Prerequisites of a Self-Sufficiency Debate

The issue of whether energy self-sufficiency is either desirable or feasible can not be treated in abstraction from some of the more fundamental value questions that arise when a society makes energy choices. This can be illustrated by considering how the self-sufficiency discussion is currently being handled in Ontario. Recently the Davis government and Ontario Hydro have advocated pursuing energy self-sufficiency for the province and told Ontarions that this can be achieved if the province's natural advantage in uranium is exploited. However, choosing a policy of self-reliance based on nuclear power involves a whole raft of other difficulties. It implies, for instance, a way of life characterized by energy inefficiency (e.g., electric home heating is a criminal waste of power somewhat akin to slicing bread with a chainsaw), declining human and environmental health brought on by increased radioactivity, and an expensive, capitaland energy-intensive production system designed to remove people from the workplace rather than give them a meaningful place in it. All these disputes, outstanding questions and unresolved problems associated with nuclear power have simply been swept under the rug of self-sufficiency in the hope that public fears of nuclear power will be assuaged by the promise of a future free from energy supply difficulties. What this illustration shows is that self-sufficiency can not by itself be the goal of a coherent energy policy. Discerning what part self-sufficiency should play in our policy objectives inevitably requires, in turn, a more fundamental discussion of what kind of over-all energy policy framework is adequate to making just and responsible choices about how, and at what pace, energy resources are developed and used. Another prior question which must be addressed in order to carry on an informed discussion of energy self-sufficiency is whether there is an accurate inventory of existing and potential energy resources. At this time, Canada has neither worked through the prior questions necessary for a coherent energy policy nor has it a reliable inventory of reserves. This article will respond to the problem of inventory by outlining some of the factors which impede an accurate assessment of energy sources and by suggesting that a restructured Petrocan could provide better estimates. On the question of a framework for energy policy and self

Political science · Energy, Environment, and Transportation Policies · Global Energy and Sustainability Research · Psychology

• Déatente in Canada's Energy War

  Lauren S Mckinsey•The American Review of Canadian…•1982

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