Energy
Oil and gas in our lives: Women’s World Cup of Soccer
Players react moments after Australia’s forward #16 Hayley Raso (unseen) scored her team’s second goal during the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women’s World Cup Group B football match between Canada and Australia at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on July 31, 2023. Getty Images photo
This article from Shawn Logan of the Canadian Energy Centre Ltd.
‘The beautiful game’ wouldn’t look the same without petroleum products
The Adidas OCEAUNZ, official ball of the 2023 Women’s World Cup of Soccer, soars through the air, its polyurethane skin a blur as it arcs toward the goal.
The goalie makes a desperate dive across the emerald green natural turf – strengthened at the root for durability by flexible polypropylene fibres – to make the stop.
The ‘keeper’s hands, sheathed in high-tech gloves made primarily from latex and polyurethane, reach for the streaking ball.
The crowd leaps up from their moulded plastic seats as the ball hits the back of the net, an interlacing spiderweb most commonly made from polyethylene or nylon.
As soccer fans prepare for the Women’s World Cup final in Australia and New Zealand, it’s difficult to imagine how different the event, which is expected to be viewed by a staggering 2 billon people around the world, would look and feel without products derived from oil and gas.
At field level, nearly every practical aspect of the game relies on or is impacted by petroleum-based gear.
From the synthetic leather turf cleats and polyester jerseys to the players’ benches, water bottles and medical equipment that adorn the sidelines, all are made possible from the contributions of oil and gas products.
When a referee flashes a yellow or red card, it’s often made from a sturdy polyvinyl chloride, more commonly known as PVC.
Extending beyond the field, that trend continues.
From plastic spectator seating to polycarbonate scoreboards to advertising placards in and around the arena, all are thanks to the contributions of oil and gas. The event lights that encircle the arenas and the broadcasting equipment that allow the world to cheer their countries also rely heavily on products derived from petroleum.
Even the competing nations’ flags that drape the facilities are made from nylon and polyester.
With an expected 1.5 million spectators taking in the action in Australia and New Zealand, most will have had to travel by air or vehicle, which largely require oil and gas to operate.
And when Canada’s women return home – unfortunately without the result they wanted (Tokyo’s Olympic gold medal helps to ease the pain a bit) – they’ll arrive on an airplane built with light-weight polymers and carbon fibre that will touch down on a smooth runway made of asphalt and concrete, neither of which would be possible without oil and gas.
So while some may yearn for a return to the days of less aerodynamic leather balls, heavy cotton jerseys and fragile natural turf, the impact on “the beautiful game” would be enormous.
“If Ottawa had it’s way Albertans would be left to freeze in the dark”
The ineffective federal net-zero electricity regulations will not reduce emissions or benefit Albertans but will increase costs and lead to supply shortages.
The risk of power outages during a hot summer or the depths of harsh winter cold snaps, are not unrealistic outcomes if these regulations are implemented. According to the Alberta Electric System Operator’s analysis, the regulations in question would make Alberta’s electricity system more than 100 times less reliable than the province’s supply adequacy standard. Albertans expect their electricity to remain affordable and reliable, but implementation of these regulations could increase costs by a staggering 35 per cent.
Canada’s constitution is clear. Provinces have exclusive jurisdiction over the development, conservation and management of sites and facilities in the province for the generation and production of electrical energy. That is why Alberta’s government is referring the constitutionality of the federal government’s recent net-zero electricity regulations to the Court of Appeal of Alberta.
“The federal government refused to work collaboratively or listen to Canadians while developing these regulations. The results are ineffective, unachievable and irresponsible, and place Albertans’ livelihoods – and more importantly, lives – at significant risk. Our government will not accept unconstitutional net-zero regulations that leave Albertans vulnerable to blackouts in the middle of summer and winter when they need electricity the most.”
“The introduction of the Clean Electricity Regulations in Alberta by the federal government is another example of dangerous federal overreach. These regulations will create unpredictable power outages in the months when Albertans need reliable energy the most. They will also cause power prices to soar in Alberta, which will hit our vulnerable the hardest.”
Finalized in December 2024, the federal electricity regulations impose strict carbon limits on fossil fuel power, in an attempt to force a net-zero grid, an unachievable target given current technology and infrastructure. The reliance on unproven technologies makes it almost impossible to operate natural gas plants without costly upgrades, threatening investment, grid reliability, and Alberta’s energy security.
“Ottawa’s electricity regulations will leave Albertans in the dark. They aren’t about reducing emissions – they are unconstitutional, ideological activist policies based on standards that can’t be met and technology that doesn’t exist. It will drive away investment and punish businesses, provinces and families for using natural gas for reliable, dispatchable power. We will not put families at risk from safety and affordability impacts – rationing power during the coldest days of the year – and we will continue to stand up for Albertans.”
“Albertans depend on electricity to provide for their families, power their businesses and pursue their dreams. The federal government’s Clean Electricity Regulations threaten both the affordability and reliability of our power grid, and we will not stand by as these regulations put the well-being of Albertans at risk.”
Related information
- Conference Board of Canada socio-economic Impacts of Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan – (April 2025)
- Alberta Electric System Operator’s position on Canadian Energy Regulations
Oh, Canada
We find it endlessly fascinating that most Canadians believe they live in a representative democracy, where aspiring candidates engage in authentic politicking to earn their place in office. So accustomed are Canada’s power brokers to getting their way, they rarely bother to cover their tracks. A careful reading of the notoriously pliant Canadian press makes anticipating future events in the country surprisingly straightforward.
Back in December, when Pierre Poilievre was given better than 90% odds of replacing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—and Mark Carney was still just an uncharismatic banker few had heard of—we engaged in some not-so-speculative dot-connecting and correctly predicted Carney’s rise to the top spot. Our interest was driven by the notoriously rocky relationship between Ottawa and the Province of Alberta, home to one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves, and how Carney’s rise might be a catalyst for resetting Canada’s energy trajectory. In a follow-up article titled “The Fix Is In,” we laid out a few more predictions:
“Here’s how the play is likely to unfold in the weeks and months ahead: Carney will be elected Prime Minister on April 28 by a comfortable margin; [Alberta Premier Danielle] Smith will trigger a constitutional crisis, providing cover for Carney to strike a grand bargain that finally resolves longstanding tensions between the provinces and Ottawa; and large infrastructure permitting reform will fall into place. Protests against these developments will be surprisingly muted, and those who do take to the streets will be largely ignored by the media. The entire effort will be wrapped in a thicket of patriotism, with Trump portrayed as a threat even greater than climate change itself. References to carbon emissions will slowly fade…
In parallel, we expect Trump and Carney to swiftly strike a favorable deal on tariffs, padding the latter’s bona fides just as his political capital will be most needed.”
The votes have barely been counted, yet the next moves are already unfolding…
“Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she’ll make it easier for citizens to initiate a referendum on the province’s future in Canada, after warning that a Liberal win in Monday’s election could spur a groundswell of support for Alberta separatism. Smith said on Tuesday that a newly tabled elections bill will give everyday Albertans a bigger say in the province’s affairs.
‘(We’re giving) Albertans more ways to be directly involved in democracy, and to have their say on issues that matter to them,’ Smith told reporters in Edmonton.
If passed, the new law would dramatically lower the number of signatures needed to put a citizen-proposed constitutional referendum question on the ballot, setting a new threshold of 10 per cent of general election turnout — or just over 175,000, based on Alberta’s last provincial election in 2023.”
“US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking to make a trade deal and will visit the White House within the next week. Trump said he congratulated Carney on his election victory when the Canadian leader called on Tuesday.
‘He called me up yesterday – he said let’s make a deal,’ Trump told reporters at the White House after a televised Cabinet meeting.”
Remember where you read it first.
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