WINDFALL: The Movie

A must-see documentary from the U.S. The situation is slightly different in Ontario, where the McGuinty government has shown little regard for rural rights and has aided Big Wind to walk all over the province without really addressing the complexities of the issue first.

Yet the stunning lack of democracy on this side of the lake is perhaps not all that different from the frontier-like free-for-all happening in upper New York state, because in the end there is only one winner in this seedy little shell game that touts itself as "green" and that's Big Wind - the wind corporations, now the billionaire heirs to Big Oil.

Funny how it's always the little guy who gets hoodwinked and stomped on. Make no mistake, neither you nor the planet is going to benefit from this latest big bucks, big business bamboozle. Certainly not the birds, the bats and the butterflies.

We must ensure a moratorium on ALL new wind facilities before any more are erected and we must demand that ALL wind farms undergo independent environmental assessments by scientists, biologists, ornithologists and ecologists.

We cannot lose our precious million-year-old migration routes to the latest wave of corporate greed just because it come wrapped in green packaging.

Learn and read about the true cost of wind, and why we need to look at alternatives to the alternative.

We can do better than this. And we must if we want to call ourselves environmentalists.

On a final note, I took a trip to the Port Burwell wind farm a few months ago, where some 60-odd turbines tilt at the skies from their jagged stride across the lush southwestern Ontario landscape. That is to say, the ones that were actually working were "tilting." A few stood motionless, a small red light indicating they were not functioning.

I watched two tiny specks come into view. Birds. Blackbirds, I believe. I did not have my binoculars, so I am surmising. I watched the two birds for several minutes. They were flying ominously close to a turbine, ominously close to the giant multi-ton paddles. I sucked in my breath. I was hoping against hope...

and then there was only one speck left.

One. The other bird was gone. Vanished. Annihilated.

I did not have my binoculars. But one second there were two birds, lazily and leisurely drifting across a late summer sky...

and then there was one.

I have been bloody angry ever since.

Migration of the Raptors - Hawk Cliff, Lake Erie

A couple of pictures taken at Hawk Cliff, on the shores of Lake Erie, one of the key sites for observing migrating hawks in North America.

Learn more about Hawk Cliff Foundation

Hawk Bander: Cyril Crocker

Industrial Wind Turbines, Migratory Birds and Political Shenanigans

If you are interested in expanding your understanding of this issue, the impact of IWTs on migratory birds, I urge you to read Wayne Wegner's passionately argued and brilliantly articulated essay, Location, Location, Location…Migration, Migration, Migration, embedded in the Middlesex Wind Action Group website. Scroll down through Issues, you will find it under the category "Wildlife."

The Wind Issue

As a follow-up to the previous post about wind farms, here are two links of note:

If you live in Middlesex County and have serious reservations about the continuing construction of wind farms in the county and in southern Ontario without proper environmental assessment and public input, then see what the Middlesex Wind Action Group has to say.

To gain a greater understanding of the issue and to learn more about the actual efficacy of wind energy, please visit Ontario's Wind Performance.

Why I Can't Fully Support Wind Farms in Ontario

Of course we need alternative energy sources. We cannot rely on fossil fuels much longer and I am certainly opposed to the cavalier approach most oil and gas companies take when it comes to the environment. And I don't buy their greenwashing either.

However, as environmentalists we would be wise to really question and examine all of our alternatives. In the province of Ontario wind energy has been promoted, above all other energy alternatives on the table, as the way to go. The problem is the Ontario government has been rubber-stamping projects willy-nilly, with very little concern for the surrounding environment or wildlife. The Ontario government repeatedly refuses to listen to biologists, naturalists and other members of the scientific community, many of whom merely want to point out the folly of some of the proposed locations, not denounce the industry as a whole.

And I don't even want to delve into the issue of who stands to profit or gain from all of this. That's a murky and mucky issue. Murkier and muckier than any swamp, bog or fen. No, there's even more to this preference for wind energy than meets the eye, and it's not all about folks who are simply concerned about the well-being of our planet. This has more to do with the pocketbooks of a small group of investors than it does with saving Planet Earth.

Let's not be naive. As with coal, gas, and oil, there are going to be wind barons, people who stand to get very rich from the wind energy industry. Let's not forget that this IS an industry, not a philanthropic endeavour led by a group of well-meaning, good-intentioned people. This is going to be about profits.

The Ontario government too hastily adopted wind as THE solution to our energy woes. We needed to explore and weigh other options - solar, for one. And what about geothermal energy? At the very least, the government should have been taking a more informed and enlightened approach when choosing wind farm locations. Not on migratory routes surely!

In any case, all this to preface the most recent update about TransAlta's Wolfe Island wind farm. This 86-turbine wind farm is a death trap for thousands of birds and bats. It should never have been built where it was built. The scientific and environmental communities were silenced and held at bay.

As a resident of the Great Lakes I am so deeply disturbed about the rampant, unchecked and unexamined proliferation of wind farms along our shores. And we have yet to really see how these turbines will perform. During this most recent heat wave, wind energy came up short, producing very little energy to offset our consumption when we needed it the most. A reliable source of energy for our future? Hardly.

Ontarians should all be very angry. Great Lakers should be very angry. No more wind farms without environmental impact studies first!

There's an election coming. Demand that!

Please visit the Nature Canada blog now to read the latest about TransAlta's Wolfe Island Wind Farm and the decimation of our bird populations.

Happy Victoria Day from Canada's "Deep South"!

The magnolias are blooming, the turtles are swimming lazily along the edge of the pond, damselflies, bluets and swallows skim the surface, while tadpoles wriggle and dart in the pools between the reeds. Red-winged blackbirds send shrill notes from nearby perches on rails and wires.

Now everything, from the tulip trees to the maples, oaks and willows, is lush and green in Carolinian Canada. And every blade of grass shimmers after the rain.

This is Canada's Deep South, and another sultry deep south summer is upon us.

Bring it!

Another Sultry Summer in Canada's "Old South"

A string of steamy, sunny days came to an end overnight with a sudden rain shower, just after midnight. Today it's overcast but still muggy. The air, somewhat stagnant. I am not complaining, however! For this is summer in southwestern Ontario, and while the rest of the country was gasping through an unprecedentedly long heat wave, we who live in the most southerly part of Canada just smiled and took it all in stride. What's the fuss?

This is Canada's "bayou" in a way, the last stand of the remaining Carolinian Forest north of the border and home to more species of amphibians, reptiles, and plant and animal life than probably any other part of Canada.

For that alone, this territory is precious. And I haven't even mentioned the Great Lakes yet! The largest inland waterway in the world surrounds us in its blue embrace. Lake Huron to the west and Lake Erie to the south. A green elbow of lush deciduous woods and rich farmland in between. Can you tell that I love it here? You bet!

So this morning's sightings were a feast for my city-weary eyes: great drops of rain dripped from the majestically tall tulip tree; everywhere I looked, green, green, green, green. And the birds: a flicker, a brown thrasher, a hummingbird, and two tiny goldfinches—a splash of brilliant yellow in the deep green foliage.

Then, from the tall grass along the banks of the creek, our blue heron rose suddenly, slowly, struggling (or so it seemed at first) to carry himself aloft on his great wings. Right behind him, a very vocal, very upset red-winged blackbird. The smaller bird relentlessly pursued the long-legged heron, as red-winged blackbirds are wont to do when protecting their nests in the marshes, until the heron was well out over the pond. Of course, no camera on me at the time.

Last year, the blue heron wintered here. I am hoping, in view of the travesty of the oil disaster in the Gulf, the heron chooses to remain here at White's Wetland again this winter. Even in this seemingly secluded, serene sanctuary that is our wetland the utter horror of the destruction of the Gulf's wetlands and marshes is never far from my mind. I worry. I am concerned about the birds who will be migrating straight into Hell this fall. And I feel so helpless.

Great Lakes United

Living in the Great Lakes Bioregion is an enviable privilege that we should not take for granted. This is the single largest inland fresh water network in the world. Over the decades the Great Lakes have had their share of troubles, such as pollution and waste from the industries and the major urban centres that hug their shores. But the latest threat, the invasive Asian Carp, could be utterly devastating, changing our lakes—and our lives—forever. So it is imperative that the asian carp do not pass into the Great Lakes.

If you want to follow this issue or participate by adding your voice, you need to know about this amazing organization: Great Lakes United. Join, donate or subscribe to their informative newsletter to track all the issues currently impacting our beautiful lakes. Both Canadians and Americans who share these lakes can now share in the dialogue to save them. In GLU's own words, we who live here "enjoy one of the highest standards of living on the planet. It is now time to focus our prosperity on restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. This responsibility falls on all of us."

The Great Lakes Under Threat

For those of us in the Great Lakes Region, a very real environmental disaster is looming if we cannot prevent the Asian Carp from entering our lakes, the largest fresh water system on this planet and home to precious indigenous aquatic life that could be annihilated by this voracious, invasive foreign species. Both Canada and the U.S. must now work together to prevent the Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes. To learn more about the issue and the steps currently being taken by our governments, here's a site that you can follow on Twitter too: Healthy Lakes.