over parts of Canadian Maritimes
N.L. woman who claims she saw missiles says area not used by model hobbyists
Module body
Fri Jan 29, 8:18 PM
By The Canadian Press
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HARBOUR MILLE, N.L. - A woman who claims she saw three missiles whiz over Newfoundland's south coast dismisses suggestions the mysterious objects could have been model rockets and claims instead the truth is being covered up.
Emmy Pardy said she clearly saw three huge "grey bullets" powering through the sky Monday off Harbour Mille, a small community of about 150 people.
The reports set off a confusing dance between government departments and the RCMP over who was addressing the issue and what, if anything, was seen.
But Pardy said Friday that suggestions by federal officials that the spot is used frequently by model rocket hobbyists are ludicrous.
"Yeah right - I don't believe that for one minute," she said from her home overlooking the bay where she spotted the mysterious objects.
"It was no model rocket. ... You don't even have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out."
She said everyone in the tiny coastal community knows everyone and she's never heard of people launching homemade rockets from land or sea.
Pardy and two friends claim they saw the objects Monday evening as one was taking pictures of the sunset.
Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams said he was concerned about the sighting, describing himself as a "UFO guy."
Williams said he discussed the issue with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and MacKay when the two men were in St. John's.
"They said they've checked everything within the defence systems, they've checked with whoever they could check with and they have absolutely no record of anything, for want of a better term, foreign, that could have happened there," he said.
"Something was seen. But from a Canadian defence perspective, I'm satisfied after talking to the prime minister and the minister of defence that there certainly wasn't anything that was being hidden by the government of Canada."
Calls to the RCMP and Public Safety Canada on Thursday were referred to the Prime Minister's Office, which issued a statement saying only that there was no indication of a rocket launch.
Canadian and French authorities have both investigated reports of rockets appearing off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, and have concluded there has been no military testing in the area.
"We can rule out any kind of military exercise," said Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Harper.
Soudas had said on Thursday that there was no evidence of any kind of military testing. But authorities in both Canada and France wanted to make sure, he said, so they looked into the reports further and found no basis for concern.
The French Embassy issued a statement late Thursday indicating that it hadn't conducted any military activity in Newfoundland or nearby St-Pierre-Miquelon at the time of the sightings.
But Pardy said she definitely saw something that looked like a missile and now believes someone is concealing the explanation.
"To me it sounds like they know what happened and somebody's trying to cover something up," she said. "Somebody made a blunder somewhere."
Saturday, January 30, 2010
For your evaluation: Bullfrog Power
From the NB Businessjournal site
Bullfrog Power arrives on the Maritime energy scene
Published Thursday November 5th, 2009
B1QUENTIN CASEY
FOR THE TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
- Bullfrog Power is leaping into the Maritimes.
Quentin Casey/For the Telegraph-Journal Tom Heintzman, president of Bullfrog Power, stands outside the Wooden Monkey restaurant in downtown Halifax, which uses the green electricity provider. The company, which touts itself as "Canada's 100 per cent green electricity provider," announced its move into the Maritime electricity market on Wednesday with a launch in Halifax.
Bullfrog, formed in 2005, allows home owners and businesses support renewable power producers in their region by paying extra for electricity.
Essentially, Bullfrog pumps enough renewable electricity into the local grid to match the power used by its customers.
So if you sign up with Bullfrog, the assumption is that all your power needs are covered by renewable sources.
Tom Heintzman, the company's president, compares the electrical grid to a bath tub. More wind and hydro power pumped into the system means less reliance on coal, oil and natural gas.
Bullfrog customers still pay their existing power provider, such as NB Power. They also pay Bullfrog to buy the more-expensive green energy from local generators.
According to Heintzman, customers end up paying about 20 per cent more for their power. But they get the satisfaction of knowing their power needs are covered by clean sources, he said.
"It's like organic food or hybrid vehicles - you give people a choice and you try to use market forces to increase the amount of renewable power," he said in an interview.
"There's no new equipment, there's no change-over cost and there's no change in the reliability."
Bullfrog Power is already available in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.
The company serves more than 8,000 homes and 1,000 businesses - and is looking for more with its expansion into Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. "It reveals what can happen when people show they are willing to pay a little bit more for power," Heintzman said.
"It feels like there's quite a bit of enthusiasm for renewable power in the Maritimes."
In the Maritimes, Bullfrog will draw its green power from wind farms and hydro facilities in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
In New Brunswick, the power will come from a small Irving-owned hydro facility in St. George.
Bullfrog mainly pays small operators for their green power, but also invests in some renewable projects. The idea, Heintzman said, is to keep demand for renewable energy high - so that more wind and hydro stations are needed.
According to Heintzman, several new wind projects have been commissioned in Canada to meet the demand of Bullfrog customers.
And a number of companies have already "bullfrogpowered" some or all of their operations.
For example: the Wooden Monkey, a restaurant and bar in downtown Halifax where Heintzman announced the Maritime launch.
And big firms are also on board.
On Wednesday, BMO Financial Group announced it will purchase Bullfrog electricity for all of its 64 Maritime facilities, making it the biggest user of Bullfrog Power in Atlantic Canada.
Over the past two years, BMO has bought Bullfrog power for 78 branches across Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
Bullfrog Power arrives on the Maritime energy scene
Published Thursday November 5th, 2009
B1QUENTIN CASEY
FOR THE TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
- Bullfrog Power is leaping into the Maritimes.
Quentin Casey/For the Telegraph-Journal Tom Heintzman, president of Bullfrog Power, stands outside the Wooden Monkey restaurant in downtown Halifax, which uses the green electricity provider. The company, which touts itself as "Canada's 100 per cent green electricity provider," announced its move into the Maritime electricity market on Wednesday with a launch in Halifax.
Bullfrog, formed in 2005, allows home owners and businesses support renewable power producers in their region by paying extra for electricity.
Essentially, Bullfrog pumps enough renewable electricity into the local grid to match the power used by its customers.
So if you sign up with Bullfrog, the assumption is that all your power needs are covered by renewable sources.
Tom Heintzman, the company's president, compares the electrical grid to a bath tub. More wind and hydro power pumped into the system means less reliance on coal, oil and natural gas.
Bullfrog customers still pay their existing power provider, such as NB Power. They also pay Bullfrog to buy the more-expensive green energy from local generators.
According to Heintzman, customers end up paying about 20 per cent more for their power. But they get the satisfaction of knowing their power needs are covered by clean sources, he said.
"It's like organic food or hybrid vehicles - you give people a choice and you try to use market forces to increase the amount of renewable power," he said in an interview.
"There's no new equipment, there's no change-over cost and there's no change in the reliability."
Bullfrog Power is already available in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.
The company serves more than 8,000 homes and 1,000 businesses - and is looking for more with its expansion into Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. "It reveals what can happen when people show they are willing to pay a little bit more for power," Heintzman said.
"It feels like there's quite a bit of enthusiasm for renewable power in the Maritimes."
In the Maritimes, Bullfrog will draw its green power from wind farms and hydro facilities in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
In New Brunswick, the power will come from a small Irving-owned hydro facility in St. George.
Bullfrog mainly pays small operators for their green power, but also invests in some renewable projects. The idea, Heintzman said, is to keep demand for renewable energy high - so that more wind and hydro stations are needed.
According to Heintzman, several new wind projects have been commissioned in Canada to meet the demand of Bullfrog customers.
And a number of companies have already "bullfrogpowered" some or all of their operations.
For example: the Wooden Monkey, a restaurant and bar in downtown Halifax where Heintzman announced the Maritime launch.
And big firms are also on board.
On Wednesday, BMO Financial Group announced it will purchase Bullfrog electricity for all of its 64 Maritime facilities, making it the biggest user of Bullfrog Power in Atlantic Canada.
Over the past two years, BMO has bought Bullfrog power for 78 branches across Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
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