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I'm home. I'm sick. I have shit to do but I'm going to be good to myself. I guess my coughing for the last six days wasn't all smog-related but I'm pretty sure it didn't help. But now it's only 14C out and minds can function once again.
Deeply sorry to have not joined friends at Batman Begins last night but it was the right decision.
I'm frustrated by the smog story. McGuinty's "broken promise" about shutting down all the coal-fired generators is not as big a deal as the opposition is making out. Three out of four plants are shutting down as scheduled and one will be two years late. To me, that actually seems fairly impressive. I heard this morning that coal plants from south of the border are actually a worse source of pollution but, as the environemnt minister pointed out this morning, we can't exactly go after the border states to clean up their act if we're not cleaning up ours.
I was disheartened by the rep from the energy worker's union having the cupidity to quote the Fraser Institute's idiotic study saying coal-power isn't really a problem. Yes, this is the same stink tank that believes everything should be owned and removed from the commons including the land, the air, the trees and the ectoplasmic incarnation of WLMK that sits quietly, sipping sherry in the back booth of a forgotten gay piano bar in Ottawa.
Of course, the voice of reason from the Toronto Environmental Alliance who was also on the radio show pointed out that it is the transportation sector's pollution that needs to be addressed if we wish to really fight smog and there is seemingly no political will in that department.
5,800 smog-related deaths in Ontario per year and $1 billion in heath care costs according to the Ontario Medical Assocation. Someone at work pointed out that air quality is currently considered an "environmental" issue, meaning no department really owns the problem... "we all do." Translation, no effective measures will be taken. However, air quality may be moved under the purview of Public Health which is an effective department. They can quarantine people and shut down businesses during SARS, for instance.
Here'schoking hoping!
Deeply sorry to have not joined friends at Batman Begins last night but it was the right decision.
I'm frustrated by the smog story. McGuinty's "broken promise" about shutting down all the coal-fired generators is not as big a deal as the opposition is making out. Three out of four plants are shutting down as scheduled and one will be two years late. To me, that actually seems fairly impressive. I heard this morning that coal plants from south of the border are actually a worse source of pollution but, as the environemnt minister pointed out this morning, we can't exactly go after the border states to clean up their act if we're not cleaning up ours.
I was disheartened by the rep from the energy worker's union having the cupidity to quote the Fraser Institute's idiotic study saying coal-power isn't really a problem. Yes, this is the same stink tank that believes everything should be owned and removed from the commons including the land, the air, the trees and the ectoplasmic incarnation of WLMK that sits quietly, sipping sherry in the back booth of a forgotten gay piano bar in Ottawa.
Of course, the voice of reason from the Toronto Environmental Alliance who was also on the radio show pointed out that it is the transportation sector's pollution that needs to be addressed if we wish to really fight smog and there is seemingly no political will in that department.
5,800 smog-related deaths in Ontario per year and $1 billion in heath care costs according to the Ontario Medical Assocation. Someone at work pointed out that air quality is currently considered an "environmental" issue, meaning no department really owns the problem... "we all do." Translation, no effective measures will be taken. However, air quality may be moved under the purview of Public Health which is an effective department. They can quarantine people and shut down businesses during SARS, for instance.
Here's
