EPCOR, Air Canada and the ERG.

(Week 19, Day 3)

The power went out all day yesterday, but it's back on today.

The Premier of Alberta has banded together with several regional mayors (Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer chief amongst them) to form an Emergency Regional Government this past week. The main goal of the ERG seems to be to maintain order and conserve what limited resources Alberta has at it's disposal.

EPCOR has begun rolling blackouts, cutting power to certain areas on alternating days to help conserve energy. It's not a terrible idea, but it makes day to day living a pain. There's no official schedule anywhere, so you just kind of have to guess when power in your area is going out.

I had to fire up the BBQ to eat yesterday, as the power was out. I couldn't help but wonder about the propane, and whether or not I should consider installing an alternate cooking source - like a fire pit - just in case. It's strange how your priorities shift. A four months ago I was more concerned with what summer movies I wanted to see, and whether I should purchase an XBOX 360. Now I'm wondering how I'm going to cook my meals, and whether I should install wooden shingles.

Back on the topic of the Emergency Regional Government. I like the concept of it, and it's something that will definitely help us right now. And it's very representative, at least in theory. Each municipality has a voice in what's going on, with the Premier acting as a chairman of sorts.

The reality, however, is that the large cities are being given priority voice. Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton are getting far more say in the ERG than, say, Camrose or St. Albert. Now, I'll admit that these are larger populations, and have more needs than a suburb does. However, these places do have needs, and many of them aren't being met right now. There's the very real chance that people might start moving to the cities in hopes of getting a better quality of life.

That's just going to put more strain on the cities, and make things worse for everyone.

In other news, I've heard that Air Canada has stopped all overseas flights indefinitely. People just can't afford the prices, and so the company has just cut it's losses and stopped providing the service. I'm sure that's going to cause more problems than not. At least people can still move around the country through air-travel... but at the rate fuel prices continue to rise, it's possible that might end in the coming weeks too. If you mean to travel... you'd best get out now.

There have been reports of troop movements up north again. The Canadian Armed Forces and United States Army are mainly playing a game of leap-frog right now, jockeying for position and taking stock of each other's strengths. My friends and I often joked about what a United States invasion would be like. Now I'm faced with the very grim reality of it, and it's put it in perspective.

Plus, it's becoming more and more apparent that the Canadian Armed Forces aren't just here to protect us from the United States Army. They're also here to make sure the oil keeps flowing east. Maybe that's why these partisans (or as CBC calls them, terrorists) are harassing both sides. They don't want the oil being sent elsewhere, they want it to stay here and help the people who are working for it.

I keep saying it's a scary time to live in the first world. It is. And anyone who doesn't think so is probably not fully aware of just how bad things are getting. We've been lucky here in Edmonton. Some cities in the States are war-zones right now.

_{***This is a fictional report of the state of affairs in Alberta for the World Without Oil ARG.}