Ugly Offshore Wind Farms?

People will perhaps always oppose change no matter how good the change really is, but one understanding that has eluded me is why would anybody in their right mind oppose the use of wind as a source of electricity?

It's completely clean, quiet, renewable, and windmills are nice to look at. What more could you ask for? Wind isn't going away anytime soon and there's nothing wrong with creating new jobs to build these turbines.

Last night a meeting was held in Toronto to discuss a plan by Toronto Hydro to place wind speed devices in Lake Ontario to assess the feasibility of building a wind farm 2KM offshore on Lake Ontario.

I heard through an "extreme environmental organization" (The David Suzuki Foundation) that people were opposed to this initiative.

I wanted to attend the meeting to find out why people would oppose this, but I had too many things going on with work and school.

As it turns out, people oppose the offshore wind farm on the basis that the turbines will "spoil their view" of the lake and decrease their property value. The other argument was that the turbines will disrupt or kill migratory birds.

I personally find the claim that the wind farm will spoil their view a bit ludicrous, but that's because in my personal view, turbines are visually appealing. When I was on the lake kayaking this summer, one of the most visually appealing man-made objects I saw were the wind turbines at the Pickering nuclear plant (Especially in contrast to the ugliness of the nuclear reactors).

Wind is one of the most important sources of energy that we can invest in, and you'd have to show me a very compelling reason against it to change my mind. We need more renewable sources of energy, and opposing it will only keep us on the path that we're already headed.

Bailout Fever

On Wednesday, the big US auto manufacturers went to Washington to beg for taxpayers’ money to bail them out of possible bankruptcy. There was something symbolic about these auto execs flying in their big luxury private jets from Detroit to Washington. To me, flying to Washington in their gas-guzzling jets symbolizes their failure to innovate to address 21st century problems.

The big 3 US auto manufacturers have been facing major business challenges and financial losses for the last several years. The current recession and possible depression surely don't help their situation, nor do they help pretty much any other type of business, but why on earth should the taxpayers be on the hook to bail out the auto manufacturers for problems that they brought on themselves? They failed to adapt to a constantly changing world by pushing their SUVs when they should have been working to design more fuel efficient cars.

I like Congressman Gary Ackerman's (D-NY) comment: "There's a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hands. It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high-hat and tuxedo. . . . I mean, couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here?"

GM apparently saw the irony and just today announced that they are terminating the leases on 2 of their 5 corporate jets. As recently as September, GM was leasing 7 jets. Sorry Rick (Wagoner, GM's CEO), nobody is going to feel sorry for you because you only have 3 corporate jets left.

Further diminishing their credibility, GM and Ford’s CEOs declined to offer to reduce their salary to $1 a year, as Chrysler’s Robert Nardelli has done. GM’s Wagoner made $15.7 million in 2007, while Ford’s Alan Mulally made $21.7 million.

The auto manufacturers need to feel the pain, learn from their mistakes, innovate, and come back when they are really ready to compete with Toyota and Honda.

Environmentorontotalitarianism

En-vi-ron-men-tor-on-to-tal-it-ar-i-an-is-m

[en-vahy-ruhn-muhnt-or-on-toh-tal-i-tair-ee-uh-niz-uhm]
-noun

1. the state of being Jim
2. the state of being James
3. the character or quality of an autocratic editor-in-chief of "The Urban Country"

Definition based on the dictionary of George

Here's my makeshift Halloween costume from a few weeks back. I went into work that day without a costume and by mid-afternoon, I had consumed my co-worker's leftovers to put together this outfit which turned out to be an exaggerated version of our co-worker Nariman.

Perpetual Challenge: Student vs. Consultant

Things have been pretty busy lately for me (Not surprisingly). When I'm not working, almost all of my spare time is occupied by my studies. It's a difficult balance to be both a good Consultant and a good Student.

If I were to use an analogy to describe it, it would be like having two wives at the same time (who didn't know about each other). You need to please them both but when you spend more time with one, you're taking away from the other. Unless you can find a way to spend time with both of them at the same time, you're never going to be a good husband to either one of them.

Such is my school/work life. I can't be the best at either as long as I'm doing both. Thankfully it's only another 3 weeks before I have my final exams and then I'll be back to normal for a while. I think I'm going to just take 1 course at a time (Instead of 2) to help stay more focused on my work.

Here are a couple snaps I took of the books that are contributing to my history essay that I took with my new Canon SD1100 IS. Back to reading!

Toronto on Waste

In a time where there are still places in the United States where people literally throw away cases of empty beer bottles because there are no recycling programs or bottle-deposit programs in place, I'm proud to see my city being progressive about reducing waste.

The City of Toronto is pushing Coffee Shops to encourage customers to use reusable coffee mugs in order to reduce the number of coffee cups being thrown in the trash (Approximately 1 million cups a day in this city).

The recommended plan is to force the stores to refund customers who bring their own mugs in the sum of 20 cents for each coffee purchased. The coffee shops are fighting back for fear that the 20 cents will eat into their profit, as a coffee cup only costs them but 10 cents. The city has given the coffee shops until April to look for alternative options to address this issue before the 20 cent refund is imposed. The hope is that they will be able to find a way to recycle the coffee cups being sold or use a type of coffee cup that is recyclable.

Another measure the city is moving forward with is to force grocery stores to refund customers 10 cents per bag for customers who bring their own bags. The City of Toronto committee also recommended to move forward on a ban on plastic water bottles at city facilities.

There is an environmental and economic benefit to diverting our garbage. From an economic perspective, we're currently sending our trash 400 kilometers to a Michigan landfill, which isn't exactly cheap. The environmental benefit is obvious.

I've always pushed for individuals to take responsibility for their impact on the environment, but the government has its role as well in making it a better place for its citizens to live, work and play. It's motivating for me on a personal level when I know that there are people in the government who have the same goals as I do. It's in everyone's best interests on multiple levels to reduce our waste, reduce our footprint, and enjoy the earth as it was intended to be enjoyed.

I will Always Remember

November 11th is a day that is very near and dear to my heart. 11 November 1918 marks the end of the Great War (also known as World War I... also known as the war to end all wars). It is a day in which I believe we should all take the time to remember those who suffered during war. I'd be happy to give up one of our other national holidays in order to make Remembrance Day a national holiday.

This day is significant to me because my country played a significant role in both world wars; both in victory and valour and in defeat and sorrow. It is also significant because it shaped the life of my great friend and late Grandfather who lived through the war, from occupation by the Germans to the liberation by the Canadians in the Netherlands, where half of my ancestral roots inhabited.

I've spent a considerable amount of time over the last couple months researching D-Day (also known as Operation Overlord) for an essay I'm writing for a University course I'm enrolled in and my research has only solidified my appreciation for those who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to put an end to an unnecessary and ruthless war.

The young men who were on the front lines of war both in the Great War and in Hitler's war were just like you and me. They knew that there was a strong possibility that they would never again see their girlfriends or wives, or in some cases, their kids. But they went because they knew it was something they had to do.

The allies weren't the only ones we should remember. There were millions of soldiers who were victims to something more powerful than themselves who had but not choice but to fight for their superiors.

Nothing good comes out of war and nobody really wins in war. The victors in the world wars went through just as much if not more suffering than the losers, so in the end, everybody loses.

The great wars of our past should be a lesson for the wars of the future. Instead of instigating battles we should be instigating peace. Instead of making threats we should be making concessions. Instead of encouraging other nations to develop more arms, we should be inspiring other nations to develop their people.

As long as Remembrance Day is here, we will always remember the pains of war. It's the blood, sweat and tears of our past wars that will prevent us from shedding more blood in the future.

A Dignified McCain

I have to use this article to honour John McCain for what was I think his most honourable speech he has given since the beginning of his campaign in which he conceded the election to Barack Obama. With tears fresh in his eyes, McCain hushed the crowd several times when they booed at the very mention of the name Barack Obama.

McCain asked his supporters to back the new President and come together as a country only to hear boos from the crowd. Deep down I think John McCain has good intentions and I respect him for his kind words toward Barack Obama. I somehow couldn't see Sarah Palin offering the same respect toward Obama that McCain has offered.

"A little while ago I had the honour of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him... to congratulate him on being elected the next President of the country that we both love. In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many Americans, (who) would once wrongly believe that they had little at stake, or little influence in electing an American President, is something that I deeply admire and commend him for achieving."

"Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved Grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator, and so very proud of the good man she has raised."

"I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next President our goodwill and our earnest effort to find ways to come together. To find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences, and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited."

America now has a chance to repair its image in the world, and its injustices within its borders. I offer Barack Obama my hope that he will prove himself to be te honest person of integrity that the US needs.

Final thoughts on Presidential Election

(This was written earlier today on the bus ride home from a 3-day vacation in Montreal and Quebec City with Han and her parents)

Tomorrow is the day that the United States will choose who will lead them into the next 4 years. The next elected President has an arduous task ahead of them; for in my mind there are 4 major challenges they face : 1) Energy reduction - with all this talk about energy independence, I stand for energy reduction and investment in renewable resources to achieve energy independence. Perhaps a deep recession will help achieve this. 2) Improving America’s image: The United States needs to improve its image in the world's eyes. This is not an easy thing to do after 8 years of neo-conservatism that has spawned new enemies all over the world. The next President needs to appear tough, but compassionate (Two very contradicting positions) 3) War exit strategy - The next President needs to work on an exit strategy from Iraq and Afghanistan so the country can focus more on its own domestic issues. Regardless of who becomes President, this will be a big monkey on their back, with the fundamental difference that Obama will set a timetable on withdrawal from Iraq. But as the Canadian government has learned in Afghanistan, a timetable will most likely be delayed over and over again so it won't have the "teeth" that Obama would hope it to have. War debt has preceded the end of all major empires. Money for war doesn't grow on trees (Or does it?? Watch this 2-hour documentary to find out) 4) Financial System Reform - The next President needs to focus on an overhaul of the US financial system and regulations. The Government’s recent nationalization of private financial institutions will keep the financial markets inflated and will likely lead to a longer (however slower) decline in the economy; the effects of which will likely still be visible closer to the end of the President's first term. It also encourages CEOs and CFOs to milk the system because if they screw up, the government will come to their rescue anyway. Even GM and Chrysler are trying to get a piece of the "bailout pie" with their recent request for $10 billion to assist in a merger of the two respective corporations.

The election race has been dirty. I really wanted to look at McCain and Obama from an objective perspective and focus on the issues. But I feel that McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate brought out the worst in the Republican dirty tactics. I even get the sense that McCain is uncomfortable with the extent of some of those attacks: Associating Obama with terrorism, using several approaches to tie Obama to Radical Islam, implications that Obama has Marxist aspirations, attacks that generate racist thoughts, deep mistrust, etc. While on one side we have Palin encouraging these thoughts, we have McCain on the other hand doing interviews where he acknowledges that he doesn't think Obama is a Socialist or a Marxist, and that he's a good decent family man, even acknowledging that Ayers is an irrelevant "washed up terrorist". The biggest challenge for McCain is to maintain his bi-partisan stance as a man who brings people together to get things done, while Palin has been rallying the base Republicans to bring the Republicans further to the right thus dividing the parties even more. What McCain needs to do is to rally the more moderate Republicans and independents who sit closer to the center, instead of allowing the center-leaning Red states to turn into Blue states.

To top it all off, some base Republican groups and/or individuals have been trying to deceive the public by distributing flyers, emails and robocalls to deceive the public about the election. In one such example, voters were told in flyers that due to a high turnout in voters this year, Republicans would vote Tuesday and Democrats on Wednesday. However there is no evidence that these types of flyers were actually distributed by a Republican, so it's hard to tell without these people being brought to justice. But there is evidence that Republican affiliated groups have been distributing pure lies about Obama, which is truly unfortunate but nothing new for the fear-mongerers.

No matter what happens tomorrow, the process of recovering the United States would take many years and many sacrifices, so regardless of who wins, challenging days are still ahead of us because things don't change overnight. Obama brings that JFK-style of hope and pride for the future that could inspire the nation to change. John McCain is a man who can make change, but whether his direction is the right direction is another question. A McCain Administration would also have to deal with his VP’s aspirations in pursuing her own selfish agenda; and he has already indicated that he would contain Palin to focus on Energy reform, thus keeping her out of other issues. I agree with Palin that Energy independence is a major challenge of the next President, but I disagree with her 3-fold approach of drilling, burning coal and expanding nuclear production (Palin says she supports other methods, but these 3 seem to be her de-facto response to the energy crisis). I like Obama's emphasis on investing in renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and tide, but I disagree with his support of the so-called "clean coal", nuclear and offshore drilling.

At the end of the day, although I don't agree fully with either candidate, I think one candidate has shown a higher level of integrity in the campaign trail as well as a high level of leadership, constraint and intellectualism. My friend James Leroy Wilson over at DownSizeDC.org is voting for Bob Barr because he doesn't like McCain or Obama, but I think that Obama is the best choice for the future of America and I sincerely hope that positive change would be forthcoming in an Obama Administration. But hope is just hope and action is the only way to achieve one's hopes and dreams, so we’ll see what the future holds for America.