The Oppenheimer Report - 11/9/15

My Gratitude To All Our Veterans 

 

When we settled up here just north of Huntsville, one of the things we did not anticipate was that, not only is electricity really expensive up here, but the service is not always reliable. No one has really been able to explain to me why our electricity costs substantially more here than it does in other rural communities, but the “Delivery Charge" is astronomical. My instincts tell me that somebody is making money at the expense of the ratepayers. When I hear news reports of the political scandal which ensued after a power plant project in Oakville, Ontario was scrapped, a blunder which, by some estimates, will cost taxpayers close to $1 Billion, I begin to wonder if something is rotten in Ontario. If ever there was an example of a government mishandling taxpayer money, this is it. In my humble opinion, when someone screws up this badly, a public disemboweling is the only suitable punishment. As for the reliability issue …

During the construction of our log house, our electrician strongly urged us to install a propane-fired generator in case of power outages. At the time, I thought this seemed like an enormous, elective expense. As with many building projects, our house construction had gone well over budget, and the added expense of a large propane-fired generator seemed unnecessary to me at the time. Thank goodness we ultimately listened to our electrician! Since we installed the generator around seven or eight years ago, we have had a lot of long term power outages, some during the dead of winter. That generator has been a life saver.

Last Friday morning, around 9 am, a cold front blew in off Georgian Bay, gathering steam over the open waters of Lake Huron, and by the time it reached the mainland, the winds were gusting to 75-80 Km per hour. I’ve heard people describe tornadoes as sounding like a freight train, and while far from tornadic, the winds roaring in off our little lake last Friday morning were as loud and powerful as anything I've heard before. Our generator kicked in before the storm passed, indicating that power lines had been downed in the local area, but we did not know the extent of the damage until later in the day. The powerful straight line winds had downed trees and power lines all over Southern Ontario, and I am told some people in Huntsville are still without power. Hydro crews from as far away as Niagara Falls were called in to assist the over-burdened local crews in restoring electrical service to many thousands of customers. Our local supermarket has a small backup generator, but nothing large enough to run the refrigerators and freezers. When I drove into town to get some supplies, I found supermarket employees standing guard at the freezers and refrigerators to ensure customers did not open the doors. Power outages remind us of what we take for granted.

Random final notes - Newly elected Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced his new cabinet last week, and it represents a much more diverse mix than the previous government had, including a lot more women. President Obama nixed the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, scheduled to run oil from Alberta to Texas. This appeared to be an environmentally sound decision, until I heard that the U.S. has well over 10,000 miles of similar pipeline under construction right now. I just read a disturbing article about the devastating environmental damage caused by fracking. Google “fracking” and you will be appalled. Massive fresh water contamination is, I think, the biggest threat. We listened to the Canadian Folk Music Awards live on the internet last night, and that was cool. Heard a wonderful song by Maritime artist Dave Gunning called “These Hands,” which I will play on my weekly "Lyrical Workers" show on Hunters Bay Radio this Thursday night. Though I have yet to embrace the internet as my preferred medium for radio and video, I have no doubts that, at some point,  network television will become obsolete, and everyone will do their listening and viewing thorough the internet. It will likely be long before we develop a safe, plentiful, and renewable energy source. There’s nothing like a long power outage to remind me of the extent to which I am dependant upon non-renewable sources of energy. It’s time for Big Oil and the Whale Huggers to kiss and make up (yeah, when pigs fly).  Remembrance Day is in two days, and herein I express my gratitude to all the veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice for my privilege of freedom. Thank you.

Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED