Recent global events have ignited interesting and often extreme perspectives about some of the world’s current energy sources.
The earthquake and tsunami and subsequent threat of a nuclear meltdown in tremor-prone Japan, for example, have many calling for governments around the world to shutter existing facilities and cancel plans for new ones.
Political upheaval in the Middle East and last year’s offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico have renewed appeals for governments and industry to wean themselves from conventional oil. And burgeoning North American natural gas supplies have pundits encouraging all to embrace that fossil fuel.
Which energy source is best? It depends on who you ask. What we do know is that nuclear, conventional oil and natural gas, like all other energy sources, have their strengths and weaknesses.
In this OSQAR, we thought it would be fitting to look at a variety of energy sources and, for each, map out their primary strengths and weaknesses. The results of our unscientific exercise can be found in the table below.
As you can see, no energy source is perfect. And the magic solution - pixie dust - isn’t available just yet.
With the International Energy Agency forecasting (PDF) a 36 percent increase in energy demand by 2035, we’ll likely need most or all of these energy sources going forward.
As Suncor CEO Rick George said in a speech last year: "I’ve long believed the future is about expanding energy choice, not restricting it."
Taking a hard look at the energy we need, what resources are available and how we use them, is the challenge that lies before us. As we’ve said before, a national energy strategy for Canada would help us address this pressing and critically important need.
