Steve

I read that snopes link you provided above (did you?). The concept of net energy must be applied to renewable sources of energy, such as windmills and photovoltaics. A two-megawatt windmill contains 260 tonnes of steel requiring 170 tonnes of coking coal and 300 tonnes of iron ore, all mined, transported and produced by hydrocarbons. The question is: how long must a windmill generate energy before it creates more energy than it took to build it? At a good wind site, the energy payback day could be in three years or less; in a poor location, energy payback may be never. That is, a windmill could spin until it falls apart and never generate as much energy as was invested in building it. Now, when you alter someone's comments to fit an agenda, it shows ulterior motive. Before a wind park is constructed, developers erect meteorological towers (MET towers) that registers wind speeds over long periods of time. This way the developer can accurately estimate the cost return on a project. Developers in this province do not develop in "poor" locations. As such, a 3 year period (or less) is what it takes to reach a net benefit for clean power on our grid. The Ontario Power Authority contracts are all 20 year guaranteed rate contracts. That mean these turbines will be up for a minimum of 20 years. After three years or less, they are now a net positive. not so bad when you actually read the facts.

here's the link to compare to USA hydro rates, by state. http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_5_6_a edit: so I had a closer look at the above link. it appears the US states do not use a tiered cost structure like we do here in Ontario. when comparing the new Ontario hydro prices to the 51 states, you would have to look at all three of our pricing structures. our off peak price at 8.3 cents per kw is cheaper than all 51 states. but honestly, how many of us can afford to run electricity at off peak times...in reality, most of us are sleeping. so the mid peak price at 12.8 cents is a more accurate comparison to the US rates. compared to the 51 US states, our mid peak price of 12.8 cents is better than 25 of the 51 states. So right in the middle. Further, on the link, it shows the overall average price for all 51 states combined is 12.98 cents per kw. coincidentally, that is basically the exactly price as our mid peak power price. however, where we truly get screwed is the on peak power price at 17.5 cents. Only 9 of the 51 states have higher prices than 17.5 cents... so essentially, if you can use on the off peak, your getting your power cheaper than all 51 states. if you use it at mid peak, your paying exactly what the US pays on average. If you use it during peak power, well, your getting screwed....and that sucks!!

I'm very sorry to hear about your pension changes. I have a number of friends fathers' who are in the situation. One mentioned his pension was decreasing almost 40%?!!!! What determines how much your pension is decreasing?

my father is voting green. he did the last federal election as well. life long conservative, but has changed over the last number of years.

Looks busy in the arena....

give away jersey's? why? We all wear suits. :blahblah1:

Hurricane Hazel is awesome!! Saw her speak at the Toronto Construction Association Christmas lunch last December...she's still on top of her game, and sharp as ever

and your comparing watching hockey in Tampa to watching hockey in Toronto? is that even logical? ... sounds like chris's response above. internet winners

this is the first federal election in the last, well, I don't even know (I'm 35 years old), that I have a clear direction of whom I will vote for.

i have a pair of leaf tickets here in my hands. march 3rd. against the wild. just purples...but seated....row 6, 2nd level. 90 dollars plus 8.90 service. So, not sure the standing room only price, but I have a pair in my hands here, $200 for two, and again, 6th row, 2nd level. each to their own I guess. edit: I do agree on the top end prices. My ticket stub from Leafs / Montreal opener this year, platinum, 3rd row is $445 / ticket. Now, that is crazy. But no one really pays those prices...corporations do. But real fans purchase tickets for sure.....just not platinum's.

You clearly win at the internet.

chris ... playoff game ... it will. I've been to jays games, THIS YEAR, that you could hear a pin drop. but that's regular season. these are the types of comments that drive me insane....bandwagon jays fans rippin on the leafs (or leafs fans).

what a game!

i'm confused. catcher threw the ball and hit the batter. then the guy on 3rd base ran home as a result. strange to see, but pretty clear. hope the jays can tie this up.

also, she serves our country, and is in better shape than 90% of us on this thread (in relation to her ability to hold a fish like that). again - huge fish!

Christine is a rock star!!! A well deserved fish for Chris.

ec, my wife and I are very similar, just the mortgage amount is 1,800 a month....and that is in hamilton. can't imagine an oakville/mississauga/gta mortgage. i'm guessing you need household incomes of well over $200k annually....which is high income class...not middle class.

entertaining game last night..... which was very well received by the house full of jays fans I was with last night. I think it was big for the jays confidence to see that they "could" win..... tonight will say a lot!

in Hamilton middle class considered a house hold income of $80K to $100K. (for curiosity sake)

left to go for dinner with the wife at end of first period... thankfully we picked a place where I could watch the game on the tv's. when we were down 3-0, I thought things were grim. But this is where I think the coaching staff shined. I saw Babcock work that bench, up and down, providing confidence on the bench. 3 unanswered goals by the boys in blue. I was proud. 3rd period when we went down by one, fought hard, and managed to tie it up...to bring it to overtime. great stuff! This is great hockey. It was a fantastic game, and if I get to watch another 80 of those, I'm going to be a happy camper this year

they are going to do just fine.... they are handling joke teams like Ottawa, I'm sure they'll do just fine with some real teams.

the stadium was electric last night....great game !!!

Watched the Ticats win last night at ivor wynne. But if I wasn't there, I would have been watching the Leafs, with a smile on my face... You know, like a fan would.

ruh row (again). feel for all my co-workers that jumped on the bandwagon.

:)