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Which brings us to Point 4. We, as Albertans, are far from accepting this future. Our governments pine for infinite growth in our oil and gas sector. There is a real sense that anyone advocating for a safe climate is treasonous; The two of us are likely to be among the first up against the wall in the coming turmoil. The ground is shifting rapidly under our feet, and Albertans don’t like it. We want to skate to where the puck used to be. Scrap the carbon tax. Overturn the court judgments. Separate from the nation. Hang the prime minister. All echoes of the same refrain.

These are all an effort to slow the transition. This delay will allow us to have more time to pump more oil (a.k.a. more $) out of the ground. After all, as Justin Trudeau famously said, “No country would find 173 billion barrels of oil and just leave them.”

Meanwhile, outside of our echo chamber, people are getting scared. The climate crisis threatens them and their children, and they have little recourse but to do their own marching in the streets. As people become ever more endangered, on both sides, the rhetoric, and actions, will escalate.

The future is nebulous, the choices we make today will define our future. A worse-case scenario? That we end with Albertans as rich kings presiding over a dead world. But, the optimist in us hopes that Alberta supports the transition and stays relevant in a society that acts to protect itself. And that our kids will have a safe climate to enjoy as they grow old.

Joe Vipond is an emergency physician in Calgary. He sits on the board of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.

Noel Keough is an associate professor of sustainable design at the University of Calgary. He is the president of the board of Sustainable Calgary Society.