Here is the Real Oil Sands Message for Albertans

Cambridge Strategies joined forces this week with CAUSE, Enmax, Mountain Equipment Co-op, ConocoPhillips, Calgary Centre for Global Community, Take Action Grants, the Calgary Foundation, the UofC Students' Union, the City of Calgary, Alberta Acts of Climate Change and the Good Earth Coffeehouse and Bakery to sponsor the Hunter Lovins lectures.

Hunter spoke on "Lean and Green: Sustainable Energy Solutions for Alberta." She spoke about options for our current electrical challenges. She made the business case for climate change protection,  She outlined a way for Alberta to lead the way to energy solutions.  All of these themes are near and dear to my heart and my business partner Satya Das and are outlined in his book "Green Oil: Clean Energy for the 21st Century?"

She and her husband co-founded the Rocky Mountain Institute and co-authored a book called Natural Capitalism with Paul Hawken.  That is one of the most dog-eared books on my shelf and was a epiphany producing read for me a few years ago.

The Calgary Herald sure captured the essence of Lovins message in this editorial "Go Green and Get Rich!".  
There is a great deal of soul searching for business and Albertans around our oil sands development as a source of prosperity, pride, innovation and most of all environmental stewardship.  These are integrated aspects of responsible and sustainable oil sands development not mutually exclusive issues to be managed politically or with public relations.

I went into the Lovins lecture with an aspiration the my Alberta to be not merely destined to be the best place in the world but rather to aspire to be the best place for the world.

I came out of the Lovins lecture with more resolve than ever around the implications and potential that Alberta Aspiration to become reality.  Progressive thinking Albertans have to get over their compliant complacency and return to full citizenship and activist participation in the political culture of this province to make that happen.

If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org