A European plan to generate solar-thermal energy in North Africa for export to Europe shows that some people are thinking big when it comes to clean energy and climate change.
Potentially, there are 300,000 megawatts of solar-thermal energy available in North Africa for export to Europe. That's enough clean, renewable energy to replace 300 coal-fired electricity plants.
We need to start thinking big like that here in North America. And as it happens, many of North America's best renewable energy resources are located right here in British Columbia. These could replace coal-fired electricity in Alberta and Saskatchewan and even as far south as California.
People have been exporting energy from one place to another practically since the beginning of time, either as lumps of coal, cords of firewood or more recently as gallons of crude oil. But now, as the world turns increasingly to clean energy, we have an unprecedented opportunity to replace non-renewable energy exports with clean, renewable energy and do it in a very big way.
Mike Taylor
Port Moody
Signs of the time
In response to your article last week on John Weston's signs I think Jack Mann is reading slightly (too much) into the whole situation citing free speech and the Middle East.
I think you will find that residents of Whistler, Canadian or otherwise, all appreciate the eyesore that the signs bring to the highway town. It has nothing to do with questioning the democratic process, moreover, how ugly and pointless (are the) giant blue, white and red signs ... (in) an otherwise beautiful town.
I am not Canadian and have no say in the voting process in this country. I do, however, have to walk past and drive past about nine of the ghastly signs every day and it does nothing but aggravate me.
I fail to see their point, or anyone's reasoning behind their presence. I am pretty sure anyone with enough sense (and) who actually votes is not basing their decision (on) the amount of signs they see.
I'm glad people are showing their disgust by vandalizing the signs and can only hope the financial and labour costs force the party to reevaluate their advertising budget into less intrusive methods and can see their volunteers time spent more wisely.
Rob Melvin
Whistler
Reduce Re-use Recycle!
Yesterday I loaded the trunk of my car with an assortment of garbage and items for recycling, return for refund etc.
My boyfriend and I went to the Nesters drop off site where we proceeded to sort and deposit our items in the various bins or containers specified for things like plastic, paper, tin, glass and so on.
Typically in my household I take the role of the garbage and recycling police. I wash food containers along with my regular dishes and I break down boxed packages and larger items. I pull things out of the garbage that aren't initially recognized as recyclable. I compost all food waste and organic material.
This takes a bit of effort, but it's really not rocket science! Plus it makes me feel good.
Disposing of your garbage and turning in items for recycling in this town comes with its challenges, to say the least. Just getting to the drop off site when you're without a vehicle and/or lacking friends with one, presents the biggest hurdle. But somehow, the majority of us get there in the end.
But (recently)... the people I saw there whilst dropping off my own items, were putting things in all the wrong places!
It's not the first time I've noticed this. It's something I see almost EVERY time I go there and it makes me see red!
One gentleman I saw a few weeks ago had deposited stacks of leftover newspapers (not food soiled or for any other reason deemed non-recyclable) in the main garbage compactor!
Now, you can't tell me that this man is unaware of the "mixed paper" bin just meters away!
Another family present ... tossed a few large "corrugated cardboard" (still fully constructed) boxes into the "mixed paper" bin. I pulled them out because they were within my reach. The "corrugated cardboard" bin is right next to the "mixed paper" one!
There is a dedicated team of staff not just here in Whistler, but all over the province and beyond, who give their full time working lives to this cause.
My plea and request is a simple one.
Don't be an apathetic moron when it comes to your garbage and recycling. Do the work in your home first. Wash, sort, separate and break things down beforehand. Then when you get to the drop off site - use your brain and put the items in their designated places. It's that easy!
Mieke Schrijvers
Whistler
It's all community money
There's an assumption I keep hearing espoused at Municipal Hall that money from the hotel tax, or from other government grants is somehow is not community money.
The $40,000 used to pay for the Tapestry of Place report, and the $20,000 to the Whistler Centre for Sustainability to 'manage' the project, was 12 per cent of the Cultural Capital grant awarded to Whistler as part of the Olympic legacy.
For example, that money could have been used to triple the recent grants to Dance Whistler, the Whistler Children's Chorus, the Whistler Forum for Dialogue, Whistler Secondary School Drama Club, Whistler Singers, Whistler Writers Group and still have money left over.
I take exception with the idea that Whistler didn't pay for the Tapestry of Place report.
David Buzzard
Whistler
Agitating not agitators...
Those expressing their frustrations with Council,
ad nauseam
, at the twists and turns of the asphalt plant soap opera may be democrats; they may be earnest and annoying; they certainly are fanatical to the point of distraction...
But "agitators"? (Pique April 7)
That's a bit inflammatory from a publication that should be buying these "agitators" drinks for conducting a tenacious, "take no prisoners" investigation on this complicated file.
"Agitators" is so Republican Party circa Joseph McCarthy. Try agent provocateur or activist - more continental, more intrigue.
Brian.K. Buchholz
Whistler
Is it time to reduce ski ticket prices?
As is the case in every economic downturn, the stories of doom and gloom thrive.
I believe that this happens routinely because of the normal swing of the pendulum from everything's great and will never end to "Oops - all good things have to come to an end."
Perfectly normal. There is, and will always be, a "correction."
Those who adjust appropriately survive the correction while those who fail to adjust appropriately may well cease to exist.
Unfortunately, at the time of a correction, it is difficult to tell which path is the right one. My singular purpose here is to attempt to focus on the survival pathway.
It is my understanding that several businesses in town don't see survival as a likely outcome currently. No doubt, this could well be a result of what these businesses have seen in the past.
I suspect that Whistler has seen it's optimum point in terms of profitability and is headed to more survivalist times. But younger, more vigorous individuals appear to be content with that scenario.
So who knows which businesses will survive, albeit not necessarily thrive? As an individual who owns in Whistler but doesn't actually live in Whistler, I have seen rental rates and occupancy rates drop precipitously over the last few years. While locals decry outsiders' interests here, the fact is that the common good should serve us all.
From my perspective, Whistler Blackcomb's focus on being numero uno in the skiing world may now have become detrimental to the legitimate expectations of many local business owners as well as those interests of absentee/rental owners who have essentially financed Whistler's meteoric rise in real estate values.
Again from my point of view, if Whistler Blackcomb's philosophy remains focused on world-renowned ticket prices (especially in the event that our dollar continues to do well against other currencies), more and more people will choose other, lesser resorts based upon economics.
And if anyone has had to deal with the U.S. border agencies, if you don't have to do so, why would you?
My desire would be to have Whistler Blackcomb (Fortress?) reduce their ticket prices to a level that would encourage people to come here even if they have to put up with the U.S. border agencies (or similar).
Most definitely, both local owners and absentee owners alike have taken a significant "hit" as a result of decreased visitor numbers.
So the least that Whistler Blackcomb (Fortress?) can do is to try to correct the situation. As a former business owner myself, I fully realize that if it costs $1 to make a widget and you sell a widget for anything less than a dollar, you will never show a profit.
However, if you sell that widget for $1.25, a profit is assured. The question then becomes, if I sell that widget for $1.20, how many more widgets will I sell? Hopefully, this public letter can initiate a dialogue on this matter as it appears pivotal to me.
Bill Sherry
Greystone Lodge owner
(Editor's note: Fortress Investment Group is now only a minority shareholder in Whistler Blackcomb and no longer the sole owner of the company. After an Initial Public Offering the New York-based investment bank owns 24 per cent of the company.)
Coffee with Councillors
As we saw with the large turnout at the Village of Pemberton council meeting recently, there was a lot of interest in the result of the TCUP (temporary commercial use permit) application by Cedar View Estate.
A question has to be asked as to whether council was actually representing the wishes of the people within the Village of Pemberton boundaries when 40 per cent of the council members had removed themselves from the table due to stated conflicts of interests.
One council member stated she had received several comments about this issue, but did not expand on what those comments were, or even if these were official complaints filed with the village.
In this case, regarding the use of land and issuance of a TCUP, it would be interesting to know why council did not allow for a public forum on the matter and get the opinion of Pemberton residents.
I like the idea of Mayor Sturdy's "coffee with the Mayor" sessions. Maybe the other councillors could do the same thing and name a time and place where people could come and voice their views on this issue.
Gail Harris
Pemberton
Dream tenants
I just wanted to give a public shout out to some absolutely wonderful tenants!
This winter I rented my condo to four young Aussies (Rhiannon, Daniel, Pete and Mike) and my suite to three under-20 B.C. boys striving to become pro boarders and skiers (Beau, Clayton and Paul).
I can hear you all saying "WHAT were you thinking?" Well at least that's what my friends were saying... But when I met all of the above individuals, my instinct was to give it a shot, not to listen to the horror stories of landlords past.
I am so glad that I did decide to rent to these seven individuals.
The condo tenants were absolutely exemplary tenants, treating my condo with gentleness and respect, tracking me down to pay rents, trying to keep the hydro down, and if you can believe it gave ME a bunch of presents when they left! It should have been the other way around.
The young guys were the most kind, thoughtful, lovely young men. They gave my sons safety messages for on the mountain, put up with our noise of construction and little feet at 7 a.m. and were appreciative of all the ice packs and care meals after their many on hill injuries!
I know that many people have similar stories, and I know there are just as many renting nightmares out there. I just wanted to say a public thanks to these seven great young people.
Carin Smolinski
Whistler
Idle Free campaign
I see that the RMOW has launched an Idle ˆFree campaign to solve another non-existent problem rather than dealing with a real problem like the potentially carcinogenic emissions soon to be spewing into the valley from our friends at the Asphalt Plant. Surely, we must have more pressing issues other than sending out stickers and free coffee vouchers. Perhaps we have too many employees at the RMOW and not enough real jobs to do. We have to appear busy and create little projects for ourselves.
Zbigniew Ciura
Whistler
All of Pemberton affected
I am a little confused and angry with Pemberton Council with their lack of thought for the greater community when voting on the zoning for Cedar View Estate.
This impacts the greater community substantially; it affects accommodation providers, the venue and food and beverage providers. Does council not realize that this town is suffering greatly right now, and their actions affect people who need to work.
Kudos to Al Leblanc for actually standing up for this community.
If this is genuinely the result of a noise complaint, why couldn't they be fined but allowed to keep operating? So does that mean I can shut down the Shaker Acre function that we have every summer because I can hear it from my house and it disturbs me... or what about all the other private farms that provide special events... are we shutting down North Arm Farm and the Van Loons?
Time for council to start making good decisions that actually benefit the town rather than ones that drag us down!
So, the village gets its money from the permits and then says, "go fly a kite." I hope they get a refund!
Adam Adams
Pemberton
Thank you to the Whistler community
We wish to thank everyone who participated in Erin Solowey-Wanamaker's memorial and made April 4th an extraordinary day.
The event, which included a touching ceremony at the top of Million Dollar Ridge, was truly a proud moment for us.
The 1st annual "Mannonball shred day" was a great success only to be topped off by an amazing evening at Dusty's where friends and family came together and raised over $4000 for SAR (Search and Rescue).
We wish to extend our gratitude to everyone who donated their time, energy, talent and funds.
We so appreciate being welcomed into the arms of Erin's Whistler family. You meant a lot to Erin and now you mean a lot to us.
Lots of love. See you next year.
Susan, Denis and Lucas Solowey-Wanamaker
Quebec
Please Vote!
This is a letter directed at the large number of Canadians who didn't vote in the last election, who's number is larger than the votes received by the ruling party.
By not voting you are undoubtedly protesting against the fact that the parties are all the same and that one vote doesn't count anyways.
If this is your position then you have had your protest and you can do me and everyone who did vote a favor and save further complaints until the next election.
In my mind, however your choice to not vote is more like a vote for the "don't give a Sweet Hoot In Total" party, who stand for higher taxes for the average person, lower taxes for big multinational corporations, less spending on health care, education, day care, roads, sewers and other infrastructure and more spending on jailing people who's choice of addictions isn't approved, and oh yah, way more military spending.
If these are your core beliefs then by all means stay home and don't vote.
But imagine if your large number of votes were added to the party with the least votes who stand for the opposite with a view to have a better future for you, your children, your grandchildren etc... and they could form the government, would it not be worth getting out and voting?
Tommy Douglas (arguably the greatest Canadian ever, who brought in health care in a minority government) likened the voters to mice with fat cats governing them, when one fat cat's policies were disagreeable they voted in another fat cat with predictable results.
Then the mice realized that they should vote in a mouse to have their true interests met. Your voice is louder than the voice of the fat cats and if you chose to use it, you will make a difference in your future.
Thank you for your time,
Rob Neaga
Squamish
