Posts Tagged ‘Save the Toronto Bluffs’
Toronto Observer: New Scarborough Councillor Opposes Wind Turbine Project
Toronto Observer: New Scarborough Councillor Opposes Wind Turbine Project
Cole Carruthers, Kyle Larkin
Published 24 January 2011
Newly elected Coun. Gary Crawford hopes that the proposed wind turbine project in his ward will amount to nothing but hot air – and his opinion is making him popular with local environmental groups.
The Ward 36 representative’s says the turbines high pricetag far outweigh any benefits.
“I am completely against it, they just don’t make sense at an economic level. The cost is too much,” Crawford said Tuesday.
Local protest group Save the Bluffs state on their website that consumers pay an average of 2.5 times more for power generated from wind turbines than normal system prices.
The group also claims wind turbines erected too close to residential areas can affect the health of nearby residents.
But moving the turbines further out can drive the cost even higher, Crawford said.
“It’s more economically feasible to have them closer to shore,” he said. “The cost increases the farther away you place them, it becomes directly high.”
Toronto Hydro wants to erect the wind turbines on the shores of Ward 36. The ongoing debate is whether enough research has been done into the long-term effects of the turbines.
Local environmental groups worry that there could be negative environmental effects on the land in addition to potential health issues for the community.
John Laforet, president of Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of dozens of anti-wind turbine groups from across the province, welcomes Crawford’s take on the matter.
“It’s important that he is against it, it’s a city project and if they’re not happy with it the city can tell Toronto Hydro there is no project,” Laforet said.
Michelle Mears, office manager for Bluffer’s Park Marina hasn’t heard any of the residents complain about the turbine project.
“The people who are against the proposal are the advocates from Guildwood, the residents from the marina are not too concerned to my knowledge,” she said.
2 Comments »Today Will Be My First Time at UTSC Since McGuinty Tried to Have Me Arrested for Protesting; This Time I Will Be Delivering a Guest Lecture
This time it’s to give a guest lecture to an Environmental Science class on the Environmental Assessment process. I am going to explore the flaws with environmental planning in Ontario, the process and the negative impact this has on democracy, the environment and project planning. These are essentially the beliefs I was fighting for when I organized a protest to meet Dalton McGuinty on his first visit to Scarborough since coming out swinging against residents when he announced a law to take our rights away.
We were fighting to participate in a fair and open process when we lost the rights to participate at all. The Green Energy Act also removed the requirement for an environmental assessment for renewable energy projects; in addition to denying local municipalities the right to issue building permits for projects or develop local planning controls of renewable energy projects, the roads, transmission lines and other infrastructure pieces they impact.
What you will notice is opposition has strengthened since the Premier tried to legislate our rights away, and in Scarborough we’re stronger now than before he tried to have me arrested for planning a protest against his undemocratic, donor written attack on democracy. голова болит секс
There are consequences to denying citizen participation, ending environmental protection, outlawing local planning and gutting oversight. These are topics I have discussed publicly and privately since February and I am honoured to have the opportunity to deliver a guest lecture to an upper year Environmental Science class on these themes, especially on a campus where these views had me threatened with arrest less than two months ago.
The fact that I’ve been invited to deliver a lecture on this demonstrates there is a willingness within the academic community to understand the process failures that exist.
I’ve spoken to high school students about active citizenship, the need to participate in decision making and stand up for the things you believe in. Recently I’ve participated in thesis work by two Masters students exploring the cause of opposition to Toronto Hydro’s proposal, and another who was exploring the impacts of the Green Energy Act on planning, assessments and participation. It is clear this is an issue that isn’t going away, and one that I am proud to be continuing to push along.
3 Comments »Save The Toronto Bluffs Granted Intervenor Status at Ontario Energy Board Hearing into TO Hydro's Streetlight Asset Sale
I have been granted Intervenor status on behalf of Save the Toronto Bluffs at the Ontario Energy Board hearing into Toronto Hydro Energy Services (a 100% owned subsidary of Toronto Hydro Corporation) proposed sale of it’s streetlight assets to a numbered shell company owned 100% by Toronto Hydro Electric System (which is 100% owned by Toronto Hydro Corporation) for $60 Million dollars. Basically Toronto Hydro Corporation is looking to sell itself something it already owns, and with that ‘sale’ $60 million dollars will move from Toronto Hydro Electric System, the regulated entity that distributes power in the City of Toronto to it’s unregulated, financial loser arm, Toronto Hydro Energy Services.
Toronto Hydro Electric System employees and trucks already service these lines, but Toronto Hydro Corporation claims safety enhancements can be made by selling something they already own to themselves and continuing to use assets they already own and employees they already employ to continue to service these poles, they too already own.
You may remember these poles from those horrible incidences over the winter where family pets and small children were being electrocuted, and Toronto Hydro Energy Services failed to respond for months, until publicly humiliated into doing so.
Originally the poles were owned by the City of Toronto, for decades in fact, until David Soknacki as David Miller’s first budget chief ran out of money needed to balance the budget and decided to sell the front lawn of the Ontario Science Centre to the Provincial Government and sell the City’s streetlights to Toronto Hydro Energy Services for the remaining $60 million he needed. The best part was then too, even though it was already Toronto Hydro trucks servicing this infrastructure enhanced safety was cited as a benefit. That was before the tragic death of family pets, and the electrocution of small children brought on by poor maintenance, a lack of understanding of the infrastructure and a denial of the problem.
Moving these poles into Toronto Hydro Electric Services and licensing them as part of the distribution system for Toronto (which they are not) would move the liability directly onto the shoulders of rate payers, in addition to allowing the City to cease paying for the upkeep of these poles or their energy usage and instead passing those costs directly onto residential, commercial and industrial customers of Toronto Hydro.
I am looking forward to using the opportunity to be an Intervenor at these hearings to seek evidence from Toronto Hydro Energy Services, Toronto Hydro Electric System, the shell company and Toronto Hydro Corporation to determine the merit behind the enhanced safety claims, the merit of an internal wealth transfer, and the impacts this could have on customer’s bills.
Members of Save the Toronto Bluffs will be seeking to represent the interests of all Torontonian ratepayers at the Ontario Energy Board hearing and will be fighting to keep unnecessary increases to your bills from happening in addition to forcing transparency on a corporation in desperate need of an airing out.
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