[All] Costco: Why it's a bad idea

Mon Apr 7 11:26:01 EDT 2014

Thanks Ginny - in the initial stages, or maybe ongoing, it might be good if they had a shuttle bus or 2 from one of the empty parking lots at the north end of The Boardwalk, where there is so much parking space not being used.  It might help with traffic congestion until they get 4 lanes built. 

Next thing you know, Ikea or some other big box will be wanting to buy the Westhill Meadows Golf Club lands. Lori
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ginny Quinn 
  To: 'Lori Strothard' ; 'Louisette Lanteigne' ; 'GREN2' 
  Sent: Monday, April 07, 2014 10:31 AM
  Subject: RE: [All] Costco: Why it's a bad idea

  Thanks  Eleanor  and Lori and Kevin  Deb and ALL contributers   for fighting the good fight   May you win some rounds.  Your concerns  have been well researched.   Ginny

  From: All [mailto:all-bounces at gren.ca] On Behalf Of Lori Strothard
  Sent: Sunday, April 06, 2014 8:22 AM
  To: Louisette Lanteigne; GREN2
  Subject: Re: [All] Costco: Why it's a bad idea

  one other thing of course is all the emissions from cars lined up waiting, inching along, jostling for position until they can find a coveted parking space, as per Kevin's point about how the roads would need to be retooled, sadly, once again, to accommodate more cars. I've heard people talk about Costco like its some kind of nirvana- "you've go to go there- there are such amazing deals-its fantastic" - Their eye seems to glaze over like they've been caught under a spell or Costco-sized/seized!   A consumers' dream or nightmare, depending on how you look at it!  This has happened to some of my own relatives, who were always pretty conscious and conservative about spending habits. 

  Have you driven past that outlet mall that opened within the last year or 2 on the north side of the 401 in Milton?  Its called a "Toronto Premium Outlet Mall" - what's that supposed to mean- you can shop like you really live in Toronto, but you don't have to pay to actually live in Toronto?   We drive to Toronto to see family about once a month, and the first 6 -12 mos. it was open, there were huge lineups along the 401 for cars trying to get in there, and it was so ridiculous because it would cause major slowdowns on both sides -one for those actually trying to get in, and on the other side by people slowing down to see what all the fuss was about. 

  In recent reports about climate change, which the world seems to continuously need proof that it is really happening, scientists cite tailpipe emissions as a major contributor, but people don't like to hear it, because people love their cars. Emissions are invisible which is part of the problem - out of site, out of mind. People know that breathing emissions in a confined space will kill a person pretty quickly, but spread all over the planet, well that's ok. It all gets trapped in our thin little round bubble - "the atmosphere"  - beyond which life can not survive. This layer is so thin that it is equivalent to the skin on an apple, or a balloon stretched tightly over a classroom globe. When will we realize how precious this protective layer is, and how, so far, it is unique in space, and that we should be doing everything to preserve it. I guess the saving grace might be that some people get it and are doing things about it quietly. Apparently our Federal gov.'t missed that memo.

  Did anyone hear that recent statistic in the media.. something along the lines that this is the first year that energy produced from renewables or non-petroleum sources has exceeded energy from oil/gas? Can that be true? that must be for North America, because China, India and many other countries are still using coal I believe as their #1 energy source?

  Lori S.

  ----- Original Message ----- 

    From: Louisette Lanteigne 

    To: GREN2 

    Sent: Saturday, April 05, 2014 7:46 PM

    Subject: [All] Costco: Why it's a bad idea

    Hi folks

    Now that the Part II order for Hidden Valley is over, I can think about Costco and the first word that comes to mind is SALT.

    We are paying millions to remediate Greenbrook wells and projects like the West Side Lands had a zero thresh hold to exceed salt levels. How will Greenbrook impact those same wellfields? Will the wells be closed due to salt? 

    We also have vinyl Chloride leaking at the Erb Street dump. Rather toxic stuff. There is a way we can implement in situ bioremediation using enzymes that will eventually neutralize the toxicity but if the salt kills off the beneficial enzymes needed to make that happen we're stuck with the highest level of toxicity. That's not good. 

    Folks preach that beet root juice can replace salt. What they must consider though is the fact that beet root is one of the highest naturally occurring forms of nitrate. Spread that on the road where does it go? Right into our storm drains, tributaries and the Grand River. What's the last thing the Grand needs right now? Food for blue Green Algae aka NITRATES. 

    Do these folks intend to build a storm water management pond? Do they want geese pooping in that water with up to 5 lbs of nitrate and phosphate rich droppings a day? Again, not a reasonable plan. In order to protect WATER QUALITY and protect our WELLS for the long term, this project may need to be axed.

    We also much consider the fact this project is a giant heat island on the West end of the city. What happens is that the storms of summer come rolling in from the west, right off the cool moist moraine fields and meadow lands and hit a hot dry paved thermal area where the heat causes the air to blast straight up. This pushes hot thermals up and cold thermals down and Voila: Tornado maker. I have three photos in the attachment to support. If this were on the east end, I would not worry as much since the rains and winds are strongest west to east not vice versa. This is a disaster in the making. Things like this push moisture straight up creating very nasty clouds. Not good. 

    So in light of all these scenarios, it's up to us to ask the question: how will these risks be mitigated? Reasonably, the proponent is the one with the burden to prove they can build this safely. Neither the City, Region nor anyone else can prove it can because we do not have access to all the data. The proponent owns that. It's their duty to find the answers to address these issues. Not ours.

    Salt, Heat Island and Goose Poop. Those are the issues I'm thinking of. 

    Lulu 

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