Reflections
By Bonnie Hutchinson
Play the cards you've been dealt
Play the cards you've been dealt
As a young adult, I was exposed to the phrase, “Play the cards you’ve been dealt.”
I was not and am not a skilled cards player. In Hearts, I consistently get the Queen of Spades–a sure way to lose. I stopped playing Bridge because my bidding was so inept that I antagonized all potential partners. I’ve been told, “Don’t even think about playing Poker,” because my face cannot keep a secret. Regardless of skill level, I do get the point. In card games we have no choice but to play the cards we’ve been dealt. In life, if we’re smart, we’ll do that too. In that context, I appreciated a news item about Vulcan and Southern Alberta.
***
“New electric vehicle charging station up and running in Vulcan,” was the headline in the Vulcan Advocate. The photo showed eight Vulcan town councillors and corporate representatives at the ribbon-cutting grand opening on Nov. 15. This is part of a bigger story. The Vulcan site is one of 20 electric vehicle (EV) charging locations across Southern Alberta.
Megan Lohmann, project manager for Peaks to Prairies EV Networks Community Energy Association, said, “Three months ago before any of these were installed it would be very difficult to travel through Southern Alberta with an electric vehicle. Because of the collaboration between funders and host communities, we have now addressed those gaps so now it allows for a lot more reliable travel.”
She said, “It’s getting a lot better across Canada.” For example, Petro Canada and Canadian Tire are starting to host charging stations. “Gaps still remain in rural areas, so the intent of this project is to get off the main highway and fill in that regional gap,” she added. “We can draw drivers into these small communities for economic and tourism benefit.”
That’s seeing an opportunity in the cards we’ve been dealt–the rise of vehicles not solely dependent on petroleum products.
***
Once upon a time, the horse was a major vehicle of land transportation for people and goods. And once upon a time, steam engines and motor vehicles were invented. Horse breeders and buggy manufacturers and a whole lot of other people had their livelihoods wiped out. It wasn’t fair. Plus, we now know that some of the bi-products of motorized vehicles are bad for the planet. That in turn is bad for millions of people. That too is true.
But it doesn’t change the fact the people whose livelihoods were dependent on horses had their livelihoods wiped out, through no fault of their own, by forces they could not control. Definitely not fair.
That’s the cards they were dealt.
There are things we can control (our own actions, words, thoughts and emotions) and things we cannot control (pretty much everything else).
The faster we do whatever we can to understand the things we cannot control–the cards we’ve been dealt–the faster we can start figuring out how we can best deal with those facts of life, using what we can control.
So…it seems obvious that oil is not coming back the way it was. We had a pretty good run for more than half a century. We can be grateful, but we almost certainly cannot bring it back. The world has changed. Outside people have said bad things about us? Yep, fact of life. Let’s acknowledge and move on.
It’s also true that public opinion about climate change and the environment makes alternate sources of energy more attractive to generations and nations of people. That’s the emerging market. That too is the cards we’ve been dealt.
That’s why I was thrilled to read that Vulcan and the communities of Southern Alberta are creating a network of electric vehicle charging stations. That’s seeing emerging opportunities in the cards we’ve been dealt. Will it change the world? No, but it’s thinking forward.
***
I’d love to hear from you! If you have comments about this column or suggestions for future topics, send a note to Bonnie@BonnieHutchinson.com. I’ll happily reply within one business day.
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I was not and am not a skilled cards player. In Hearts, I consistently get the Queen of Spades–a sure way to lose. I stopped playing Bridge because my bidding was so inept that I antagonized all potential partners. I’ve been told, “Don’t even think about playing Poker,” because my face cannot keep a secret. Regardless of skill level, I do get the point. In card games we have no choice but to play the cards we’ve been dealt. In life, if we’re smart, we’ll do that too. In that context, I appreciated a news item about Vulcan and Southern Alberta.
***
“New electric vehicle charging station up and running in Vulcan,” was the headline in the Vulcan Advocate. The photo showed eight Vulcan town councillors and corporate representatives at the ribbon-cutting grand opening on Nov. 15. This is part of a bigger story. The Vulcan site is one of 20 electric vehicle (EV) charging locations across Southern Alberta.
Megan Lohmann, project manager for Peaks to Prairies EV Networks Community Energy Association, said, “Three months ago before any of these were installed it would be very difficult to travel through Southern Alberta with an electric vehicle. Because of the collaboration between funders and host communities, we have now addressed those gaps so now it allows for a lot more reliable travel.”
She said, “It’s getting a lot better across Canada.” For example, Petro Canada and Canadian Tire are starting to host charging stations. “Gaps still remain in rural areas, so the intent of this project is to get off the main highway and fill in that regional gap,” she added. “We can draw drivers into these small communities for economic and tourism benefit.”
That’s seeing an opportunity in the cards we’ve been dealt–the rise of vehicles not solely dependent on petroleum products.
***
Once upon a time, the horse was a major vehicle of land transportation for people and goods. And once upon a time, steam engines and motor vehicles were invented. Horse breeders and buggy manufacturers and a whole lot of other people had their livelihoods wiped out. It wasn’t fair. Plus, we now know that some of the bi-products of motorized vehicles are bad for the planet. That in turn is bad for millions of people. That too is true.
But it doesn’t change the fact the people whose livelihoods were dependent on horses had their livelihoods wiped out, through no fault of their own, by forces they could not control. Definitely not fair.
That’s the cards they were dealt.
There are things we can control (our own actions, words, thoughts and emotions) and things we cannot control (pretty much everything else).
The faster we do whatever we can to understand the things we cannot control–the cards we’ve been dealt–the faster we can start figuring out how we can best deal with those facts of life, using what we can control.
So…it seems obvious that oil is not coming back the way it was. We had a pretty good run for more than half a century. We can be grateful, but we almost certainly cannot bring it back. The world has changed. Outside people have said bad things about us? Yep, fact of life. Let’s acknowledge and move on.
It’s also true that public opinion about climate change and the environment makes alternate sources of energy more attractive to generations and nations of people. That’s the emerging market. That too is the cards we’ve been dealt.
That’s why I was thrilled to read that Vulcan and the communities of Southern Alberta are creating a network of electric vehicle charging stations. That’s seeing emerging opportunities in the cards we’ve been dealt. Will it change the world? No, but it’s thinking forward.
***
I’d love to hear from you! If you have comments about this column or suggestions for future topics, send a note to Bonnie@BonnieHutchinson.com. I’ll happily reply within one business day.
