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Thank you for highlighting the U-15 Calgary Adrenaline girls’ bronze-medal finish at the fast-pitch nationals in Winnipeg.
Getting to the national championship in any sport is a big deal, and it doesn’t happen without dedication, hard work, talent, a hit at the right time, a few three and outs, and a wee bit of luck. Winning a medal is a lifetime highlight.
Alberta has teams such as the Adrenaline in numerous sports, playing and winning medals, that would go unnoticed without the Herald.
Winning is great — a national medal is priceless.
Brian McConaghy, Heritage Pointe
Time for UCP to lead with integrity
The responsibility of our provincial government is to work with integrity on behalf of Albertans with other levels of government (including opposition parties) to solve problems.
The UCP leadership has not reflected integrity (from shenanigans with Kenney’s election, justice ministers’ misbehaviour, not believing in COVID science, firing Dr. Deena Hinshaw, making AHS a COVID scapegoat by firing the AHS president, to now who knows what with Dynalife, etc.).
I challenge Premier Danielle Smith to change her ways. Instead of warning of “blackouts under Ottawa’s net-zero plan,” fearmongering with more divisiveness or by sabotaging investment in alternative energy projects and giving mixed climate change messages, lead with integrity.
Perhaps this is the time again to bring up equalization reform to make hydro revenues subject to the same treatment as revenues from non-renewable sources.
Laurie O’Neil, Calgary
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Zero-emission electricity is grid is possible
Re: Net-zero plan laughably impossible, Opinion, Aug. 22
If the federal environment minister is laughable, Adam Pankratz is delusional: why would anyone suggest building nukes and dams when wind and solar are the cheapest available sources of electricity, as well as the fastest to bring on stream?
Build a high voltage direct current (HVDC) line from Winnipeg to Site “C” in British Columbia, and flood the drying/dying prairies with solar and wind generation. Use B.C. and Manitoba Hydro as energy storage facilities as well contributing to base demand, with solar and wind allowing the dams to retain more water to handle periods of darkness and low winds.
Work with TC Energy to install the HVDC cables inside their surplus gas pipelines (that they were going to convert to oil for their Energy East project) as far as Edson or Grande Prairie. This roughly 2,000 kilometres of construction could be initiated almost immediately, and permits for the remaining 500 or so kilometres of traditional tower-based cables would be available by the time the pipeline portion was complete.
With common sense, realism and leadership, we could have that emission-free grid by 2035.
Alternatively, we could follow Pankratz’s do-nothing path of hand-wringing and name-calling.
And sometime before 2100, the Himalayan glaciers will have ceased to provide year-round water supply to the bordering countries, and 2.5 billion people will have lost their drinking and agricultural water. Could that mean a nuclear war between Pakistan and India over water, resulting in a planetwide nuclear winter, and the end of humanity?
Doug James, Calgary