Here is article I wrote imagining what I hope Manitoba Hydro and province could get behind instead of Bipole III, which was selected for Native Studies Newsletter: Back in the 1960’s, the Duff Roblin Government got the Manitoba Hydro projects going during Duff’s time as Premier of Manitoba, his evaluators said that, “the Nelson River is perfect for Hydro, it’s just the right slope”. Now imagine if the 50 year operational license renewals Manitoba Hydro sought for 2016 did not go through, and governments were forced to react to public pressure by concerns that the dams may not be as economically viable as once proposed in light of competition from natural gas. Imagine if areas of impact began to become a pressing concern as outlined in recommendations from the Valuable Ecological Components Assessment: There was too much habitat destruction and migration disruption. The erosion of the shores negatively affected the caribou and moose, fish couldn’t migrate, or any aquatic animals for that matter, and plans to build the Keeyask dam and Bipole III had been scrapped because the river was the last migration route and spawning grounds for sturgeon. The millions of acres of land that would have been taken up by power lines that created a lot of noise pollution with their constant hum were spared and preserved as natural bird sanctuaries, Manitoba, taken in another energy direction under upstart provincial party, Ninge’aki (mother earth). Through Anishinaabeg desire to share connections to ninge’aki (mother earth) and be governed by onaakonigewin (law of the creator and mother earth), with support from Manitoban’s influenced by the United Nations scientific report on climate change, and the recent report that lake Winnipeg was now the most threatened lake in the world, a sense of urgency that time is running out influenced public opinion and political will. Ninge’Aki got voted into power based on party platform that without the land, air, and water, all forms of life on the ninge’aki would not exist. We are the voice for the animals, plants, and water. At first there was gizhe-manidoo (creator), then ninge’aki, and then the Anishinaabeg (people). That is why we were last – we were given the responsibility to speak for all the animals and plants. The first responsibility of the original Anishinaabe was to name all the trees and animals. We have the gift of anishinaabemowin (language) and gikinoo’amaagewinan (teachings). Remembering where we came from and how to do things. The animals were given the manidoo-onaakonigewin (creator’s law) and gakiikwewin (natural law) – they do not go by anything else and they do not breach those laws. We learn and understand by watching them live by those laws. Manitoba learned a lot from their neighbors south of the border in Washington who decommissioned an old hydro dam that nature has a way of healing itself. After the world’s largest dam was dismantled, the sediment, crucial for spawning, and fish had returned. Manitoba is now ahead of the competitors after embracing the future much like Germany, and now there are solar panels on every roof in Winnipeg producing twice the energy Conawapa ever would. With energy sales doing well, there was no longer a need to control the levels of Lake Winnipeg, and the Jenpeg diversion, was decommissioned much to the elation of the community most affected, Cross Lake. Additionally, after the dams and diversions were decommissioned, the trophic cascade that ensued mirrored Yellowstone National Park after the wolves were re introduced in 1995 – life returned. The physical geography of the land was reviving itself. Marshes, which act like the kidneys for the lakes, were no longer dead zones, and were filtering the lake. New agriculture ventures such as hemp production surrounding the lake, also had an additional benefit, replenishing the soil and cleaning up contamination, replacing many destructive hog farms. Many food sovereignty projects and small farms popped up. With so much open land to utilize, the Manitoba economy also received a wiijidaabizaagwiyang (lifting up) thanks to hemp. Clothing production from fibers; food and beverages from hemp seed and oil; trees were no longer needed to produce provincial newspapers, replaced with renewable and sustainable hemp paper; construction and housing companies began to produce hempcrete, fiberboard, pressboard, and insulation; biodegradable plastics were used for all sorts of products and packaging, easing the strain of leeching from hazardous waste in rural dumps; and hybrid cars emitted less carbon dioxide with the introduction of hemp biofuel. Additionally, hemp crops also soak up all the moisture in the ground easing the impacts, both environmentally and financially, of flooding as well. Written by Jason Bone, inspired by Joe Dipple’s presentation “Hydro in Northern Manitoba: Partnerships or Broken Promises”
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 04:27:13 +0000
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