Last week, as part of our territorial election coverage, we included an editorial calling for a reliable road network connecting the communities across our vast home.

ItSA国际影视传媒檚 simple logic SA国际影视传媒� flying and barging into or out of remote communities is prohibitively expensive, preventing any real economic development. With roads we create a means for self-transport of goods, opening the door for individuals with innovative ideas to attempt to create business opportunities.

This is all well and good but on its own is incomplete for an economic model. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 not simply a case of build it and they will come SA国际影视传媒� these transport corridors need to fall into a larger strategy. The alternative is to end up like my birth province of Alberta, where a network of poorly made backcountry roads perpetually lead nowhere and swallow up county budgets.

Fortunately for us, the world happens to be in the midst of a global economic transformation SA国际影视传媒� one thatSA国际影视传媒檚 come some 50 years too late but at least itSA国际影视传媒檚 finally here. ISA国际影视传媒檓 of course talking about our climate emergency-induced push to renewable energy sources.

With the global automobile market pushing towards electronic vehicles SA国际影视传媒� China is projected to have converted almost its entire fleet by the next decade SA国际影视传媒� there wonSA国际影视传媒檛 be enough of a market left for the internal combustion engine for manufacturers to bother with it. EVs make good business sense too SA国际影视传媒� if you need a truck for your business but that truck never ventures far past city limits, you would be stupid not to invest in an EV truck. Minimal maintenance, 100 per cent torque and you never have to pay for gas again. As documented in the Inuvik Drum, last winter a man drove a Tesla EV to the Arctic coast and back without the benefit of any proper infrastructure, proving the technology is capable of handling the harsh conditions of the North SA国际影视传媒� and itSA国际影视传媒檚 only in its infancy.

Of course, to power electric vehicles you need electricity. Fortunately we now have an abundance of technology that can give us this for almost nothing. TheySA国际影视传媒檙e call solar panels and in a part of the world where the sun doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 set for over a month, they have proven to work very well. As documented here, a solar array on Herschel Island has allowed the community to be nearly diesel-free all summer long, not only helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions but saving thousands of dollars which can be invested in education, infrastructure or other local benefits. Solar has become such an amazing technology itSA国际影视传媒檚 hard to describe it without sounding like ISA国际影视传媒檓 a shill for the industry. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 extremely portable, able to be moved from one structure to another and literally the only thing you need for it is a roof, which ISA国际影视传媒檓 pretty sure we all have. Every single building in the NWT should have solar panels generating electricity from the sun. Every 3.5 kiloWatt hours of solar SA国际影视传媒� which you can get from 10 solar panels SA国际影视传媒� equates to one litre of diesel. Consider Yellowknife alone has 47 days of nonstop daylight. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 1128 hours of sunlight, or potentially 322 litres of diesel using the above formula SA国际影视传媒� for each building.

Green technology is not just a money saver, however, itSA国际影视传媒檚 a money maker. All these vehicles are going to need batteries, which need rare earth metals. With the NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 long history of mining projects, the territory could be a big supplier of material to get the green transition moving. One such rare earth mine already exists and presumably there are other formations of the needed minerals throughout the territory.

But if we want real economic security, we need to move past the boom and bust cycles of the extraction sector. We need to develop some sort of stable manufacturing industry to export goods. Currently, this already exists in Northern artwork, the economic viability of which would only be enhanced by the policies being proposed. But those who donSA国际影视传媒檛 have the patience needed to be successful artists need jobs too.

With our minimalist lifestyles on the frontier and infrastructure that would be in museum anywhere else in this country, the North clearly has the first two SA国际影视传媒淩sSA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒� reduce and re-use SA国际影视传媒� down pat. But weSA国际影视传媒檙e completely lacking in the third, recycling. A trip to any landfill in the territory will make it clear itSA国际影视传媒檚 not for a lack of material. A properly set up recycling industry could be an economic juggernaut, taking all the packing material, tires, electronics and other goods raining down on us from southern warehouses and turning them into composites, base metals and other useful cold-weather certified materials and selling them back to our southern neighbours.

Contrary to traditional political rhetoric, we donSA国际影视传媒檛 have to choose between health and wealth. With a holistic approach, we can have both.