December 17, 2010
The letter Engineers united on east side (Dec. 8) states: “The two routes traverse the same length of boreal forest (about 400 kilometres).” This is true for the west side; absolutely false for the east side.
If an east-side Bipole III was built according to the route that proponents suggest, it would traverse at least 800 kilometres of boreal forest. It is also important to note that unlike the west side, the east-side boreal forest is largely intact. In fact, the area on the east side of Lake Winnipeg that extends into Ontario is the largest section of unbroken boreal forest in the world.
Considering that the boreal is the northern lungs of the planet and the world’s largest source of fresh water, future generations will thank us for keeping Bipole III away from the east side of Lake Winnipeg.