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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-06-22, Page 44 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, June 22, 2005 =CNA Editorial Opinion TIMES ADVOCATE PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the Financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing casts. Jim Beckett Publisher and Editor Deb Lord Production Manager &Published by Metroland Printing, rt Publishing & Distributing Ltd. Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIAL Action needed, not just words Not even two months after applauding Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Liberals for sticking to the campaign promise of shutting down Ontario's five coal-fired generat- ing plants by 2007, it turns out the promise was a typical Dalton promise — one destined to be broken amid excuses. It turns out, the biggest and baddest of Ontario's coal- fired plants, the Nanticoke station, will remain open until 2009, two years after McGuinty promised it would be closed. That gives Ontario's worst polluter two more years to belch its disgusting pollution into our air. Anyone who has driven past the station and seen the bil- lows of smoke and flames shooting into the air realizes this place needs to be shut down. Of course, this broken promise is no surprise. Like most campaign promises, the pledge to shut down the coal-fired plants by 2007 wasn't thought through care- fully — critics at the time said there was no way the province would be able to replace the power generated by these plants in time for their scheduled mothballing. It turns out they were right. Nanticoke generates nearly 4,000 megawatts of elec- tricity, a crucial amount Ontario's stressed -out electrici- ty grid can't afford to lose. The problem is, our lungs can't afford to continue breathing in the junk that con- tinues to be released into the air. The province will start shutting down some units at Nanticoke in 2008, before (they promise) closing it down for good in 2009. In a positive move, last month the province shut down the Lakeview plant in Mississauga, the largest source of air pollution in the Toronto area. Shutting down that plant was the equivalent of taking 500,000 cars off the road. McGuinty's broken promises (remember he wouldn't raise taxes?) have done nothing to end the ever-growing voter cynicism in this province. Nobody trusts politicians and they've given us no reason to. On the other hand, even with the delay of Nanticoke's closure, the Liberal plan to shut down the five coal-fired generating plants is much better than what the previous Conservative government promised (2015). Talk about setting the bar low. McGuinty is now talking to the U.S. about air pollution, asking them to clean up their act amid reports that half of Ontario's air pollution comes from the United States. While it's true the U.S. also has much improving to do, simply pointing the finger isn't the answer. We need to look in the mirror and look after our own backyard. Blaming the U.S. is convenient, but it isn't the answer. The province needs to get busy and begin developing and investing in cleaner forms of energy — natural gas, wind and solar — to replace coal. Some of this work has already started. Coal may be cheaper, but in the long run, we all save by shutting down these pollution pigs. HOWDY NEIGHBOUR! Pigs will fly this summer Apparently hell has frozen over and pigs can fly .. . at least they will when four members of Pink Floyd reunite for the upcoming Live 8 concerts July 2 and play together for the first time since 1981. This is huge news in the rock `n' roll world — the only bigger reunions would be The Beatles and Led Zeppelin, and neither one of those bands will be get- ting back together anytime soon (mostly by reason of death). No, when Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Rick Wright and Nick Mason step onstage in England in a couple of weeks and start hammering their first chords, it will be rock's equivalent to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Pink Floyd, you see, hasn't been the same since 1981, when chief songwriter, dictator and front man Waters left the group in a huff and then tried to block his ex-bandmates from con- tinuing on under the Pink Floyd moniker. Waters lost the court case and the "fake" Pink Floyd continued without him, hiring outside songwriters and releasing two mediocre albums but continuing to be a massive concert draw. In the meantime, the bitter feud between Waters and the rest of Floyd played itself out in rock magazines for all to see. These guys hated each other, it seemed, and nothing, including buckets of money, would ever get them back together. But a phone call from Live 8 organizer Sir Bob Geldof changed everything. The amount of influence this guy has is amazing, considering his paltry record sales. But after the success of 1985's Live Aid and Geldof's relentless efforts to bring world aid and attention to an Africa ravaged by devastating poverty, an AIDS pan- demic, despotic leaders, corruption, genocide and famine, when Geldof makes a request of his fellow musicians, they usually answer his bidding. So now we have Live 8, a massive undertaking designed, curiously enough, not to raise money but simply to raise awareness about the myriad problems in Africa. Concerts (including in Canada, probably Barrie as of press time) will be free and the musicians won't be paid. Of course, cynics will say this is all a waste of time — Africa is doomed and we shouldn't let the continent drag the rest of us down. Indeed, many of Africa's problems are self-imposed, but that doesn't mean the rest of us should ignore them — haven't we done enough damage already? Ignoring the situation is just a touch too amoral, even for this world. Cynics will also suggest the musicians are in this only for the attention and the possible increase in record sales such a high profile show could mean for them. To which I say — bullroar. Do you really think Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney want to sell more records? McCartney is the most successful songwriter of all time and Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" was on the charts for 20 years. They need more boosts to their out of control egos? Pink Floyd is ending decades of hatred because playing together for 20 minutes might sell a few thousand more records? Maybe, but I'm taking off my cynic's hat for this one. These guys are actually trying to help and, in a celebrity -obsessed age when Tom Cruise, an actor with the emotional depth of a mud puddle, won't shut up about how much he loves some girl from "Dawson's Creek," that's nothing to sneeze at. Sometimes, celebrities have good intentions. Not often, but sometimes. So when Pink Floyd walks onstage July 2, I'll only see it as a positive thing. I don't really care what songs they play, as long as they do one thing for me that day — launch into the air their mascot from "Animals," a giant, ugly inflatable pig. I like the symbolism. SCOTT NIXON AND ANOTHER THING About the Times -Advocate Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Holidays. 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For example, Jim Beckett's e-mail address is <jbeck- ett@southhuron.com> Our general e-mail address is ads@southhuron.com. The Times -Advocate Team Publisher/Editor Jim Beckett ext. 109 ADVERTISING Deborah Schillemore ext. 112 REPORTERS Scott Nixon ext. 105 Pat Bolen ext. 113 Stephanie Mandziuk ext. 107 CUSTOMER SERVICE Sue Rollings ext. 101 Kim Hern ext. 102 COMPOSITION DEPARTMENT Manager Deb Lord ext. 114/103 Sharlene Young, ext 103 Heather Bilcke ext. 103 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Christina Scott ext. 108 Marg Pertschy ext. 111