Following the cancellation of 758 wind projects in Ontario, its government has further delighted locals with the decision to revoke approval for the (almost complete) Nations Rise project, at North Stormont, near Ottawa.
This time the decision announced by Jeff Yurek, Ontario’s Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, was not one based purely on the flawed economics of the project, as in the other 758 cases.
This time, the government pulled the plug in order to prevent the inevitable annihilation of Hoary, Big and Little Brown bats; the Little Brown bat is identified as one of Ontario’s ‘Species at Risk’.
We’ll hand over to – an obviously delighted – Sherri Lange.
A GREAT DAY FOR BATS WORLD WIDE
This is a completely brilliant move. The developers can never argue about the efficacy and ESSENTIAL power of saving nature’s quiet little eco warriors, Bats. They are in serious decline world wide.
We are very aware that the developers’ consultants deny the existence of roosts, habitat, and have barrelled projects through to fruition.
We know from the work of Esther Wrightman, from her FOI’s, that bats (and birds) are notoriously under reported in post construction surveys. As the Minister as also pointed out, these proposed surveys of bats for Nations Rise, are scant and completely inadequate for conservation and preservation. This obfuscation is one of the darkest places on the planet now: allowing so much environmental destruction via a conduit of Expert PAID Misinformation.
While Ontario has already sent a signal to land grabbing, cash seeking, developers, cancelling 758 wind and solar projects, this is another nail in the coffin.
Please celebrate with the people and communities of Stormont, especially Ruby Metker and Rainer Pethke, who relentlessly and methodically and very collaboratively met with any and all groups that could assist them, people who have a track record of being on the mark with fighting wind turbines. Yes, more groups also need to our thanks. We know them all. We have all been in this fight a very long time.
Congratulations to all who fought, and WON. This is a very sweet victory, not only for people, for water, for health, but also for the endangered species of bats that are at perilously low levels of sustainability.
Sherri Lange
