Ontario just like other developed parts of the world is faced with various environmental challenges which call for environmental protective measures. Environmental cleanliness has become an important issue in the whole world because of the adverse affects of global warming which have cost governments colossal amounts of monies to address. Partners for economic growth and a greener Ontario provided the government with a proposition to implement a low density line property tax credit in investing in a short line infrastructure (Partners for Economic Growth and a Greener Ontario, 2008, p1).
According to the Partners for Economic Growth and a Greener Ontario, (2008, p5), the above was meant to ensure that lower GHG emissions were produced so that the environment is protected and depletion of the ozone layer is reduced significantly. The short rail would also ensure that road congestion was reduced and that there was increased land use. Consequently, generation of clean electricity is an important milestone in the technological development of Ontario and more especially in ensuring that impurities are not released to the environment because of the negative implications which come with such. The aim of this paper is analyze the fact that only option for Ontario is to produce clean electric generation.
Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), (2006, p1) asserts that the provision of mixed supply electricity generation would lead to newer, large economical generation. Alternative sources of energy which are reliable are key to ensuring that the social economic development of Ontario is sustained significantly. Such would encourage the use of alternative energy which would lead to large scale environment friendly projects (OFA, 2006, p1). For example, farmers in Ontario could burn corn, cobs and wheat to generate electricity instead of burning natural gas which is responsible for causing impurities in the air. Studies show that production of smog in Ontario is as a result of vehicle waste emissions and some electric generation from fossil fuels with the highest contribution coming from the US (Burpee, 2001, p5).
Many policy makers in Ontario believe that alternative sources of power will greatly help the region cut on costs of clean electricity generation. The Bloor west journal (2007, p2) has come up with an outstanding idea of using natural forms of electric generation through the use of wind and water which are products from nature. The clean electric power generation will ensure that the environment is not only clean but it also provides a cheaper means of electric power generation compared to the use of coal and nuclear energy.
The Ontario federation of agriculture (2006, p1) states that alternative sources of energy which use methane, wind and cogeneration would reduce the price of electric power generation significantly and they would also be beneficial for the government and investors alike. Ontario being a developed country is in need of strategies of winning investors confidence through provision of strategized policies like providing a safer environment for its occupants. On the other hand, private investors could make contributions to the development of safer and clean electric generation as a corporate social responsibility and at the same time win the confidence of Ontarian people. This paper asserts with the amounting pressure on governments and other stakeholders to promote health environment, stakeholders will have to treat the issue of environmental conservation with the seriousness it deserves if they want to win the confidence of the public.
Ontario has in the past decades employed the use of nuclear power as a mode of electric generation since it produces less impurities compared to oil. However, this study found out that while the above may be true, the implications of nuclear power plants are limitless. Studies show that nuclear power is a reliable source of energy but could be manipulated for military and terrorism use (Cravens, 2007, p57). Terrorism is a major threat to the world and if such groups were to use weapons of mass destruction on any particular area, irreversible implications like loss of lives, destruction of economies build over decades would be lost to mention a few.
On the other hand, studies are not conclusive concerning the long term implications of exposure to nuclear products like nuclear electricity generation (Cravens, 2007, p68). Hence, this study argues that, it is the high time that Ontario ventured into the use of clean electricity power generation. For example, using water and wind to produce clean electricity would guarantee clean atmosphere and cheap sources of energy unlike nuclear power plants which need significant finances to sustain the power project.
This study found that the ministry of environment in Ontario is very concerned with environmental conservation and the ministry asserts that Ontario is very supportive of environmental conservation (Ontarion Ministry of environment, 2002, p1). For example, the government of Ontario is open to private investors in the private sector. By bringing in many investors in the energy sector of Ontario, competition is enhanced which leads to production of customer quality products and services in the name of clean sources of energy. It can be argued that production of cleaner electricity will play a major role in ensuring that power plants produce cleaner and environmentally safe sources of energy if they want to gain a competitive edge. Environmental conservation is a pertinent issue in the world today and citizens of Ontario are aware of the negative implications that come with pollution to environment and hence will go for companies which produce clean electricity.
Electricity companies advocating for cleaner electricity generation have come up strongly in wooing as many Ontarian citizens to use their products as possible. This study found out that most companies are using IT technology to market them and reach out to as many clients as possible. For example, the bullfrog power project which generates clean electric power through the use of wind and water has opened its website for all the Ontarian citizens who would like to use their products (West, 2007, p1).
Such an action has led to the company convincing over 2000 households and over 150 organizations to adopt their clean electric generation (West, 2007, p1). Hence to some extend for other types of business to thrive in Ontario, they will have to advocate for cleaner forms of electricity generation. Other studies show that Ontario is an open market concept and that means that generators are entering Ontario and to gain a competitive edge, green power electric products are being provided to the Ontarian power market (Ontario Ministry of environment, 2002, p1).
The government of Ontario has also played a major role in ensuring the production of cleaner electricity generation by provision of effective policies to govern clean generation of electricity (Ontario Ministry of environment, 2002, p1). For example in 2007 the government effected a cap that would oversee the reduction of limits of smog and acid rain which stem primarily from fossil fuel power plants (Ontario Ministry of environment, 2002, p1). In that manner, businesses will have no choice but to ensure that they promote the production of clean generation of electricity.
On the other hand, there are also growing concerns that use of gas plants to generate clean electricity is cheap to install but very costly to maintain but using agricultural natural products could cost the government of Ontario less amount of expenditure. The government also “uses ethanol-blended gasoline in its vehicle fleets. It also continues to purchase new hybrid vehicles, which reduce air pollution through improved efficiency” (Ontario Ministry of environment, 2002, p1). In this manner the government can lead in example by showing the seriousness of its position in enhancing the production of cleaner and safer electricity.
Consequently, this study asserts that most of the environmental pollution of Ontario comes from the United States which is also a strong advocate of environmental conservation (2006, p3). The agricultural federation of Ontario suggests that the two countries should work together in ensuring that clean generation of electricity is adhered to by the two countries (Ontario Federation of Agriculture, 2006, p3). It can be argued that, the effects of global warning which are as a result of impurities in the atmosphere lead to many negative implications like incurable diseases like cancer and extreme weather conditions.
Such negative implications demand that, the two countries take a leading role in ensuring the production of clean electricity. The negative implications caused by impurities in the atmosphere lead the two governments to spend a lot of money in healthcare provision for the sick ones and that money could be used for important social economic developments.
The Ontario government could achieve a significant level of abatement by setting a tax where the marginal benefit is equal to the marginal abatement cost shown by the horizontal tax line. The polluting company will notice that it is cheaper to abate carbon dioxide emissions especially if the marginal abatement cost is lower that tax. For example tax bill (a + b) will be greater than the marginal abatement cost bill b and the company will choose to abate to cut on costs of environmental damage. Hence the more pollution the company produces the higher the tax and that may affect profitability of the company forcing it to abate environmental pollution. This study found out that the government of Ontario has already put in place caps to control environmental pollutants through harmful emissions (Ontario Ministry of environment, 2002, p1).
Conclusion
This study found out that, Ontario does not have an option but produce clean generation of electricity. Cleaner generation of electricity is bound to benefit Ontario to a greater extend. For example, alternative sources of energy are cheap to install and sustain compared to the use of products like oil. Most of the pollution that is being experienced is asserted to come from the US and not from Ontario. In this light, the governance of Ontario has taken a leading role in ensuring that pollution levels through emissions by automobiles and electric power plants are reduced significantly. This study found out that the government of Ontario has placed various caps meant to put sanctions on those who are polluting the environment and at the same time those who are burning coals.
Such measures have led to business organizations to take a leading role in ensuring that businesses comply with the set regulations concerning the use of safer and cleaner electricity. Consecutively, the fact that Ontario practices the open market concept, power plants are improving their products to their target market through ensuring that they produce cleaner electricity products. On the other hand, the government of Ontario has also taken a leading role in ensuring that it imports vehicles from other developed nations which produce fewer emissions to the environment. This study asserts that Ontario has to take the issue of production of cleaner generation of electricity with the seriousness it takes since the advantages outweigh the disadvantages if there are any.
Reference List
Burpee J. (2001). Electricity production, Ontario power generation. Eco conference
Cravens G. (2007). Power to Save the World: the Truth about Nuclear Energy
Ontario Federation of Agriculture (2006).Notes for the Ontario Government regarding Supply Mix Generation for Electricity. Retrieved on 23rd March, 2009 from, Notes%20for%20the%20Ontario%20Government%20regarding%20Supply%20Mix%20Generation%20for%20Electricity.pdf
Ontario Federation of Agriculture (2006). Notes for the Ontario Government regarding Supply Mix Generation for Electricity Retrieved on 23rd March, 2009 from, http://209.85.129.132/search?q=cache:Jk_Si2jjkoYJ:64.7.140.103/uploads/File/policyissues/issues/Notes%2520for%2520the%2520Ontario%2520Government%2520regarding%2520Supply%2520Mix%2520Generation%2520for%2520Electricity.pdf+clean+electric+generation+in+Ontorio&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ke
Ontarion Ministry of environment (2002). Ontario supports clean renewable power generation. Retrieved on 23rd March, 2009 from, https://ozone.scholarsportal.info/bitstream/1873/4390/2/10307119.pdf
Partners for Economic Growth and a Greener Ontario (2008). Ontario’s Railway Ties. Submission to the Honourable Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance. 2008 Ontario pre-Budget Consultation Ottawa, Ontario
West B. (2007). Clean Power has arrived in Ontario. Bloor West Journal. Community newspaper
