Radical Open Mindedness

I consider myself an environmentalist. I have lived the majority of my life living in either Calgary, Alberta or Victoria, British Columbia where nature is close by. I used to think oil & gas was the enemy. At one time I vowed never to work in the industry, close minded and ignorant in my ways. And then after living in Calgary as an adult for a number of years my views started to change, and I started to question things. Where did the battery on my hybrid civic come from? How were solar panels made? Gosh, solar fields take up a lot of land, and so do those wind farms. We pass pump jacks all the time driving to my in-law’s farm and they don’t look so bad. Burning corn for fuel also seems like a waste of good land too. What happens on days when it’s not sunny or windy? What are those panels and wind turbines made of and how long do they last?

After I started to have all these questions, the unthinkable happened, I started recruiting for a midstream engineering company that serviced the oil & gas industry. And you’ll never guess what happened? I met some really wonderful people from around the globe who came to Canada and in particular Calgary to be part of an industry that paid well in a city that offered a great quality of life and provided energy to people around the country and globe. And I learned these people cared as much about the planet as much as I did. I learned about pipelines. I learned about the environmental policies in Canada and how strong they are. There was a huge amount of miscommunication about oil & gas and it was only getting worse.

Flash to today, here we are in the middle of a global pandemic and the crash of oil prices. And something incredible has happened. Michael Moore released the documentary Planet of the Humans for free on You Tube. And it shook me to my core. This isn’t something I normally write about but everyone who likes to breath clean air, drink clean water, take a walk in nature, eat good food and raise healthy children needs to watch this movie. This movie at this time in history while we are all at home is the greatest gift we could be given. It is time to wake up to an industry that has been selling us a bag of tricks for far too long. And it’s not the industry you might think.

I’m still reading Principles by Ray Dalio (I don’t know why it’s taking me so long but it’s full of gems). He talks about the importance of being radically open minded. What does it mean to be radically open minded? It means recognizing that we are all wired differently, take in information differently, and therefore, have different points of view. It also means being open to fact that our way but not be the best way. I try so hard to be open minded while not always successful, as I get older, I understand more and more the importance of listening to all sides of a debate. Ray also touches on appreciating the art of thoughtful disagreement which is something that gets lost on the keyboards of people getting angry over differing points-of-views. Having a radically open mind will help you get through this movie if you are anti-gas-and-oil, I promise. Radical open mindedness also means taking the emotion out of your point-of-view. We have all seen people and even been in the situation ourselves when someone challenges our point-of-view and we get angry. And that is our egos. I have gone from being opposed to the oil & gas industry to an advocate for it while maintaining my love of trees. Why? Because I was willing to listen. And I’m still willing to listen to people who oppose my point-of-view. But I’m on a personal mission now to tell everyone I know to watch this movie. After watching you can still be opposed to oil and gas. But if that’s the case you also have to oppose current wind, solar, biomass (oh dear god especially biomass) technology because they are terribly inefficient, destroying our planet faster than O&G and reliant on O&G – pretty much the exact opposite of what they are meant to do.

Again, this is a lot more than I normally talk about but never has something been more important. The movie is a lot to take in and it can leave you feeling helpless. But I believe that human innovation has and always will be the way forward. Watch the movie and enjoy today’s meditation. It’s time to do better and be open minded. We are all in us together folks, now more than ever.