Sept.20 Energy; the lifeblood of our Modern Economy and Way of Life

Energy
We Canadians, unlike most of the world, can take it for granted.
Like water, we have LOTS of it; maybe too much for our own good. Because it is so plentyful, and relatively cheap by world standars, we have become sloppy and inefficient with it and taken it for granted.
In particular, Ontario Hydro has been forced for decades to under-charge us for the true cost of maintaining and investing in the long term health of our GRID and our nuclear power stations - both of which have fallen in disrepair and now need massive [ie. many billions] in investment.
It is time to pay the true cost of power and to see that our current reliance on non-renewables will only put good money into an antiquated solution that is approaching its end game; meaning that that the natural gas and uranium we rely upon will only be available cheaply for the next couple of decades. This, when you think about investing in an electical system, is only a blink of the eye.
And there is more to the saga. In Japan, many people want to remove ALL nuclear plants because of teh devastation the earthquake and tsunami did to the Fukashima nuclear plant and resulting long term radiation damage. Here is a quote from today's Asia Times:
 TOKYO - Following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant six months ago, nine prominent Japanese intellectuals have launched a popular movement that seeks to abolish nuclear power and the closure of all nuclear power plants in Japan.  The group, which includes Nobel literature prize laureate Kenzaburo Oe and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, plans to collect 10 million signatures in support of their proposal for a nuclear-free Japan. On Monday, the group organized a colorful demonstration followed by three vocal protest marches through Tokyo, attracting about 60,000 people.
Germany too is shutting down its nuclear plants.While we Greens would keep our current plants we would NOT invest in new ones but only keep what we have running as we transfer, over the decades, to a electrical system based upon renewables. This will be difficult, expensive and take a long time, but, like all good things, it will LAST for generations and not damage our health, ecosystems or climate.