This is in regard to the 'Green Energy Bandwagon' and the media's comments that go something like, "It's not as if wind power is controversial." Wrong, wrong, wrong. More than 4,000 (some say as high as 7,000) of these massive, noisy, 250-foot high industrial behemoths are being erected in the backyards of people living in developed communities throughout south central Ontario, for no practical reason whatsoever. A cost-recovery-benefit calculation of Dalton's Green Energy brain cramp shows his part-time industrial wind power plan is only beneficial to, and lucrative for wind turbine promoters and builders.

Normally, I don't write about problems I encounter in getting information from government because I feel it's too "inside baseball" for readers. I'm making an exception because I think this incident illustrates the problems besieged opponents of industrial wind turbines living in communities across Ontario are encountering in getting straight answers from their own government. This, as Premier Dalton McGuinty appears hell-bent on erecting these giant steel structures, up to 40-storeys high, as fast as he can. The last time McGuinty was this juiced we got ... eHealth.

Barbara Ashbee distributed this letter to all media in Ontario Canada. Ms. Ashbee and her family abandoned their home due to wind turbine noise and other impacts which have harmed their health and quality of life.

Too clever for his own good? That might be the case for Energy Minister George Smitherman, who aims to turn Ontario into a renewable-energy superpower and create thousands of green-collar jobs. Both are great ideas. But a deal being made on the sidelines could undo much of what Smitherman and the Liberal government are trying to accomplish.

When industries look for government subsidies for money-losing propositions, a common business model these days, one of the most important strategic elements is to make sure you have a well-oiled public relations machine to keep the facts from getting in the way. Voters don't like to back money-losers, which means keeping them steadily misinformed or at least confused. Renewable energy industries - wind, solar, biomass, human treadmills - have a particularly tough job.

It's never pretty watching people's rights getting trampled by a government caught up in the latest fad, but it's happening across Ontario. The victims are citizens living mainly in rural communities. Their concerns about the possible adverse health effects of industrial wind turbines are being rolled over by Premier Dalton McGuinty. We should all pay attention because our rights could be next.

There's a farmer in Northumberland County, east of Oshawa, who wants to build a house for his daughter on his farm, but he can't because he's on the heavily protected Oak Ridges Moraine. But it's OK to lease his land to a company that will put up multiple wind turbines and turn his property into a wind farm. And they'll pay him five figures a year to do it. That's just one of many contradictions emerging as wind project proposals multiply like rabbits across Ontario.

The battles over wind farms in Ontario and New York state have had no shortage of press coverage. The battle lines are most often drawn between those who place a premium on scenic and historic preservation, property values and other quality-of-life factors, versus those who place a priority on the personal and municipal income the wind projects offer. But the processes that decide these battles are seldom fair or transparent, and are skewed in favour of the few over the many.

Let me argue that the first test of an energy policy for the new age is not "alternative energy" at all - but rather conservation first, then energy efficiency and decentralization of the power structure. Renewables should serve these ends rather than be an end in themselves that may, in fact, be mostly useless. Wind power is especially troublesome in that regard. Even if NSP reaches 25 per cent renewables by 2015 based on wind, it will not have cut 25 per cent of greenhouse gases, which, after all, is the main goal. It may not have cut much greenhouse gas at all, in fact.

It is often said there are always two sides to any story. And generally I believe this to be true. But after five years in this chair I continue to strain to hear or comprehend the argument for wind energy-I have failed to hear a persuasive argument that explains why we had to ruin Wolfe Island and why we must do the same to Prince Edward County. I am still waiting.

I wish to express my grave concerns with the passing of Ontario's Green Energy Act. No matter where anyone buys a home, if it is near agricultural land, there is no guarantee that this land will not be used to erect industrial wind turbines more than 400 feet high, a mere 550 metres from the centre of your home, and residents are now powerless to prevent such an unwanted intrusion.

One of the most beautiful areas of the North American continent has become the target for wind turbine projects put up by giant international corporations that, if they have their way, plan to fill the entire Great Lakes basin with these industrial parks. ...In Ontario (and New York state), the control of wind energy has been put into the hands of large international corporations which has turned the whole "green" energy movement on its head.

At the G20 Pittsburgh summit, Canada endorsed a commitment to end subsidies to fossil fuel industries and step up subsidies to renewable energy sources. "We commit to...stimulate investment in clean energy, renewables, and energy efficiency," said the leaders. If anybody wonders what stimulating clean and green energy programs might mean to economic policy, a working model comes into effect today in Ontario.

Ontario-based developer AIM PowerGen proposed building four 9.9 MW wind projects in Harrow, Ontario, in 2007. But two years later, the company is still waiting for its building permit - a process that typically takes no more than six months to complete. What's the holdup? Local opponents have bird-dogged town officials to overly vet AIM PowerGen's wind project, citing health concerns, according to Dave Timm, the developer's vice president of strategic affairs.

Amazing that with the amount of information available, so many choose to ignore the negative impacts resulting from industrial wind turbines projects: effects on health, wildlife, micro climate. How unfortunate for the people and the communities involved. ...New standards governing wind turbines were established in June 2009: set back of 1.5 km for projects with more than 26 wind turbines. Other standards relates to noise level.

Apart from the fact that wind energy is impractical and unreliable, the cost of creating these wind farms is also outrageous (ie. service roads, police escorts, labour, new substations and transmission lines). High demand is also placing too much strain on the mills. As a result, they often malfunction. None of this compares though to the story of Barbara Ashbee-Lormand and her husband Dennis Lormand of Shelburne, Ontario.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper came under attack from environmentalists last week following his announcement, in Washington, that Ottawa will provide $130-million from the Green Infrastructure Fund for a power line in northwestern British Columbia. Was the criticism justified? Or did Mr. Harper get unfairly attacked? He was accused of "greenwashing" the Northwest Transmission Line, a $404-million project that will push power cables along the scenic Stewart-Cassiar Highway.

Have you ever gone to the doctor's office or emergency room with concerns for your health, only to be dismissed as imaginative or overly sensitive? How does that feel for you? ...This is what is happening to so many families in our rural community as they try to explain that the wind turbines are destroying their health and lives.

To begin I'm all for green renewable energy but not when it harms the well being of people. So let's cut this green charade and get to the nitty-gritty. Nextera Energy is the company proposing a six-turbine wind farm near Formosa, Paisley, Tara and Durham. The newly appointed Green Energy Act takes the planning decisions of such developments out of the hands of Bruce County council. This means we now have no say in the matter and it only gets worse.

My partner and I purchased a very nice home and moved to New Denmark in order to enjoy the peace, tranquility and supposed friendliness of this beautiful area. ...Our dreams are now seriously threatened by a project that will benefit only a few, contribute nothing whatsoever to a reduction in our electricity bills, will absolutely not make any significant contribution to the environment and will forever change our quality of life.