To whom it may concern,   …

To whom it may concern,

As a resident of Toronto and a Canadian citizen I am deeply concerned regarding energy issues in this country and in my province. As the Federal Liberal gov't is planning to build more pipelines, I feel that the voices of regular people must be heard and taken into account.

At this point in time, the initiative must be for Ontario to turn to 100% renewable energy. This is not an incredible and impossible idea. There are countries right now, as we speak in Europe who are moving to ban petrol cars (i.e. Germany, Netherlands, Norway, etc) yet, here in Canada we are barely moving in a positive direction on this issue.

We basically need solar panels anywhere where they can catch sunlight, we need wind-farms, research in geo-thermal energy but most of all we need the right attitude from politicians and civil servants. With the use of renewable energy we can get everyone involved: industry, regular citizens, foreign investment, etc. and everyone will benefit out of this.

The continuation of pipelines and nuclear energy is simply not safe and it would be good if gov't officials would recognise this. Nuclear power produces radio-active waste which we do not know what to do with and we just bury in the ground. Out of sight, out of mind seems to be the norm nowadays (until we get a Fukoshima disaster then, it's too late). In my opinion all nuclear projects must be independently and publicly reviewed. I do not trust the CNSC (Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission) because it is mostly made-up of people who were involved in the failing energy industry which we have now, be it mining, or others.

It is the same story with pipelines. The Nexen Pipeline spill in Alberta, is the best example. A brand new pipeline, with double walls, with sensors which were supposed to detect leaks, still burst-out leaking oil for weeks until a contractor noticed the pools of oil. This is tragic, it is irresponsible and it must end. We need renewable energy that is not going to result in damaging the environment and putting people's lives at risk.

What bothers me most is that we have the opportunity to change, we have people who need work and a renewable energy industry which needs to get off the ground. What are politicians waiting for? This is what we should be investing our time and energy in: conservation and renewable energy, not pipelines and nuclear power stations. Prices on renewable energy and smart-grid technologies are constantly dropping, we have absolutely no reason not to follow the lead of countries such as Germany. It is shameful that we have not acted sooner when we indeed can.

I wish the gov't will make thoughtful decisions regarding this issue, keeping in mind the future generations and the well-being of the environment (which we depend on). Any new money invested should only be going to renewable energy because this is the future.  Thank You.

Sincerely,

I  (Andrei Neacsu)

[Original Comment ID: 206886]