29 Jul 2024
Tears are not enough
Alberta premier Danielle Smith was moved to tears by the wildfire destruction of about one-third of the historic town of Jasper. But tears are not enough. All the tears in the world will not put out 100-metre-high walls of flame. The question is will this destruction move her to action to stop the climate change that is fueling more and more devastating wildfires. Ms. Smith is the premier of a province with one of world’s greatest reserves of heavy oil and natural gas. She has been a cheerleader for more fossil fuel development in her province even as world experts call for drastic cuts in burning these fuels. The more we burn the hotter the world gets and the worse the droughts, wildfires and floods. People are dying from the heat and losing their homes and businesses to fires and flooding. Ms. Smith is not the only politician supporting more fossil fuel extraction, but her province has the biggest production sites in the country. Political leaders in Canada and many other countries have been promoting or supporting fossil fuel development for years because of the high-paying jobs. As the fires get worse politicians will have to decide if throwing more oil on the flames is a good bet.