Fred, we live in the Midlands , early this year we had solar panels installed. Now it is June we are actually exporting electricity to the National Grid. We also have an electric car, a VW. It is brilliant! Our electricity bill has dive bombed, our car is fully charged and we are making money! My husband wants us to buy another battery by October to carry us through the winter. We have those who want to drill baby drill into the depleted stocks in the North Sea, you can guess why! Petrol companies really don’t want to lose. The sooner we transition to electric, the better.
Penny, you're living in what the future actually looks like.
That's the part people miss.
This isn't just about climate policy or politics... it's about economics.
You installed solar panels, bought an EV, and now you're doing something that would have sounded crazy 20 years ago...
powering your car, lowering your bills, and selling electricity back to the grid.
The oil companies understand exactly what that means.
Every household that generates its own power becomes a little less dependent on buying fuel from someone else.
The technology isn't perfect yet, especially during winter months, but it's improving every year.
The direction of travel seems pretty obvious.
When ordinary families can produce part of their own energy and fuel their own transportation, that's a very different world from one built entirely around filling stations and utility bills.
Thanks for sharing a real-world example of what that transition actually looks like.
Josee, those are certainly connections worth being aware of and examining critically.
Stephen Harper is indeed the current chairman of the International Democracy Union (IDU), a global alliance of centre-right and conservative political parties.
Where I'd be careful is assuming that every member party or every alliance automatically shares the same goals or strategies.
International political networks are often more complicated than they appear from the outside.
That said, your broader point stands...
understanding who is talking to whom, who shares ideas, and how international political movements influence each other...
is increasingly important if we're trying to make sense of today's politics.
The more we understand the networks, the less likely we are to be surprised by the outcomes.
A lot of people look at today's energy debates as if they started five or ten years ago, when in reality the roots go back decades.
The Reagan era was a major turning point.
Deregulation, the end of the Fairness Doctrine, and a shift away from many of the energy and conservation initiatives of the 1970s helped reshape both the political and media landscapes that followed.
I also think you're right that focusing only on today's headlines can make us miss the bigger pattern.
What we're seeing now didn't appear overnight.
Trade policy, energy policy, media concentration, globalization, and political movements have all been evolving for generations.
Whether people agree or disagree on the causes, it's hard to argue that the decisions made in the 1980s and 1990s aren't still echoing today.
The challenge for Canada is making sure we're looking through the windshield instead of the rear-view mirror.
Understanding how we got here matters... but understanding where the world is going matters even more.
Another great post Fred! I loved this line "But Canada does not have to ride shotgun.". You are correct, we have done this for too long & it didn't serve us well, when tariffs started biting at our heels, we should have run to other countries then. Better late than never :)
What I am not seeing here is a discussion about Electric vehicles and the Canadian winter, the issues surrounding charging the vehicles, maintaining them, battery costs in replacement…all necessary discussions before purchase…the cost per km…
Fred, we live in the Midlands , early this year we had solar panels installed. Now it is June we are actually exporting electricity to the National Grid. We also have an electric car, a VW. It is brilliant! Our electricity bill has dive bombed, our car is fully charged and we are making money! My husband wants us to buy another battery by October to carry us through the winter. We have those who want to drill baby drill into the depleted stocks in the North Sea, you can guess why! Petrol companies really don’t want to lose. The sooner we transition to electric, the better.
Penny, you're living in what the future actually looks like.
That's the part people miss.
This isn't just about climate policy or politics... it's about economics.
You installed solar panels, bought an EV, and now you're doing something that would have sounded crazy 20 years ago...
powering your car, lowering your bills, and selling electricity back to the grid.
The oil companies understand exactly what that means.
Every household that generates its own power becomes a little less dependent on buying fuel from someone else.
The technology isn't perfect yet, especially during winter months, but it's improving every year.
The direction of travel seems pretty obvious.
When ordinary families can produce part of their own energy and fuel their own transportation, that's a very different world from one built entirely around filling stations and utility bills.
Thanks for sharing a real-world example of what that transition actually looks like.
Very well said Penny :)
IMO - Canada has been elbow deep in this fight (O&G vs sustainable) since OPEC funded Regan’s run for POTUS.
Regan proved to be a great investment he ripped up America’s first sustainable plan and the solar panels off the White House…
Regan also co-founded the Global IDU group.
Removed the fairness doctrine and opened up American airwaves to foreign companies..
Basically setting the stage for today. Projext 2025 is only the American chapter inside a global playbook….
Our focus on timelines needs to broaden…
Reminder:
Former PM Harper is currently chair of the IDU
Maga and Russia are allies
Russia and Iran are allies
Russia wants to destroy NATO
Josee, those are certainly connections worth being aware of and examining critically.
Stephen Harper is indeed the current chairman of the International Democracy Union (IDU), a global alliance of centre-right and conservative political parties.
Where I'd be careful is assuming that every member party or every alliance automatically shares the same goals or strategies.
International political networks are often more complicated than they appear from the outside.
That said, your broader point stands...
understanding who is talking to whom, who shares ideas, and how international political movements influence each other...
is increasingly important if we're trying to make sense of today's politics.
The more we understand the networks, the less likely we are to be surprised by the outcomes.
Josee, that's an important point.
A lot of people look at today's energy debates as if they started five or ten years ago, when in reality the roots go back decades.
The Reagan era was a major turning point.
Deregulation, the end of the Fairness Doctrine, and a shift away from many of the energy and conservation initiatives of the 1970s helped reshape both the political and media landscapes that followed.
I also think you're right that focusing only on today's headlines can make us miss the bigger pattern.
What we're seeing now didn't appear overnight.
Trade policy, energy policy, media concentration, globalization, and political movements have all been evolving for generations.
Whether people agree or disagree on the causes, it's hard to argue that the decisions made in the 1980s and 1990s aren't still echoing today.
The challenge for Canada is making sure we're looking through the windshield instead of the rear-view mirror.
Understanding how we got here matters... but understanding where the world is going matters even more.
Another great post Fred! I loved this line "But Canada does not have to ride shotgun.". You are correct, we have done this for too long & it didn't serve us well, when tariffs started biting at our heels, we should have run to other countries then. Better late than never :)
Thanks Patsy. That's exactly it.
For years, the U.S. was our biggest customer, and that made sense.
The mistake was acting as if it would always be our only customer.
The tariff shock was a wake-up call.
Not because trade with the U.S. should end... it shouldn't... but because no country should have that much leverage over Canada's economy.
We're finally doing what smart businesses do...
keeping the good customer while finding a few more.
As you said, better late than never.
What I am not seeing here is a discussion about Electric vehicles and the Canadian winter, the issues surrounding charging the vehicles, maintaining them, battery costs in replacement…all necessary discussions before purchase…the cost per km…