GreenWatch

  B. McPherson Disposal by dispersal is not the answer. The power of united people was evident on Monday night. Nanaimo City Council voted to tell Wheelabrator that they weren’t welcome in the city or in the Regional District. This is the culmination of hard work and determination on the part of citizens concerned with the ramifications of building a modern garbage burner in the city. The pressure has been steady since last July when the Board of the Regional District voted to tell Metro Vancouver that a waste to energy facility in the district was not welcome. Some on the city council kept Wheelabrator and Sea Span’s hopes alive until finally spiking it Monday with a unanimous vote. The councillors and mayor have been inundated with thousands of letters urging them to forbid the incineration of garbage in our environs. The Friday preceding the council meeting saw a well-organized, peaceful protest march of a couple of hundred marchers. Bear in mind that Nanaimo City...

B. McPherson Slag heaps from garbage incineration. Now you've got a real problem with toxic slag. Nanaimo was treated to a game of “Weakest Link” on Wednesday afternoon. You remember the game played out on British TV in which the hapless loser was eliminated as “the weakest link”. American corporations were seeking friends among the Nanaimo politicians who might be their friends or the weakest link in the general opposition to the construction of a garbage burner in the area. An event billed as a meet and greet was held at a local hotel. It was billed as an invitation only affair hosted by the Energy From Waste Coalition who would have a recognized expert in the field give a clear and unbiased explanation of the advantages to allowing a garbage burner built. Those politicians who have been outspoken in their opposition to importing Metro Vancouver’s garbage to Vancouver Island were not invited. The Energy From Waste Coalition is owned and operated by two multin...

Metro Vancouver is looking to locate a garbage burner away from the city. Will your town fall for the promises? A new study published in this month’s Lancet Oncology confirms what many of us have suspected – dirty air causes lung cancer. Our lungs are the interface where oxygen passes into our bodies and carbon dioxide passes out. Other substances can move across the lungs’ membranes as well. Many things are suspended in the air besides oxygen and some of them can harm you. Lancet’s study specifically looked at particulate matter in nine European countries. Particle sizes ranged from large – soot to the very tiny – less than 10 microns(less than 10/1000 of a metre). We have many sources of particulate matter in our air. Wood, coal smoke, pollen, dirt, bacteria, viruses. Our bodies are very good at dealing with these unwanted bits. We usually simply breathe them out again or our immune cells destroy them. We cope less well with ultrafine particles. It makes good sense to keep...

Burning garbage to get energy is a scam. B. Mcpherson The Regional District of Nanaimo Board of Directors firmly rejected the idea of establishing a garbage burner in the area, adding that they did not wish to see one anywhere on Vancouver Island. Last night, June 25 th , RDN bureaucrats floated the idea that they should liaise with Metro Vancouver bureaucrats regarding the criteria for establishing a garbage burner at Duke Point. In a split vote, the area directors voted to allow communications but with the proviso that the bureaucrats emphasize that the district is not open to be a dumping ground for MetroVancouver’s garbage. Officials in the Lower Mainland have been looking for a site to establish a “Waste to Energy” incineration plant. The communities in the Fraser Valley voted unanimously to reject such an installation in their area citing air pollution. North Vancouver rejected the idea as did Powell River. The elected officials sitting around the room were only i...

B. McPherson Want a little dioxin with your breakfast? The Metro Vancouver area is a predatory polluter. For years the City of Vancouver has shipped their waste to other places. Whether it is sewage released into the ocean or garbage, it is consistently moved to someone else’s back yard. The Iona Island and Lion’s Gate sewage treatment plants are primary treat plants. Iona the largest of the treatment plants spews over 500 million litres of poopy water a day into Georgia Strait. A standard Canadian wastewater test places ten rainbow trout into a tank of undiluted effluent; if less than half of the fish survive, the plant is said to have failed the test. Primary treatment facilities reduce the oxygen requirements of effluent by approximately 30% – just enough for half of the fish to survive. This is the treatment employed at the Iona facility. - See more at: The Dependent  When the tourists come to town, when the wealthy in their million dollar condos, the old mon...