Let’s Be Heard!

There have been some amazing things happening over the past few weeks!

On November 5, I had the pleasure of joining (and meeting for the first time) Dennis Woodrow Burden. With about ten others who mobilized and coordinated through the internet in about 48 hours, we held a small demonstration of commitment to protecting Muskrat Falls.  First we stood on the steps of Confederation Building for about an hour greeting the people coming in.  The security guards, however, locked all of the doors.  Then the next hours we spend on the sidewalk on Prince Philip Parkway waving flags and banners.  All very well received!  If you didn’t see, we got coverage by CBC, NTV and the Telegram!

– People’s Assembly BLOG Coverage

On the evening of November 5th the People’s Assembly had a meeting at Harbourside Park to coordinate a rally that will occur on November 18th.  There is a lot of opposition to the Muskrat Falls development, and a lot of different reasons for the opposition.  However one thing is common: the PROCESS has failed.  The People’s Assembly Rally is focusing on the lack of transparency.

– People’s Assembly

As of November 6th, our government has officially refused to hold a special debate and it trying to blame it on the Liberals because the are sticking to their guns and want to insist on having the experts in the house during the debate.  The NDP and Tom Osborne had agreed to debate without experts (I assume feeling that something is better then nothing), however I have to admire the Liberals for standing by their beliefs that the PCs are not running the show here!  Or at least they should not be.

– No Debate – The Telegram

This week the paper version of the Muskrat Falls website in mail boxes. Between this and the website and the television adds I feel we have certainly spend our money wisely!

– The Power is in Our Hands

If this plan is so good, wouldn’t one think it could stand up tot he scrutiny of opposition? Seems to me that a lot of money is going into advertisement campaigns.  Maybe this money could go into the transparency they people are requesting instead of trying to convince us we are wrong.  But I digress.

Thursday night November 8th the NDP held a meeting with their constituent and anyone who wanted to join in.  Over 100 (NTV reports 70, however I heard 120) people gathered with the St. John’s NDP MHA’s to hear the voice of the people and give them a venue to share their concerns about the project.  The reality is, that the more people learn about this development, the LESS comfortable they are with the whole idea.  Surely this is not the way it should be with a rock solid deal like the Muskrat Falls project! The NDP’s town hall meeting sparked the NDP to create a petition to ask that the Muskrat Falls project go back to the PUB for assessment along with ALL over alternatives!

– NTV Coverage

– NDP Petition for you to print off an collect signatures this week!

So where are we now?  As far as I can see, resentment is growing, people are going from concerned to angry, and over all, those who are in opposition to this project are feeling so ignored by the PD party that they are doing everything they can to be heard.  The most recent protests started in Labrador and the fire is spreading across the province.  There are a lot of possible outcomes, but surely SOMETHING has to change with the current project or the PS government will have a lot to answer to if even the slightest thing goes wrong!

The Next Big Step

Get involved and help tell government that democracy is about the people!

There will be a Rally on Sunday November 18th including a march from Harbourside Park to Colonial Building. Get involved and learn more.  There is a problem with the system of our current government.  Having a majority government has given them the false impression that when we voted them in we all believed in EVERYTHING they said.  However if we only voted for the candidate who we agreed 100% with we would never have a government.  We need to remind the PCs who they are working for.

MORE DETAILS on the Rally on this Facebook Event Page

Get involved.  Invite your friends. Learn more. Read more!

There is so much wrong with this deal.  In my opinion, the math is good.  However this is about so much more then the math!  My next blog — True Cost Accounting!!  Look it up 😉

Denise

 

Calling Muskrat Falls “Green Energy” – a letter to Tom Mulcair on May 15, 2012

May 15, 2012

Dear Tom Mulcair,

I was watching the CBC news article where you spoke quite candidly about your thoughts on energy, coal and the problems we are having with a certain local politician who seems to be parroting Harper.  It is reassuring to hear such passion for the ideas of green and renewable energy and the importance of moving that way in all of our energy needs.  It was also reassuring to hear a politician speak out against the process being used to harvest the tar sands and the importance of moving away from burning coal.

Indeed I … was excited to see more NDPs take seats throughout the country.  This is surely a move in the right direction.

That said, the main topic of the interview did bother me greatly.  I repeatedly hear politicians call hydroelectricity “green energy” and the worst part it that it is said so wholeheartedly and honestly that I know they believe it.  Honestly, I used to believe it too.  Really, what could be greener than taking water that is already flowing and putting it through a turbine to capture the energy?  It does seem to make a lot of sense.  Until you consider the ramifications.

I know I certainly do not have all the facts and figures detailed on this issues.  Day to day I teach five-year-olds how to respect nature.  However, as an educator I am always learning, and the more I learn about damming rivers the more disturbing it is.  I believe the problem is that hydroelectricity might be renewable, however that does not make it sustainable.

To begin, if water is considered the lifeblood of our planet then our rivers must be the veins.  Like with blockages in our veins and arteries when you restrict that flow something has to give!  What we lose when we choose to build mega dams is the free movement of creatures in the water, we lose seasonal changes that the ecology of the area depends on and often we we lose the river!  How is this “green energy”?

With the building of Muskrat Falls and then the subsequent construction at Gull Island, we will turn the Grand River into a series of connected lakes.  We will create huge amounts of green house gasses that will release out of the boreal forest as it rots under the water, and it will create ideal conditions for mercury bacteria to flourish.  It happens in all dams, including the upper Churchill, mercury will be released from the flooded soils in harmful quantities for at least 20 years. This mercury will eventually leave the water, and enter other freshwater organisms, and also will flow out to sea contaminating the oceans and marine life, adding to the mess that we’ve already done to our oceans.  How is this “green energy”?

Most countries have stopped building mega dams, and others are taking down dams in the hopes that they can restore some of the natural movement of water through the ecosystem.

I know that well-intentioned people see projects like Muskrat Falls as a “better” solution to our increasing energy demands.  But how far are we willing to go with challenging and testing our hydrological systems?  On the simplest scale, culverting rivers and paving over wetlands to grow our cities already causes problems with flooding.  Our changing climate has been delivering more severe weather around the globe and we are more often caught off guard, unprepared to deal with what is thrown at us.  I fear that our belief that it will all work out in the end is leading us blindly to a self-made fate where we have choked the Earth and her resources too much.  There can only be so much give in the system before it ends badly for us.

I used to believe in hydro energy.  It seemed to make sense.  But the more I learn, the harder it gets to stand behind it.

You made a comment in your interview that everyone is for sustainable energy until it is in their own backyard.  Muskrat Falls is far away from most of Newfoundland and Labrador’s population.  Those who are speaking out against it are not worried about how it will look.  They are either worried about the dollars and cents, or, like myself, they are worried that we are making more changes to a main vein of Labrador without in the name of “green energy”.  Either way, we are all worried that we are letting this project go through because of how good it might look on paper.  As far as I can see, all the important costs of this project are so externalized that we could never measure it.  How do we calculate the costs of interrupting migration paths and threatening regional populations, pooling nutrients in the lakes and destroying what is already a delicate balance, and injecting mercury into the food chain in an area where many native communities still hunt and fish for their families.

In a debate, putting a hydroelectricity up against burning coal seems to lead us to an obvious winner.  However we need to think beyond this, because mega dams have a large carbon footprint to start with and their environmental impact continues throughout the life of the dam!  So, what if damming was not an option, what if we had not labeled it “green energy,” what would be the next solution?  There are lots of advancements and new ideas coming forth everyday about ways to approach an inevitable energy crises.  It will not all be pretty, but we need to take ownership of our energy needs.

Yes, many people have a “not in my backyard” attitude, however for myself, Holyrood is much closer to my backyard … and much dirtier.  I would dearly love to see it go off line, however Muskrat Falls is not the answer.  We need to think to the future.

I am excited to be attending the Public Forum: Exploring Renewable Energy Opportunities for Newfoundland and Labrador this Friday morning 10am at St. John’s City Hall, and I trust I will see Ryan Cleary and other NDP at the forum.  There is a better solution.  We do not have to take Muskrat Falls because it is the best of a bad lot and the only option presented.  We need to challenge our scientists and our energy companies to come up with a real solution.

My vote for the NDP was one that trusted that this party could not only get our nation out of a rut, but also see the value in sustainable living and building strong communities.  I also trusted that the NDPs are open to change, open to differing opinions and prepared to step back and take in the bigger picture.  I know you already stand up for renewable energy, now I am asking you to step back, reconsider what that means and please stand up for real “Green Energy.”  We can help others realize that there is a difference between renewable and sustainable.  We have passed the point where we can pass on this issue say that we will try better next time.  There needs to be a line drawn and we need to protect our rivers and our water ways, because in our lives, beyond anything else, they are really all that matter.

Sincerely
Denise Hennebury
Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador

cc –
Ryan.Cleary@parl.gc.ca
http://www.ndp.ca/contact

NOTE:  I received no response back from Mulcair or Cleary