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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, April 9, 2010 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of Media Group Ltd. DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Time to clean up Is our interest in improving our environment fading? Is green last year's colour? Are people being so overwhelmed by messages to save the environment and go green that they are being overwhelmed into apathy? We don't think so, but we are concerned that this year's Earth Hour participation saw a drop in Oakville and other communities, as well. According to Oakville Hydro, Oakville residents reduced their energy consumption by 1.7 per cent, or 2,851 kilowatt-hours during Earth Hour on March 26. In comparison, the previous year, the town managed to reduce its energy consumption by a comparatively massive 13.3 per cent, which amounted to a savings of 22,233.73-kilowatt hours. Two years ago, Oakville dropped its energy consumption by 8.2 per cent. Residents, however, have a chance to demonstrate they still care about the environment at the upcoming Earth Week Cleanup on Saturday, April 24. Organized by the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights, the local cleanup is now in its 19th year. While it may now be one of the longest running Earth Day cleanups in Canada, according to the centre's Stephen Dankowich, it is the largest. According to Dankowich, the cleanup has grown from 28 participants the first year to more than 2,200 people last year. The number of sites have grown from a handful to 34 nature sites around Oakville. We urge people to take part in this event. It's an excellent way to get some fresh air and spend time with the family or your neighbours. It's also an eye-opener to discover how much trash and litter is in our neighbourhoods. The Oakville Earth Week Cleanup takes place from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on April 24. For a complete list of cleanup sites, visit the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Human Rights' website at www.oakvillepeacecentre.org. Let's not have a repeat of Earth Hour. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Letter to the editor Power plant is needed Several of the readers of the Oakville Beaver have written in and raised questions as to the need for additional electricity in the Oakville area, partly in response to my letter to the editor What are we doing?, Oakville Beaver, March 12. Although my facts come from the Ontario Power Authority and the IESO's publications, I was recently surprised to see an environmental report issued by Oakville Hydro and IBI Group dated March 10, 2010 that said, among other things, "or worse rotational blackouts could be imposed by Hydro One. Oakville Hydro has elected to advance the in-service date to alleviate the serious risk caused by this temporary shortfall." This is in regards to the need for a transformer station to deal with the ballooning load in Oakville going from about 350 MW to about 480 MW -- the loads in Oakville are as a result of growth and development -- not a very low provincial average. But the issue is not just transformer stations and distribution lines, it is generation. The transmission and distribution lines, as well as the new transformer station only move around power that is there -- if the power isn't there, there is nothing to move around -- consequently my concerns stand -- what are we doing? With all due respect to the Town of Oakville passing bylaws and restrictions to new business and generation, we are dealing with matters of Provincial significance and importance -- Oakville simply does not have the expertise to deal with these very complex questions and as a taxpayer in Oakville, I question our ability to regularly turn investment and business away at a time when the tax burden is becoming significant. Dealing specifically with the matter of the need for power in Oakville, according to the Ontario Power Authority, the new generation is needed as a replacement for coal-fired elecSee Moving page 9 Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Killing fish not harmless fun Every spring, large fish start swimming upstream in Joshua Creek. They are doing what comes naturally to them. Sadly, there are a few youths who amuse themselves by injuring and killing these fish. I have seen them throwing large rocks at the fish. This past Monday, I watched two youths heading down to the creek armed with gardening forks. Parents should be aware of what their children are doing. Studies have shown that kids who abuse living things often go on to commit violent crimes as adults. MIKE DOUGLAS, OAKVILLE BY STEVE NEASE neasecartoons@gmail.com Pud