Renewable ocean energy in BC

In Barbara Jaffe's column on Saturday Feb 18/06, page C7, in the Vancouver Sun, we are getting the media's view of future energy shortages and peak oil. Early on she says ocean energy is free, then later in the article she goes through all the problems that will make it expensive. How can tidal power be both free and expensive?

We didn't have to put bad old oil in the ground either, but who talks of that having ever been free? But there it was for us to find and tap. "Our oil" is now leaving us, the ungrateful wretch. It used to be the best, now it is filthy and dangerous. Good riddance!

Oil, gas, hydro, tides, or wind, they all take infrastructure to develop and utilize, where people expect to get paid for their efforts of retrieving, processing and retrieving energy. Ocean energy has daunting technological problems to overcome. This is where I would guess much of the cost comes in. The cost of people living. The system would be perfect if it weren't for the people perhaps.

Everything is great here of course, but every now and then rentiers realize oil might not last forever and the alternatives are perfect, but not perfected. Like the crown, we like to be above it all, and for now, we do not have the nuts and bolts of a non-oil world figured out yet. This of course is not possible. We don't develop huge new sources of energy every day and if the price of oil keeps rising year over year like it has, problems will develop.

There is a tinge of panic and uncertainty here in the media.

Good post, I hope Uncle Sham don,t git hold of THE RIGHT HONORABLE MARC EMERY.

I heard on Daily Planet on an item about tidal power, that it is an attempt to "wean us off oil." If they are doing this, they are doing it quite slowly.

While the initial cost of implimenting alternative energy sources such as tidal power may be high, the expense would soon be recovered and create a long-term benefit. But in B.C. I can see the gathering interests of those who would exploit the absolutely HUGE coal reserves instead. These interests would want the consumer to remain captive to fossil fuel.

One of the Nordic nations I know is using Wave energy and they are so happy with it they are going all in on this new form of energy. I think this could work for the east and west coasts as a cheap source of renewable energy.

I wonder about solar energy groups that don't sell any solar gadgets to the public to spark interest. I can only find one place east of Main in Vancouver, and they are a distributor. Zero retailers.

There is nowhere in town to watch solar/wind/tidal power in action as a permanent demo. No little cars, no fans, no heat, no lights, no nothing. In this so-called green province of BC I live in, the subject is entirely incognito.

Alternative energy needs a few things that wiggle to attract ongoing media interest.