Ethics of Wind Farms Erected at the Scarborough Bluffs

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     Wind farms are widely recognized as the new movement of change for power supply, which is taking place around Ontario for a greener environment. Lately, there have been heated debates between the citizens of Scarborough and the government of Ontario regarding the idea of putting up a wind farm at the Scarborough Bluffs. Nevertheless, it is obvious wind farms should not be erected at the Scarborough Bluffs if one was to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the situation at hand. Through a thorough investigation on wind turbines and the Scarborough Bluffs, it is evident that there are many reasons to assemble a wind farm, although the consequences of the ruined Bluffs and the complications of wind generators overpower these reasons.

     Wind farms are a large grouping of wind generators or wind plants, which are located at a site with strong, dependable winds. Wind generators are machines which convert wind into energy from the current of wind hitting the rotor or the blades. They are usually considered to be a leading source for a greener economy or environment. This is the movement which is taking place for the future. According to this movement, the future is destined to be green because there will be no more greenhouse gases and the goal is to inevitably stop global warming all together. The Scarborough Bluffs is a high steep bank which is the result of erosion from the last ice age. The Bluffs are located in Toronto, Canada.

     Although wind farms should not be erected at the Scarborough Bluffs, there are many reasons why if erected; the wind turbines will help Ontario as an overall province. Firstly, wind turbines are renewable energy sources which are beneficial for the environment: “The use of wind turbines does not generate pollution or radioactive waste like most other forms of electricity generation do. Their construction and installation has less environmental impact as well.”1 It is obvious that if one was to compare wind energy to nuclear energy or any other energy sources, it has less impact on the environment because there is no pollution or radioactive waste being emitted into the atmosphere. The environment will not be damaged from global warming. The construction and installation also has less impact on the environment. Although the cost to set it up is expensive, maintenance cost is very cheap, and it can be operational in a very short period of time. Secondly, if a wind farm is erected in the Bluffs, there will be more green-collared jobs: “The government hopes its green energy plan will create 50, 000 new jobs and help Ontario meet its goal to close all coal-fired electrical generation by 2014, a deadline the governing Liberals have put off three times.”2 Canada is lagging in the use of renewable energy compared to many industrialized countries. Canada needs to take action to bridge this shortcoming. Ontario is one of the provinces which needs more renewable energy, and is behind the other provinces in greener economy initiatives. According to Jim Prall, who is an employee at the University of Toronto: “many university graduates that he knows have to leave Canada to find work in the renewable energy sector.”3 If the Scarborough Bluffs invests in a wind farm it will ultimately attract research academics and professionals to work and contribute to the Scarborough region instead of migrating to other countries. Thirdly, locations of where wind farms should be set up are limited according to Toronto Hydro: “The proposed site of a wind farm off the Scarborough Bluffs in Lake Ontario is the only place in the GTA where wind power might be feasible.”4 This reason puts a lot of pressure on the government of Ontario and the citizens of Scarborough because if they do not install a wind farm at the Bluffs, they cannot put it up anywhere else in the Greater Toronto Area. Therefore, if there is no wind farm erected at the Scarborough Bluffs, the Greater Toronto Area is affected, and will not contribute to the green movement.  In conclusion, people feel wind farms should be erected for many reasons, such as the advantage wind farms provide for the environment, more jobs for green-collared workers and also the Bluffs are the only place in the GTA where wind farms can be erected due to the strategic advantage of the location.

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     The Scarborough Bluffs have been around for millions of years, and have been eroded since the last ice age; this resulted in a beautiful sight, which people all over the world come to visit. Ed Linhares, a resident from Scarborough, “pointed to one pamphlet put out by the opponents of the proposed wind farm stating that the turbines will be 121 feet high,”5 he also stated that “if they’re built, they’ll rise 30 metres above the lake.”6 This is high enough for people to get distracted from the Bluffs by the tall wind turbines. It will result in a ...

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