Carbon pricing won’t bring desired change

Re Fossil fuels or the future?, Letters, April 14 Whereas I agree that humans have to do something about carbon emissions, along with all other forms of pollution, can we not be realistic about it? If we do not ship our bitumen for export to countries that want it, they will simply buy the bitumen from someone else. And if we can’t get the bitumen to our own (few) refineries, we will continue to buy ever more from someone else. Believing that carbon pricing will significantly change that behaviour when there are no viable alternatives at this point is wishful thinking. Urban dwellers, especially those in major cities, appear to be most guilty of this unrealistic approach. Easy to be holier-than-thou with short commuting distances and public transit systems. But residents of rural areas and small towns have little choice when it comes to operating our vehi- cles and heating our homes and businesses. With no access to natural gas (which of course is also a contributor to carbon emissions) and electric heating being costly and of dubious efficiency, oil becomes necessary. And until the industry can come out with mass production of electric vehicles that are capable of long distances between charges and improved fast-charging times, small town and rural residents have no choice but to operate gasoline-powered vehicles. Not to mention the huge expansion of the power grid that will be required.

In my opinion, diverting the always huge bureaucratic expense of implementing and operating a carbon pricing system toward research and development of viable energy alternatives. In the meantime, like it or not, we need our oil. Duncan Craig, Gravenhurst