A sea of difference
Published Saturday December 12th, 2009
Power: Nova Scotia explores tidal energy, as New Brunswick's policies keep development at bay
C1QUENTIN CASEY
FOR THE TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
HALIFAX - If the current drive to harness the powerful Bay of Fundy tides can be classified as a race, then it is clear New Brunswick is trailing Nova Scotia.
Photo Submitted Last month this turbine was lowered onto the Bay of Fundy’s seabed by two groups which have partnered on a pilot energy project – Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro, an Irish tidal technology firm. The one-megawatt unit is the first commercial tidal turbine to be deployed in the bay. But that's not necessarily bad news for some New Brunswickers - including the premier - who are calling for a cautious approach to what they classify as an unproven technology.
That contrasts with Nova Scotia, where tidal energy work is intensifying. Developers in the Bluenose province are already producing power from a massive turbine successfully planted on the ocean floor last month.
While New Brunswick researchers are still determining which sites have the most potential for tidal projects, Nova Scotia developers are envisioning a day when 300 turbines could be placed in the bay - converting the roaring tides into enough electricity to power 100,000 homes.
At this point, ground zero for tidal development in the Bay of Fundy is located about three kilometres off shore in the Minas Passage, about 10 kilometres west of Parrsboro, N.S.
There, under the cold bay waves, sits a massive turbine about 10 metres in diameter. The turbine, with blades that are pushed by the rushing tides, sits atop a large metal tripod that is 25 metres long. The whole unit weighs 360 tonnes.
The device was lowered onto the seabed last month by the two groups partnering on the pilot project: Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro, an Irish tidal technology firm.
The one-megawatt unit is the first commercial tidal turbine to be deployed in the Bay of Fundy, thanks in part to $9 million from the Nova Scotia government.
And so far, so good.
The unit has remained in position and is producing power. Though not yet hooked to shore by a cable, the turbine's power is being converted to heat and released into the water.
"All systems are working," says Nick Murphy, who is overseeing OpenHydro's operations in North America, which include a similar project in Washington's Puget Sound.
"It's a step toward larger projects in the future. We're very confident that this is doable with more than one unit. The economics look very viable in comparison to other renewable power sources."
For OpenHydro, the goal is to perfect their tidal technology and then sell the turbines to governments and utilities looking to fight their dependence on dirty coal and oil power sources.
The Irish firm has already tested its technology extensively in Europe and was the first company to pump electricity from tidal streams into the United Kingdom's national grid.
For Nova Scotia Power, the vision includes up to 300 turbines one day below the surface - silently and invisibly generating emission-free power.
Across the bay in New Brunswick, however, the adoption of tidal power is moving at a slower pace.
Back in May 2008, Irving Oil Ltd. announced it was partnering with the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, based in St. Andrews, to research 11 potential sites for tidal power generation.
The two-year project is examining tidal patterns, climatic conditions and behaviour of aquatic life in the selected areas, such as Head Harbour Passage, Cape Enrage and Cape Spencer.
Jeff Landry, manager of business development for Fort Reliance, Irving Oil's parent company, says the group hopes to have a list of preferred sites narrowed down by this time next year.
After that, the goal is to put some form of pilot technology in the water.
But for that to happen, the New Brunswick government must first adjust its approach to tidal power.
The province's current policy confines potential developers to research. Demonstration projects, such as the one in Nova Scotia, are not allowed.
"Hopefully in the near future the government's policy will catch up with us," Landry said. "Otherwise, all of the research we're doing would largely be for not."
According to the Department of Natural Resources, a new tidal policy is now in development and will be complete sometime next year. Department officials expect the policy to push the tidal sector beyond the research and exploration phase, but declined to offer details.
David Coon admits New Brunswick is moving slower than Nova Scotia on tidal power, but argues that may be a good thing.
The executive director of the New Brunswick Conservation Council says tidal developments must be approached cautiously because of the risk posed to marine life.
"It's something we should be going slowly on for ecological reasons," he said. "I wouldn't put tidal at the top of the list in terms of which renewable technologies we'd want to fast-track."
Premier Shawn Graham is also hesitant about jumping fully into the tidal game.
Though he says he is encouraged by the new trials, he warns that many questions remain.
"It's still unproven on what the cost competitiveness is for these tidal power projects. Anyone can set up a project where it costs 20 cents a kilowatt," he said.
"If it's not within the 10 cent per kilowatt range it means you either have to increase power rates or find another subsidy.
"I'm encouraged by the potential, but it's not an immediate solution to the challenges facing our province."
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Turbine Noise Affects People Differently
Sound can affect people differently
From Justin Lindholm
Rutland
Published: December 13, 2009
In his commentary last Sunday, Randal Smathers uncharacteristically belittled suffering people — in this case those who suffer from wind turbine noise. Randal fails to realize that a particular type of sound can affect different people in different ways.
For instance, I have always been fascinated by how the sound of fingernails being drawn across a blackboard causes many people to freak out. Such a sound doesn't affect me at all. I bet an operating vacuum cleaner puts out a higher level of decibels than fingernails on a blackboard does, but is more pleasant to listen to.
Low decibel levels do not by themselves determine whether a sound is bearable. When one stands close to a large wind turbine, the sound is a pleasant, windy sound. But, one mile from these turbines, the sound, although not as loud, becomes a series of throbbing, penetrating pressure waves that assault ones' senses within ones' own house, hour after hour, day and night, sometimes for days at a time. Last Saturday I visited a friend in Lempster, New Hampshire who lives one mile from the big turbines. Last year, he was in favor of them. Last Saturday he told me that he can't stand them anymore.
Randal believes that turbine noise syndrome is non-science. Throughout history, new science has at first been considered non-science. Vermonters affected by turbine noise need to be compensated, as homeowners in Canada have been.
Justin Lindholm
Rutland
From Justin Lindholm
Rutland
Published: December 13, 2009
In his commentary last Sunday, Randal Smathers uncharacteristically belittled suffering people — in this case those who suffer from wind turbine noise. Randal fails to realize that a particular type of sound can affect different people in different ways.
For instance, I have always been fascinated by how the sound of fingernails being drawn across a blackboard causes many people to freak out. Such a sound doesn't affect me at all. I bet an operating vacuum cleaner puts out a higher level of decibels than fingernails on a blackboard does, but is more pleasant to listen to.
Low decibel levels do not by themselves determine whether a sound is bearable. When one stands close to a large wind turbine, the sound is a pleasant, windy sound. But, one mile from these turbines, the sound, although not as loud, becomes a series of throbbing, penetrating pressure waves that assault ones' senses within ones' own house, hour after hour, day and night, sometimes for days at a time. Last Saturday I visited a friend in Lempster, New Hampshire who lives one mile from the big turbines. Last year, he was in favor of them. Last Saturday he told me that he can't stand them anymore.
Randal believes that turbine noise syndrome is non-science. Throughout history, new science has at first been considered non-science. Vermonters affected by turbine noise need to be compensated, as homeowners in Canada have been.
Justin Lindholm
Rutland
Wind Turbines and Noise
From interestingenergyfacts.blogspot.com
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Noise from wind turbines - Big problem in U.K.
Wind energy definitely has more advantages than disadvantages but as one of the main problems with win energy installations could be the noise coming from wind turbines. The U.K. Government has for instance asked for local authorities to urgently update the guidance and the impact of noise from wind turbines, campaigners.
Wind turbines, as wind energy sector is developing, are becoming larger and larger, and the larger wind turbines are the more noise they make and this affect not only the people but the wildlife living nearby.
The environmental groups in UK wants for government to do something about this noise issue, while on the other hand UK's government is saying there is continuing research into the impact of noise, and how local authorities are already dealing with this issue.
Some environmental experts say the government guidelines on acceptable noise levels for wind turbines were due for revision 11 years ago and there has been little sign that changes in wind turbine technology is reflected in these rules because at that time wind turbines were much smaller than they are today.
This old guidance was designed for structures of about 90ft (27m) in height, but some applications for wind farms include turbines that are at least three times higher so they are really not acceptable for current size of wind turbines.
Some government officials have stated that the ground effects such as rustling of the leaves can mask this noise from wind turbines but environmentalists believe that these noises make such large noise that that any masking effect on the ground could be cancelled out, therefore they believe that the radical overhaul in design of wind turbines is needed to solve this problem.
Wind energy renewable sector is fast developing in almost all parts of the world, the questions like noise from wind turbines have to be solved very quickly. Wind energy in general has much more appealing effect on environment than fossil fuels do and is energy sector worthy of further development. Noise pollution problem definitely has to be sorted out as soon as possible because Britain is far behind other European countries in renewable energy use so such problems are really the last thing Britain needs today.
The noise pollution is definitely not that big deal like environmentalists say it is but even if is noise pollution is big as environmentalists say it is that still doesn't mean that Britain should abandon building wind turbines. What's the alternative to this? More coal fired power plants?
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Noise from wind turbines - Big problem in U.K.
Wind energy definitely has more advantages than disadvantages but as one of the main problems with win energy installations could be the noise coming from wind turbines. The U.K. Government has for instance asked for local authorities to urgently update the guidance and the impact of noise from wind turbines, campaigners.
Wind turbines, as wind energy sector is developing, are becoming larger and larger, and the larger wind turbines are the more noise they make and this affect not only the people but the wildlife living nearby.
The environmental groups in UK wants for government to do something about this noise issue, while on the other hand UK's government is saying there is continuing research into the impact of noise, and how local authorities are already dealing with this issue.
Some environmental experts say the government guidelines on acceptable noise levels for wind turbines were due for revision 11 years ago and there has been little sign that changes in wind turbine technology is reflected in these rules because at that time wind turbines were much smaller than they are today.
This old guidance was designed for structures of about 90ft (27m) in height, but some applications for wind farms include turbines that are at least three times higher so they are really not acceptable for current size of wind turbines.
Some government officials have stated that the ground effects such as rustling of the leaves can mask this noise from wind turbines but environmentalists believe that these noises make such large noise that that any masking effect on the ground could be cancelled out, therefore they believe that the radical overhaul in design of wind turbines is needed to solve this problem.
Wind energy renewable sector is fast developing in almost all parts of the world, the questions like noise from wind turbines have to be solved very quickly. Wind energy in general has much more appealing effect on environment than fossil fuels do and is energy sector worthy of further development. Noise pollution problem definitely has to be sorted out as soon as possible because Britain is far behind other European countries in renewable energy use so such problems are really the last thing Britain needs today.
The noise pollution is definitely not that big deal like environmentalists say it is but even if is noise pollution is big as environmentalists say it is that still doesn't mean that Britain should abandon building wind turbines. What's the alternative to this? More coal fired power plants?
Do It Yourself Renewable Energy
In this blogger's view, this is the way to go!
ENVIRONMENT-ICELAND: Do-it-Yourself Renewable Energy Catches On Source: Inter Press Service
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
By Lowana Veal* - IPS/IFEJ
REYKJAVIK, Dec 13 (IPS) - When Innovation Centre Iceland (ICI) managers began courses in farming renewable energy in October they were unprepared for the enthusiastic response from citizens. "The fact that the turnout far exceeded our expectations and we had to add three more locations for the course suggests that interest in sustainability and renewable energy is bottom-up in Iceland, not just top-down," says Rosa Signy Gisladottir, marketing manager for ICI.
So far, three courses have been held: one in the northeast, one in the south and another up in the far northwest. Six more courses are being planned for the new year.
The course title "Do you want to be an energy farmer and produce your own energy?" targets individuals, companies, landowners and farmers. However, a considerable number of students aged 16-20 have also been attending the workshops in which various possibilities for harnessing energy are examined.
In Arborg, a municipality in South Iceland about 60 km from Reykjavik, which has a population of almost 8,000, there were 111participants. In Husavik in the northeast (pop. 2,300) 80 people attended the course as also in Isafjordur (pop. 2,700).
Gisladottir says that the basic structure of the courses is similar but differences arise because local engineers are involved.
"We at ICI want to let the Icelandic public know how to use the energy that is all around us, and to encourage as many people as possible to do so,'' explains the director of ICI, Thorsteinn Ingi Sigfusson.
‘'We have top-class institutes working with us, such as ISOR (Iceland Geothermal, a consulting and research institute providing specialist services to the power industry) and the National Energy Institute, together with engineering companies. After the course, participants will know what is possible and what is doable," Sigfusson told IPS.
Renewable energy already supplies 89 percent of Iceland's primary energy needs proportionately more than any other country. Iceland has plans to become the world's first energy independent country using 100 percent renewable energy sources with hydrogen fuel powering all transport.
The ICI course generally begins with an introduction on renewable energy in Iceland by Sigfusson. This is followed by a lecture on future sources of energy.
The practical part depends on location and lectures may focus on harnessing rivers and streams, making biofuel from dung heaps, geothermal heat and heat pumps.
Wind power, solar power and tidal power are rarely used in Iceland but even these form part of the course.
Bjarni M. Jonsson, who gave the lecture at Isafjordur, has been investigating the possibility of building a large-scale tidal plant in Iceland. Tidal power is not unheard of in Iceland and as far back as 1901 someone built a grain mill powered by the sea.
"For individuals, the technology is not very feasible at present," says Jonsson, "though it may be a possibility in a few years' time."
The last part of the course is devoted to visiting energy farmers. At Arborg, one of these visits was to a farm run by Jon Tryggvi Gudmundsson. "I have started to produce methane gas from cow manure and am beginning to work on cleaning equipment and delivery systems for cars," he explained to the course participants.
Gudmundsson benefited from a grant to carry out his project.
In May, the course participants will reassemble to receive more information about the practicalities of designing their own energy systems. Sigfusson says participants already have access to local engineering companies to advise them on technical matters whenever necessary.
In addition, Sigfusson and some of his colleagues also visit participants who are actively pursuing an energy project.
Because the first course was conducted only less than two months ago no one has yet been able to produce anything tangible. However, a number of participants are developing ideas that hold promise.
One of them, Hrafn Jonsson from Reykjanesbaer, 45 km west of Reykjavik, was already working on a small hydro project when he decided to take the course and develop the idea further. "The plan is to harness energy for our own use from a stream on our land. It will be enough for one summerhouse, nothing more," he says.
Jonsson has been consulting officials from some of the concerned bodies and he says they have been encouraging and enthusiastic. He aims to develop the idea more in January.
Sigfusson says he and the organisers of the courses were surprised by how much several of the participants already knew – they had obviously been reading up on the subject.
"One man, Sigurdur Jonsson, stood up at the Arborg course and said he already had a small hydro plant behind his house that produces 650 kW/hr of energy, equivalent to one thousandth of the energy produced by Karahnjukar," Sigfusson said .
Karahnjukar is the huge hydroelectric plant in East Iceland that was the subject of many protests while under construction.
Jonsson is the chair of the Icelandic Association of Energy Farmers and uses energy harnessed from the river Sanda.
"There was originally no electricity in the area, so the first power plant was built on the river in 1928. The electricity was originally used for the school. After that, plants were built in 1930 (by my grandfather), 1945, 2003 and 2009; we now sell the energy to the grid," Jonsson told IPS.
Jonsson says that the plants are environment-friendly. "We have a small reservoir associated with the system. If anything, the birdlife in the area has increased since the last plants were built," he added.
(This story is part of a series of features on sustainable development by Inter Press Service and the International Federation of Environmental Journalists.)
Find out more about the forces behind climate change - but also about the growing citizen awareness and new climate policies towards sustainable development
http://ipsnews.net/climate_change/
ENVIRONMENT-ICELAND: Do-it-Yourself Renewable Energy Catches On Source: Inter Press Service
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
By Lowana Veal* - IPS/IFEJ
REYKJAVIK, Dec 13 (IPS) - When Innovation Centre Iceland (ICI) managers began courses in farming renewable energy in October they were unprepared for the enthusiastic response from citizens. "The fact that the turnout far exceeded our expectations and we had to add three more locations for the course suggests that interest in sustainability and renewable energy is bottom-up in Iceland, not just top-down," says Rosa Signy Gisladottir, marketing manager for ICI.
So far, three courses have been held: one in the northeast, one in the south and another up in the far northwest. Six more courses are being planned for the new year.
The course title "Do you want to be an energy farmer and produce your own energy?" targets individuals, companies, landowners and farmers. However, a considerable number of students aged 16-20 have also been attending the workshops in which various possibilities for harnessing energy are examined.
In Arborg, a municipality in South Iceland about 60 km from Reykjavik, which has a population of almost 8,000, there were 111participants. In Husavik in the northeast (pop. 2,300) 80 people attended the course as also in Isafjordur (pop. 2,700).
Gisladottir says that the basic structure of the courses is similar but differences arise because local engineers are involved.
"We at ICI want to let the Icelandic public know how to use the energy that is all around us, and to encourage as many people as possible to do so,'' explains the director of ICI, Thorsteinn Ingi Sigfusson.
‘'We have top-class institutes working with us, such as ISOR (Iceland Geothermal, a consulting and research institute providing specialist services to the power industry) and the National Energy Institute, together with engineering companies. After the course, participants will know what is possible and what is doable," Sigfusson told IPS.
Renewable energy already supplies 89 percent of Iceland's primary energy needs proportionately more than any other country. Iceland has plans to become the world's first energy independent country using 100 percent renewable energy sources with hydrogen fuel powering all transport.
The ICI course generally begins with an introduction on renewable energy in Iceland by Sigfusson. This is followed by a lecture on future sources of energy.
The practical part depends on location and lectures may focus on harnessing rivers and streams, making biofuel from dung heaps, geothermal heat and heat pumps.
Wind power, solar power and tidal power are rarely used in Iceland but even these form part of the course.
Bjarni M. Jonsson, who gave the lecture at Isafjordur, has been investigating the possibility of building a large-scale tidal plant in Iceland. Tidal power is not unheard of in Iceland and as far back as 1901 someone built a grain mill powered by the sea.
"For individuals, the technology is not very feasible at present," says Jonsson, "though it may be a possibility in a few years' time."
The last part of the course is devoted to visiting energy farmers. At Arborg, one of these visits was to a farm run by Jon Tryggvi Gudmundsson. "I have started to produce methane gas from cow manure and am beginning to work on cleaning equipment and delivery systems for cars," he explained to the course participants.
Gudmundsson benefited from a grant to carry out his project.
In May, the course participants will reassemble to receive more information about the practicalities of designing their own energy systems. Sigfusson says participants already have access to local engineering companies to advise them on technical matters whenever necessary.
In addition, Sigfusson and some of his colleagues also visit participants who are actively pursuing an energy project.
Because the first course was conducted only less than two months ago no one has yet been able to produce anything tangible. However, a number of participants are developing ideas that hold promise.
One of them, Hrafn Jonsson from Reykjanesbaer, 45 km west of Reykjavik, was already working on a small hydro project when he decided to take the course and develop the idea further. "The plan is to harness energy for our own use from a stream on our land. It will be enough for one summerhouse, nothing more," he says.
Jonsson has been consulting officials from some of the concerned bodies and he says they have been encouraging and enthusiastic. He aims to develop the idea more in January.
Sigfusson says he and the organisers of the courses were surprised by how much several of the participants already knew – they had obviously been reading up on the subject.
"One man, Sigurdur Jonsson, stood up at the Arborg course and said he already had a small hydro plant behind his house that produces 650 kW/hr of energy, equivalent to one thousandth of the energy produced by Karahnjukar," Sigfusson said .
Karahnjukar is the huge hydroelectric plant in East Iceland that was the subject of many protests while under construction.
Jonsson is the chair of the Icelandic Association of Energy Farmers and uses energy harnessed from the river Sanda.
"There was originally no electricity in the area, so the first power plant was built on the river in 1928. The electricity was originally used for the school. After that, plants were built in 1930 (by my grandfather), 1945, 2003 and 2009; we now sell the energy to the grid," Jonsson told IPS.
Jonsson says that the plants are environment-friendly. "We have a small reservoir associated with the system. If anything, the birdlife in the area has increased since the last plants were built," he added.
(This story is part of a series of features on sustainable development by Inter Press Service and the International Federation of Environmental Journalists.)
Find out more about the forces behind climate change - but also about the growing citizen awareness and new climate policies towards sustainable development
http://ipsnews.net/climate_change/
First Nations Receive Funding for Housing
Canada's Economic Action Plan creates jobs and improves housing on reserve in Nova Scotia
DEBERT, NS, Dec. 13 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada announced today an investment of $3.8 million, as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan, to improve housing conditions in First Nation communities across Nova Scotia.
The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister Responsible for the Atlantic Gateway, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador; and Scott Armstrong, Member of Parliament for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), made the announcement along with members of the Millbrook First Nation community.
"Our Government's Economic Action Plan is delivering support for improvements in housing conditions for members who live in First Nations communities in Nova Scotia and we are also stimulating the local economy by creating jobs," said Minister MacKay.
Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada has committed $400 million over the next two years to help First Nation communities build needed new housing, repair and remediate existing non-profit housing for their members, and complement housing programs offered by CMHC. This investment will also provide an economic stimulus for many First Nations and surrounding areas by creating jobs.
The application calls for the new funding initiatives under Canada's Economic Action Plan were very successful and generated a large number of applications. As a result, CMHC will be fully allocating all the available funding for this fiscal year.
Some $3.8 million in federal investments will be made available to 13 First Nations in Nova Scotia to address immediate housing needs.
CMHC will allocate $2.57 million to retrofit 229 housing units on-reserve in Nova Scotia, as well as $1.22 million for subsidy associated with 12 new housing units to be constructed in seven First Nations communities in Nova Scotia. First Nation communities across the province receiving funding include: Acadia First Nation, Annapolis Valley First Nation, Bear River First Nation, Chapel Island First Nation, Eskasoni First Nation, Glooscap First Nation, Indian Brook First Nation (Shubenacadie Band Council), Membertou First Nation, Millbrook First Nation, Paqtnkek First Nation, Pictou Landing First Nation, Wagmatcook First Nation, and Waycobah First Nation.
"This is wonderful news for our community," said Chief Lawrence Paul, Millbrook First Nation. "It came at the right time and allowed us to accommodate a family with special needs, as well as address overcrowding in some units. This program has also exposed us to new building practices which will be beneficial for years to come."
More information on this and other measures in Canada's Economic Action Plan, the federal government's plan to stimulate the economy and protect those hit hardest by the global recession, can be found at: www.actionplan.gc.ca.
To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or visit www.cmhc.ca/housingactionplan.
DEBERT, NS, Dec. 13 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada announced today an investment of $3.8 million, as part of Canada's Economic Action Plan, to improve housing conditions in First Nation communities across Nova Scotia.
The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister Responsible for the Atlantic Gateway, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador; and Scott Armstrong, Member of Parliament for Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), made the announcement along with members of the Millbrook First Nation community.
"Our Government's Economic Action Plan is delivering support for improvements in housing conditions for members who live in First Nations communities in Nova Scotia and we are also stimulating the local economy by creating jobs," said Minister MacKay.
Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, the Government of Canada has committed $400 million over the next two years to help First Nation communities build needed new housing, repair and remediate existing non-profit housing for their members, and complement housing programs offered by CMHC. This investment will also provide an economic stimulus for many First Nations and surrounding areas by creating jobs.
The application calls for the new funding initiatives under Canada's Economic Action Plan were very successful and generated a large number of applications. As a result, CMHC will be fully allocating all the available funding for this fiscal year.
Some $3.8 million in federal investments will be made available to 13 First Nations in Nova Scotia to address immediate housing needs.
CMHC will allocate $2.57 million to retrofit 229 housing units on-reserve in Nova Scotia, as well as $1.22 million for subsidy associated with 12 new housing units to be constructed in seven First Nations communities in Nova Scotia. First Nation communities across the province receiving funding include: Acadia First Nation, Annapolis Valley First Nation, Bear River First Nation, Chapel Island First Nation, Eskasoni First Nation, Glooscap First Nation, Indian Brook First Nation (Shubenacadie Band Council), Membertou First Nation, Millbrook First Nation, Paqtnkek First Nation, Pictou Landing First Nation, Wagmatcook First Nation, and Waycobah First Nation.
"This is wonderful news for our community," said Chief Lawrence Paul, Millbrook First Nation. "It came at the right time and allowed us to accommodate a family with special needs, as well as address overcrowding in some units. This program has also exposed us to new building practices which will be beneficial for years to come."
More information on this and other measures in Canada's Economic Action Plan, the federal government's plan to stimulate the economy and protect those hit hardest by the global recession, can be found at: www.actionplan.gc.ca.
To find out more about how the Government of Canada and CMHC are working to build stronger homes and communities for all Canadians, call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642 or visit www.cmhc.ca/housingactionplan.
Labels:
Housing Bear River First Nations
Accountability Questioned in Nurse P. Departure
From the Prog. Conserv. site:
Lack of accountability cost Digby Neck essential health service
posted: Dec 11 2009
d'Entremont, Chris
HALIFAX – Progressive Conservative health critic Chris d'Entremont says the loss of a Digby Neck nurse practitioner to seek employment in Manitoba shows the minister has failed to live up to her promise of accountability.
News of Karen Snider's departure to Manitoba comes following a controversial decision by the South West Nova district health authority in October to dismiss her from her role as nurse practitioner at the Islands Health Centre, where she oversaw about 1,500 patients.
Many came to Snider's defense, lobbying for her reinstatement with a protest outside of the Legislature in the hope that Health Minister Maureen MacDonald would intervene and ask the DHA to rehire her, or at least request a public explanation for her dismissal.
The DHA has not stated why Snider was let go.
Today, d'Entremont said he cannot understand why the minister failed to step in and find out.
"I would like to know the minister's definition of accountability, because in this situation, inaction has led to the loss of someone who was, by many accounts, a very capable and qualified health care professional," said d'Entremont. "Most importantly, it has led to the loss of an essential health care service for residents of these communities."
In October, the minister's commitment to departmental accountability prompted new legislation around improving collaborations with provincial DHAs to address emergency room closures, and her declaration that, "The buck stops with the minister."
"I want to know what that statement means for the people of Digby Neck," said d'Entremont. "What is the minister's plan for replacing the nurse practicioner there, and why does she not appear to be accountable to this community in terms of providing answers?"
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Janna MacGregor
Public Relations Officer
NS Progressive Conservative Caucus
Tel: 902.424.5238
Cell: 902.220.4343
Fax: 902.424.7484
Lack of accountability cost Digby Neck essential health service
posted: Dec 11 2009
d'Entremont, Chris
HALIFAX – Progressive Conservative health critic Chris d'Entremont says the loss of a Digby Neck nurse practitioner to seek employment in Manitoba shows the minister has failed to live up to her promise of accountability.
News of Karen Snider's departure to Manitoba comes following a controversial decision by the South West Nova district health authority in October to dismiss her from her role as nurse practitioner at the Islands Health Centre, where she oversaw about 1,500 patients.
Many came to Snider's defense, lobbying for her reinstatement with a protest outside of the Legislature in the hope that Health Minister Maureen MacDonald would intervene and ask the DHA to rehire her, or at least request a public explanation for her dismissal.
The DHA has not stated why Snider was let go.
Today, d'Entremont said he cannot understand why the minister failed to step in and find out.
"I would like to know the minister's definition of accountability, because in this situation, inaction has led to the loss of someone who was, by many accounts, a very capable and qualified health care professional," said d'Entremont. "Most importantly, it has led to the loss of an essential health care service for residents of these communities."
In October, the minister's commitment to departmental accountability prompted new legislation around improving collaborations with provincial DHAs to address emergency room closures, and her declaration that, "The buck stops with the minister."
"I want to know what that statement means for the people of Digby Neck," said d'Entremont. "What is the minister's plan for replacing the nurse practicioner there, and why does she not appear to be accountable to this community in terms of providing answers?"
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Janna MacGregor
Public Relations Officer
NS Progressive Conservative Caucus
Tel: 902.424.5238
Cell: 902.220.4343
Fax: 902.424.7484
Copenhagen and Climate
Climate zombies
and the Copenhagen blues
RALPH SUREnE
Claudia Roth, leader of the German Green Party, and Jakob Norhoj of the
Danish Socialist People's Party, put a lifebuoy around planet Eartt. outside
the parliament buildings Friday in Copenhagen, where the largest UN
climate change conference is underway. (PETER DEJONG / AP)
T
HE Bush/Cheney un-
dead are still stalking
the land, and on the
global warming issue
they've sunk their fangs into
fresh blood.
Continuing from the Bush
government's suppression of
the work of its own climate
scientists, propaganda and
befuddlement go from strength
to strength.
Driven by U.S. right-wing
politics and polluting-industry
money, they've unnerved scien-
tists with their tactics to the
point that some of them have
apparently suppressed data -
or thought of doing so - rather
than feed it into this engine of
political disinformation, in the
now famous University of East
Anglia emails episode.
Three points to bring the
picture into focus.
First, global warming'is just
one of several brick walls to-
wards which we're hurtling at
breakneck speed, thanks to our
ferocious destruction of the
living Earth.
Second, if you have your eyes
open, you don't need scientists
to tell you things are warming
uI>. perilously, nor to finger the
culpri erprints are
all over the crime: us.
And third, this clatter is ob-
scuring the legitimate skeptics
who are questioning the useful-
ness of the Kyoto/Copenhagen
process, in which political pro-
jections of greenhouse gas re-
ductions, with only vague ideas
on how to attain them, are
counted as progress. (Mean-
while, the gases continue to
rise.)
As for what's ahead along
with climate change, there's the
alarming acidification of the
oceans and the galloping extinc-
tion of species.
Beyond that, there's this. For
some time, I've been noting the
projections made by various UN
agencies, think tanks, U.S. gov-
ernment departments and oth-
ers, who paint the following
picture.
In a few decades, we'll have
two billion more people, plus
the emerging nations will be
demanding our lifestyle. We'll
need 50 per cent more food
(even as ar land declines
already in Africa because of
changing climate, and famine
hovers); we'll need 50 per cent
more energy (with oil consump-
tion up to 126 million barrels a
day by 2030 from some 84 mil-
lion now); there'll be half again
as many planes flying, ocean
freighters sailing, and automo-
biles rolling, and more.
If you can rub two sticks to-
gether, you can probably figure
out what's wrong with this
picture. In order to get to that
point, we'll have to cripple the
world as a functioning ecology
even more.
Whether we can brake in time
is the issue, but with the denial
industry trying to cut the brake
lines and a gaggle of conflicting
nations (including some active
troublemakers, like Canada) at
the steering wheel, can we?
As for denial, just think of
what's going on here in the
southern Maritimes. The first
frost is a month later than it
used to be (a crisp frost when
the leaves are turning is now a
thing of the past - this year, my
delicate plants only froze on
Oct. 21), and the last one in
spring is often two months
earlier than the traditional
"first full moon in June."
Where I live in Yarmouth
County, the lakes and tidal in-
lets - which up to the early
1970s, still froze two weeks be-
fore Christmas - glaze over
only fitfully now, even in Febru-
ary, if at all.
The problem is that, in the
main, it's only a handful of
older and mostly country people
who see the obvious, or care to
see it. For anyone under 30, this
is normal. For most city people,
and in fact many country peo-
ple, summer in November or
February is merely wonderful
- something to be desired, and
we can put the implications out
of mind.
The public's ignorance, which
the denial business feeds on, is
considerable. Or as one hectic
person asked me recently: "I
don't follow the news - is glob-
al warming still on?"
As for questions around the
process as it unfolds, there's
this. Premier Darrell Dexter
and a Nova Scotian delegation
are off to Copenhagen, appar-
ently to get recognition for
being first to cap emissions on
electricity providers. Let's keep
in mind that the cap has merely
been announced, not achieved,
with Nova Scotia hustling to get
wind and biomass power in
place to conform.
We may end up getting an
award for wishful thinking.
The capacity of big wind
farms to replace coal-fired gen-
eration is very much in doubt,
just as a misguided ethanol
program worldwide does little
to replace gasoline and creates
even more ecological harm, and
as cap-and-trade systems are
ready to come on that look like
an open door to financial scam
artists.
Nova Scotia could well be a
poster boy for the inadequacies
of the Copenhagen process, as
we, like the rest ofte world,
continue to fail to measure up
to the true need: conservation,
carbon taxes, and wind, solar,
fuel cell and other technologies
used to decentralize power
grids, not to feed their endless
growth.
Ralph Surette is a veteran freelance
journalist living in Yarmouth County.
(rsuretfe@herald.ca)
and the Copenhagen blues
RALPH SUREnE
Claudia Roth, leader of the German Green Party, and Jakob Norhoj of the
Danish Socialist People's Party, put a lifebuoy around planet Eartt. outside
the parliament buildings Friday in Copenhagen, where the largest UN
climate change conference is underway. (PETER DEJONG / AP)
T
HE Bush/Cheney un-
dead are still stalking
the land, and on the
global warming issue
they've sunk their fangs into
fresh blood.
Continuing from the Bush
government's suppression of
the work of its own climate
scientists, propaganda and
befuddlement go from strength
to strength.
Driven by U.S. right-wing
politics and polluting-industry
money, they've unnerved scien-
tists with their tactics to the
point that some of them have
apparently suppressed data -
or thought of doing so - rather
than feed it into this engine of
political disinformation, in the
now famous University of East
Anglia emails episode.
Three points to bring the
picture into focus.
First, global warming'is just
one of several brick walls to-
wards which we're hurtling at
breakneck speed, thanks to our
ferocious destruction of the
living Earth.
Second, if you have your eyes
open, you don't need scientists
to tell you things are warming
uI>. perilously, nor to finger the
culpri erprints are
all over the crime: us.
And third, this clatter is ob-
scuring the legitimate skeptics
who are questioning the useful-
ness of the Kyoto/Copenhagen
process, in which political pro-
jections of greenhouse gas re-
ductions, with only vague ideas
on how to attain them, are
counted as progress. (Mean-
while, the gases continue to
rise.)
As for what's ahead along
with climate change, there's the
alarming acidification of the
oceans and the galloping extinc-
tion of species.
Beyond that, there's this. For
some time, I've been noting the
projections made by various UN
agencies, think tanks, U.S. gov-
ernment departments and oth-
ers, who paint the following
picture.
In a few decades, we'll have
two billion more people, plus
the emerging nations will be
demanding our lifestyle. We'll
need 50 per cent more food
(even as ar land declines
already in Africa because of
changing climate, and famine
hovers); we'll need 50 per cent
more energy (with oil consump-
tion up to 126 million barrels a
day by 2030 from some 84 mil-
lion now); there'll be half again
as many planes flying, ocean
freighters sailing, and automo-
biles rolling, and more.
If you can rub two sticks to-
gether, you can probably figure
out what's wrong with this
picture. In order to get to that
point, we'll have to cripple the
world as a functioning ecology
even more.
Whether we can brake in time
is the issue, but with the denial
industry trying to cut the brake
lines and a gaggle of conflicting
nations (including some active
troublemakers, like Canada) at
the steering wheel, can we?
As for denial, just think of
what's going on here in the
southern Maritimes. The first
frost is a month later than it
used to be (a crisp frost when
the leaves are turning is now a
thing of the past - this year, my
delicate plants only froze on
Oct. 21), and the last one in
spring is often two months
earlier than the traditional
"first full moon in June."
Where I live in Yarmouth
County, the lakes and tidal in-
lets - which up to the early
1970s, still froze two weeks be-
fore Christmas - glaze over
only fitfully now, even in Febru-
ary, if at all.
The problem is that, in the
main, it's only a handful of
older and mostly country people
who see the obvious, or care to
see it. For anyone under 30, this
is normal. For most city people,
and in fact many country peo-
ple, summer in November or
February is merely wonderful
- something to be desired, and
we can put the implications out
of mind.
The public's ignorance, which
the denial business feeds on, is
considerable. Or as one hectic
person asked me recently: "I
don't follow the news - is glob-
al warming still on?"
As for questions around the
process as it unfolds, there's
this. Premier Darrell Dexter
and a Nova Scotian delegation
are off to Copenhagen, appar-
ently to get recognition for
being first to cap emissions on
electricity providers. Let's keep
in mind that the cap has merely
been announced, not achieved,
with Nova Scotia hustling to get
wind and biomass power in
place to conform.
We may end up getting an
award for wishful thinking.
The capacity of big wind
farms to replace coal-fired gen-
eration is very much in doubt,
just as a misguided ethanol
program worldwide does little
to replace gasoline and creates
even more ecological harm, and
as cap-and-trade systems are
ready to come on that look like
an open door to financial scam
artists.
Nova Scotia could well be a
poster boy for the inadequacies
of the Copenhagen process, as
we, like the rest ofte world,
continue to fail to measure up
to the true need: conservation,
carbon taxes, and wind, solar,
fuel cell and other technologies
used to decentralize power
grids, not to feed their endless
growth.
Ralph Surette is a veteran freelance
journalist living in Yarmouth County.
(rsuretfe@herald.ca)
Labels:
Copenhagen Climate
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