I have been writing for MGT for over 2 years now about the environment and how best to do our own part to be more eco-friendly. So with the next election is less than 3 weeks away, here are my 2 cents once again. The environment is finally one of the most talked about issues the time around. So much is riding on this election as the three major parties have such different views on the direction Ontario should go in regards to the environment. Such contrasting views will have the most profound effect like we have not seen in decades in Ontario. This is the time to stand up and have your voice heard. I have always been very political and yes voted Liberal. I came across this article the other day and I wanted to share his thoughts with you. Below is a link from one of the greatest Canadians ever, David Suzuki. Please take time to read and see how he came to his conclusion as to whom he hopes wins the election.
Even if you do not agree with my politics.. PLEASE VOTE ON OCTOBER 6TH
The election platform just released by the Ontario Liberals includes a number of environmental measures. Besides its platform, a governing party will also be judged on its record, and a fair assessment of both the Liberal platform and record would call them good but mixed.
The environmental issue that will probably be most debated up to the election on October 6 will be the Green Energy Act. The centerpiece of the Green Energy Act is the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program, which allows individuals, companies, municipalities, and cooperatives to sell renewable power into the provincial energy grid at guaranteed rates for the next 20 years. This clean-energy law has already led to billions of dollars of investment in green energy and the creation of thousands of well-paying jobs in the province.
Not surprisingly, the Liberal platform highlights the Green Energy Act and the FIT program. The Progressive Conservatives vow to scrap the FIT program and a contract with Samsung under which the company would invest $7 billion in green energy in exchange for priority access to the grid and favourable rates for its power. The NDP has promised to honour existing contracts (including the Samsung contract) but otherwise limit private sector investment in renewable energy to small FIT projects only, with all future large renewable energy projects being publicly owned.
A coal phase-out is also mentioned in the Liberal platform. Because of past coal-plant closures, Ontario's electricity-related emissions of greenhouse gases and smog-producing pollutants have gone down substantially. Though the legislated deadline for closing the remaining coal plants is 2014, Ontario Power Generation has confirmed that present power production exceeds demand even without the coal-fired power plants, which is why the David Suzuki Foundation and other environmental and health groups have called for a more immediate closure of the remaining coal plants. The Liberals, however, want to uphold the 2014 deadline, as do the Progressive Conservatives. The NDP has committed to an immediate phase-out.
The election platform just released by the Ontario Liberals includes a number of environmental measures. Besides its platform, a governing party will also be judged on its record, and a fair assessment of both the Liberal platform and record would call them good but mixed.