A fortunate blend of resources and resourcefulness has brought Alberta and this country to where it is today.

In almost every index which measures quality of life around the world, Canada always comes up near the top, and we continue to attract newcomers who want to be a part of our future.

We have a lot to be thankful for because it took generations of tenacity and hard work to forge this success.

It is easy for some of us, surrounded by the comforts of our time, especially if we are not part of the recently laid off energy workers, to find fault with our recent history.

Fueling this anxiety are notions our economy is not diversified and we are destroying the environment.

But if past governments, politicians and policies were so inept in handling diversification and environment, why then, is our province and country the envy of the world?

The answer is clear. We had to work with what we were given. Past politicians were no less concerned with the environment and diversification than this current crop.

Alberta, which created one of the first provincial Ministries of Environment in Canada in 1971, has a rich history of supporting new industrial efforts. While failures such as Novatel and Mag Can dominate our imagination, there were also huge successes, like the entire petrochemical industry which has become so important for our export earnings.

To be sure, criticizing is simple and the critics are always numerous. But creating well-paying, non-government jobs is difficult. Detractors of the resource industry have an almost reflexive answer as they continually point out that renewable industry will provide better jobs.

No doubt these jobs will be good, but we still need a certain level of honesty.

There are thousands of electrical workers employed in the resource industry which brings the foreign currency needed to buy wind turbines and solar panels.

Diversification will not happen when people are not working and not generating enough wealth to afford an economically sustainable transition.

We are major exporters of energy, petrochemicals, lumber, wheat, beef and some manufactured goods and processed foods. We also have a healthy tourism industry.

Even as we expand our service industry, foreign earnings mostly come from the resource industry, and this will not change in the foreseeable future. Exporting resources is not only a part of our history, but also an important part of our future. It is a future which includes both rural areas and the cities.

Some critics of the resource industry are raising alarm that development in the eastern slopes of the Rockies threatens the water supply of our cities. This is a winning argument when presented to city dwellers without the proper context of the strict environmental regulations under which our industry operates. This argument drives an unnecessary wedge between city and rural dwellers, and if left to stand, will hurt both.

While extraction happens far away from the cities, be it west or north, the planning, engineering, regulatory work and many support industries are in the very heart of our cities. Calgary’s massive downturn is the most recent example of what happens when there are problems further afield.

We are all in this together, and we must be vigilant of those who would like to exploit the rural/urban wedge to push their own agenda, be it conservation or otherwise.

Extracting minerals efficiently, and mitigating the environmental impact of the industry, takes a lot of specialized knowledge and this activity makes us no less resourceful than many other leading nations.

Take for example Sweden, a country which is seen, by many, as a paragon of the modern state, built on the foundations of social and environmental responsibility. Sweden has a long history of iron ore mining and timber harvesting, but has also developed a modern, complex economy based on services such as engineering and precision manufacturing.

The country has developed a set of policies “so that Sweden maintains and strengthens its position as the [European Union’s] leading mining nation.” The Swedish policy model sees, “mining and minerals industry in harmony with the environment, culture and other industries.”

This could, and should, be a model for us in Alberta. We must remember there are trade-offs in everything.

While it is noble to do our part in fighting global climate change, we must do this with the clear understanding that the world does not owe us a living. This self-evident truth is especially urgent with the change of administration in Washington and their rally cry to put America first.