Our Energy Future

In February, 50,000 people descended on Washington in protest. Citing examples of crippling droughts, devastating wildfires, and Hurricane Sandy, organizers declared the first step to putting America on the path to addressing the climate crisis is for President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline.

Across the pond, reports emerged stating that Britain is on the brink of an energy crisis. European Union laws have forced the closure of coal-fired electricity stations, unfortunately, with nothing in place to fill the gap. The plan is to import foreign gas, which will put a squeeze on people’s wallets.

Thankfully, hydraulic fracturing has unlocked vast amounts of natural gas—a clean-burning, efficient fuel that can replace coal-fired electricity sources. Better yet, it’s real cheap right now.

Unfortunately, it’s so cheap that the economics aren’t exactly crystal clear.

That’s okay though, as moratoriums on fracking will give producers plenty of time to save some money. By the way, fracking can also unlock oil from tight rock—a cool trick that may make the United States the world’s largest oil producer by 2030.

This is good news for Americans, but bad news for the Canadian oil sands. There may be a lot of oil locked in those sands, but it’s no good to anyone if it can’t get to market. Delays in pipeline projects and rising production are resulting in billions of dollars of lost revenue for both oil sands producers and the Canadian economy.

But wait—aren’t the oil sands just dirty oil? Who wants that anyway? People want clean energy and the clean jobs that come with it. That’s what they said in Washington.

Those jobs are getting hard to come by. Governments across the world struggle with staggering debt levels, and, as a result, clean energy subsidies have taken a hit. In January, Bloomberg reported that investments in clean energy slid 11 percent in 2012. Economies are slow to recover, resulting in stagnant unemployment.

We don’t have to worry about the 9.2 million people in the United States supported by the oil and gas industry (according to the American Petroleum Institute). In Canada, the future seems even brighter. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers suggests that over half a million people are employed by the oil and gas industry, and the Petroleum Human Resources Council has reported that 9,500 new jobs need to be filled by 2015.

But wait, aren’t those the very jobs that people are protesting in Washington?

Some may declare our energy future bleak—desolate even, ripe with hard decisions, hard times, and impossible challenges. Others see it as an open field of opportunity.

We are those people.

Some call us global citizens. We grew up with the Internet and have not only witnessed but also embraced its power to connect people from all over the world. (Admittedly, we are also part of the population that brought you the Harlem Shake phenomenon. We’re sorry.)

Others call us spoiled. We grew up trusting our access to energy. When we flick a switch, the light turns on. Our cars will take us wherever we want to go. We don’t hesitate to jump on a plane for a weekend away. The closest thing to an energy crisis we’ve experienced is being stranded without a phone charger.

We want to be pushed, and we want to run with our ideas. We want to explore different ways of producing energy. We value those that have come before us, and we want to gain their knowledge. But we want to put our own stamp on things too.

We want the freedom to make mistakes—we promise not to make the same mistake twice.

We don’t want to do harm.

We want our communities to thrive. We want to give back to the places that helped shape who we are and give a hand up to those that need it. And we want to work for companies that share our values. We’re not necessarily driven by profits and revenue, but we understand why they’re important. We actually believe a balance between economic prosperity, environmental performance, and social good is achievable. We see the world in shades of grey, not black and white.

We are the future of the energy industry. Today, we’re the young professionals. The rookies. The farm team. We’re excited by the possibilities, but we’re also nervous. We’ve watched the debate on energy grow feverously, fueled by strong emotions, and it’s overwhelming. Our industry is under a microscope. Our successes—those that aren’t ignored or mocked by critics—just lead to more questions.

Our failures are destined to become glaring headlines.

Even so, we can’t help but be seduced by the complexity of the task before us. It’s up to us to deliver affordable energy to the world in a way that elevates the standard of living while protecting our environment.

We’re arrogant enough to believe we can do it.

A few others believe we can too.

Dr. Randy Gossen, past President of the World Petroleum Council, felt the voice of youth was missing when it came to discussing the future of the petroleum industry. He believed that we must be involved in shaping the future, not just inheriting it.

With that vision in mind, the World Petroleum Council created a youth committee in 2006—a global forum for us, the future of the energy industry, to start discussing not only the state of the industry, but what we want it to look like. The Canadian Association of the World Petroleum Council followed suit and selected Canada’s top energy talent to form a National Youth Committee.

And in 2013, this committee will welcome the world to Calgary.

As hosts of the 4th World Petroleum Council Youth Forum, we’re inviting young professionals from across the world to debate, discuss, and deliberate our energy future. Something we’re calling “unconventional solutions for an unconventional world.”

Join us. Support us. Test us.

We’re ready.

The 4th World Petroleum Youth Forum will be held October 22-25, 2013, in Calgary. For more information, please visit www.wpcyouthforum.com.