Few people seem to have the intestinal fortitude to speak the truth in public today.

I was pleasantly surprised when I read reporter Barb McKay’s story in this week’s paper on Huron-Kinloss Township’s decision not to install solar panels at the Ripley Arena.

In an email to council about the issue, David Colling, an electrical pollution expert, said he had a moral issue with the price paid for solar power. “Anyone knows that we cannot afford to pay 10 plus times the going rate for electricity.”

That is a simple, direct comment on a provincial policy that affects all taxpayers.

Canadians have become so afraid of offending someone that most are afraid to even say the obvious.

And politicians are so afraid of telling us the truth that none of the important issues ever get proper discussion. How many of them speak of having a “moral issue” with decisions of government?

Everyone demands, for example, more and more from our health care system which eats up more than 40 per cent of this province’s annual budget. Unless taxes go up or user fees are instituted, the system will eventually collapse.

We have a provincial election this fall – will the issue get a frank discussion?

Not likely.

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Last week in this space I said some environmentalists believe we can build enough turbines and solar panels to replace nuclear power plants.

A reader provided an answer. He tells me it would take 13,600 wind turbines, working at their 28 per cent capacity factor, to replace the power currently being produced by the six operating units at Bruce Power. If my memory is correct, he said 290,000 acres of cleared land would be needed to house those turbines.

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Here is more wind trivia.

Two weeks ago, a report on decommissioning by an anti-wind farm group was presented to Kincardine council.

The report contained a section on wind turbine profits as calculated by Bill Palmer.

One of the big 2.5 MW turbines, with a 28 per cent capacity factor, would produce 6,132 MWh per year. The operators receive $135 per MWh plus $10 per MWh Eco-Action Fee (which could soon end). Do your multiplying and the turbine generates $889,140 per year.

Subtract staff, maintenance and annual lease payments and each of those 2.5 MW turbines generates a net of $840,000 per year.

However, that doesn’t take into account the cost of building a wind farm. For example, the 110-turbine Enbridge Wind Farm in Bruce Township, with smaller turbines (1.65 MW), cost $450 million to construct.

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On the front page last week, we ran a fire photo of a Lorne Beach home.

The fire started in the garage, but the entire house received smoke damage because the heat broke the window in the door separating the house from the garage.

One of the residents of the house phoned Friday to say that chances are the damage would have been confined to the garage if there had been a fire door separating the garage and the house.

She suggests that if you have a home with an attached garage that you make sure you have a fire door.

Newer homes likely have them because of the upgraded building code; older homes might not have a fire door.

The family in the Lorne Beach home has lost everything because of the smoke damage.

That’s something of which to be aware.

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I detest phone systems that replace humans.

Governments at all levels seem to have them. Even the schools, the Kincardine hospital and fire department have them.

Did you ever make a phone call with the intention of talking to a machine?

The machines are just a way of screening phone calls.

By the way, we answer our phones – not a machine.

I can’t think of a bigger waste of time than having a machine as a go between.