Western Standard - October 20, 2022


Tariq Elnaga of the APP on an upcoming Alex Epstein event

Topics
Alberta Prosperity Projects event oil prosperity environmentalism in Alberta Alberta Prosperity Project event
Guests
Tarek El Naga
Mentioned
Alex Epstein Corey Fossil Future Clown Shoes
Smith apologizes for past comments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine Question Period with Premier Danielle Smith

Episode Stats


Length

11 minutes

Words per minute

205.55

Word count

2,426

Sentence count

227

Harmful content

Toxicity

7

sentences flagged

Hate speech

2

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Tarek El-Naga joins me to talk about his trip to the Alberta Prosperity Project's October 28th event in Calgary with Alex Epstein. We talk about the importance of standing up for the energy sector, climate change, and gun control.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 So I'm here with Tarek El Naga. I'm not used to seeing it without your cowboy hat on. 1.00
00:00:04.180 I know, I know. I figured I'll change it up this time.
00:00:06.160 You were just saying, well, the ad was going. You've been here before a couple times.
00:00:09.440 We were in that cramped little studio. We had her be knee-to-knee. We got a lot more.
00:00:12.960 Congrats. Yeah, this is amazing.
00:00:14.200 Yeah, I don't even have to brush my teeth anymore.
00:00:16.720 It's an amazing setup.
00:00:17.660 I guess we're socially distanced now.
00:00:19.980 So as we see this, an exciting event coming up.
00:00:23.980 I mean, Alex Epstein has spoken up on energy issues and climate change a lot in the United States
00:00:29.100 throughout North America, and he's coming up here for this event.
00:00:32.460 Maybe you can expand a bit on it.
00:00:33.640 You bet. So how I got to know of Alex Epstein was reading the book,
00:00:38.340 The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels, and he really talks about, he really humanizes
00:00:42.640 what fossil fuels have done to improve humanity over the last 50 or 60 years,
00:00:47.640 how they've provided reliable power for hospitals and schools and really advanced humanity.
00:00:53.740 And he's surprised, just as many of us are surprised,
00:00:56.360 just about how now it's seen as the monster and the thing that's going to bring the world to the end,
00:01:02.900 which won't.
00:01:04.380 And what he does is he really promotes the human side of the energy sector and industry.
00:01:10.300 So the Alberta Prosperity Projects are bringing him in next week on October 28th for an event in Calgary.
00:01:16.340 And I think it would be a lot of fun to come and actually not just come and see him speak,
00:01:21.000 but also the networking that'll come with interacting with like-minded Albertans that are,
00:01:26.800 again, the energy sector has provided so much prosperity for them,
00:01:30.740 built schools, built hospitals, provided for their families,
00:01:33.420 and they just want to stand up for that industry.
00:01:36.920 Yeah, well, I'm glad you brought that up.
00:01:38.220 I mean, that kind of segues into my other ad I was talking about with firearm owners.
00:01:41.260 Things we have to do as citizens are, as I was speaking earlier in the show about BC,
00:01:45.120 voters got up and fired a whole bunch of politicians.
00:01:47.940 We can only do that if we get together, we network, we work together. 0.79
00:01:50.800 You know, we're individualists, but darn it, we've got to also work together.
00:01:54.900 And this event offers that.
00:01:55.980 I mean, it's going to be fascinating to listen to Alex speak because he's very skilled.
00:01:59.460 And it certainly drives home into an energy-producing province like this.
00:02:03.280 But then you get to meet the other people who are like-minded.
00:02:05.960 The cocktail periods, that's half of the fun of these events and productive.
00:02:09.060 Absolutely.
00:02:09.380 I think the networking that comes from it, you know, come in early.
00:02:12.900 It starts at 5, and there's a networking event before the actual speakers start at 7 o'clock.
00:02:18.960 Come in early.
00:02:19.640 Get to connect with fellow Albertans that care about the industry,
00:02:23.840 want to stand up for it, and build a community around it.
00:02:26.320 We often worry about politicians saving us, but I think it's us that are going to save us.
00:02:30.540 It is the community and our involvement and us standing up for the industry.
00:02:36.300 Well, that's it.
00:02:36.820 But, I mean, politicians respond to us.
00:02:39.780 Right.
00:02:40.380 And if we put the right pressure on, they will move.
00:02:43.580 I mean, it sounds intractable, but they will.
00:02:45.860 Or we can fire them.
00:02:46.680 We have the ability.
00:02:47.600 We just get too lazy to do it.
00:02:49.520 And that's the thing.
00:02:50.360 And that's what I really appreciate about the APP is it's a nonpartisan think tank organization
00:02:55.660 that's really standing up for Alberta and its prosperity, irrespective, really, of who's in the Premier's office.
00:03:03.540 And while some might be more favorable than others towards what we want to do, and really their quest for independence or the very bare minimum autonomy for Alberta and pushing for that,
00:03:15.740 you know, I really appreciate that they're really bringing an educational perspective to our industries, the prosperity that they can offer, and the economic impact they've had and can have.
00:03:27.420 Well, yeah, I mean, horror of horrors, perhaps we might have an NDP government coming next spring.
00:03:33.040 Well, it won't hurt us to have a well-informed public still to speak to those NDP MLAs, to that government from an energy perspective.
00:03:39.880 And having heard some of those excellent points that Epstein makes on why it's so important to stand up for this industry, how many benefits we all see from it.
00:03:49.340 It's a similar outlook.
00:03:51.680 You know, so many people get frustrated.
00:03:52.700 Like, this has done so much good for humanity.
00:03:54.760 And here we are slagging it.
00:03:56.280 You know, what's interesting, Corey, is I got asked about two weeks ago, as many people know, I'm born and raised in Dubai.
00:04:04.820 And when people look at pictures of Dubai, they look, oh, it's exciting.
00:04:07.900 The Lamborghinis, the wealth, the tall buildings.
00:04:10.820 Well, where did that come from?
00:04:12.260 It came from oil.
00:04:13.400 So why is it acceptable to be exciting and fun and prosperous for Dubai?
00:04:19.440 But for us, in our Canadian oil, we look at it and we say, no, it's dirty.
00:04:24.260 We don't want it.
00:04:24.980 Leave it in the ground.
00:04:25.820 We don't want the prosperity that comes with it.
00:04:28.060 So it blows my mind.
00:04:30.420 And it's something that, you know, we all have to do is stand up for the industry, stand up for Alberta unapologetically and start to say, you know what?
00:04:37.520 This is who we are.
00:04:38.620 This is what provides for us.
00:04:40.220 And we continue to push through.
00:04:42.060 I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that there's never an NDP government in Alberta again.
00:04:47.740 You know, that's something else.
00:04:48.500 We still have to be pragmatic.
00:04:49.440 No matter what happens.
00:04:50.260 Exactly.
00:04:50.600 You know, and I agree.
00:04:52.220 I think there's some valid points to be made to people who believe in a big tax and spend government even.
00:04:56.820 Look, you know, make the point.
00:04:57.940 If you want those social programs, you want that big massive universal care system or you want all those subsidies for housing, fine.
00:05:04.220 But you need the money from somewhere.
00:05:05.820 Right.
00:05:06.140 And the energy sector has it.
00:05:07.840 It has it right there.
00:05:08.660 Quit trying to shut down that which could fund all of those progressive dreams you have.
00:05:13.880 Agreed.
00:05:14.220 And, I mean, I just I don't understand these really aggressive targets of going to net.
00:05:19.620 Zero and what have you.
00:05:21.460 And then thinking, well, what's the alternative?
00:05:23.140 How are you going to power critical services like hospitals, like schools, like airports, et cetera, without reliable sources of power?
00:05:31.580 It's just not possible.
00:05:32.820 Well, and I'll digress a bit to talk a little more about the Alberta Prosperity Project, too, because, I mean, we just heard recently from Prime Minister Clown Shoes there.
00:05:40.160 And, I mean, I can editorialize.
00:05:41.460 This is my job.
00:05:42.300 But he's saying, oh, no, we've set the goals now.
00:05:44.880 We're definitely going to hit that target.
00:05:46.460 Definitely going to hit it this time.
00:05:47.560 Not a single government has ever hit their emissions targets yet in Canadian history, ever.
00:05:51.820 Never even close.
00:05:53.500 The thing that scares me isn't that he's wrong.
00:05:57.240 It's that he might be telling the truth thinking he can.
00:05:59.780 Because the only way he could possibly meet those targets would take an incredible assault against the West and energy producing industries.
00:06:08.220 And that is distressing.
00:06:09.760 We better get ready to fight back because this is an ideologically driven man, not a logically driven man.
00:06:14.920 I completely agree.
00:06:16.420 It blows my mind.
00:06:17.540 We're almost regressing in the West in terms of our economy and our economic development and our industrial development.
00:06:24.340 That's got to stop.
00:06:25.320 The pendulum is going to swing because how far does it go back until we are living the agenda and we are living in small boxes and we are.
00:06:34.100 So, you know, it's an attack on our lifestyle.
00:06:36.180 It's an attack on our way of life.
00:06:37.560 And, you know, going back to what you're talking about, I love that there's now movements within Alberta, including the Alberta Prosperity Project, that are really bringing that respect back and bringing that education back about who we are and what we want to do.
00:06:54.400 Well, yeah.
00:06:54.880 And there's a number of them.
00:06:56.240 I mean, they come and go.
00:06:57.980 I mean, part of what frustrates me is we get that whether it's independence movements or otherwise is the tribalism aspect of it.
00:07:05.580 And actually, firearms groups can be some of the worst for that, too.
00:07:08.240 You know, we're all fighting for the same cause. 1.00
00:07:09.820 But, yeah, but that group is full of crap. 0.99
00:07:11.420 Ours is the right way. 1.00
00:07:12.700 Keep our eyes on the prize.
00:07:13.960 And don't be afraid to realize you can be part of multiple groups.
00:07:16.100 Exactly.
00:07:16.720 Exactly.
00:07:17.240 I mean, that's the beauty of it.
00:07:18.940 And you're absolutely right.
00:07:20.140 I think the intent, the goals are the same.
00:07:23.200 It doesn't serve us to attack one another.
00:07:25.440 It serves us to grow the movement.
00:07:27.380 I'm, as you know, I live, breathe, and die everything Alberta.
00:07:31.140 So that's what I'd love to see is that prosperity come back to the province, a province that's unbridled in terms of developing its resources, oil or otherwise, right?
00:07:41.260 There's an attack on agriculture to our other big industry here in Alberta.
00:07:44.940 So I would say that that's enough.
00:07:47.780 And, you know, answering back your question about emissions targets, I look at Albertans, and they're inherently environmentally responsible.
00:07:55.640 They're conservationists.
00:07:56.860 They're folks that recycle.
00:07:58.900 They're folks that don't idle their cars.
00:08:01.620 Albertans are inherently stewards of the land, and they're inherently environmentalists.
00:08:06.740 What we're now doing is taking it far to the extreme where, hey, it's minus 5,000 for six months of the year here.
00:08:14.200 What do you expect, right?
00:08:15.380 What do you expect us to do, or how do we live?
00:08:17.980 So those are the things, and I really think that environmental growth will come out of technology and innovation, not out of taxation and government mandates and emission regulations.
00:08:27.260 Well, and that mischaracterization of people in the energy sector as being some sort of rape and pillage ogres who just want to tear things out.
00:08:33.980 Like, I spent 20 years in the field as a surveyor.
00:08:36.440 It wasn't because I like freezing my knackers off or sweating on the Texas Gulf or things like that.
00:08:40.440 It's because I loved working outside.
00:08:41.800 I loved seeing the wildlife.
00:08:43.140 I didn't kill the rattlesnakes on site in Texas because I thought they were cool.
00:08:46.840 I didn't shoot the bears I encountered when I was up north because it's their turf.
00:08:50.580 I mean, I was ready. 0.96
00:08:51.500 I had to protect my own butt, but I loved it. 0.97
00:08:53.940 I live at home now. 0.99
00:08:54.920 I've been talking on the show.
00:08:56.240 My beehive kept getting raided by a black bear.
00:08:58.580 People say, why didn't you shoot it?
00:08:59.540 Well, because I don't want to.
00:09:00.700 I like the bear.
00:09:01.540 I just have to better protect my hive.
00:09:03.540 But there's hundreds of thousands of energy workers, agricultural workers, all sorts of people.
00:09:08.920 They love the outdoors.
00:09:09.840 They don't want to ruin it.
00:09:10.740 They don't want to make it any worse.
00:09:12.240 They just want to develop it in a responsible way.
00:09:15.780 And we have been.
00:09:16.440 We don't get credit for it.
00:09:17.660 No.
00:09:18.040 No, we don't.
00:09:19.140 If anything, we get attacked for it.
00:09:21.080 Like, that's even worse.
00:09:21.960 It's like getting credit is one thing.
00:09:23.940 We don't need anybody's approval, but at least get out of the way.
00:09:27.700 And that's the thing we get attacked for.
00:09:30.540 Yeah.
00:09:31.040 Well, again, we just got to keep getting together, allying ourselves, and education pushing back.
00:09:37.560 Like I said, I don't know if you caught much of the interview with Don, but it was similar in another way with EMS.
00:09:41.440 But it's just saying, get together with your neighbors, meet.
00:09:44.140 We can fix this.
00:09:44.760 There's bigger issues to fix, too.
00:09:46.120 Right.
00:09:46.340 But here's the smaller ones we can do.
00:09:47.660 And to begin with, you got to network, you got to get together.
00:09:49.780 Exactly.
00:09:50.200 And a lot of these problems are fixable, Corey.
00:09:52.340 I mean, again, a lot of our problems here are made in Canada. 0.69
00:09:55.100 So a lot of them are fixable.
00:09:56.380 So just get the government out of the way.
00:09:58.900 Let industries do what they need to do.
00:10:01.340 This is an industry that's not looking for handouts.
00:10:04.680 And it's really just looking at the government getting out of the way, and it will do what it needs to do and do it responsibly to.
00:10:11.820 Great.
00:10:12.320 Well, maybe we'll just kind of review one more time.
00:10:14.180 Where can people find information on where to get to this event?
00:10:16.720 So the Alberta Prosperity Project website is your best option.
00:10:21.080 Under the events link, you'll get information on the event.
00:10:25.220 It's October 28th.
00:10:26.420 So not this Friday, next Friday at the Weston Calgary Airport.
00:10:30.140 Starts at 5 o'clock with the networking.
00:10:31.840 And then at 7 o'clock is the actual presentations.
00:10:34.940 Tickets are $50.
00:10:36.260 And it's totally worth it.
00:10:37.540 I would absolutely recommend it.
00:10:38.980 Come down, come have a visit, a bite, a drink, and then listen to the presentations.
00:10:43.860 Hey, let's face it, a movie cost pretty much as much once everything's packed into it now.
00:10:48.360 Anyways, this would be good.
00:10:49.880 And again, there's a reason that Epstein has such a huge following because he's very articulate on this issue.
00:10:54.320 And you can't go there and listen to him speak and not learn some good stuff while you're at it.
00:10:58.180 Absolutely.
00:10:59.020 Absolutely.
00:10:59.540 Thanks, Corey.
00:10:59.900 All right.
00:11:00.060 Well, it was great seeing you again.
00:11:01.560 Glad to see that.
00:11:02.280 Yes, maybe you took off that cowboy hat.
00:11:03.900 There you go.
00:11:04.100 You're still wearing that activist hat and working for Albertan.
00:11:06.860 So I appreciate it.
00:11:07.740 Always.
00:11:08.100 I appreciate that.
00:11:08.600 Thank you.
00:11:08.900 And I'm sure we'll talk again soon.
00:11:14.000 Alberta Prosperity Project is dedicated to protecting Alberta's world-class energy sector
00:11:18.480 and has invited Alex Epstein, American author of the best-selling new book, Fossil Future,
00:11:24.000 to speak on the importance of fossil fuels
00:11:26.000 and the vital role they play in our economy.
00:11:29.020 Join us on Friday, October 28th at the Westin-Calgary Airport
00:11:32.240 for beef and beer with Alex Epstein.
00:11:35.280 You will not want to miss this.
00:11:37.280 Buy your tickets at www.albertaprosperityevents.com today.
00:11:42.480 You can become a Western Standard member for just $10 a month
00:11:45.440 or $99 a year for unlimited access.