Congratulations Prince Township
In Prince Township Industrial Wind
development has had many years to live up to the sales pitch. "We
were the guinea pigs" said Councilor Amy Zucatto as she
brought to the November 8 2011 Prince Township meeting a request on
behalf of Lake Superior Action Research Conservation (lsarc.ca) that
the Wind Concerns Ontario petition to the Legislative Assembly of
Ontario for a moratorium be endorsed by Council.
A preliminary canvassing with the petition had already garnered over
200 Township resident's signatures on the WCO petition and an almost
equal number of personal stories of disillusionment and loss. The
shock of watching the turtle exodus as their ponds were drained to keep
dust down during construction and droves of bats flying about in
confusion, the insult of rent-a-cop OPP handing out company citations
for trespass on trails used for generations and the in-your-face
industrialization of a verdant retreat all seem undiminished by
time. What does seem to have faded is the hype. Suggestions and
comments of residents prompted the request.
The response was a unanimous vote in favour by the Reeve and Council.
Prince Township joins the league of other rural municipalities seeking
to reclaim their local democracy, to protect their citizens health and
well-being and to maintain natural heritage values. Industrial
Wind development may have lost its allure but the resentment remains.
To quote the astonishing admission by Justin Rolfe-Redding, a
communications strategist , during a March 23 webinar sponsored by the
American Council on Renewable Energy, "The more people know about the
wind-energy business, the less they like it."
