The chart below illustrates, perhaps more effectively than any other, the urgent and growing need for flexibility and compromise among people and governments worldwide.
After millions of years since the earth was formed, global population reached one billion in 1800, and the range of life expectancy was 27 years in Africa to 40 years in the UK. As living conditions were improved by advances in all branches of science, including the use of oil and gas, life expectancy kept growing and the global population kept doubling.
1800 – 1 billion – world average life expectancy was 33 years with a range of 27 to 40
1927 – 2 billion – world average life expectancy was 38 years with a range of 27 to 50
1974 – 4 billion – world average life expectancy was 59 years with a range of 47 to 72
2025 – 8 billion – world average life expectancy was 71 years with a range of 55 to 88
A 1972 report by global business and scientific leaders warned of the consequences of exponential population and economic growth in a world with a finite supply of space, energy, and food resources. Since then, the global population has doubled again, and the trend is expected to continue until the population reaches its peak of 10.5 billion around 2085. The need for cooperation in managing finite and renewable resources has never been greater.
But, contrary to 100 years of work by thousands of the world’s best climate scientists, Trump proclaimed that climate change is a hoax and cancelled environmental initiatives and regulations. He will soon be gone, but he has set mitigation efforts back by at least a decade, meaning future efforts will need to be less gradual and more extreme.
Prime Minister Carney is open to cooperation on practical solutions. He is open to building pipelines to help share “decarbonized” oil and gas with less fortunate counties that will need it until global reserves are finally depleted in about 50 years. That is an example of mutually beneficial flexibility and compromise that has been missing. It’s now up to Alberta and the oil and gas industry to show they are also open to practical solutions.
Canada’s oil is different. We have a bit of light oil that can just be pumped out of the ground and shipped, but 90% of our oil comes from heavy bitumen that is melted by heat from burning large quantities of natural gas before it can be pumped out of the ground and shipped. So, our oil makes carbon emissions twice, once when it is produced and again when it is used. That’s the main reason Canada is among the world’s top ten sources of total carbon emissions, and on a per capita basis. Emissions from Alberta oil production increased 70% from 2005 to 2023, negating reductions from all other sources.
The oil production process can be “decarbonized” with expensive and somewhat questionable carbon capture and storage equipment. But can such a facility capture and store (securely without leaking) emissions from producing 1.5 billion barrels per year for 40 years? Alternatively, emissions from production can be “totally eliminated” (rather than captured and stored) by replacing the natural gas burned to heat bitumen with heat from Alberta’s abundant geothermal sources, using the same drilling and piping technology as carbon capture and storage, and indeed by the oil production itself. That option is available now from Eavor-Loop in Calgary and Quaise Energy in Houston. Geothermal has a higher up-front cost but significantly lower operating costs, leaving 1.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas available for sale to countries that need it each year over the 40-year operational period.
Both solutions cost big money, but how does that compare with the impact of droughts on food costs, the costs of over 150 wildfires in Canada almost EVERY YEAR now with ongoing medical costs from excessive heat and smoke, evacuating and resettling 30,000 people, the loss of valuable forest products, the subsequent replacement of hundreds of homes and damaged infrastructure? How much did our emissions contribute to the loss of 15,000 homes and structures in LA last year? The problem is the money comes out of different pockets at different times, but Carney can help resolve those financing issues.
That is just one example of the urgent need for flexibility, compromise, and cooperation in everything we do everywhere at both a domestic and international level. We can’t change the past, but we can change the future.
Hugh Holland is a retired engineering and manufacturing executive now living in Huntsville, Ontario.
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The subject of this commentary is the need for flexibility and compromise, both nationally and globally, in order to address the threats to our food and energy needs in light of an ever-growing population. Unfortunately, hidden in the commentary, is the usual pro-Liberal, pro-Carney, anti-Trump biases. That’s unnecessary, but this is the Doppler, and we should expect nothing less. That aside, the challenges we face are real, but they are challenges to be solved, not to be feared. I believe, as a human race, we are more than capable of addressing these issues through new thinking and new technology. Our bigger problem, and bigger threat, is the mistrust of those making the decisions. Over the last few years, starting with the pandemic, we have been constantly lied to by the people who we elected to look after our interests. Whether it was the virus, the vaccine, Ukraine, or Gaza, the stories that have been spun and the lies that have been told have been incredible. And why? To further the interests of the few at the expense of the many. Now we’re onto climate change. The trust is no better on this issue either. We have constant geo-engineering, cloud seeding and weather modification, none of which the government will acknowledge. That doesn’t bode well for trust. And we had the biggest liar of all, Trudeau, telling us that the many forest fires were due to climate change, when the real cause was people and poor forest management. As a result of all these lies, we’ve seen the greatest transfer of wealth in history and Canada has the greatest debt in our history. Which, unfortunately brings us back to Carney and Trump. Carney is another Trudeau, whose agenda is driven by the WEF and globalists. Trumps agenda is not so obvious, but will become so in time. I don’t believe either of their agendas is in our best interest. In order to solve the issues of population, food security and climate we will need the cooperation of the people, not just governments. To get that, we need to believe our politicians, and until we get leaders that stop lying to us and put our interests first, that won’t happen.