You Will Not See His Like Again

No link yet, but Dalton McGuinty has chosen to retire as leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.  If you are from around the GTA, when you think of him in future--especially during the middle of a summer heat-wave--take a sniff of the air and notice how clean it is.  How you don't get  clouds of smog settling over the city for days, and don't  taste the noxious chemicals in those clouds when you taste your own sweat. That's--partly, not entirely--the smell of coal plants that Dalton has gradually shut down and replaced with something cleaner.  He has by force of Will transformed this province into a manufacturer of green energy tech, a path into the future that, if we stick to it, will position Ontario well for the world to come--if you can't make cars, make wind turbines and solar arrays.  Yes mistakes were made, and yes in recent months they seem to have been piling up, but in the end Mr. McGuinty served his province and country in a manner that can only be described as exemplary.  All hail Dalton McGuinty.

And let the search for a new leader begin.

McGuinty's Legacy

The Bruce Power revitalization program is an essential element to Ontario's plan to phase out coal generation in 2014. Coal output over the past decade has dropped by nearly 90 per cent annually, while Bruce Power has increased its output by 55 per cent. This increased clean generation from the Bruce Power site accounts for 40 per cent of the coal generation reduced to date in the province. With the return to service of Units 1 and 2, Bruce Power will remain a key player in both reducing and staying off coal, which is one of the largest greenhouse gas reduction initiatives in North America.

Of course, nuclear is problematic in its own right, but then so is any source of power generation.  As an asthmatic, I remember very clearly the thick smog clouds that hung over T.O. in the late 80's.  Back then they were considered a part of summer.  Now you don't see them anymore, and Dalton's is part of the reason why.