there are some things that need to shift and these minerals will help, but if we replace intensive carbon mining with intensive cobalt mining we may not even be reducing total emissions at all.
we have to think past suburbia and private transportation. canada has incredible hydro electric potential to build and it can fuel efficient public transport if we design our cities correctly. it's a travesty that we lost that vision some time in the mid-20th century in favour of such a wasteful hyper-individualism in transportation.
unfortunately, both of the major political parties are seeking to build profitable industries first and foremost and the sad irony is that it doesn't look like consumers are coming with them.
i'd like to see some polling on this. how many people in toronto want cars at all, carbon or electric? how many would rather toronto build a new york style public transit system, so that almost nobody has a car?
the government at every level is seeking to prevent that because it would reduce employment in a major industry and hurt foreign investment but it is what the planet demands and i suspect it's actually what most people actually would prefer.
so, how do we get past this, then? we can't just call elon musk or bill gates and ask him to do it. it has to be government driven.
elizabeth may is entirely gung-ho about mineral mining and the green party doesn't offer serious ideas on this issue, unfortunately and perhaps surprisingly for most people. the ndp is going to listen to it's unions.
it should start at the municipal level.
so, i'll say this to toronto and vancouver and montreal - organize a car-free city and show us the way. show us how many jobs building the infrastructure will create. show us how to generate the clean electricity to power it. build the plans. then ask for funding.
if you leave it to the federal parties, they're just going to keep the existing economy in place and try to swap oil for natural gas powered hydrogen and tell everybody how much money they made from it.