Angry in the Great White North

Ontario's energy minister, George Smitherman, has no time for the complaints of simple residents.  He's the fricking minister of energy, and if he says he wants a wind farm built in your neighbourhood, you should consider yourself honoured that you're being given the chance to sacrifice your property values in order to save the planet:

Ontario's energy minister says he understands some people are opposed to alternative electricity projects in their areas, but that the provincial government is committed to green energy, and these projects are going to happen.

George Smitherman made the comment Friday at an Energy Ottawa hydro generating station where he was talking up the province's Green Energy and Economy Act, which is designed to encourage new large and small renewable energy projects and create jobs.

Several projects in the city and Eastern Ontario have been trying to get going, but opposition from residents and municipal land-use rules have kept many on hold.

Smitherman said when the act is passed by his government, which could happen within three months, the social and bureaucratic road- blocks are going to be removed.

"The act sends a signal that we are going to be creating the conditions that are going to allow these to happen," Smitherman said.

Key to this, the minister said, is a provision that takes the approval process for green energy projects away from municipalities, where it currently rests, and transfers it to provincial ministries with mandates to spark a renewable energy revolution in Ontario.

You can almost see George Smitherman with his hands over his ears, humming loudly so as not to hear the concerns of Ontario residents who for some reason figured they had some right to say something about what their government was doing in their neighbourhoods.

I call it the Smitherman Hum, which can also refer to the low frequency vibrations that might be causing health problems for those same people so blithely ignored by Smitherman:

Ontario physician Dr. Robert McMurtry told a news conference in Toronto Wednesday that while wind energy may offer a cleaner, more efficient way to generate electricity, those who live near the giant turbines are suffering through serious health problems.

McMurtry, a retired orthopedic surgeon who used to be an assistant deputy minister of the Population and Public Health Branch of Health Canada, decided to look into the health effects of windmills with the help of Carmen Krogh, a retired Alberta pharmacist.

Krogh and a group of volunteers distributed questionnaires in areas near wind farms, asking residents to describe whether they have experienced any effects from the turbines.

Of 76 people who responded to their informal survey, 53 reported at least one health complaint. They complained of:

• headaches
• heart palpitations
• hearing problems
• stress, anxiety and depression

He reports that one resident had to be admitted to hospital with an acute hypertensive episode. Another experienced atrial fibrillation (abnormal heart rhythm).

"There is no question that they are genuinely suffering, and more people are at risk if the rules are not changes substantially," McMurtry told the committee.

[The] day the turbines started running, [Barbara Ashbee] and her husband, Denis Lormand, stopped sleeping.

"They are so loud we didn't get any sleep. You can hear them in the bedroom. There is also a hum and vibration that permeates the house," she says

All that deprivation started to lead to cognitive abilities, she contends.

"My memory now is horrible," she says. "It's terrible to go night after night without sleep. We go to bed 7 p.m. because we don't know what the night will bring."

Her husband also suffers from tinnitus, which causes a constant whining sound in his ears.

With more construction at the Melanchthon wind power centre expected to bring the number of turbines at the facility to 133, the couple says they would love to sell their house but can't.

"Between the noise and the vibration, we couldn't put a For Sale sign here. There's no way," says Ashbee.

Well, too bad.  We need a revolution in energy production.  And if that means people are going to get sick or go to the hospital or be impoverished, well, that's just too bad.

Of course, if it turns out that local animals are also being affected by the Smitherman Hum, then I expect the government will act quickly.  I mean, then the environment will be at risk.