Rally against Gas-fired Power Plant in Oakville/Clarkson

I got this email and want to spread the word, so I'm including it in my blog.

Have you been keeping up with the news on this power plant? Decision Day is coming soon – August 31 we are told. If you need more information, go onto the following websites –
www.cmgra.ca
www.miranet.org
www.myoakville.org

The Oakville Beaver has many interesting articles that have been written as well. I am sure you can access them online.

We don’t need this Power Plant. We should be reducing our reliance on fossil fuel, not building more plants that add to greenhouse gas emissions. The government should also be considering the fact that the air in this area (the Clarkson Airshed) is already under stress (refer to the 2006 Clarkson Airshed Study.). Any Power Plant will add another 8 tons of harmful dioxins into our air EVERY DAY.

Oakville is planning our own Rally against any Power Plant. (Mississauga had theirs at the end of June.)

If you can attend, we need every body. It will last an hour max.

Tuesday July 28th at 7pm
*Rain or Shine*
The Chisholm Centre (1484 Cornwall Road, Oakville)

Spend one of these rainy days making a sign and bring it too. Get your neighbours and family to come as well.

Your support is greatly appreciated.

Ontario's Energy Options

In Ontario we currently have the capacity to generate 29,939 MW of power. Our primary energy sources are nuclear (50%), hydroelectricity (22%), coal (16%) and natural gas (6%). The Ontario government has pledged to phase out coal-fired plants, which emit 19% of all CO2 generated in Ontario, by 2014 and has proposed replacing this source of energy with additional nuclear reactors.

If our ultimate goal is to meet the energy needs of Ontarians while optimizing our reduction of greenhouse gases, we need to determine the following:

• Which energy investment will reduce greenhouse gases at the lowest cost per tonne reduced?
• Which energy source can be brought into use most rapidly, at the lowest cost, creating the most jobs?

Using this approach, energy efficiency improvements rank first, followed closely by renewable energy sources; nuclear comes in dead last. Nuclear energy reactors take about 10 years to build. All phases of the process are extremely expensive and dirty; from uranium mining, refining and transport, to plant construction and maintenance, to nuclear waste management. And then there is the question of how long they will remain safely operational.
Pickering has permanently shut down 2 of its reactors. Two of the Bruce reactors are currently down as well. The Chalk River research reactor has been shut down indefinitely due to leaks of radioactive water, and the 2 mothballed MAPLE reactors were never fully operational.

What other options does Ontario have?

Increased energy efficiency is a very strong contender. Modern technology is making tremendous gains with respect to efficiency. Enhancing our efficiency can help us meet our energy needs. This is an essential piece of the energy mix.

The potential for geothermal energy in Ontario is staggering, especially with respect to deep-well geothermal. It is entirely renewable and is not dependant upon external factors to produce energy.

Wind is another great power source. You can always count on it being windy somewhere in Ontario, so although any one particular wind turbine may only be operating 30% of the time, wind provides a good, constant supply of energy.

Solar is also a good source of energy. Due to our seasonal cycles, solar only supplies power 20% of the time; however our peak energy usage occurs on hot sunny days, when solar energy is abundantly available. Solar is an ideal energy source for hot Ontario summers.

Several prominent organizations agree that conservation and renewables should and can supplant coal and nuclear:

• David Suzuki Foundation “A faster, cheaper and more reliable way to solve Ontario’s electricity crisis is with conservation, efficiency and renewable energy. In fact, studies show that Ontario could meet all of its electricity needs with conservation, efficiency and renewable energy alone.”
• Greenpeace "The best next step for Minister Smitherman is to develop cleaner, cheaper and less risky options for electricity, such as conservation, renewables and local generation."
• Council of Canadians "We need a Canadian Energy Strategy that gives Canadians... strong policies that protect our environment and focus on transitioning to sustainable energy production and consumption."
• Green Party of Canada "The trend to greater energy conservation and efficiency, in combination with the tremendous potential provided by renewables, gives us confidence that coal-fired plants and nuclear reactors will no longer be required to produce energy for Ontario."
• Canadian Environmental Law Association
• Ecojustice
• Environmental Defence
• Great Lakes United
• Low-Income Energy Network
• Ontario Clean Air Alliance
• Ontario Sustainable Energy Association
• Pembina Institute
• Sierra Club Ontario
• Toronto Environmental Alliance
• WWF-Canada

If we want to ensure that the cleanest, safest, most efficient and cost-effective methods of producing power are chosen by our government, we need to be looking more closely at energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy.