Coal
Clean coal may be an anachronism to some, but it's a lifeline to an entire province. And that's why it needs to remain a key part of Alberta's electricity future until more affordable and reliable electricity alternatives can pick up the slack.
But we shouldn't be complacent just because Alberta has cheap and abundant coal stores.
The federal government is right to bring in regulations to limit the use of the dirtiest coal, and to pursue research in carbon capture, storage and sequestration, which can limit coal-based carbon emissions.
We also need to innovate because we can't fight a two-front environmental battle.
In Alberta, coal-fired electricity emits around the same amount of carbon dioxide as the much more maligned oil sands – with fewer of the oil sands' spinoff economic benefits. The province needs to push down its ever-increasing emissions.
The province's energy future needs to include cleaner technologies, such as generating more electricity from geothermal energy (a source that also lies deep beneath Alberta's surface), and an attempt to connect more with the rest of Canada's electricity grid.
Alberta is blessed with many natural resources. As it shares its oil wealth with the entire country, it shouldn't be denied the opportunity to keep using the one fuel it needs now for electricity generation – and that source is coal.