e-mail to 100reontario.org and endorsing organizations

Hello
I sent the following e-mail to 100reontario.org, and am copying your organization because you have endorsed the 100% RE vision.
I, too, am a supporter of clean renewable energy, but not of the Oxford County Plan, as explained below, and on my blog.
If your organization has not had occasion to examine the issue of wood smoke pollution, I would encourage you to do so.
May we all have cleaner air to  breathe!
Alma

Hello 100reontario.org
Your website has recently come to my attention.
As a resident of Oxford County and a clean air activist/blogger, I would like to point out some serious flaws in Oxford's draft plan, which is available here:
http://www.oxfordcounty.ca/Portals/15/Documents/SpeakUpOxford/2016/100RE/OCDraft100REPlan20160622.pdf
The major problem is that the report condones "wood" and "biomass" as acceptable "renewables" (Chapter 1, Background) and as "targets" (2.1)
Burning wood is a way of life in Oxford County. As the area is largely rural/agricultural, wood stoves and outdoor wood boilers are common, as is open air burning in backyard fire pits (the latter being the issue that pushed me into being a clean air activist).  The county charges $2.00 for every bag of garbage picked up, so probably a lot of trash gets burned, too.
The report also perpetuates the fallacy that burning biomass is "carbon neutral" (8.1.4).
A second problem is that there is no plan to measure carbon or any other greenhouse gas emissions, nor is there a commitment to reduce emissions.
There isn't a single provincial air quality monitoring station in the county, which means that current wood smoke (and other) pollution is undocumented, and there is no historical data.
There appears to be no plan even to take inventory of existing carbon emitters (all those back road wood stoves and boilers).
What the county DOES propose to measure is its progression towards the 100% renewable target.  Since wood and biomass are defined as renewables, having homes change from natural gas heating to wood stoves would presumably be seen as progress in the right direction.  (!)

Many people have positive and sentimental associations with fireplaces and campfires, which may help explain why wood smoke pollution seems to fly below the radar.  Given that smoke from wood and other biomass combustion has now been shown to be worse than that produced by all fossil fuels (including coal), should you not make that fact clear on your website?   Your intention is to advocate for CLEAN renewables, so perhaps a detailed list of these would be helpful.  
You may wish to reconsider using Oxford County's plan - in its present form - as an example.

If anyone in your organization is in need of a primer on wood smoke, I recommend this website from Doctors and Scientists Against Wood Smoke Pollution:
http://woodsmokepollution.org

There are links to many more wood smoke-related websites listed on my blog:
www.cleanairforwoodstock.blogspot.ca
The posts dated Aug. 13 & 16, 2016 relate to Oxford County's Plan.

I would love to be in the front lines of those cheering for clean renewable energy; but it's impossible to cheer when one is choking on wood smoke.

Thanks for your attention to this; I will be sending copies of this e-mail to your "Endorsing Organizations", in the hope of raising awareness and generating more discussion on the topic of wood smoke pollution.

The Greenwashing of Oxford County

Anyone concerned about climate change or local air quality ought to have a close look at the draft of Oxford County's 100% Renewable Energy Plan, still available for comment on the County's website.
Some issues of serious concern:
1) Oxford County does not intend to measure carbon or any other greenhouse gas emissions, nor to set targets for reductions.
2) Oxford County considers "wood" and "biomass" to be acceptable sources of renewable energy, even though their combustion produces higher levels of emissions than all the fossil fuels, including coal.
3) The real agenda lurking beneath this thin green camouflage is that of enticing questionable emissions-producing industry to Oxford County, specifically "energy from waste" and "energy from biomass".  Toronto, send us your garbage, and we will burn it for you!

A message to Oxford County Council, on your supposedly "green" agenda:
You may be able to fool the residents of Oxford County.
You may be able to fool yourselves.
But you will never be able to fool the planet, and all of our children will pay the price.

www.cleanairforwoodstock.blogspot.ca

The above text appeared as a letter to the editor in the Sentinel Review on August 15, 2016.

Notes on the Greenwashing of Oxford County

100% Renewable Energy Plan (draft)
Future Oxford Sustainability Plan

Oxford County's draft 100% Renewable Energy Plan was on the wrong track before it left the station.

The first problem: "renewable" does not necessarily mean "clean", "green", "low carbon", "safe", or "good for the planet".

Yes, "definitive action to address climate change is absolutely necessary" (Preface).
Yes, "the reduction of carbon emissions is arguably at the top of the list"  (1.4.3)
Yes, "If we are to reduce carbon emissions and avoid the continued acceleration of global warming resulting from copious carbon emissions, we need to stop burning fossil fuels..." (1.4.3)
...but NO, it's not "as simple as that", as the previous statement concludes.

We also need to stop burning wood, and everything else that falls under the category "biomass".  
Biomass is not a fossil fuel; it's the MOTHER OF THEM ALL.

Although wood fuel is sometimes labelled "renewable" (a replacement of the tree you burn today may grow back in a few decades), the emissions from its combustion are greater than those of any fossil fuel, including coal.
This inconvenient fact is either unknown to the writers of the report, ignored, or suppressed for other reasons.
The true renewables (solar, wind, water, geothermal) do not pump carbon, other greenhouse gases, or particulate matter into the atmosphere.  Combustion of  biomass does.

A credible action plan for carbon reduction in Oxford County (a worthier goal than 100% renewable energy) would address all the wood and biomass burning that is occurring now, with measurements and targets for reduction.
Current sources of combustion include:
- thousands of wood stoves used to heat homes and other buildings
- outdoor furnaces/wood boilers
- thousands of fireplaces and fire pits where wood is burned recreationally
- agricultural and "brush" burning
- commercial burning (e.g. wood-fired ovens in restaurants)

But the the "100% Renewable" plan appears to be concealing a different agenda under a thin layer of green camouflage: that of attracting dubious waste processing facilities to Oxford County.

Even more revealing are the linkages between the "100% Renewable Energy Plan" and its companion document "Future Oxford Community Sustainability Plan" (4.2).
Three areas of the ironically titled "Environment Oxford" subcommittee are discussed (4.2.1):

• Reforest Oxford: [why are we concerned with reforestation, unless deforestation is planned?  oh, yes, "biomass solid fuel is an untapped resource for future growth" (1.1.3)]

• Zero Waste Oxford: we are offered a teaser concerning "significant synergies" between the two plans, but the Future Oxford Sustainability Plan gives all away in its Goal 3iC, Action 61:  "Actively investigate the potential for waste to energy projects that support renewable energy principles and targets".  Waste to energy projects.  Take this to mean, "Toronto, send us your garbage, and we will burn it for you".

• Smart Energy Oxford:  probably the smart people who will come to make money by building an assortment of greenwashed projects.

The report reaches the height of hypocrisy when we are told to expect cleaner air and lower health costs (1.4.5); this coming from a jurisdiction where wood smoke abounds, and open air burning is legal in even the most densely populated areas.  The County's own Health Unit has posted warnings about wood smoke (ignored by local politicians),  and the short and long term health effects of exposure to wood smoke are well documented in scientific literature.  There is not a word in the report about monitoring or reducing emissions.
We don't even have any current or historical Air Quality Health Index data, as the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change doesn't have a single monitoring station in Oxford County.
The Future Oxford plan has a goal of protecting water (3iD), but nothing comparable for the air.

On the claim that biofuel is considered carbon neutral (8.1.4):  this bit of nonsense is regularly quoted by the wood-burning industry.  They presume that all of us have forgotten the "food chain" lesson from science class.
When biomass (e.g. a piece of dead wood) decays naturally, a significant percentage of its carbon is sequestered in other life forms:  the grubs and fungi that you can see, and the billions of bacteria that you can't.  If that piece of dead wood is burned instead, ALL the carbon is released to the atmosphere, plus an assortment of greenhouse gases, as well as lung-clogging fine particulate matter.

Earth to Oxford County Council:
You may be able to con the residents of Oxford.
You may be able to con yourselves.
But you will never be able to con the planet.

References from the report:
- "wood" and "biomass" both listed as Renewables (Chapter 1, Background), and as Targets (2.1)
- biomass solid fuel listed as an untapped resource for future growth (1.1.3)
- hope to attract energy production and service companies, new jobs (1.4.1)
- the inaccurate statement that biofuel is considered "carbon neutral" (8.1.4)
- the shockingly revealing statement: "Every time you enjoy a campfire, you are using biofuel"
(8.1.4)
- expect cleaner air and lower health care costs (1.4.5)

This plan deserves to be (well, not burned) shredded and composted.