With more and more families in Ontario entering Energy Poverty, thanks to the insane policies of the Liberal Party, families are now finding themselves sitting in the dark at night. This has spawned a resurgence in board games and the newest rage in board games is the Ontario Liberal Party version of Monopoly.
Click on game to enlarge slightly then use your browser button to zoom in to be able to see squares clearly.
On 20.30hrs on the 16.04.14, there was a total blackout to some 205,000 homes over the North of Scotland from Elgin in the East to Skye and the western Isles and up to the Orkneys. Although power was restored fairly quickly to Inverness some areas didn’t get their power restored until 00.30hrs. This effected close to one million people and is the worst outage to the region for many years, if not without precedent. So what caused the problem. After 24 hours we don’t know although the Scottish Government with all their Political wisdom and technical know-how tell us it was a “Transient Event”. SSE have blamed it on lightning strike(?) or birds hitting overhead cables. Well it is the wrong season for the wild geese and it was hardly the conditions for lightning. They have now settled on something striking the 275KV line. Like a tree? Well it could be but no evidence has been found and we are used to bird strikes up here which may knock out the local area but never before pan Scotland.
To add a little spice the BBC quoted an engineer, Andrew MacKay, who suggested that the situation was a perfect storm with wind conditions optimised for wind energy which the grid became unable to cope with. What we do know is that during most of the 16th we had a steady blow of some 25mph which at 20.25hrs died totally. At 20.30hrs the Grid blacks out? We also know that the drop in wind was not forecast. I think we may question whether the intermittency created that perfect storm where the grid was unable to maintain frequency (50mhz) and the system tripped. This has happened previously in both Spain and Portugal and Germany nearly crashed the euro grid a while back. Spain took nearly six days to get all supplies reconnected. Adding a little piquancy, the former Chairman of Scottish Power, Sir Donald Miller, has now added his opinion which suggests that the power outage was due to the reliance on renewable supplies.
To add a bit of fun we must look over the pond to where Ontario has ongoing issues with their Liberal Party government and their green agenda.
16.04.14
We have a crisis folks, all around London, and it’s getting almost no attention by the politicians, and, quite frankly, by the media. (Andy Oudman, CJBK London)
As the skeptics all too painfully know, most of the mainstream media, including public broadcasters like the CBC and TVO, seem to be acting as enthusiastic trumpet blowers for every dire prognostication of doom and gloom made by the UN’s dishonest, disgraceful IPCC on the subject of man-made global warming/climate change.
Climate change as a planetary emergency has been the rationale for the deployment of useless and highly destructive “green” energy alternatives, such as industrial wind turbines. The media have been playing a crucial role in maintaining the fiction, spreading misinformation, giving only one side of the story, essentially propagandizing, and failing to dig deep with journalistic integrity to uncover the big picture.
Rarely will you see or hear learned, educated skeptics, of which there are plenty, invited as guests on any radio or television programs to present their views on the subject of man-made global warming, climate change, industrial wind turbines, or Ontario’s green energy fiasco. A few of the media are the exception proving the rule: the National Post, Financial Post, and Goldhawk Fights Back come to mind as having addressed some of these topics in a non-biased manner.
Today was a great day. A London, Ontario radio station, CJBK, on its program London Today With Any Oudman, spent most of the morning interviewing people about the ominous social unrest in Southern Ontario caused by the massive proliferation of industrial wind turbine projects. These factories cover huge swaths of prime farmland. The invasion of the towering machines has been aided and abetted by the democracy-robbingGreen Energy Act and the heartless see-hear-speak-no-evil attitude of the Ontario Liberal government. The people who live there and who have had to suffer the devastating social and personal consequences, with more to come, have struggled to make their voices heard.
It’s compelling listening:
| Colette Berthiaume | 11:23am Apr 18 |
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Former Ontario health minister George Smitherman, pictured at a Queen’s Park hearing in 2013, has turned to a new enterprise: medical marijuana.
RENE JOHNSTON / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
Former Ontario health minister George Smitherman, pictured at a Queen’s Park hearing in 2013, has turned to a new enterprise: medical marijuana.
By: Tim Alamenciak News reporter, Published on Fri Apr 18 2014
The province’s former Liberal health minister, George Smitherman, is getting into the pot game with a Markham pharmacist and a former deputy chief of the Toronto police.
The trio — a veritable dream team in the medical marijuana industry — secured a property in Durham Region with about 16,000 square feet of serviceable indoor growing space, said Smitherman, and is in the midst of preparing an application. The township of Uxbridge recently passed a motion granting them a “no objection” letter to accompany their application to Health Canada.
“I think that in my time as minister of health I did try to advance a conversation within the Ontario Medical Association and especially within the doctors who focus on pain,” said Smitherman. “I view medical marijuana as an effective alternative for many people, and I think that the science on this will grow and grow and grow.”
Each member of the trio brings skills that will help with the application process, which includes providing a round-the-clock security plan and undergoing regular testing like that at a regular drug production facility.
Smitherman, the lifelong politician who served as Ontario’s minister of health and long-term care from 2003 to 2008, will help the group work with consultants to navigate Health Canada’s new medical marijuana legislation, which licenses businesses to grow marijuana to sell to users who have a prescription.
Related:
New Toronto clinic to offer medical marijuana prescriptions
Court injunction lets patients keep growing medical pot
2014 poised to go to pot
The legislation is a departure from the old way of doing things, whereby Health Canada served as the middle-man for medicinal marijuana users, who were allowed to grow their own plants. Instead, federally approved growers will supply those in the country who rely on medicinal marijuana.
Longtime lawman Kim Derry, who retired as deputy chief of the Toronto Police Service, will be in charge of security for the facility — one of Health Canada’s most stringent requirements. Since his retirement from the force in 2011, Derry has been at the helm of the private security firm Executek International.
The site must have video surveillance and recording capabilities both at the building and the property perimeter. The facility must have an alarm system and rooms where the marijuana is grown or stored must feature controlled access. Personnel must pass a security check with the RCMP.
Kandavel Palanivel, who instigated the whole venture and is its main investor, has been a licensed pharmacist in Canada since 2000. He is accredited to practise at seven pharmacies across the GTA, according to his file with the Ontario College of Pharmacists.
“I like the complimentary strengths,” Smitherman said of the group. “The pharmacy network could be a factor in it in a marketing sense, but much more importantly than that, Mr. Palanivel’s very personal interest in plant extraction for human benefit is actually framed from his education … his master’s (degree) was focused very much on extraction of plants for human benefit.”
Smitherman says the group hopes to file its application in the coming weeks — joining hundreds already in the hopper, pending approval. Twelve applications have already been approved and their submitters are growing and supplying marijuana.
Asked what it means when a prominent politician, a retired police officer and a pharmacist enter the marijuana industry, Smitherman praised the federal legislation.
“I think it’s a recognition that the government of Canada’s very distinct policy change substantially regulates a production model and accordingly invites the participation of a lot of people and companies who otherwise didn’t have opportunities in this space,” he said.
The federal government estimated in 2013 that the change in legislation could turn medical marijuana into a $1.3-billion industry by 2024.
“The primary investor in all of this is Mr. Palanivel, and obviously people see a business opportunity, but it is a very, very entrepreneurial construct,” said Smitherman. “It is an opportunity but, from an entrepreneurial standpoint, it’s quite a daunting one, I think.”
After an unsuccessful run for the mayor of Toronto in 2010, losing to Rob Ford, Smitherman’s political career appears to be on the back burner. But he says he doesn’t think of himself as a marijuana farmer just yet.
“I’m just someone who’s lending some professional expertise to mount an application,” he said, “but I certainly hope that we’ll be successful and that this business enterprise will be something I can focus a great deal of time on.”
We all know that one of the components of wind turbine blades is Bisphenol A, which breaks down over time and exposure to the weather, feeding into the air. The internal Vestas report which states that over 1 ton of hazardous waste is created with the production of every single turbine blade is well documented and has been discussed many times on this site. Bisphenol A is one of those wastes that Vesta was referring to.
“In a report released by the company, it was revealed that over the last four quarters waste from the Windsor facility increased by 44.7 percent and produced 36 percent more toxic waste than in the previous quarter.
Of that waste, almost ¾ of it was sent to landfills in the state. The waste consists of fiberglass epoxy resin, plastic, fiberglass dust and other items.
A Vestas employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Gazette that he needs to shower every day prior to coming home to avoid harm to his children from the resins that get on his skin. The company has been cited by OSHA for violations related to chemicals used at the facility that have caused injury to employees.
The Greeley Report said an inside report indicates the plant produces approximately 40 blades per week with each blade generating 1 ton of waste.
Andrew Longeteig, A spokesman for Vestas, explained the reason for the increase in the amount of hazardous waste produced in 2011 was because of increases in production related to a record-breaking year for Vestas wind turbine sales in the United States and Canada in 2010.He went on to say that none of the hazardous waste was considered toxic.”
Well, if hazardous waste isn’t toxic, exactly what is it?
Click here to see the Vestas report which states that they’re trying to reduce waste from the production of each blade to 2716 kg.
Anyway, back to Environmental Defence….They’ve published an article on their site stating that human exposure levels to Bisphenol A deemed ‘safe’ may be over-estimated.
“Their research found that human testes were more than 100 times more susceptible to some compounds, including BPA, compared to those in rodents. BPA is linked to prostate cancer, obesity, heart disease and possibly breast cancer. This means that current standards may be based on an underestimate of the risk posed to humans by BPA exposure.
Considering that according to the Canadian Health Measures survey 95 per cent of Canadians aged 3-79 have BPA in their bodies, this is a huge cause for concern. BPA was banned from baby bottles because it was declared toxic by Health Canada. However, it is still far too widespread in other consumer products like receipts, cans, and plastic food containers, and it may be worse for our health than previously thought.
More needs to be done to protect Canadians from toxic chemicals like BPA.”
Yet, when I contacted Environmental Defence a couple of years ago to try to get them to take action against the negative environmental effects of wind turbines on Ontario residents, they advised me that they don’t get involved in such matters. Really? So whose environment are they defending? And what’s their criteria? It seems they’re up in arms about Bisphenol A polluting the air, but if that material comes from wind turbines, then it’s okay?
At the same time, I tried to see if Environmental Defence would support an initiative to get industrial wind turbines built in and around the GTA, including along the shoreline. Since they’re avid supporters of wind energy, I thought I could get them on board with getting them built near where they live. Again, I was advised that that’s not an area that they get involved with.
Ahhh….green hypocrisy. Always so easy to expose. — DQ
Wind Turbine Syndrome, Calvin L. Martin
The other day, something significant happened in American history. This man stood up to the American government — and the government backed down. (The “American government” consisting of a small army of heavily armed cops.)
This is a story about a number of things: (a) The renewable energy scam. (b) A foreign energy company taking adverse possession of rangeland used by this rancher’s ancestors going back 150 years, give or take. (c) An unseemly collusion between a powerful U.S. Senator, the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and a Chinese energy company.
The bullying and sleaze of wind energy companies inevitably come to mind.
In this case, it’s not wind energy, but another non-starter: solar energy. Involving U.S. Senator Harry Reid (Nevada) negotiating with a Chinese energy mogul to build a huge solar energy plant on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administered rangeland — right smack where this rancher and his forebears have traditionally grazed their livestock. The Chinese company being legally represented, incidentally, by Senator Reid’s son, a prominent Nevada attorney. Read article
Posted: April 16, 2014 by Rog Tallbloke in Carbon cycle, government, humour, Incompetence,Legal, Nuclear power, Politics, Robber Barons, wind
From the too not-funny to be as funny as it should be dept:
Ontario is now the first jurisdiction in North America to fully eliminate coal as a source of electricity generation. The Thunder Bay Generating Station, Ontario’s last remaining coal-fired facility, has burned its last supply of coal. Operated by Ontario Power Generation, Thunder Bay Generating Station was the oldest coal-fired station in the province. The plant is scheduled to be converted to burn advanced biomass, a renewable fuel source.
The province has replaced coal generation with a mix of emission-free electricity sources like nuclear, waterpower, wind and solar, along with lower-emission electricity sources like natural gas and biomass. The move to bio-mass rather than to natural gas has raised concerns in Thunder Bay. NOMA and Common Voice Northwest, and the City of Thunder Bay have all expressed concerns.
See more
But then…
TORONTO – A large swath of the city’s west end was left in the dark for a few hours Tuesday night as a blackout hit the area. The outage began around 9 p.m. and ended about 11:30, Toronto Hydro said. The area affected was bound by Yonge St. in the east, Mississauga in the west, Lawrence Ave. to the north and Dupont St. to the south.
The power utility said the outage was caused due to a Hydro One transmission issue.
Subway service was back up and running as of 11:05 p.m., the TTC said, after having been suspended between Jane and St. George Stations due to signal problems in relation to the outage.
from Rog Tallbloke….thanks Rog!
Kevin Mooney — Capital Research Center– April 15, 2014
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
How a U.N. group manipulates science to “prove” Global Warming (pdf here)
By Kevin MooneySummary: The most prestigious international group claiming we face a global warming crisis has a history of twisting the scientific evidence involved in the controversy. It is so duplicitous that it has even misrepresented the findings of its own reports.
Why do so many people believe in Global Warming theory? Global Warming theory isn’t just that the earth is getting warmer, any more than the theory of evolution is that things evolve or the theory of relativity is that everything is relative. There’s a lot more to it than just warming.
Global Warming theory (sometimes fudged as “climate change” theory), in the words of Green Watch editor Steven J. Allen, is “that the earth as a whole is getting catastrophically warmer due not to natural causes but to ‘greenhouse gas’ emissions—especially carbon dioxide (CO2)—from human industry, transportation, and energy generation, and that the looming catastrophe of Global Warming can be averted with policies that are compatible with peace, prosperity, freedom, and democracy.”
That’s a lot of believe, and it’s inconsistent with what we know about both physical science and human behavior. Continue reading here…..
Call it this: No (renewable) electrification without representation.
A revolutionary settlement between the state of North Dakota and Xcel Energy’s Northern States Power unit will save North Dakota ratepayers nearly $6 million a year by exempting charges for higher-priced renewable energy from Minnesota.
“It is no secret that Minnesota rules, laws and policies are highly influenced by various environmental groups and ideas,” Mike Diller, director of economic regulation for the N.D. Public Service Commission said during a hearing in January. “… The environmental concerns of North Dakota are different from those of Minnesota, and the cost of compliance with the environmental and energy policies in Minnesota is becoming a burden to North Dakota ratepayers.”
North Dakota sets a voluntary goal of generating 10 percent of its power from renewable sources, ranking third on the American Wind Energy Association list of states in percentage of wind power. Across the border, Minnesota requires 31.5 percent of Xcel Energy’s power be generated by wind and other subsidized — often less competitive — renewable energy sources by 2020.
“This has not been the approach in North Dakota,” said Julie Fedorchak, a PSC commissioner. “Policy makers in our state believe it should be driven not by state mandates and government mandates, but more by the private sector and technological growth.”
ND COMMISSIONER: North Dakota ratepayers have been paying for MN’s aggressive renewable energy mandates for too long. ND PSC photo.
For years, Xcel has spread the cost of Minnesota’s renewable energy requirement to the utility’s customers in five neighboring states.
North Dakota officials grudgingly looked the other way as Minnesota regulators continued to approve more of what they viewed as inefficient renewable energy projects. Those projects increased the utility bills of Xcel’s 80,000 customers — from Fargo to Minot — by an estimated $5.7 million a year. The system wide cost for ratepayers is about $92 million.
“These policies come with a cost, and the costs under the system of Xcel Energy are shared across the border system wide in states like North Dakota and South Dakota,” said Fedorchak. “So over the years, we’ve effectively been paying for some of the policies being mandated by the state of Minnesota.”
The long-standing friction and frustration over the states’ opposing energy policies finally broke into the open during the hearings in Bismarck after Xcel Energy’s requested rate increase for North Dakota ratepayers. PSC regulators saw it as an opening to assert control over North Dakota’s energy independence and destiny. The final agreement includes a precedent-setting provision for Xcel to “re-stack” the mix of electric power allocated in North Dakota and reset rates based on least-cost conventional energy sources that match the state’s priorities.
“We are not aware of this same proposal being developed elsewhere,” said Dave Sederquist, a senior regulatory and financial consultant with Xcel Energy. “Method of allocating shared resources between jurisdictions can and do vary between states.”
It will take months to analyze the economics of about two dozen mostly smaller Minnesota community wind projects and biomass facilities, which North Dakota considers unnecessarily costly for its ratepayers to support. If agreement cannot be reached by July 2015, North Dakota ratepayers would not be billed for the questionable Minnesota projects.
“This part of the settlement is a big risk to NSP as it will require Minnesota to begin paying for its own prescribed generation programs that North Dakota finds unacceptable,” said Diller in his hearing testimony. “If Minnesota refuses to pay for all of its programs, NSP will be stuck with stranded investment and not chance of full recovery.”
While reverse engineering renewable energy regulatory rates between states appears to be unprecedented, other states may be energized by the development.
“The costs of complying with resource mandates in any given state have traditionally been recovered in all of the states we serve,” said Sederquist of Xcel. “While we are not aware that regulators in other states in the NSP System are pursuing mechanisms to address any energy policy differences, we understand there may be some interest by those states to look at this issue as well.”
What about North Dakotans paying for their neighbor’s latest renewable energy mandate — solar?
“Solar’s coming in and I can tell you right now that our position in North Dakota will be we’re not interested in that 150 megawatts of solar power they’re building over there,” said Diller.
Demonstrating daily that diversity is not strength!
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