In an open letter to University of Alberta President Bill Flanagan, Friends of Science Society is calling for the retraction of a U of A report entitled “Assessing Barriers to Renewable Energy Development in Alberta: Evidence from a Survey on Wind Energy with Rural Landowners”. Friends of Science Society states that the report, written by students and professors in the Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology and funded by taxpayers through SSHRC, makes false and disparaging remarks about the society whose membership includes many U of A alumni in earth sciences, engineering, and management. Furthermore, the report inaccurately frames Alberta as a laggard in wind energy, when in fact the province was the first jurisdiction in Canada to have a wind farm, dating back to 1993.
The letter also points out several technical and scientific inaccuracies in the U of A report with regard to climate change and electrical power generation.
Friends of Science letter says that “it is curious that these University of Alberta professors and grad students state that “Concerns about anti-climate action interest groups [referring to Friends of Science and Grassroots Alberta] spreading misinformation are pressing in Alberta….” when it is obvious that the more pressing concern is the foreign funded, taxpayer subsidized, ENGOs, spreading false and misleading information about the Alberta oil sands…”.
It is disturbing that the U of A report “Assessing Barriers…” attempts to identify angles to convince rural communities and residents to buy into wind farms, when wind turbines kill hundreds of rare raptors and bats every year, which are crucial to agricultural pest control.
Contrary to the derogatory statements in the U of Alberta report, Friends of Science Society is ‘pro-climate science information’ and opposed to poor climate or energy policies based on myths that humans can control the climate of earth by taxing people.
Submittted by Friends of Science
Friends of Science Society advocates for open, civil debate on climate science and related energy policies, and full cost- benefit analysis of proposed mitigation.
