Daily Dose Of Environmental Reality

'Green' plan? Build nukes, cut coal
By Lorrie Goldstein

Contrary to media hype elsewhere, you don't have to wait until next month to learn about Premier Dalton McGuinty's so-called "green" energy plan.

Here it is: Ontario is going to go nuclear in a bid to close down its four remaining coal-fired electricity-generating plants. That's it.

Everything else is hype. Liberal promises to build a solar farm, ban incandescent light bulbs, reduce plastic bags, etc., are mainly designed to give voters a warm and fuzzy feeling about McGuinty's "green" credentials heading into October's election.

But their impact on Ontario's power needs -- the root cause of much of our air pollution and greenhouse gases -- is insignificant. They are baby steps to prepare the public for what's coming in terms of lifestyle changes if politicians are serious about fighting global warming and smog.

To keep track of reality as opposed to political spin, here are the important numbers you need to know:

Of Ontario's total capacity for generating electricity, 50% comes from nuclear, 22% from hydroelectric, 16% from coal and 7% from natural gas. The rest comes from relatively minor sources, including renewable energy.

From the point of view of greenhouse gas emissions and pollution -- separate issues -- the worst of the big power sources is coal.

McGuinty has called for a major refurbishing of Ontario's wonky nuclear reactors, plus building new ones (meaning mega-billions of spending), in order to reduce our reliance on coal, since nukes don't emit greenhouse gases or much air pollution.

Still, exactly when Ontario's coal-fired plants will be closed is anybody's guess.

McGuinty's election promise in 2003 was that it would happen this year. That's now been pushed back to 2014 -- maybe. Plus, McGuinty's emphasis on nukes doesn't make environmentalists happy.

They argue the construction of nuclear plants and reactors emits a large amount of greenhouse gases and pollution, that there's no technology to dispose of nuclear waste and there's always the danger of a nuclear accident.

It's for reasons like this, McGuinty and Co. are quickly discovering that just as it was for Kermit the Frog, so it is for them. It's not easy being green.