It was filmed on the patio of Duckies on the Waterfront. With interruptions of noise from the Dartmouth ferry and other machinery, the filming took nearly and hour. When that is edited to 5 or 6 minutes, the piece seems really short! Discussion followed for sometime after filming was complete.
I am sure all three of us would like to have had what we said edited differently. I would have liked to have been able to finish my point (which I did at the time but was edited out) that whereas Pubnico only impacts very few neighbours, this wind farm stands to impact hundreds of neighbours.
The point I was able to make clearly was that this project is for an industrial power plant to be imposed on a residential, recreational, cottage country area.
What was edited out was Charles' more overt reactions to some of what Bob or I had to say. He threatened to leave more than once. This made CBC’s job of editing very difficult.
He really, REALLY didn't like being surprised by my news that, as of last weekend, a $250,000 property sale has fallen through directly because of his proposed project.
Only one property has sold on the Gulf Shore since last November, when this industrial project was announced. I am told that it sold for a bargain price at 30% less than the assessed value. Until this project pulls out of this area, our properties are virtually worthless.
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Because CBCL Ltd wants to conduct workshop type meetings with invited people as their part of the public consultation, AWPC is not going to schedule public consultations until possibly later in the summer.
I have had an interesting conversation with Ann Wilkie of CBCL Ltd. She is in charge of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and she assures me that the EA process will be fair and inclusive. She will be out of the country for the next couple of weeks, so the process will start in earnest in June.
CBCL has only just very recently been commissioned to conduct the EA. Their earlier involvement was in mapping the area for AWPC.
We were told at April 18th AWPC open house that people from St Mary's University were doing studies. (We locals have yet to spy any field workers in rubber boots with backpacks of field notes and measuring instruments trudging through the project site. You have to wonder where the field study information is coming from!). These studies are to be sent to CBCL for consideration.
The EA process is not particularly speedy. The provincial departments to be involved will likely be Dept of Environment and Labour and Dept of Natural Resources. (I would like to see the Dept of Tourism involved too). The federal department to be involved would be Energy Canada. Ann Wilkie expects that both levels of government agencies will be involved in this project.
I was told EAs are not rubber stamped. There are many projects that do not get through the process. Most failed projects are abandoned before they get to the Review stage.
She would like to schedule meeting(s) with Pugwash/Gulf Shore representatives in smaller working groups. She is also proposing meetings in HRM if necessary. She assured me that she is open to all opinions and information.
She asked that we keep these working groups to 10-15 people. (The forum of a large open meeting can be intimidating to some and an opportunity for grandstanding for others.) We should look to putting together as representative a group as possible.
My rather sceptical opinion of the EA process has been eased somewhat. There are rules to be followed. Let's hope that they are, and to the letter.
5 comments:
wow, since prices are dropping ,I think I'll start looking for property there. Least it will be more affortable now.
Why are you so concerned with your property values? So shallow!
Are you thinking your"beloved cottage country" is a cash cow? Maybe its time to think of the planet as a whole instead of your little spot on it.
The only genuine concern of Gulf Shorists is property values.
Elsewhere on this blog, Atlantic Windpower personell are characterised as motivatedby greed alone.
Isn't speculating on Gulf Shore properties in hopes of the big bucks a little greedy?
Far too many anti wind people have given vent to the term "million dollar properties". Driving the Sunshine Trail from Pugwash to the golf course shows only 2 milion dollar properties, the Irving farm and the golf course.
Cottagers in recent public forums have portrayed themselves as victimised cash cows paying through the nose for no services. Folks you get the municipal budget in the mail just as I do. It details the major cost centres for the municipality as police, fire, environmental and administration. These are mostly 12 month services that cottagers use just like everyone else.
Great comments by Alex.
There was a segment about windfarm acceptance in the Gaspe last week on Maritime Noon. The guest stated that published studies all find noise levels falling below ambient at approximately 400 yards. He praised Cumberland Council for adopting a reasonable setback.
Isn't the phrase, here is the information you may distribute, a bit ominous?
Nobody thinks that wind turbines are any more than a part of the solution. Conservation will be necessary along with wind farms and other innovations. Some commentators on this blog feel that if wind advocates just practice killowatt conservation, no wind turbines will be needed. Isn't it a bit over the top for cottagers to advocate concervation when they are all double dipping in the energy pool?
Cottages maintain two properties at an energy cost. Cottagers drive back and forth at an energy cost. Cottagers have lawnmowers, boats, atvs, leaf blowers, chainsaws etc. at an energy cost. Cottages , Seen in this light, cottages seem to be glass houses from which stones are being thrown.
Property values crash? I doubt it. I looked at a property on the Gulf Shore Road a few years ago but didn't buy : the realter told me that the area was overvalued and that the house had poor potential for financial growth.
John McManus
wind turbines generate low frequency infrasonic sound.this has unknown health related issues.you can't hear this via your ears.it takes very specialized equipment to register it.the published studies rarely mention this aspect of the noise generated via a wind generator.
a grid of these creates areas of hi intensity and low intensity via phase reinforcement/cancellation which depends on the distance/angle/turbine speed/etc that a measurement is taken.
the public relations department "forgets" to inform all of this variability to the public.
those people who don't have to live with this generally make the most amount of noise about the virtues of saving the planet by forcing this type of development into someone elses back yard.
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