Victoria should fund Ogden power upgrade
Re: “Councillors agree to investigate authority over cruise ships in port,” Oct. 18.
It appears that Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps and some councillors want to have shore power for the cruise ships calling at Ogden Point.
That’s a fine goal, except they want the cruise-ship companies to pay for it, rather than the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority and city.
When Vancouver decided it wanted more container ships to off-load in Vancouver, they didn’t ask the shipping lines to pay for the necessary port upgrades, because they took the view that more container ships meant more income for the city.
The same attitude should apply to Victoria, which wants the city to be a regular port of call, thus increasing Victoria’s income from all the passengers and various services provided.
Victoria should fund the cost of the necessary upgrade, and apply for an infrastructure grant from both the federal and provincial governments to help with those costs.
Ed Buscall
Brentwood Bay
Tidal-current turbines could power ships
Victoria council has decided to limit the number of cruise ships to Victoria due to their greenhouse gas/particulate emissions.
Vancouver has electrified its shore power so cruise ships can increase in number without increasing emissions/pollutants.
A solution: tidal power from tidal-current turbines off Trial Island. The current runs about six to eight knots twice a day and with tried technology that works in Scotland.
Victoria could supply renewable energy to these cruise ships if the owners would bring over several of these tidal turbines to provide the power for this industry. A viable solution to a perennial problem.
Rafe Sunshine
Victoria
What about solar power at Ogden?
Re: “Island has plenty of power to plug in cruise ships: Hydro,” Oct. 18.
I’m probably way off the mark here, as I don’t really know enough about the science, but would powering the ships with solar energy be an option?
There appears to be plenty of room at Ogden Point, or should I say the Breakwater District, to erect a solar grid.
Just a thought in keeping with the green theme.
Holly McKay
Sidney
Sign me up for Isitt pension plan
Re: “Victoria council agrees to look into its authority over cruise ships in port,” Oct. 18.
I have just figured out my retirement plan: Apply for a job in an industry that Coun. Ben Isitt wants to “wind down” and then collect a state pension.
I used to think that I would have to work for a living, but now I realize all I have to do is embrace communism. What a relief.
Trevor Amon
Victoria
Better preparation for advance voting
Re: “Ridiculous delays for advance voting,” letter, Oct. 15; “Lack of planning caused voting delays,” letter, Oct. 15.
We heard the same complaints from early voters during the election two years ago. Neither side — those in charge of setting up polling stations and those wishing to vote early — have learned anything, apparently.
Early voting was initiated to speed up the process for voters who had previously stood in long lines on election day. It has proven to be a victim of its own success, and despite evidence of this, the organizers still stubbornly refuse to accommodate all these early voters.
People wishing to vote early, who complain about standing in long lines for hours, seem to have forgotten that they have a simple alternative: vote on election day. This is what the organizers will be prepared for.
The last time, I was in and out of the polling station in less than 10 minutes, at the end of the work day, when one would expect to see long lineups.
To both sides of the process, I say the same thing: Figure it out.
Lorraine Lindsay
Saanich
Statements about Greens misleading
Re: “For our children to have a future, we must address climate change,” comment, Oct. 17.
I am so tired of hearing that Green Party Leader Elizabeth May would support Conservatives in case of a minority government.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is taking only a portion of what May said and turning it around to mean something completely different.
She has said for ages, over and over, that the Greens would support any party with a good plan to fight climate change.
She would not support any motion from any party that did not meet with Green policies on climate change.
It’s untruthful for any opponent to say otherwise — not to mention misleading!
C.E. Preece
Courtenay
Global warming not just a ‘theory’
Re: “Reject global warming alarmism, focus on concrete improvements,” opinion, Oct. 16.
When Maxime Bernier states: “There is, however, no scientific consensus on the theory that CO2 produced by human activity is causing dangerous global warming today or will in the future,” one can only conclude that if we do not learn from the mistakes of history, we will be cursed to repeat them.
Already in 1800, the French physicist Joseph Fourier suspected that the Earth’s atmospheric envelope limits the heat loss of our planet to the cold of the universe.
In 1863, the English physicist John Tyndall showed by his experiments with water vapour and gases such as CO2 that any changes in their amounts could lead to climate change. A decrease would be responsible for an ice age, and an increase would lead to a hothouse effect.
His experiments were then proven to be correct by the Swedish physicist and Nobel prize winner Svante Arrhenius in 1896.
Based on his results, Arrhenius also concluded that “emissions from the burning of fossil fuels … were large enough to cause global warming.”
Global warming or the greenhouse effect is neither a modern invention nor “just a theory.” Nor is it a mischievous attempt by China or some other foreign hostile power to ruin our capitalist industry, as some politician have claimed.
Since 1896, it is both a scientific theory and a scientific fact based on solid scientific evidence, established some 120 years ago by a Nobel prize winner (Arrhenius).
Hermann Helmuth
Victoria
In praise of Bernier’s climate stance
Re: “Reject global warming alarming, focus on concrete improvements,” comment, Oct. 16.
I can only imagine the outrage that will be directed at the TC for having the audacity to print the heretical commentary by Maxime Bernier and his views on climate change — how dare he? His views are not “mainstream,” nor are they “politically correct” and woe betide anyone with contrary views on the “climate change emergency.”
I have nothing but praise for the TC in its willingness to present a view that runs contrary to the current political mainstream.
James P. Crowley
North Saanich
Health care is a bigger issue
Re: “We must end our reliance on fossil fuels,” comment, Oct. 15.
We are being scammed about our environment. Yes, there is a world-wide problem, but no, we cannot save the planet. We have about half a per cent of the world population in the second-largest country in the world.
In Canada, each person could live on 61 square miles, while in China, 375 people would live on one square mile — quite a shocking difference.
In China, they are building more than 40 coal-fired plants, while here in Canada, we have an over-abundance of natural gas that burns 60 per cent cleaner than coal, yet does Elizabeth May say let’s sell the natural gas to China to save the planet? No. It’s all about planting billions of trees, which is nonsense.
What is not talked about is the elephant in the room — health care. We are thousands of doctors and nurses short and hospitals run on too much overtime, which is not sustainable.
Dennis Bourne
Saanich
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