The Alberta royalty review continues to generate a predictable response from an industry which has seen costs rise more rapidly than prices in recent years. Even though Alberta’s take is comparatively low, Encana has announced it will withdraw $1 billion in investment if the new royalty recommendations are accepted by the province.

Elsewhere on the energy scene, Alberta looks to expand both wind and nuclear power, while Ontario reactors’ inability to deal with an unexpected spell of warm weather during maintenance outage season made electricity imports necessary.

Globally, questions are increasingly raised over the global warming effects of both ethanol production and hydro-power dams.

In environmental news the drought in Australia and the Ukraine has led to record wheat prices and concerns over feeding the world's poor. The Arctic warms ever more rapidly, for some an opportunity to exploit new resources, rather than a problem. If warming continues to accelerate, it just might become an 'insurmountable opportunity'.

'All bets are off'

In the 10 days since a provincially appointed panel dropped its bombshell report recommending that Alberta play hardball with the oilpatch, work inside Calgary's office towers has turned from planning growth to assessing damage and even eyeing an exodus....

...."Everybody is holding their breath right now," said Hal Walker, a long-time provincial Tory and real-estate developer who is critical of the review process. "All bets are off."....

....Deutsche Bank highlighted the escalating risk of investing in the province: "Risk, risk and risk, and there's risk. Above all, be warned about risk," it said.

As out of character as the panel recommendations seem in business friendly Alberta, observers say it has big support in rural Alberta and in Edmonton, areas that believe they have suffered the downside of the oilsands driven boom, while not reaping enough of the benefits.