[4 |, The South Marysburgh Mirror | [Letters to the Editor | J Paralysis by Analysis If you’ve been keeping up with all the recent Let- ters to the Editor concerning various controversial issues in our County, give yourself a pat on the back...or better still, give your local councilor & mayor a big thank you for the countless hours he/she must be spending on this. Members involved actually have to sift through all the information in order to discern the truth and make deci- sions. I hope that if you read all these letters, you don’t use them to form your final opinion on any issue without doing some research & free-thinking of your own. It is important to separate myth from reality. I’ve been involved with wind-energy & wind- farms here in The County since 1999. My experiences and knowledge gained about global wind-energy initia- tives, have shown me that there is always a small, vocal minority adamantly delaying or preventing development. At the same time there is a similar local minority firmly in support of renewable advancements (I’m proud to say I am in this group). Between these two extremes lies the vast, silent majority of Canadians (which surveys consistently show as being over 80%) who, while agreeing wind-energy is important & are in support of it, fail to participate in ad- vancing either side of the debate. My main concern, and reason for writing, is that 8 years after our first discus- sions of wind-power here in P.E.C., we still do not have a single wind turbine producing clean electricity for the public (apart from some small scale personal initiatives). Pressure groups continue to oppose change, maintaining the status quo fuelled by misinformation. I fear that in fa- cilitating opponents and lacking vocal advocates, we are being set up for another 8 years of dispute and inaction- ultimately benefiting naysayers. Debating the issue is fruitless & self-defeating considering time is a luxury we don’t have. Climate ex- perts agree there is less than 10 years left to make major changes to prevent global average temperatures from ris- ing more than 2 degrees. So, while we in the County are dragging our feet, climate change is accelerating faster than estimates had indicated back in 1999. What solution do windfarm opponents propose will solve the massive problems our descendants are inheriting? Where is our moral sense of the greater good & desire to leave this planet better than when we arrived? ¢ worldwide consensus of scientists, econo- mists, & political leaders is that the developed world must reduce its CO2 emissions by at least 80% by 2020. Meanwhile, the Ontario Power Authority estimates our province’s demands for electrical generation will increase 54% over the next 20 years (even with proposed conser- vation measures). Clearly all this new power cannot come from more coal, gas, and nuclear. In his 1993 book The Ecology of Commerce -A Declaration of Sustainability Continued on page 20 APPEC Public Meeting Good news to report for residents who are concerned about large-scale wind turbines in South Marysburgh neigh- bourhoods and elsewhere in the County: On 19 February Council passed a motion asking Planning Staff to develop a communications plan that involves a consultation process with the public and the opportunity for wind proponents to present information and be questioned by the public. In addi- tion, Councillor Alyea proposed a motion, also passed, that the creation of a policy regarding wind energy development be on the agenda for the next Planning Committee meeting. These are the first steps in allowing the public to be involved in a meaningful way in what could be radical changes in South Marysburgh and other areas. The Alliance to Protect Prince Edward County believes that these are posi- tive developments, but much more work needs to be done! Everyone — full-time and seasonal residents, Council, and staff — needs to learn more about the issues surrounding wind turbines. Only then will it be possible to develop a County-wide wind energy generation and transmission poli- cy that will protect the long-term interests of the County. AP- PEC believes that no changes should be made to the Official Plan until a well-developed policy is in place for industrial wind energy. APPEC invites all PEC residents to a public meeting to be held at the Milford Town Hall on Tuesday, 1 April, 7-00 pm (see advertisement in this issue of the Mirror). Please attend and ask questions about the impacts of large turbine installations on the County’s eco-systems, envi- ronment, scenic and property values, economic development, tourism, and heritage, and on human health. How efficient Continued on page 20 Old Photographs Needed Janet Kellough and I are preparing a DVD on the history and life in Milford and surrounding area including Port Mil- ford, South Bay and Black River. We need any old photographs of significant houses, mills and commercial buildings or pictures depicting life in the area such as pic- nics, sports, farming, the Fair and Winter Carnival. These will be scanned and returned to you immediately. If you have any stories to tell of your life here or stories that have been passed down from your parents or grandparents, we would love to hear them. Help us preserve our histo It is our plan that all material collected will be archived at the end of the project. Bruce Dowdell 476-8891 3031 Cty Rd 10