The government of Nova Scotia, it appears, needs to invest some energy into energy. A new report by GPIAtlantic, an independent, non-profit research organization, concludes that the province is on the verge of an energy crisis that requires immediate action.

Much of the 400-page study is far from reassuring. All of Nova Scotia’s oil is imported, leaving the province at the mercy of price fluctuations and an unstable marketplace. Nova Scotians are among the highest energy users in the world, with total demand up 12% since 1991. The province’s heavy reliance on coal, which is also imported, produces per-capita sulphur dioxide emissions that are seven times the Canadian average. Nova Scotia Power is Canada’s fourth-worst air polluter.

And the list goes on.

Indeed, there is lots of bad news tucked inside The Energy Accounts for the Nova Scotia Genuine Progress Index, which took two years to complete. Part of the reason for the volume and depth of information in the report lies in the process used by GPIAtlantic. The Halifax-based research group says its genuine progress index goes beyond a simple equating of progress with economic growth. It links the economy with social and environmental variables to create a more comprehensive and accurate measurement that ensures critical social and environmental factors do not remain invisible.

The GPI assigns explicit value to community assets such as health, education, volunteer work and environmental quality. “By contrast,” notes the organization, “the gross domestic product counts the depletion of natural resources as economic gain, sending the misleading message that the more trees that are cut down and the more fish that are caught, the ‘better off’ society is.”

For the study, indicators for 30 economic, social, health, environmental and institutional trends were used to measure progress in the province’s energy sector. Only two indicators (energy-related mercury and particulate matter emissions) have shown clear signs of improvement, and even they are still at unacceptably high levels, say Judith Lipp and Seth Cain, the authors of the study

One area for concern is the proportion of electricity-generating capacity from renewable resources, which has actually declined in the past 20 years. At the same time, Nova Scotia exports almost all its natural gas.

At least, that appears to be the picture. The GPIAtlantic study points out that much of the data needed to “to produce well-informed policy and track progress” simply don’t exist. There are, for instance, no statistics from the provincial government on energy efficiency, which is central to electricity generation and transmission, equipment, building management and industrial processes. Crucial information on provincial programs such as the energy rebate initiative, designed to help low-income families with energy costs, is also lacking.

There is no lack of advice, however. The report contains 23 pages of recommendations. Among them, the group says, the provincial government should set ambitious targets to increase the portion of renewable energy produced and used in the province, and expand combined heat and power generation.

It also says concerted conservation and energy efficiency measures should be put in place, and long-term reduction targets for all pollutant emissions be established.

Now we wait. A spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power publicly stated the report’s recommendations were “good.” The provincial government, which contributed to part of the cost of preparing the report, also seems to endorse many of its recommendations, perhaps more so in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which sent gasoline prices spiralling higher and made North Americans more aware that existing energy sources won’t last forever.

But how long public awareness of the impending energy crisis lasts is another question. Nova Scotians are already breathing a little easier, now that gasoline is down to 94.9¢ a litre at the pumps. IE