To the Expositor:
Growing up, I spent every summer on Manitoulin Island in a small log cabin on Lake Manitou until my late teens. I am now pushing 40 and live outside of Canada, but each year I visit the Island to disconnect from technology, recharge my batteries and my spirit and to enjoy nature and the simpler things in life. I have seen many places around the world, but nothing compares in my eyes to the magical natural beauty of Manitoulin.
I am horrified to see the size of the wind turbine project proposed for Manitoulin. I do what I can to reduce my footprint on the Earth (reduce consumption, no car, reuse, recycle, compost, etc.), and I understand the need for renewable, clean energy, but the scope of this project is way out of bounds for what it offers the Island. Maybe I’m cynical, but I expect the same 21st century “green” jobs promised to rural communities where the wind turbines are being erected will be end up in urban centres along with the electricity that is generated.
This summer I will start bringing my one-year old boy to Manitoulin to enjoy the same things I did growing up.
Hopefully the wind farm development can stop before the only way to enjoy the natural beauty of the Island is through old pictures, stories and memories.
Stephen Greszczyszyn
London, England
