is for Peace hay crops which are yielding top numbers in the province, averaging 1.2 tons per acre.
We don’t have a professional rain gauge. But we noticed on Friday just past our small yard wagon, which collects and holds water quite nicely, had about four inches from the previous 10 days or so. That’s more rain since all of spring into June, we think.
For anybody interested in water levels on Lesser Slave Lake it continues to be very low. All the recent rain had barely budged the level and in fact, as of Tuesday last week, it was even slightly lower, by an inch or so.
However, rain after that last week brought up the level slightly, as it takes a few days for water to work its way through the watershed into the lake.
Fish guts are a bit of a problem in the M.D. of Lesser Slave River at Slave Lake.
That’s not in the office. At their last council meeting, the subject was talked about after an inquiry by the manager of the Canyon Creek campground.
Apparently, the smell of rotting fish left after people clean their catches and leave the remains is taking away from some people enjoying the campground.
Also, a suggested grinding and flushing system into the MD sewer system won’t work. The M.D. sewage treatment system can’t handle fish remains. A containment system to hold remains until disposal would cost about $100,000.
Council decided to ask the Canyon Creek Rec Association for their thoughts. And also ask the fish management branch of government for advice.
Taking a page from Trudeau’s ‘Handbook of Charging People for Being Alive’ the province of Alberta, like other provinces, is working hard on what is called ‘Extended Producer Responsibility.’
This is supposed to pass the cost of recycling things on to the people actually making the product. For example, if your TV comes in a cardboard box, not only do you have to pay an ‘ecological charge’ for the TV, but you now will pay for the cardboard box it comes in. A fine idea. But.
Charging deposits on bottles and glassware was a fine idea once upon a time also. Problem is, it costs so much to recycle, glass gets taken to landfills anyway.
In Slave Lake, EPR is expected to cost so much, the M.D. there is thinking of closing down one of its landfills and trucking trash somewhere else. As reported in Slave Lake, “recycling is doing nothing but costing money.” And that means, in the end, you and I.
So exactly where does money charged in fees and deposits go? We have no idea. But rest assured, federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault will happily squeeze you until you can only afford to live in a cave and eat berries and bugs.
“Be brutally ruthless in politics. And never cook bacon naked.” – Grandpa Jonesy
“If you want to get a good run for your money, eat prunes.” Grandma Smithers
If you are picking up this newspaper today in High Prairie (Tuesday although the paper is dated Wednesday), attend the Elks Pro Rodeo. Action begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Rodeo Grounds.
Action begins Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
Have a great week!