Greatly agree.
(2) many of these resources are more expensive to obtain than the cheaper sources already available.
I disagree on that point. As proof why that is not the case I look to the Alberta Oil Sands. Some of the most expensive oil to produce in commercial operation in the world. The industry is investing over $150 billion there in new facilities and expansions.
Inventory of Major Alberta Projects
http://www.alberta-canada.com/statpub/albertaConstructionProjects/mpindex.cfm
Scroll down, select "Oilsands" and click "Submit"
as long as the marketplace is allowed to make the decision on how best to obtain the energy we need.
If our government opened many of our resources to exploration and production and not just for oil/gas, I would not have a problem either. But instead we get very promising resources removed from the marketplace and targeted subsidies of uneconomic processes like much of the ethanol and wind.
Glad to see that Canada is thinking ahead. Of course, they have a vested interest in doing so since oil is one of their biggest exports. Obviously, they see demand rising and want to be ready for it. $150 billion is not a lot of money considering the price of oil and the demand. Two offshore drilling rigs cost $1.5 billion. And the Saudis pump 8 million bbls a day. Even at $90 a bbl that is $720 million a day in sales.