I am always astounded by the strange conclusions some people manage to draw from facts.
Take, for example, the global financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent global economic slowdown; during which time worldwide demand for energy dropped significantly.
The fact that energy demand would be reduced under such circumstances is neither surprising nor is it contrary to what one would logically expect. It was certainly the case here in British Columbia where electricity consumption, for example, dropped by a couple thousand megawatt hours.
However, the strange conclusion some have drawn from this drop in electricity consumption is that British Columbia somehow does not need to develop its energy resources.
The foolishness of that conclusion is obvious because the true level of our energy need cannot be gauged from an anomalous period of economic slowdown.
As it stands, global energy consumption has already returned to, and even exceeded, the levels seen prior to the global financial crisis.
That means it is now more important than ever to get on with developing British Columbia’s energy resources and building for the future.
Mike Lockhart
Saanich