The wind farm issue that has now entered Centre Wellington Township as well as causing controversy all over the province is going to take someone with the wisdom of Solomon to resolve it.
Unfortunately, it has been our experience that there is no such ruler available in our current system of government at any level, so muddling through might be the best anyone can hope to achieve.
The facts are that Ontario’s use of coal to produce power is an environmentally messy way to operate. Premier Dalton McGuinty was castigated by the opposition parties for failing to shut down coal burning plants when he promised to do so – about two years ago. He recently decided unilaterally to accept all green energy production, and put it on a fast track for approval.
That decision is turning out to be among the worst problems in dealing with the environment today. We remember county council some years ago being ordered by the province to determine its wind turbine policies. It took several months, hundreds of hours and lots of consultation to come up with regulations for all of the county.
Then the Liberal government, which ordered those policies to be created in the first place, threw them out and took over.
We actually have some sympathy for the people behind the wind turbines, too. They have been told by the government they can proceed with projects. Can they be blamed for doing what the government has said they can do, particularly when the economy could use some jobs and everyone is hustling to make a living? The answer should be evident to even those protesting against wind turbines. Energy companies should not be blamed, either. That the company in charge of the Belwood project is from the United States is immaterial. Others will arrive from Korea, thanks to a deal Mr. McGuinty cooked up with Samsung. Some might eventually even be local entrepreneurs.
Next, we come to the farmers who signed lease agreements to have the turbines on their property. We Canadians have been told time and time again farmers need financial support, and paying the real cost of food so they can make a living at farming is something necessary.
Are we willing to pay higher food prices? Somehow, we doubt it. People pour over grocery store advertising every week looking for and expecting cheap food.
And then there are nearby residents who are becoming increasingly hysterical about wind turbines – with good reasons. We have been hearing for several years the horror stories of families who live near wind turbines. We have watched municipalities ask the province to place a moratorium on the approval of wind turbines until health effects are measured. That resolution, in fact, came from Mapleton Township. Still, to date government officials keep telling us there is no medical evidence wind turbines cause health problems.
That’s all well and good, but in the 1980s, a federal government program to help people finance and place urea formaldehyde foam insulation in their homes resulted in many violent illnesses. A lawyer has told me there never was any definitive proof for the courts that the insulation caused any health problems at all.
But that does not explain to anyone why some homeowners spent thousands and tore it out, or moved, or had violently ill children. It also does not explain why the government that approved UFFI and determined it did not cause health problems forced everyone with it in their home to advertise that fact when they sold their house.
Then there is thalidomide. It too had government approval and women who had difficulty conceiving used it as a fertility drug. Official approval meant very little to the dozens of children born deformed or without limbs because of that drug.
So, we sympathize with residents who argue that health effects of the wind turbines must be studied and then studied some more. There is a meeting on March 25 at Centre Wellington District High School and the organizers are going to bring speakers from other areas who will, no doubt, chronicle nightmarish problems they suffered while living near wind turbines.
The final part of the problem is society and citizens ourselves. We are an impatient bunch. When there is a problem, we want it solved – yesterday. We say we are paying good money, so why delay. When some call for more and more studies and tests instead of acting rashly (we believe), many citizens scream and say such people are burying their heads in the sand.
The fact is that things like the environment, diseases and health issues seldom, if ever, come with an easy solution. Think how long it took to diagnose diabetes and then the discoverers of insulin worked and tested for years before they perfected it. With the wind turbines issue, there are likely no quick fixes or results.
That certainly is why McGuinty, who reacted to pressure for quick action, now needs to slow down and take a good hard look at the entire situation. If it takes a few years, and it well might, so be it.
McGuinty or other leaders might not have the wisdom of Solomon, but taking their time might be best way they could emulate his wisdom to reach correct decisions on how to deal with Ontario’s needs. Rushing into anything this complicated is more than likely to cause as many problems as it solves.
