We often get wrapped up in neighbourhood issues we care a lot about. Spot development on our street. Dog owners that don't clean up after their dogs. Tree cutting.
We care about the neighborhoods we live in.
Sometimes we take a strong stand on something bigger, like the prospect of a large housing project or the loss of farmland to development. We care about the community we live in.
But two weeks ago we were given something for the entire region to care about: Incineration euphemistically referred to as waste-to-energy conversion.
In a long series of decisions that just plain stink, the provincial government gave approval to Metro Vancouver for such a facility to be built in the region. And Delta Mayor Lois Jackson described the decision as a "red-letter day." For whom?
Coincidentally, as reported in this paper, the Fraser Health Authority released a report, which determined we are not as healthy as residents elsewhere in the rest the region.
We have higher rates of hypertension. No wonder. Our community is disappearing under the paved roads of the SFPR.
We are losing farmland to development and roads. Transportation issues and traffic congestion alone are enough to send our blood pressure into orbit. And apparently Wal-Mart is coming just around the corner.
We have higher rates of asthma compared to the Fraser Health average. Would the coal port have anything to do with that? Ditto the emissions from the hundreds of thousands of cars travelling to and from the ferries every day.
Metro Vancouver CAO Johnny Carline was reported as saying selling the idea and finding the location for an incinerator was going to be a challenge. You got that right.
I'm with the residents of the Fraser Valley region who are very concerned about the toxins and pollutants, which could be emitted into the air we all breathe. In a radio interview, their regional board chair, Patricia Ross, made a very compelling case outlining the concerns. We should all be concerned.
Proponents of waste-to-energy want us to believe the efficiencies and new technologies reduce pollutant and toxic emissions to virtually nothing. They cite Paris, which has a facility in the middle of town. I guess your comfort level depends on whether you live up or down wind.
The facts seem persuasive. I've been to the presentations. Yet I think the truth of the matter is buried under mountains of manure.
Let me be clear: No decision has yet been made for the location of this incinerator. But the people I talk to are a little nervous about our mayor's enthusiasm for it. Does she consider Delta a good location for a waste-to-energy plant? Is the TFN going to compete, along with Delta, to be the site? I sincerely hope not.
The environment minister reminded the Metro Vancouver board the party awarded the permission to build an incinerator needed to consider their neighbors and avoid a negative impact on them.
Let's hope that ideal doesn't go up in smoke.
