Energy-systems consultant Roger Bryenton wrote an open letter to Premier David Eby, BC Hydro CEO Chris O’Riley, and BCUC Chair Mark Jaccard. It is published here with permission.
BC Hydro’s call for power is the wrong call
Norm Farrell
Gwen and I raised three adult children in North Vancouver. Each lives in this community, as do our seven grandchildren. Before retirement, I worked in accounting and small business management. Since 2009, I have published commentary about public issues at IN-SIGHTS.CA.
For Site C promoters and enthusiasts
Climate change is one of the most pressing global issue in contemporary times, and dams play a substantial role in aggravating it by becoming feeding grounds for methane-producing microbes. In addition, dams fragment rivers and disrupt their natural flow, threatening the survival of aquatic fauna, especially migratory species. Dams are also culpable for disrupting the biogeochemical cycles of river ecosystems, thereby impacting their function and structure. Taking all the environmental impacts of dams into account, the apparent economic gain from them may not be worth it…
Use and misuse of words by journalists and editors
Dan Froomkin — one of my favourite American commentators — offers several suggestions for the New York Times style guide. Here are a few published at presswatchers.org:
Local governments sitting on piles of cash
In theory, local governments assess property taxes at levels that allow accumulations of surpluses sufficient to fund replacements and major repairs of public infrastructure. My survey of local governments, representing about two-thirds of BC’s population, showed they held surpluses totalling $51 billion at the end of 2022. That suggests a total for all local government of $75 billion, or about $14,000 per person.
Unhealthy changes in the newspaper world
We learned this week that Black Press Ltd. and associated companies applied for protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. The BC based company’s main business is print and digital newspapers and magazines operating in Western and Northern Canada and in the USA. This shows companies affiliated with Black Press Ltd…
Denial is a defence mechanism…
A 2022 article in Psychology Today is worth attention. The author is the late Charles M. Johnston, MD, psychiatrist, author, and futurist…
BC Hydro numbers
BC Hydro has often said that demand for electricity in this region is growing at a rate of 40 percent in 20 years. The company claims population increases result in greater consumption of electricity and vested interests tell us the utility must commit to major spending to serve the province. Self-serving messages are not meant to inform citizens of British Columbia. The intended purpose is to misinform. The strategy works. BC Hydro has been spending tens of billions of dollars because people pay little attention to underlying facts.
Nothing to see here!
A Berkely Earth email today reminds us that serious actions to address climate change should not be delayed. But like most Canadian political leaders, Detective Frank Drebin is indifferent…
Megaproject madness
CBC is reporting that three aluminum ships built in British Columbia during the 1990s will be sold or sent to the ship-breakers. Constructed for about 800 million in today’s dollars, the three “fast ferries” are now worth little or nothing more than scrap value. North Vancouver business consultant Rob Arthurs, in collaboration with associates, hopes to resell these ferries and see them returned to use…
Not all sides are equal — updated
Writing in The Economist, former New York Times editor James Bennet commented about the state of his profession. He thinks today’s mainstream media too often fails to provide open and objective, truth-seeking journalism…
Misdirected energy policies
In 2018, BC Hydro began discouraging the production of solar power in British Columbia. The crown corporation had allowed customers with PV panels a two-way connection to the grid. When consumers fed surplus electricity to the utility, credits were recorded. If credits were not used to buy electricity from BC Hydro within a year, the utility would pay homeowners a price roughly equal to the average rate paid to independent power producers, or about one-half what Site C power will cost if it goes into service in 2025…
Street art
As 2024 dawns, warmongers, arms dealers, and defenders of genocide show us the depths of human malice. But looking elsewhere, we find street art displaying the heights of human tenderness and creativity.
On time, on budget,
In November 2023, I examined falsehoods about electrical demand growth that have been repeated for almost two decades. People running BC Hydro still feel no obligation for accuracy and transparency when conducting public business…
Greenwashing
If greenwashing were an appropriate response, Canada would be a world leader in addressing climate change. One well-funded practitioner is Pathways Alliance, a consortium of big Canadian oil companies that Toronto Star says is preaching “industry knows best” when it comes to combating climate change…
Oil tankers in Burrard Inlet
Proponents of the Transmountain Pipeline Expansion (TMX) promise about 34 Aframax tankers will depart each month from the Westridge Marine Terminal on the Burnaby section of Burrard Inlet. After TMX comes on stream, the number of Aframax or Panamax oil tankers visiting Vancouver will rise from about 32 to an estimated 380 Panamax and Aframax tankers or just over one per day. But, can we trust anything Trans Mountain tells us?
Dr Gabor Mate – belated respects due
In the 1960s, Gabor Mate was a brave young man standing up to bullies and stating unpopular ideas. Now Dr. Mate, he is still a man of conscience not afraid to speak hard truths.
You couldn’t stop solar if you wanted to stop solar
Worldwide solar energy capacity has been growing rapidly. In 2022, it was 150 times higher than in 2006 and more than double the level of 2018 when BC Hydro moved to discourage solar power systems. A tiny proportion of the utility’s accounts was feeding solar power to the grid, but BC Hydro worried about added customers embracing solar, particularly large consumers of electricity…
Seven moral principles
Professor Robert Reich describes meeting with students to discuss tragic events in Gaza and Israel. It was a mixed group, some Jewish, some Palestinian, and some with other backgrounds. They sought common ground as they examined what basic moral principles were at stake. Conclusions the group determined…
Remembering
This item was first published in 2010. It reappears with minor editing. I think it might stimulate memories of fellow seniors and alter the minds of people who think the good old days were actually good old days…
Not governed by reasonable people
Given the ultimate consequences, reasonable people should be applying the precautionary principle on climate and environmental matters. I suppose that means our governments are not populated by reasonable people.
in-sights.ca 
If you require high standards a good place to look for clarity is Liz Oyer. Liz - Blanche takes down…