Alberta’s Coal Moratorium
October 13, 2025 By: Jeff van der Ploeg
When I first read about the Alberta government’s decision to lift the coal mining moratorium on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains, it reminded me of conservation efforts that prioritize economic benefit or resource extraction over preserving natural landscapes. It strikes me that the government appears to be bending the knee to coal companies, which threatened the Alberta government with $15 billion in lawsuits following the original moratorium. Reading Worster (1990) reminds us that environmental conservation is always political; it is never just about protecting nature. Instead, the debate revolves around who gets to use what and for what purpose. In this situation, is the land so pristine and beautiful that naturalists or the public have the right to enjoy its beauty, or can ranchers continue to benefit from clean water and grazing pasture? Or are foreign-owned entities allowed to profit from our resources to boost their quarterly returns? It is no surprise that the same questions asked centuries ago continue to arise today.
References
CBC News. (2025, January 16). Alberta government lifts ban on coal exploration in eastern slopes. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/aer-grassy-mountain-eastern-slopes-brian-jean-1.7436871
Worster, D. (1990). Transformations of the Earth: Toward an agroecological perspective in history. The Journal of American History, 76(4), 1087–1106. https://doi.org/10.2307/2936586
Hi Jeff, I think you raised a crucial point about the inherently political nature of conservation. The Alberta case also shows how “resource security” rhetoric can disguise economic anxiety, governments often justify extraction as national interest while externalizing ecological costs to future generations. Worster’s reminder feels even sharper here: once land is turned into capital, its ecological meaning becomes negotiable. What troubles me most is that lifting the moratorium re-opens not just mines, but the historical pattern of short-term profit over long-term stewardship.