Officially November and the weather finally caught up with us. It was supposed to be Energy and Aboriginal Day but Kim didn't have time to present on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) so it was more focussed on energy.
We drove to Spencerville, where the town motto is... wait for it...
"Working Smoke Alarms - It's the Law!"
Spencerville is also the home of a a saw and wheat mill built on the South Nation river. They have had a methy mercury problem from old logs in the river.
Next we visited a fishway where a past graduate did her thesis.
Due to the drought both the dam and the fishway were significantly too dry to be of any use.
The fish way was constructed to provide an alternate route for fish instead of going straight through the dam.
We warmed up in a gas station and then found a baby windmill as backdrop for Caleigh's presentation on wind power. She found that wind power is indeed a viable energy alternative, but not everywhere. Coastal communities a ways away from people is best for maximum wind strength and minimum noise complaints.
So strong!
Next we drove to the St. Lawrence Sea Way where Taylor told us all about the history.
We watched a ship pass through which was a tad anticlimactic.
Then back on the road to Cornwall to visit the dam.
We met Dr. Jerome Marty who chose to stand beside the shiniest garbage can in the history of garbage cans.
Dam Facts:
- 100 year lifetime
- On Mohawk territory
- 97% of Quebec's energy comes from Hydro
- Monitoring flow rates helps maintain habitats
- Level of Lake Ontario is due to dams
- Lake sturgeon and eels are affected
- Eel and fish ladders
- 6 villages flooded when dam was built
- Flooded peat lands released methane, toxins and contaminants that were trapped in the land
- Bottom of the lake is 3.9 C
We need power, but at what cost?
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