RebootAlberta 3.0 is Coming and all About "Taking Action"

Reboot Alberta is hosting its third gathering of progressive thinking Albertans (RebootAlberta 3.0) in Edmonton November 5 and 6, 2010 at the Delta South hotel and focused on what needs to be done to get a progressive political alternative for Alberta.

The agenda will be about Taking Action and will be a call to action for Progressives who are hungry for the Next Alberta.  If you agree that politics and democracy Alberta is broken and we need to take a different path forward then RebootAlberta 3.0 is where you want to be.   

You will get a chance to help decide what changes we need, what needs to be done to make those changes happen and what you as an informed and engaged citizen can do to make a difference.  The times in Alberta are about a power struggle between Libertarians who would isolate individuals from the needs of the larger society and our status quo politics that is more interested in sustaining political power than serving a greater and inclusive vision of Alberta. 

If you are bored with apathy and disengagement and see a chance to co-create the next Alberta as a progressive forward thinking, inclusive, prosperous, ecologically responsible and sustainable real democracy then come to RebootAlberta 3.0.  RebootAlberta 3.0 is not just a call for action – it will be action.  At RebootAlberta 3.0 you will get to share your sense of the preferred future for our province, find a way to get personally active and become effectively involved in achieving that future with other like-minded progressive Albertans.

RebootAlberta 1.0 enabled progressives to discover that they are not alone and many other Albertans thought like them and shared concerns about where Alberta was going as a society, economically and in our duty to the environment.  RebootAlberta 2.0 was focused on the values and priority issues progressives shared in common.  RebootAlberta 3.0 will be about determining what needs to be done to make Alberta reflect progressive values and then Taking Action to make it happen.

The next provincial election may be sooner than March 2012, in any event, the work of informed and engaged citizenship has to start now if we aspire to get a progressive political agenda ready to present to the people of Alberta as well as to the political parties and leaders who will seek our consent to govern.

Good government starts with citizens taking personal responsibility for ourselves, our families, our communities and others who need our help, especially children and vulnerable people in our society.  We also have to be aggressive in asserting our citizenship responsibility as the ownership of our natural resources and insisting on the highest quality of environmental stewardship now and for future generations.  It is about honest, open, accountable, transparent and fiscally responsible government that serves the greater good with integrity.  

Those are the primary values of progressive Albertans and we do not believe they are being provided by the current political power structure.  There is plenty of blame to go around for this including the lack of informed, engaged and active citizenry who have been too compliant and content with the democratic deficit and the lack-lustre political leadership of the status quo.

RebootAlberta 3.0 will be a place to change all that and take back control of our democracy, create more effective alternatives to the status quo governance and to rid ourselves of out-dated and ill-conceived political philosophies that do more harm than good to life in our province as well as on our planet.

Citizenship is more than “What’s in it for me?”  It is also about figuring what you are in Alberta for and then taking personal responsibility for the longer term greater good as well as you own self interest.  With all the potential and promise that is Alberta we ought to aspire beyond the boosterism of being “the best place in the world” and try and be “the best for the world!” 

If this makes sense to you come to RebootAlberta 3.0 and start to co-create a better Alberta.  You can register here and the first 75 get an early bird discount.  Click here to register

Progressive Albertans Taking Political Action - the Essence of RebootAlberta 3.0

I have been busy in out of town activities and summer time and remiss in keeping current with blog posts.  That will change starting now.  That is because I have signed the contract for the hotel to hold RebootAlberta 3.0, the next gathering of Alberta progressives will focus on what needs to be changed in order to put Alberta on a different more integrated social, political, economic and environmental trajectory.

RebootAlberta 3.0 will be in Edmonton November 5-6 at the Delta South hotel and registration will be open tomorrow.  Mark you calendar and register early, this event, like all past RebootAlberta events, will sell out quickly. I will post the link for registration on this blog in the morning along with another blog post.

RebootAlberta 3.0 will be citizens getting together deciding what most needs doing to get Alberta on a more progressive path.  It will see people making a commitment to take personal action to renew democracy, review our governance and make a difference on any issue or concern they may have as individual Albertans.  They will find other link-minded Albertans who will get with them to make a difference.

The goal is not to be the bland boosterism you hear who have a goal of making Alberta the best place in the world.  There is a much greater potential for this province if we the people dare to push ourselves and capitalize on our skills, blessings and capacities.  We can be the best for the world and perhaps with our enormous hydrocarbon energy assets we have a duty to strive for such an audacious goal.  But we need to renew our democracy, revise our institutional governance models and revive our sense of citizenship before any of this can happen.

If you have 10 minutes (and I encourage you to make the time) take a look at this video and get some context about what I am talking about.  It is from the United Kingdom but it travels well into the current Alberta context. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql3Jp3ydfE8&playnext=1&videos=hGdSiM4qY_A

If you wonder if you are a progressive go to the Cambridge Strategies website and do the "Are You a Cultural Creative" survey.  That will give you an indication and then come to RebootAlberta and find your tribe.


 

Who Can Albertans Trust to Tell the Truth About Their Oil Sands?

Interesting columns and commentary around the ENGOs, industry and government efforts to influence public opinion around oil sands development.  Our recent values based research along with some ordinary opinion polling is feeding the conversation.

The manic messaging is becoming more important to the self interests of the various combatants rather than any fidelity to the facts in the public interest.  The public is at a loss of who to believe and what to believe about the reality of oil sands development with all the over heated hype coming from the various camps.

The credibility of all the players in this puffed up PR game is eroding rapidly.  The game being played around the oil sands is not focused on the facts and helping Albertans as the owners of the oil sands to be more informed, aware, interested and engaged on the issues and seeking solutions.  It is more about special interests being more concerned with protecting institutional reputations as opposed to doing the real work on the ground to fix the problems first.

Who Can We Trust?
Who is the everyday Albertan supposed to believe and trust anymore?  This is not a superficial question for government and industry and even activist environmental groups.  They of these self-interests all depend on the public trust and confidence to be able to do their work and to do their jobs, presuming that is to serve the public interest.  That is the key foundational question that is emerging in the minds of many Albertans. Who is representing the public interest and who are we to believe when all we see are stunts, glossy advertising and questionable content and selective information presented as facts.  Where is the adult conversation happening about the complexity, opportunity and responsibility around oil sands development?

The media, including pundits, commentators and bloggers, are also subject to suspicion.  We are as much part of the problem as anyone else. Where is the wider lens we need to better deal with the complexity of the oil sands from an integrated economic, environmental, social, and public policy approach.  Where is the wisdom we need to actually properly and responsibly develop the oil sands on a rational, integrated and long term trustworthy perspective?

What Do Albertans Value?
We have recently done another conjoint survey on values research on what values Albertans want politicians and policy makers to apply when making public policy and political decisions that impact our lives.  It is apparent that Albertans do not feel they are getting these values addressed these days.  The most important attributes for government to make decisions from everyday Albertans were Accountability, Integrity, Fiscal Responsibility, Honesty and Transparency.

If these are the most important public policy values of Albertans then anyone trying to influence opinions or resonate with our hearts and minds better be sure to demonstrate in actions - not just words - that they are authentically meeting these higher standards of behaviour that citizens expect.

What I see happening now is an attitude or political autism that is all spin and PR.  The combatants seem to be unable to read the social cues of their audiences.  As a result Albertans will dismiss for a number of reasons, including suspicion over motives that are seen as exploitative and naive self-interest, a lack of competence and judgment, a lack of respect for other points of view, ideology being more important than creating informed opinion and a default to hostility towards opponents instead of being helpful to the public interest.

We All Know Oil Sands Are Important
There are 89% of Albertans who see the oil sands as a very or extremely important element in our future prosperity.  Anyone in government or industry who fails to address this in a broader, integrated and more authentic context than we are seeing now is risking political power and their business investment.

There is a serious and growing credibility gap in what is being said to citizens, what citizens consider important and perceptions about what is actually happening in the areas of concern.  This is a recipe for disaster and extremes.  There are major gaps between existing legal and policy frameworks and actual delivery of results.  There even bigger gaps between aspirations and perceptions of reality and actual performance in many areas of concern to Albertans around oil sands development.  I call these differences "The Big Betrayal Factor" once citizens see the disconnect between what they believe to be happening and what is actually going on in their name around oil sands development. 

It is just as likely that Albertans will turn off and tune out of politics and public policy processes even more because they are so angry and resentful of the conventional way things are done.  The other possibility is there will be an electoral revolution where Albertans will say they have had enough and throw out all the conventional power hungry types for something entirely different.  One thing for sure we can't continue in the status quo and hope to realize our potential as a province and as a people.  Change, Change  Change it what I hope for.

Alberta Makes World News with 1600 Dead Ducks, New York to Cull 170,000 Birds Goes Unnoticed.

New York State is thinking of culling 170,000 Canada Geese from the estimated state goose population of 250,000.    News reports say this is "five times the amount that most people would find socially acceptable."

This is apparently a "one-of-a-kind plan" according to media reports and part of a large Canada Goose cull of about 500,000 birds in 17 Atlantic states.  It is alleged that some state plans "do not include all the scientific background."  The New York plan is to capture the geese, crate them, transport them to a "secure location" to be euthanized and buried.

Critics are saying it is not clear that there are really five times as many Canada gees as there should be and calling the plan "a little extreme."  DUH!

The motivation for this cull seems to be a result of the Hudson river crash landing in January 2009 when geese flew into the engines of the jet.  This is hardly a fool proof solution since another bird killing spree near New York La Guardia is reported to have reduced birds hitting airplanes by 80%.  Hardly a reassuring statistic that says air traffic is safe enough die to bird kills.  We don't know how big the La Guardia bird problem was, how big the cull was and what metrics were used to determine success.  Not very helpful really

I sure do not condone the proven negligence of Syncrude in the loss of 1600 ducks in their tailings ponds two years ago but it pales in comparison to what New York state is proposing to do intentionally, not negligently.
We know from our research going back to 2005 that one of the dominant and consistent values preferences for Albertans in resource development is wildlife habitat protection.

Resource development is not the same as urban airline safety but the respect for biodiversity and for our species becoming more integrated in the natural balance and flow of nature is a major human value that is becoming a  more important public policy issue.  As a result New York should be looking for a more humane, integrated and adaptive approach to bird control around airports rather that euthanizing 170,000 birds of inconvenience.

Albertans Want a More Comprehensive & Integrated Approach to Oil Sands Development

The narrative being promoted about the oil sands is not enough of the story to gain the public confidence.  Here is the news release from the Government of Alberta indicating the emphasis they will take to the other provincial Premier's in meetings in Winnipeg this week.   

This message is like water is to soup.  Essential but insufficient.  I say that as a result of a recent conjoint study on values associated with responsible and sustainable development by Albertans on their oil sands.

Albertans overwhelmingly (89%) recognize the importance of the oil sands in term of economic prosperity.  I expect people in other provinces, like Newfoundland especially, feel much the same way about the economic importance of the oil sands.  So talking up the oil sand contribution to Canada's GDP, the job creating and the secure source of North American continental energy supply is important it is not the entire message that Albertans (and others ?) want to hear.

According to our study Albertans also want to know what is happening around reclamation, wildlife habitat protection efforts and what is being done about ecological monitoring of oil sands development.  They are concerned about CO2 and greenhouse gases as well as water usage in oil sands development.  What is government and industry doing in these areas are just as vital to Albertans as the pure economic elements when they consider oil sands development.

The oil sands debate, such as it is, is polarized where government and industry seem to avoid talking about the stewardship duties of oil sands development and hard line environmentalists do the same by overlooking the economic and energy security aspects of this vital resource.  This is just not helpful in the long run for anyone, and the public confidence in particular.

I think the public is smarter than that and is longing for an adult conversation about the oil sands.  Question is how much more is the public losing confidence in government, industry and ENGOs to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth on oil sands development?  Albertans clearly want their oil sands resources developed and to benefit from the wealth and opportunity they create.  Albertans are even more concerned these days that the development is being done with the highest levels of stewardship possible.  We want to benefit and be proud of how our oil sands are development.  Those are not mutually exclusive aspirations of the people of Alberta.