Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

Energy drives life. Energy use has been a great advantage to our species. However, we are moving toward a compelling predicament as our societies thrive and our population grows. With population growth our energy needs increase. Our current sources of energy are thought by many to be leading to harmful climate change – and at the same time they are depleting at a rate we find discomforting. The consequences to our complex society and to other life forms on earth are uncertain. Do Alberta and Canada need an energy strategy to guide us in our challenge? Global society is seemingly coming to an energy supply and use crisis: how much energy, produced how, in which location and how distributed. The present system of energy supply and distribution based on uncoordinated short term ventures will not be adequate for our future needs. Energy supply and use begs for integrated planning over the long term. The size and nature of the infrastructure required does not allow for abrupt changes. The time for thoughtful

Ancient civilizations routinely relied on shackled human muscle. It took the energy of slaves to plant crops, clothe emperors, and build cities. In the early nineteenth century, the slave trade became one of the most profitable enterprises on the planet, and slaveholders viewed religious critics as hostilely as oil companies now regard environmentalists. Yet when the abolition movement finally triumphed in the 1850s, it had an invisible ally: coal and oil. As the world's most portable and versatile workers, fossil fuels dramatically replenished slavery's ranks with combustion engines and other labour-saving tools. Since then, oil has transformed politics, economics, science, agriculture, gender, and even our concept of happiness. But as the speaker argues in his provocative new book, we still behave like slaveholders in the way we use energy and that urgently needs to change Many North Americans and Europeans today enjoy lifestyles as extravagant as those of Caribbean plantation owners. Like slaveholders, w

Ancient civilizations routinely relied on shackled human muscle. It took the energy of slaves to plant crops, clothe emperors, and build cities. In the early nineteenth century, the slave trade became one of the most profitable enterprises on the planet, and slaveholders viewed religious critics as hostilely as oil companies now regard environmentalists. Yet when the abolition movement finally triumphed in the 1850s, it had an invisible ally: coal and oil. As the world's most portable and versatile workers, fossil fuels dramatically replenished slavery's ranks with combustion engines and other labour-saving tools. Since then, oil has transformed politics, economics, science, agriculture, gender, and even our concept of happiness. But as the speaker argues in his provocative new book, we still behave like slaveholders in the way we use energy and that urgently needs to change Many North Americans and Europeans today enjoy lifestyles as extravagant as those of Caribbean plantation owners. Like slaveholders, w

The Federal Government and Alberta’s Provincial Government are advocating that a new pipeline to the Pacific Ocean is essential to growth of the petroleum industry in Alberta. Enbridge has proposed to build a 1200 km pipeline to ship bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands across the rugged terrain of British Columbia to a marine terminal in Kitimat, BC. Is the Northern Gateway Pipeline needed? What are the economic benefits of the pipeline? What are the environmental risks of the pipeline and the shipping of bitumen in tankers through the hazardous waters of the Douglas Channel? Are there alternatives to building this pipeline, which has been heavily criticized by many native groups and NGO’s? The speaker will explore the many environmental issues surrounding the Northern Gateway Pipeline project which currently is undergoing public hearings before a joint review panel. Speaker: Barry Robinson Barry Robinson is a staff lawyer in the Calgary office of Ecojustice. Prior to obtaining his law degree, Barry

The Federal Government and Alberta’s Provincial Government are advocating that a new pipeline to the Pacific Ocean is essential to growth of the petroleum industry in Alberta. Enbridge has proposed to build a 1200 km pipeline to ship bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands across the rugged terrain of British Columbia to a marine terminal in Kitimat, BC. Is the Northern Gateway Pipeline needed? What are the economic benefits of the pipeline? What are the environmental risks of the pipeline and the shipping of bitumen in tankers through the hazardous waters of the Douglas Channel? Are there alternatives to building this pipeline, which has been heavily criticized by many native groups and NGO’s? The speaker will explore the many environmental issues surrounding the Northern Gateway Pipeline project which currently is undergoing public hearings before a joint review panel. Speaker: Barry Robinson Barry Robinson is a staff lawyer in the Calgary office of Ecojustice. Prior to obtaining his law degree, Barry

This is a regular session but with a Christmas twist. Please come early and listen to Christmas music & song Special Music 11:45 am - 12:05 pm - Gilbert Paterson Handbells 12:30 - 1:00 pm (during lunch) - Gilbert Paterson Select Choir As we approach Christmas and the spirit that goes with it, environmental challenges -- to air, water and land – are not going away. In Alberta we are polarized between development and environmental safeguards, between job and habitat protection, between corporate interests and citizen lobby/protest groups, between the dividends offered by hydraulic fracturing and those who fear its threat to water and health. The speaker will offer some guiding principles and insights that the human community might use to journey through this bewildering forest of choices and options. He will propose some spirited guidelines that might lead the way in our care of the earth, our care of one another and ourselves

This is a regular session but with a Christmas twist. Please come early and listen to Christmas music & song Special Music 11:45 am - 12:05 pm - Gilbert Paterson Handbells 12:30 - 1:00 pm (during lunch) - Gilbert Paterson Select Choir As we approach Christmas and the spirit that goes with it, environmental challenges -- to air, water and land – are not going away. In Alberta we are polarized between development and environmental safeguards, between job and habitat protection, between corporate interests and citizen lobby/protest groups, between the dividends offered by hydraulic fracturing and those who fear its threat to water and health. The speaker will offer some guiding principles and insights that the human community might use to journey through this bewildering forest of choices and options. He will propose some spirited guidelines that might lead the way in our care of the earth, our care of one another and ourselves

The debates around the recent Occupy movement have prompted questions about what constitutes effective action and whether the current young generation is engaged in social issues. Can these budding activist energies be sustained enough to create change? How can the interests of students who are focused on career training, or who approach learning with passivity, be expanded and nurtured so that they can act with greater alertness and attention to issues they face as global citizens? The Occupy movement, no matter how disorganized they may appear to be, suggests that what may be lacking is the theory, knowledge, and skills necessary to sustain active engagement against discursive, political, and economic pressures which encourage passive acceptance. Speakers: Josephine Mills and Bruce MacKay Bruce MacKay, a near-native Lethbridgian, did his undergraduate at the U. of L. in Anthropology, completed his Masters in Theological Studies at Harvard, and did his PhD at the University of Toronto in Religious S

The debates around the recent Occupy movement have prompted questions about what constitutes effective action and whether the current young generation is engaged in social issues. Can these budding activist energies be sustained enough to create change? How can the interests of students who are focused on career training, or who approach learning with passivity, be expanded and nurtured so that they can act with greater alertness and attention to issues they face as global citizens? The Occupy movement, no matter how disorganized they may appear to be, suggests that what may be lacking is the theory, knowledge, and skills necessary to sustain active engagement against discursive, political, and economic pressures which encourage passive acceptance. Speakers: Josephine Mills and Bruce MacKay Bruce MacKay, a near-native Lethbridgian, did his undergraduate at the U. of L. in Anthropology, completed his Masters in Theological Studies at Harvard, and did his PhD at the University of Toronto in Religious S

Most nations throughout the world have practiced discrimination against racial, religious, ethnic and ideological groups. Justification for these forms of exclusion has increasingly been discredited by the human rights revolution in the post colonization era and equal rights and non-discriminatory policies are now in focus. However, even as these older practices of exclusion are no longer in effect, they continue to have lasting consequences. Political reconciliation requires the rebuilding of damaged relationships. An absolutely central issue here is that of social trust. Challenges of reconciliation will be described by the speaker, using examples from various countries, including South Africa, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Sierra Leone. Speaker: Dr. Trudy Govier Trudy Govier is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lethbridge. Her interests are in the areas of critical thinking and social philosophy. She is the author of a widely used textbook A Practical Study of Argument (7th Edition 2010)

Most nations throughout the world have practiced discrimination against racial, religious, ethnic and ideological groups. Justification for these forms of exclusion has increasingly been discredited by the human rights revolution in the post colonization era and equal rights and non-discriminatory policies are now in focus. However, even as these older practices of exclusion are no longer in effect, they continue to have lasting consequences. Political reconciliation requires the rebuilding of damaged relationships. An absolutely central issue here is that of social trust. Challenges of reconciliation will be described by the speaker, using examples from various countries, including South Africa, Canada, Northern Ireland, and Sierra Leone. Speaker: Dr. Trudy Govier Trudy Govier is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lethbridge. Her interests are in the areas of critical thinking and social philosophy. She is the author of a widely used textbook A Practical Study of Argument (7th Edition 2010)

China's economy will soon become the largest in the world. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), China's economy will be larger than the combined economies of the Eurozone countries by the end of this year, and will overtake the United States by the end of 2016. To fuel an expanding economy, China has been on a global quest for raw materials for decades. In the energy sector, that includes oil, natural gas and uranium from Canada. Currently, two matters concerning our trade with China are the focus of public attention: the sale of the Calgary-based oil and gas producer Nexen to the Chinese state-owned-enterprise CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation), and FIPA, the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, yet to be ratified by the federal government. What are the issues surrounding the determination of a "net benefit" to Canada? Speaker: Gordon Houlden Gordon Houlden is the Director of the China Institute and a Professor of Political Sc

China's economy will soon become the largest in the world. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), China's economy will be larger than the combined economies of the Eurozone countries by the end of this year, and will overtake the United States by the end of 2016. To fuel an expanding economy, China has been on a global quest for raw materials for decades. In the energy sector, that includes oil, natural gas and uranium from Canada. Currently, two matters concerning our trade with China are the focus of public attention: the sale of the Calgary-based oil and gas producer Nexen to the Chinese state-owned-enterprise CNOOC (China National Offshore Oil Corporation), and FIPA, the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, yet to be ratified by the federal government. What are the issues surrounding the determination of a "net benefit" to Canada? Speaker: Gordon Houlden Gordon Houlden is the Director of the China Institute and a Professor of Political Sc

It has not been uncommon to hear people decry the democratic deficit in Canada. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin defined a democratic deficit as MPs having, among other things, very limited independence. Prime Minister Harper has been accused of increasing the democratic deficit by using parliamentary tactics and omnibus bills to confine parliamentary debate. These tactics have not been limited to the federal government as provincial premiers across Canada have cancelled sittings of the legislature and used prorogation to severely restrict debate. Has Harper’s government altered the role of Parliament in debate and scrutiny? With the recent omnibus crime bill and two budget implementation bills that both included over 400 pages of wide-ranging changes to legislation, many critics have argued that the Prime Minister has sidelined the House of Commons. Is there a difference in the role of Parliament under this government when compared with previous experiences? Should we be concerned about the function o

It has not been uncommon to hear people decry the democratic deficit in Canada. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin defined a democratic deficit as MPs having, among other things, very limited independence. Prime Minister Harper has been accused of increasing the democratic deficit by using parliamentary tactics and omnibus bills to confine parliamentary debate. These tactics have not been limited to the federal government as provincial premiers across Canada have cancelled sittings of the legislature and used prorogation to severely restrict debate. Has Harper’s government altered the role of Parliament in debate and scrutiny? With the recent omnibus crime bill and two budget implementation bills that both included over 400 pages of wide-ranging changes to legislation, many critics have argued that the Prime Minister has sidelined the House of Commons. Is there a difference in the role of Parliament under this government when compared with previous experiences? Should we be concerned about the function o

Recently, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to implement a policy requiring health-care employees working at publicly funded facilities, including long-term care homes, to get a flu shot or wear a mask to protect patients during the flu season. This policy has been applied elsewhere, at some other major health centres. The B.C. Nurses’ Union has taken issue with that policy and is fighting to keep the vaccinations voluntary. Arguments against flu shots include objections to the government forcing anyone to be vaccinated, as a matter of principle. Some of those against mandatory flu shot vaccination state that they do not believe the vaccination is effective in preventing influenza, and that serious reactions, although rare, may occur. Some do not trust the safety of the ingredients. Arguments for flu shots include patient protection through reduction of transmissions to those who are not able to be vaccinated, and through herd immunity, in which the vaccination of a sufficient proportion

Biochar (the non-fuel use of charcoal) is a carbon-rich residue produced by low-oxygen pyrolysis from biomass (agriculture/forest residues and waste biomass). There is good evidence that soil-applied biochar establishes a long-term, stable and easily measurable carbon sink. Therefore, by capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in plant tissues, and by converting it into a highly stable form of carbon, a low cost and effective type of carbon storage emerges. Furthermore, the addition of biochar to poor soils, such as the extensive marginal and solonetzic soils of Alberta hold the promise of increasing crop yields due to anticipated maintenance of soil fertility, quality and productivity. Biochar is an emerging technology with global impact and considerable potential benefits for Alberta. Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures has conducted biochar work for the past five years, developing small-scale (batch and continuous types) pyrolyzers and producing and testing biochar from different Alberta feedstoc

Biochar (the non-fuel use of charcoal) is a carbon-rich residue produced by low-oxygen pyrolysis from biomass (agriculture/forest residues and waste biomass). There is good evidence that soil-applied biochar establishes a long-term, stable and easily measurable carbon sink. Therefore, by capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in plant tissues, and by converting it into a highly stable form of carbon, a low cost and effective type of carbon storage emerges. Furthermore, the addition of biochar to poor soils, such as the extensive marginal and solonetzic soils of Alberta hold the promise of increasing crop yields due to anticipated maintenance of soil fertility, quality and productivity. Biochar is an emerging technology with global impact and considerable potential benefits for Alberta. Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures has conducted biochar work for the past five years, developing small-scale (batch and continuous types) pyrolyzers and producing and testing biochar from different Alberta feedstoc

By looking at three historically significant eras in American history, the speaker will contextualize the 2012 US election and relate to how these eras shaped the results. First, he will look at the long view emphasizing the colonial, revolutionary and early republican inheritances. He will then look at the medium historical view, from Reagan through Clinton. Finally, the speaker will examine the short view, from 2000 to now, during which time Americans seemingly have adopted a kind of post-democratic polity based on ignorance and belief. Speaker: Dr. James Tagg Dr. James Tagg joined the University of Lethbridge in 1969. He received his PhD in History from Wayne State University in Michigan in 1973. For almost 35 years, he taught the sweep of American History, initiated the first southern Alberta history course and helped establish a program in Liberal Education at the University of Lethbridge. Dr. Tagg's research interests have been related to the Early Republic of the United States (1789-1815),

By looking at three historically significant eras in American history, the speaker will contextualize the 2012 US election and relate to how these eras shaped the results. First, he will look at the long view emphasizing the colonial, revolutionary and early republican inheritances. He will then look at the medium historical view, from Reagan through Clinton. Finally, the speaker will examine the short view, from 2000 to now, during which time Americans seemingly have adopted a kind of post-democratic polity based on ignorance and belief. Speaker: Dr. James Tagg Dr. James Tagg joined the University of Lethbridge in 1969. He received his PhD in History from Wayne State University in Michigan in 1973. For almost 35 years, he taught the sweep of American History, initiated the first southern Alberta history course and helped establish a program in Liberal Education at the University of Lethbridge. Dr. Tagg's research interests have been related to the Early Republic of the United States (1789-1815),