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OFA seeks
moratorium
Canada's largest farm organization says the human health effects of wind energy developments must be understood before they are allowed to proceed furtherIt seems nothing is about to stop or even slow down Dalton McGuinty's quest to see Ontario's horizon punctuated by industrial wind turbines. Not the protests of those who have been forced to move from their homes due to health issues. Not environmental groups, or naturalists concerned about the disruption to wildlife and migratory patterns. Not the 44 municipalities that have called for a stop to wind development. Not the destructive impact industrial wind will have on tourism economies such as Prince Edward County, nor the concerns expressed by the grid operators themselves about how they will balance an influx of intermittent and dirty electricity.
Yet McGuinty's Liberal government continues to
plunge ahead, despite a growing chorus of voices calling for the province
to slow down and ask itself: Is the tradeoff right, reasonable and fair?
Yearlings guard their pasture beneath wind turbines on Wolfe Island
This past weekend the McGuinty government announced it was working with Korean conglomerate Samsung to build and erect turbines in Ontario. Through its Green Energy Act the province has removed public safeguards and protections to streamline the development process for wind energy corporations. . Further, it is paying these corporations 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour for wind energy, whether it can use the energy or not. This rate is double the rate consumers pay in Ontario and more than three times the cost the province actually paid for electricity on Monday.
This week we hear from three voices who are saying our economy and health cannot bear the cost of industrial wind energy.
Bette Jean Crews is president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), the largest voluntary general farm organization in the country. The OFA has more than 38,000 members, as well as 32 organizational members and affiliates representing most agricultural commodity groups.
Earlier this month Crews wrote to Minister of Environment John Gerretsen on behalf of her members, seeking a moratorium on wind energy projects until health impacts on residents living near such developments are better understood.
Crews noted in her letter that farmer members have a great deal to gain from wind energy but the health of rural landowners must be ensured before her organization will "promote" rather than "defend" green energy opportunities.
Crews observes that families have been uprooted and forced to sell their homes due to noise from a wind farm in Amaranth Township near Shelburne.
"I believe that people compelled to abandon their homes due to the wind development demands an immediate and thorough review," wrote Crews.
Minister of Agriculture Leona Dombrowsky reacted sharply to position of the OFA and questioned whether it was truly the position of its members.
"I find it interesting that on one hand they support their members benefitting from wind energy such as signing contracts that will deliver additional revenue to their operations, but on the other hand they are saying we should stop it," said Dombrowsky. "I am not sure that there is unanimity on this position within the OFA."
Dombrowsky says the evidence of the harm to human health caused by wind energy development isn't clear but the harm caused by coal generated electricity is well understood.
"We know coal kills people--we have that data from the OMA (Ontario Medical Association) on coal. What is the scientific perspective with wind energy? It is quite unclear."
The minister and MPP for Prince Edward Hastings said her government is committed to learning about the human health impacts of living near wind turbine developments.
"We announced last week the establishment of a research chair at a university in Ontario that will work with communities to determine what the appropriate mitigation would and should be, going forward. We need a research chair, so that we can say: our research tells us this is what must be considered, these are safe setbacks. And when there are issues these are best ways to mitigate."
But her government has a more urgent goal--one that won't be slowed or hobbled by cold feet on the part of an organization upon which it was relying for support.
"We want to put our stake in the ground as the green jurisdiction in the world," said Dombrowsky.
rick@wellingtontimes.ca