Katy says: This NY Times article on the current oil boom in Alberta, Canada is worth a look. (Free registration required.)
As has been reported before, the high price of oil is encouraging the development of alternative sources of energy that were previously considered too expensive. Alberta is now growing at a rapid pace thanks to heavy investment in its oil tar belt, which has now become profitable.
Canadians seem to have decided that:
a) they want to produce as much oil as they can;The result is that Alberta and its neighboring provinces are booming, and incomes in those places are rising.
b) they want private companies to provide technology, capital and skilled labor; and
c) they will position themselves as a long-run, risk-free source of energy to the US.
The Orinoco Tar Belt holds a similar, if not better, promise. Now, why can't Maturín be more like Calgary and less like Calcutta? Could it be that in Venezuela, a), b) and c) are anathema to the Bolivarian revolution?
