ANOTHER Letter to the Editor - when will someone take notice!!!

Dear editor

As a member of CFFO I felt it important to comment on the recent opinion letter by Nathan Stevens "Sharing the Green energy wealth". I believe CFFO has embarked upon a very slippery slope, to suggest that money can mend the strife between neighbours over wind lease agreements. This clearly is trying to put a Band-Aid on a severed leg. What CFFO is not realizing, is that the damage is done. Like a Stealth bomber, the wind industry for the past 5 to 8 years have wooed almost every Ontario farmer into options and questionable land lease agreements, binding them for the next 40 to 50 years. Now landowners who have signed contracts are realizing that proceeding with these projects is contrary to the wishes of the community. The consequences will be borne for years to come in community relationships, health, viability of neighbouring agricultural operations and legal proceedings. In other areas of Ontario, several landowners who had signed lease agreements are already pursuing options to rescind their contracts for these reasons.

Despite efforts to send information to all three main ag. organizations, nothing can be found which pushes for a proper resolution addressing problems over invasive turbine noise , reduced homeowner property values, wind lease agreements which included the ability to apply construction liens, gag orders or impose provisions for first-rights of refusal and postponement of mortgages. The fact that Industrial Wind lacks economic benefit, all organizations remain silent and instead of doing due diligence, CFFO decides that money is the solution to problems such as envy, disappointment and frustration for neighbours who are the "losers". As a farmer who had the opportunity to host a turbine, this could not be further off the mark and I am deeply disturbed to think that a Christian organization could suggest that money is the solution to the growing opposition to Industrial Wind.

It never ceases to amaze me how so many continue to overlook the other side of Industrial wind development which has caused residents to abandon their homes, cannot prove that it can lower harmful emissions, reduce the mining and burning of coal, lower or stabilize electricity rates, wean us from foreign oil, nor provide a timely and reliable product needed in a modern society. Instead we let ourselves to be mislead by the Wind industry into thinking that the noise is no louder than a refrigerator, or that erecting IWT's will provide a new green economy and jobs. These turbines will do nothing other than provide a superficial feel good gesture, political move for the McGuinty gov't to appear environmentally conscious and an opportunity for developers to make a lot of money off the taxpayer's back. Renewables, especially Industrial Wind, are not proven, effective nor efficient. I don't have the new technology answers, but wholly believe that things like wind energy is not only over subsidized, but subsidized to the point of putting our province at risk of a debt load our children will not be able to support for decades to come. ( estimates of $25 Billion to $80 Billion).

Parallel to the corn ethanol bubble, I believe our governments has created a gold rush INSTEAD of a meaningful impetus to an overall solution regarding our future energy needs. The subsidies the wind industry receives, do not reflect the quality of the energy product, it's proximity to load, transmission congestion constraints, it's ripple effects on the load balancing resources in our grids, it's sprawl factor , nor the value received for the energy tax dollar compared with other technologies. The industry's statements, which have induced these subsidies, constitute fraud in my opinion, and until proof of benefit can be quantified and verified (measured), and people can live safely within project areas, CFFO needs to encourage this McGuinty gov't to cease paying hard earned tax dollars to things like Industrial Wind energy.

Colette McLean

R.R. #5, 1245 Gore Rd

Harrow. Ontario

N0R 1G0

519 738-3356