The most welcome happening in P.E.I. is the movement to see green energy to replace deadly polluting emissions. It is enlightening to hear from the premier that his government wants to make P.E.I. a leader — or the leader — in becoming the first in Canada to make the whole province fossil-fuel free.
I have been advocating for this from the time I landed on this island in 2015. (I have a few writings in The Guardian in this regard).
When the Greens had a significant victory and became a decisive partner of the minority government of P.E.I., I sent copies of those writings to the Green leaders. I did not get any acknowledgment or response from any of them and they did not seem to be very creative or positive in the past year in this field. Maybe I failed to scrutinize enough. My apologies.
The premier’s promise or hope to reduce the polluting emissions to net zero by 2040 again raises expectations. His statement that we need to be creative, bold and collaborative must be applauded. If he works seriously on these grounds, I believe there will be no shortage of ideas, plans and proposals.
Uncertainties are expressed about finances. When we have a target to achieve with clear-cut plans and a will to execute, finances will come. I hope and believe that Island businesses big or small will be more than willing to collaborate if invited and gently persuaded. Even those engaged in fossil fuel businesses could be brought to the table if they get some beneftis through the new initiatives.
On May 1, The Guardian published my writeup (Environment stewardship: P.E.I. could take the lead, A11). I have in it sort of a blueprint for a total transformation of our transportation sector without relying on polluting fossil fuel. I would invite the attention of the government planners to this proposal. I acknowledge it is a little Utopian, but worth considering in the long run.
I have a few other writeups in The Guardian over the last five years about alternate energy management. In all my writings except the most recent, I have advocated people-participated micro projects, and combinations of different sources of energy like solar, wind, geo-thermal, bio-mass, etc., by individuals, small businesses, and clusters of neighborhood families and businesses. Technocrats must dig deep into these avenues and come out with practical proposals. We must employ collective thinking. Individuals and small businesses should be encouraged through incentives and subsidies to venture into pollution-free energy solutions.
In the proposal for P.E.I. transportation transformation, there is intention and an invitation to diffuse the population to the rural sector, to form small and organic farming communities, moving away from the multi-nationals and mega businesses to a rural economy. This will help social relations as well as developing physical and psychological well-being in the population.
This brings into focus the current debate in the province regarding land holdings; the concerns about large corporations acquiring large land masses, which will end up in scarcity of land for small farmers in the future. It is common knowledge that industrial farming is not healthy agriculture, and that the chemicals used in such farming practices lead to serious health hazards to human beings, to animals, birds, eco-friendly insects, the plant world and to the very earth. The government must intervene and the people must be vigilant to control the excessive use of chemicals in agriculture and food preservation activities.
Rev. Dr. George Palamattam, CMI is pastor with the P.E.I. Syro-Malabar (Indian) Community. He lives in Charlottetown.
