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Oil Industry In Canada

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To Drill or Not To Drill
One of the most important issues which humanity faces today is resource depletion; particularly, the reduction in oil reserves is growing rapidly.
To drill or not to drill, this is the question on the minds of the government of Canada and various others around the world. Oil is a fossil fuel which is derived from the remains of prehistoric organisms and with its rapid depletion, the concern of applying an alternative becomes evident. Oil and gas industries provide 7 billion people with 60% of their daily energy needs. From a toddler playing with his plastic toys to an old man with his hearing aid; everyone has some sort of dependency on the oil industry. This is due to the fact that many household items are either …show more content…
However, with this ever growing rate of production due to the increase in technology, the scarcity of this resource proves to be a primary concern for the work force in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and offshore Newfoundland and Labrador; all of which are the major producers of oil and gas in Canada. Alberta for example, which holds the lion’s share of oil reserves in Canada, provides 239,000 jobs to Albertans as well as its oil industry affects the jobs of 112,000 people outside the province. Overall, the entire Canadian industry provides jobs for 550,000 …show more content…
In an article from the NY Times and from the Dallas Business Journal, U.S is expected to become the top oil producer in the world by 2017 having already hit a 57 year high in oil exports in July 2014.As of 2012 U.S imported 25% of its oil from Canada and due to the growing independency of the U.S oil industry, oil exports from Canada to the U.S will indefinitely be further reduced, drastically cutting the Canadian oil industry’s revenue and weakening the security of its jobs.
In order to cope with this loss of jobs and revenue in the oil industry, Canada has begun to build on its infrastructure in other energy industries such as wind. In a recent article in the Vancouver Sun, wind energy is becoming more and more popular among citizens. “During the 2008-2011 Clean Power Call, wind energy projects won 47 per cent of the 3,266 gigawatts of contracted energy sought by BC Hydro.” (1) Since then, the price of wind turbines has significantly dropped and the industry is now emerging as an effective replacement for oil in provinces such as British

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