The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

2 The Canadian Statesman.Bowmanville, March 30, 1977 Section Two EDITORIAL COMMENT Nuclear (From Sweden Today) Persistent anti-nuclear editorial writer on Scandinavia's largest morning daily DAGENS NYHETER, 0lle Alsen explains the importance of nuclear energy in the recent election. Sweden has already tapped much of its water power, has no native coal and depends on oil imports for 70 per cent of its energy. Since it has its own nuclear technology and uranium deposits, nuclear power seemed the perfect answer. Then came the doubts .... Sweden, which is leading the Olympics in nuclear power with 410 watts per capita installed capacity as against 190 for the U.S., may well, in a year or so, also be the first nation to start withdrawing from the Fission race, after having already gone nuclear on a big scale. This would mean eventually phasing out the five running reactors of 3,200 megawatt in all, say by 1985, and mothballing or leaving unfinished 4 - 5 other reactors almost completed or under construction. The reactors are at Barseback and Ringhals on the west coast, and at Forsmark and Oskars- hamn on the east coast. It would mean forsaking a power source which now furnishes 18 per cent of all electricity. A source which was decided upon as late as last year to give, in 1985 with -13 reactors, no less than 40 per cent of the national electricity production - or twice the present level of some 80 TWh (billion of kilowatthours). To many in an outside of Sweden, such a change must seem sheer madness and a waste, an act of irrationality. It could create great investment losses, temporary elec- tricity shortages, unemployment and other difficulties for over 10,000 employed in nuclear construction and industry. It would leave five unused or uncompleted ones as dead monuments, crying to the skies about failed Technological Fixes (or Follies) of the 60's and.70's. . Others, though, would see them as tributes to a victory of Ecology over Economy. Whether this turnabout will actually happen is the 60 billion kronor question in Swedish politics today. On it hinges not only the fate of nuclear power in Sweden, which has a history of 30 years and vested interest investments of 20 - 30 billion kronor, but rather the total energy, economy and environmental future of a nation standing at the crossroads. On one side is the high-energy road with doubling times of 10 - 15 years, which will sooner or later force Sweden, like other countries, into the breeder risks and plutonium economy. On the other side is the so-called low-energy road of "only" 1 or 2 per cent yearly energy increases, more efficient energy use, more conservation and savings, and far stronger pressure for alternatives like windpower, solar heating, geothermal energies, biomass and community waste fuels. Some hope a Swedish nuclear turnabout might even trigger second thoughts about the nuclear road in far larger countries, like the US and France and Germany, and help turn the psychological tide against the present nuclear power and potential nuclear weapons proliferation in the Third World. "For the first time," said former fusion power enthusiast Professor Hannes Alfven, Nobel laureate and a spearhead in the long Center party drive against nuclear power and proliferation, "for the first time a Swedish election centered round a truly fatal question, fatal not only to Sweden but to humanity . . . It is becoming increasingly clear that mankind cannot co-exist with uranium-plutonium on the surface of the Planet. One of us has to stay under Earth, or go there." Should Sweden turn away from nuclear power in the next few years, Energy it will be a strenuous, costly, difficult and remarkable process - probably the first, hopefully not the last, example of an industrial country and a fairly well-informed people voluntarily giving up a large scale "technological fix," because possible benefits for the present generation do not seem to justify burdens and risk for future genera- tions. It was, of course, the outcome of the general elections in September that opened up this fatal choice for Sweden for the first time - possibly also the last, that is, before the national economy and psychology become too deeply entrenched in the nuclear grooves. The new non-socialist coalition, headed by the strongly anti-nuclear Center Party and Torbjorn Falldin, will be ironically forced by its own internal splits on nuclear energy - the Conservatives and Liberals leaning more towards the Social Democratic nuclear line - to force the issues and solve the conflicts one way or the other. Long before the next elections in 1979. Had the Socialý Democrats been able to stay in power, on the other hand, it would have been virtually impossible for them - and unneces- sary also for the Conservatives - to pull back on expansionism, even if misgivings are increasing within all party ranks, and not only there. A major problem is nuclear waste. A graveyard somewhere deep in Swedish granite may still be necessary for the dreamt-of final deposition of nuclear wastes. This is possible, in the 1990's at the earliest. But Sweden will not again embark on grand designs for a complete fuel cycle and large-scale dependence on nuclear power. Former Prime Minister Olof Palme conceded as much in a television debate a few weeks after the elections. "We shall not blind ourselves with long-range decisions on reproces- sing, enrichment, uranium mining, etcetera, and above all not on breeders all of which would get us stuck to nuclear power. I have good hopes that energy savings and alternatives will replace nuclear power in 10 or 15 years," he said. The Conservatives and the Li- berals gave up their former "open- mindedness" on the complete fuel cycle even before the elections. Thus, although his Center party only has 24 per cent of the votes, there is already party unity in Sweden to slow down and eventually stop and reverse what the new Prime Minister Thorbjorn Falldin calls "the march into the Nuclear Society." And this is far more important than whether the march will end with five or six or seven operating reactors. A nuclear turnabout might come, or be stopped, through a plebiscite on nuclear power already forecast by the new government, which has agreed to disagree for the time being on nuclear power. The formula being used to barely cover the split is that construction work on new reactors may go on, but that power companies should think twice anyway. Because in order to be allowed to load and run new reactors, they will have to fulfill two new, harsh conditions. They will have to produce "acceptable" contracts for fuel reprocessing. And, for new reactors other than Barse- back 2, they will also have to show or prove both "how" and "where" nuclear wastes from their reactors can be disposed of in a "completely safe" manner. The first condition is difficult enough to fulf ill, at least before October 1, 1977, which is the stated deadline for Barseback 2 to produce a reprocessing contract to be shut down. Barseback 2 is pri.vately owned, which creates special damages problems for the govern- ment. Although hardly politically easier it may be financially easier, to handle the next new plant coming up Durham county's Great Family Journal Established 123 years ago in 1854 Aiso Incorporating The Bowmanville News The Newcastle Independent The Orono News Second class mail registration number 1561 Produced every Wednesday by THE JAMES PUBLISHING COMPANY LIMITED 62-66 King St. W., Bowmanville, Ontario LIC 3K9 JOHN M. JAMES JOHN E. JAMES Editor - Publisher General Manager GEO. P. MORRIS BRIAN PURDY DONALD BISHOP Business Mgr. Advertising Mgr. Plant Mgr. "Copyright and-or property rights subsist in the image appearing on this proof. Permission to reproducein whole or in part and in any form whatsoever, particularly by photographic or offset proces hn a puDicaTion, must be obtained from the publisher and the printer. Any unauthorized reproduction will be subject to recourse in law." $10.00 a year - 6 mon†rns $5.50 foreign -$21.00 a year strictly in advance Although every precountorn wili be taen to avod error, The Canadia • atesman accepts advertising in its colurnns on the understanding that it will not be liable for any error in the advertisement pubished hereunder unless a proof of such advertisement is requested in writing by the advertiser and returned to The Canadian Statesman business office duly signed by the advertiser a with such error or corrections plainly noted in writing thereon, and in that case if any error s rcted is not correted by The Canadian Statesman its liability shaillnot exceed such a portion of the entire cost of such advertisement as the space occupied by the noted error bears to the whole space occoed by such advertisement. I Letters to the Editor I Biggest Story.. . But Bowmanville, Ont. March 26, 1977 Dear Mr. James, I agree with you - the Darlington Generating Station agreement sign- ed by council with Ontario Hydro is undoubtedly your biggest story of the year. I do hope the residents of this area see it as such, and are prepared to stand up and be counted as their ratepayers' association attempts to correct an error made by local council. This error was the rescind- ing of resolution No. C74-1189, which stated: "That the clerk reply to the Honorable Minister of Energy's letter, dated October 17 (1974), to point out: 1) That there is consider- able apprehension in this communi- ty about the proposal to establish a nuclear generating station near Bowmanville. 2) That this Council can lend no support to the proposal until Hyrdro and the Provincial Government have fully presented the proposal, and its complete implications, to the public, and until a referendum of the town's citizens demonstrates the public's acceptance of the propo- sal." Some of us still have considerable apprehension re the effects of the Dear John: I find the layout and new format of "Items of Interest" much easier to read. You and your staff are to be congratu- lated on the progressive innovations which appear in the paper. It is refreshing, in this day and age, to still be able to purchase a quality item. As they say in the vernacular "Hang In There"! Sincerely, Thomas J. Park Caesarea, Ont. March 24, 1977 Dear Editor: Enclosed is a cheque for ten dollars for the paper for a year. I find it hard to live without it. Wishing all at the office the best. Sincerely, Alma Perigoe Tony McQuail for Cantdu R.R. 1 Lucknow, Ont. NOG 2H0 March 14, 1977 Dear Editor: We at CANTDU are con- cerned to hear that the Town of Newcastle is involved in negotiations with Ontario Hydro regarding the Darling- ton Generating Station which may "alleviate the necessity of a hearing before the, Environmental Assessment nuclear station on this community, and the far-ranging effects of a proliferation of nuclear power. It is going on while scientists still are unable to give us any definitive answers as to storage and for recycling of the radioactive waste produced by these generating sta- tions. The second part of the resolution mentions presentation to the public of the proposal and its implications and I believe that this has been carried out, to a certain degree. Information is available to those who wish to seek it out. Not only Ontario Hydro, but Energy Probe, have available some publications pertaining to nuclear power. Also mentioned in part two is a referendum, which has, apparently, been bypassed. In a matter of such major importance, with such grave implications for our way of life, this is unforgiveable. There should definitely be a referendum! I urge the citizens of Bowmanville to attend the April 6th meeting of T.O.N.R.A. in numbers large enough to demonstrate that the people disapprove of the undemocratic way in which Hydro and Council have reached their "agreement." D. Boden Board." Even though Mayor Garnet Rickard says any agreement reached by these negotiations will be presented to the public before the final approval we have to wonder how effective this will be. CANTDU was formed by citizens in the Goderich area because of concern over the Bruce Nuclear Power Devel- opment. We have undertaken to study the long and short term implications of nuclear power on our society. We have come to realize that nuclear energy is far from the "clean, safe and cheap" energy source which Ontario Hydro promotes it as. We are too late to stop construction at the Bruce but we would not wish a nuclear power station on any other community and hope that the people of Newcastle will take a careful look at what they are being aslked to accept. One of the problems with massive nuclear power pro- jects is that Hydro makes much of their supposed bene- fits but their costs are neglected. BUT, once the project is started it is too late. If you discover that Hydro overpays its workers which makes it impossible for your small business or farm to compete in the labour market, too bad, you'll just have to close down. If you find that this new electrical capacity is going to "require" new trans- mission lines cutting across for a starting license. This is Ringhals 3, owned by the State Power Board. The Swedish Nuclear Fuel Company has had for two years a "preliminary" contract with the French-British-German United Reprocessors, but no final contract has been signed. The second new Swedish condi- tion, forcing the companies to prove a completely safe method and place of final waste disposal, cannot be met anywhere in the world, at least not for many years, if taken literally - and may be sure that the Center party intends to do just that. This cannot come as a surprise to the Conservatives and Liberals in the new government, yet they have agreed on the wording. Thus it seems certain that "the line will be definitely drawn," at Ringhals 3, in the spring or summer of 1977, according to Energy Minister Olof Johansson. The reactor may be completed, but it your land, too bad, but they have to go through. If you find out that the risks of nuclear energy are greater than you were led to believe it is too late to say stop once the site is fenced off. When you get a nuclear power complex located in your community it means a lot of changes and a lot of those changes don't improve the quality of life for the people who already live there. Your community will be asked to pay the social and environ-- mental costs to provide elect- ricity to other communities. Our studies of energy use in Ontario have convinced us that in fact we don't need more electricity. Ontario Hydro's load forcasts are based on past promotional schemes which have actually promoted inefficient and wasteful uses of electricity and are undesirable in their influence on provincial energy use. We hope that the people of Newcastle will insist that a hearing take place before the Environmental Assessment Board. Even with the best intentions the Town Council will have a hard time making a deal with Hydro which will compensate the people of Newcastle and the surround- ing area for the price they will eventually pay. That these negotiations aren't public until finalized must increase our concern. We would not will not be started up, at least not if the present Government sticks to the Center Party's tough line. Should the Conservatives and Liberals then not agree outright, a national referendum on nuclear power seems inevitable. The out- come, accepted by all parties to be decisive although formally only "advisory," would be harder to predict. A possible alternative would be new elections which Mr. Falldin may call on his own, well before the next big energy policy decisions set for the Riksdag in 1978. So the Nuclear Show of Sweden will probably go on under confusion and uncertainty for some time to come, probably to be ended with a dramatic blow-up, most likely a National Referendum. And that event may signal the end of Sweden's intensive, and expensive, flirtation with the Nuclear Age. presume to say how the people of Newcastle should decide but we would hope that they will insist that adequate time and study be allowed so that there is a clear appreciation of both sides of the nuclear debate now occurring in Ontario. P.S. CANTDU has informa- tion on nuclear energy and we would be glad to send it to any of your readers who write us at the above address. Yours sincerely, Tony McQuail 25 Years Ago Thursday, March 27th, 1952 The Memorial Hospital, Bowmanville, held its first annual meeting on Thursday, in the council chamber. A report showed 1,256 patients were admitted during the year 330 babies born and 770 operations performed. Several Canvasses for funds are being held in the area. The Easter Seal Fund has reached $1,300 with much more need- ed. Kinsmen Tag Day for Artificial Ice raised $150. Scout Paper Drive netted $93.15. Donations to the Arti- ficial Ice Fund by the Kins- men Club to date total $7,425. The Women's Hospital Auxil- iary report their fund raising efforts total over $5,000. Fifteen members of the Bowmanville Boating Associ- ation attended the inaugural meeting in the Union Hall on Sunday. Present were Presi- dent Ken Hooper, chairman Lorne McQuarrie, Russell Hallman, Jim Thompson, Bill Kilpatrick, John Adair and others. Garnet Rickard was named president-elect of the Bow- manville Rotary Club on Friday, succeeding president Dave Higgon, on July 1st. Directors will be Walter Reynolds, Keith Jackson, Forbes Heyland, Morley Van- stone, O.F. Robson and Wil- liam "Bill" James. The editor has received a letter from Malvern, Victoria, Australia, from former resi- dents of the town Mrs. R. Cotton and Helen. r the Dim fn the Dim and fistant Past 49 Years Ago Thursday, March 29th, 1928 Don t forget the "Chosen Friends". indoor picnic in the S.O.E. Hall, on Friday. Madam Nevade, palmist, will be present Officers of the Bowmanville Tennis Club elected for the season are W. Ross Strike, pres. Hon. pres. J.W. Alexan- der, vice-pres. Alan Campbell, Captain M.A. Neal, Treas.- Bert Bounsall, secretary- Herman Lapp, executive, Wreford Souch, L.H. Cooke, Cecil Dudley, E.C. Southey, Stuart James, Gertrude Mor- ris and Helen Osborne. Reverend Robert McDer- ment, M.A., will hold com- munion at St. Andrews Pres- byterian Church at the Sunday morning service. Services will be conducted on Sunday at il a.m. and 7 p.m. at the Salvation Army Citadel by Major and Mrs. Harold Ritchie, the news Divisional Commanders. Miss Ella Tamblyn, Orono, won the Junior Public Speak- ing Contest in Orono on Tuesday. Her topic was "Re- forestation and the Value of Our Forests." Second place was won by * Miss Lillian Clemence, Newcastle. In the boy's division first place went to Norman Hogg, and second to Jack Payne. The Old Time Supper at St. Andrew's on March 21st was a great success. Credit must go to Miss F.M. Galbraith, Mrs. G.A. Edmonstone, Miss I.K. Smith, Mrs. R.E. Logan and Mrs. F.W. Crawford. Sugar By Bill Smiley spc An End To Fear It seems that everybody is trying to throw a scare into me these days. And I must admit it isn't too difficult. We're going to run out of oil one of these days, trumpet the headlines. Not to mention gas, coal and practically everything else that provides heat. I have visions of self, ten years from now, sitting in front of the fireplace, feeding the last bit of the grand piano into it, turning to the old lady and asking, "What now, baby? Go fetch the cyanide pills." Various ministers of health tell me menacingly that if I keep on smoking, I'm going to die a horrible death; if I don't give up the drink, I'll lose, so many brain cells a day that there'll be nothing but a pack of putty behind my eyebrows. Economists claim that if I don't save some money for my old age, I'll wind up eating tinned dog food. Other economists inform that if I do save some money for my old age, inflation will erode it to the point where I won't even be able to afford dog food. From one of the revenue depart- ment's lackeys comes a stern warning that if I don't produce within 15 days some abstruse document which I already sent them two years ago, something mys- terious and dreadful will happen. They will "make an adjustment." I wonder which part of me they will adjust, and how painful it will be. My nose could use some straightening. If Quebec separates, according to the pundits all kinds of ghastly things will happen: my Bell bill will rise, along with my blood pressure; my arthritis will soar to new heights; Ill have trouble raising a few billion next time I try to float a bond issue in the States; my wife will probably leave me, because I spent the first two years of my life in Quebec; I'll have to deal in funny money, with Saint Rene's picture on it; my roof will catch fire because of nationalized asbestos; and there won't be any French on the back of my cereal box. A fate worse than death. Unemployment is rising, and I am assured that nobody is going to hire an old, lazy, highly-trained guy like me when there are all those young, lazy, highly-trained people around. They tell me that when the anti-inflation controls come off, there's going to be such an almighty, all-Canadian grab for the buck that even God is going to wake up, grumbling, and wondering what's going on down there. And I'll be left in the lurch, because teachers, on the whole, will let themselves be dumped on rather than fight in the streets ahd be thrown in the paddy wagon. Even worse things are threatened. George Chuvalo, Canadian heavy- weight champ, having disposed at one sitting of a fat turkey called Pretty Boy Feldstein, might decide to start a comeback and demand a rematch with Muhammad Ali (at the age of 40). And speaking of turkeys, I have another fear. Toronto, with one of the worst football teams in Canada, and an equally inept hockey team, has now acquired a major league baseball team. It will inevitably be "promising," "threatening," and "scrappy" for' the first 10 years. After that, when it soars from last place in the league to second-last, it will instantly become the "pennant- bound Toronto Bluejays." So much for sports fears. Advertisements constantly frigh- ten me. They tell me I have dry skin, hemmorhoids, falling hair, crumb- ling teeth, bad breath, and high armpits. They suggest I am stupid if I don't rush right out, buy a lottery ticket, and become an instant millionaire. And just the other day I read in the paper that the South African doctor who started the heart transplant game is prepared to use baboon hearts, if there are no human ones available. No thanks, doc. You can give me the heart of a pig or a chicken. Either would suit my personality. But have you ever seen a baboon from the rear? Who wants a great, flaming, orange bum? Newspapers tell me that the Canadian farmer is going down the drain. I go out for a quart of milk and it's gone up a nickel since yesterday. Some drain. • Everybody is talking about forth- coming elections. This scares me too. I can't stand the politicians we have now. Why replace them with losers? Well, today I decided that I've had enough. I'm sick of being frightened half to death. If the human race, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, is going to perish for lack of heating, I'Il move south. I'm going to go on smoking, and will donate my lungs to a chef who will write a cookbook specializing in smoked lungs on toast, with truffles. Maybe I'll get senile from drink, but it's a lot more fun than just getting senile. If I'm going to die, why worry about my old age? I'll take a steak now and let the dog food look after itself. Let the feds throw me in jail over my income tax. I'd enjoy eating at somebody else's expense for a change. And you get weekend leave, anyway. If Quebec separates, l'Il rip out the phone, which I'd love to do, and stop floating those billion-dollar loans, which I seldom do anyway. If i can't get a job, I'Il go on unemployment insurance, and laugh all the way to the poolroom, with the rest of the boys. AOM%ý, ZOCNA or