teaching about hydro about hydro

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Teaching About Hydro Within the Context of Colonialism Derek Eidse - UW Collegiate - [email protected] This series of lesson plans fits in the following Unit context - which should be available, in the near future, on the Manitoba Educators for Social Justice (MESJ) Blog - www.mesjblog.com Section 1 - Intro to Colonization - Global Colonial History - Colonialism & Imperialism - Gaming - Settlers of Catan - Risk - Civilization Section 2 - Canada as a Colony - Colonial Ambitions - the French & the English - Documentary “Return of the Far Fur Country” - Potential Guest Speaker - Filmmaker Kevin Nikkel Section 3 - Canada as a Colonizer - Past & Present - Treaties - Treaty Role Play - Treaty Relations Commission - Speaker’s Bureau - NFB - Aboriginal Perspective Unit - Colonialism & Racism - http://www3.onf.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/ - Residential Schools - Was it a Cultural Genocide? - Natural Resources Development - Tied to the Treaties and Modern Treaties - - Overview - Beaver Pelts, Mining, Forestry —> Oil & Gas, Pipelines - Natural Resources Transfer Act Hydropower Case Study Section 4 - What Does Decolonization Look Like?

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Page 1: Teaching About Hydro About Hydro

Teaching About Hydro Within the Context of Colonialism

Derek Eidse - UW Collegiate - [email protected]

This series of lesson plans fits in the following Unit context - which should be available, in the near future, on the Manitoba Educators for Social Justice (MESJ) Blog - www.mesjblog.com

Section 1 - Intro to Colonization- Global Colonial History- Colonialism & Imperialism- Gaming - Settlers of Catan - Risk - Civilization

Section 2 - Canada as a Colony- Colonial Ambitions - the French & the English- Documentary “Return of the Far Fur Country”

- Potential Guest Speaker - Filmmaker Kevin Nikkel

Section 3 - Canada as a Colonizer - Past & Present- Treaties

- Treaty Role Play- Treaty Relations Commission - Speaker’s Bureau

- NFB - Aboriginal Perspective Unit - Colonialism & Racism - http://www3.onf.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/

- Residential Schools - Was it a Cultural Genocide?- Natural Resources Development

- Tied to the Treaties and Modern Treaties -- Overview - Beaver Pelts, Mining, Forestry —> Oil & Gas, Pipelines- Natural Resources Transfer Act

Hydropower Case StudySection 4 - What Does Decolonization Look Like?

- NFB - Aboriginal Perspectives - Sovereignty and Resistance- http://www3.onf.ca/enclasse/doclens/visau/

- We Are All Treaty People- Understanding Colonization from a Settler perspective.

http://www.cbc.ca/8thfire/2011/11/victoria-freeman.html- Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Case Study - Hydropower in Northern Manitoba - Lesson Plans (based on 1:15 class periods - adjust as necessary)

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Day 1 - A Sad Sort of CleanWarm-Up: What Do You Know about Dams?1. Have students brainstorm what they already know about dams. Ask questions such as:

a) Why do we build hydro electric dams? What are they used for? b) How do they work?** Use poster paper to keep a Pros/Cons tally throughout the lessonsa) What are some positive aspects of dams?b) Can you think of any negative impacts?

Link Hydro to ColonizationEssential Questions to consider as we move through this section: Who has the Power and Control?Who benefits at whose expense?Who’s consulted in the process?What is the goal of the development?Whose goal is it?

Define:Energy: power gained by using physical or chemical resources, esp. to provide light and heat or to work machines.

Alternative Energy: energy generated in ways that do not deplete natural resources or harm the environment

Clean Energy: is the sustainable provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs

A Sad Sort of Clean - Gallery WalkEither:

1) Print and post the 8 1/2 x 11 posters around the room as a Gallery Walk (See Handouts Section)

2) Print the Sad Sort of Clean Handout and give to students. (Handouts)3) Play the Sad Sort of Clean Powerpoint (Looped or Manual Advance on

DVD)

Students can answer the “A Sad Sort of Clean Questions” (see Handouts) based on the exhibit.

Discuss - Based on the definition of Clean Energy why is this exhibit titled A Sad Sort of Clean?BACKGROUNDER

MB Hydro Prezi (on Web)

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- http://prezi.com/pa-lfbr1jvu4/? utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Teacher NotesStart out with Watershed Map- Water from 5 states, and four

provinces drain through the Nelson & the Churchill

- This is a lot of “potential energy”

Then Zoom to a Map of Manitoba.- video of a set of rapids in their natural

state- This is natural energy - water moving from a higher elevation to a lower one- For most of us this is a beautiful site - like fire, or waves, there is something

inherently beautiful and valuable in moving water.- Is there $$ in this water? That’s the question MB Hydro asked.

Duff Roblin answered “We can have our cake, we can eat it, and we can make a bigger cake, and sell part of that.” MB Provincial Legislature - 1966.

System ExplanationChurchill River Diversion- To increase the flow of the Nelson River, and

thus, to increase its power potential, 80% of the Churchill River was diverted, or rerouted, into the Nelson.

- to do this they had to raise the level of South Indian Lake about 3 metres, causing it to flow through a man-made channel into the Rat-Burntwood River System.

- This diversion increases the Nelson’s flow by about 40%- Started operating in 1976- permanently flooded 836.9 Square Kilometres. - almost 2x the size of

Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg Regulation- Maps of Lake Winnipeg- Graph - Hold back water in the summer and

release it in the winter.- MBs highest energy demand is in the Winter - Lake Winnipeg acts as a giant battery or

reservoir for the province - stored energy

Dams6 dams in Northern Manitoba - 5 on the Nelson, 1 on the Saskatchewan River @

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Grand Rapids

Environmental Impacts- Shoreline Erosion - changing water levels increases the amount- Wood Debris - shoreline erosion causes trees near shore to fall into the water- Dead Heads - submerged logs that can be very dangerous for boaters- Disappearing Islands - due to shoreline erosion- Destruction of Sacred Sights - diversion of water away from rapids, or pouring

tonnes of cement into the river at the site of the rapids- Reduced Water & Fish Quality - sediment build-up and mercury poisoning

Social Impacts- loss of traditional economy- burial grounds lost to erosion- increased dependence- disrespectful treatment

Go back to the Pros & Cons Poster Paper and add any new info.For Homework: Provide a link to Manitoba Hydro’s “Hydro Province”

Pamphlet:http://www.hydro.mb.ca/corporate/facilities/brochures/hydro_province.pdfor MB Hydro’s YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/ManitobaHydro/

Students are to create a list of Pros for Hydro Development, from these or other sources, to bring to the next class.

Day 2 - The Other End of the Line

Discuss the Homework Assigned and students’ research from MB Hydro-produced materials. Add suggested items to the Pros & Cons Poster Paper.

Scenario- Imagine that you’re a farmer, in Southern Manitoba. What if the government

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expropriated the land that you were planning on passing to your children and grandchildren, for a development project? You had lived off of this land, and had imagined your children living off of it as well. There were small bits of land still available for farming, but the yields were toxic, and you were told not to eat it. The government promised to clean up the mess, to make the land as good as before the project, but they’ve realized that they actually can’t, so they decide to give you $$ as compensation. You and your ancestors cleared the land, and put your sweat and blood into it. No amount of $$ could change that. This was your livelihood!

- Hunters, Fishers, and Trappers are the farmers of the North.

Watch The Other End of the Line (on DVD) - Duration 30:12or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2UR-dexoq0

Class Discussion - Back to the Pros & Cons

Hydro-Affected Communities StatsCan Research Assignment (Handouts)

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Day 3 - Megawatts vs. Negawatts

Handout the Article From Megawatt to Negawatt - Energy Conservation is Manitoba’s Cheapest Resource by Will Braun. Either read as a class or in silent reading.

Watch TED Talk - http://on.ted.com/AlexLaskey

With a Poster Paper - start a class list of things you can do to conserve energy at home.

Visit MB Hydro’s PowerSmart Program - http://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_home/power_smart/index.shtml

Add to the conservation list.

If students have computer access, ask them to find other actions to add to the list.

Add an ‘Energy Conservation Outside the Home’ poster paper if you like.When the ideas slow down to a trickle, introduce these final topics for discussion:

1) Future of Hydro (Refer back to the Pros & Cons Poster Paper)- Should we keep building dams?- If no, what are the alternatives?

2) Ethics Discussion- Man over Nature- South over North- Rich over Poor- The benefit of many at the expense of a few?

Go back to the energy definitions.

IS IT:

Energy: power derived from the utilization of physical or chemical resources, esp. to provide light and heat or to work machines.

YES

Alternative Energy: energy generated in ways that do not deplete natural resources or harm the environment, esp. by avoiding the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

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YES and NO

Clean Energy: is the sustainable provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs

Whose present needs? Which future generations needs?

NO

Essential Questions to answer as we review this section: Who has the Power and Control?Who benefits at whose expense?Who’s consulted in the process?What is the goal of the development?Whose goal is it?

Is Hydro development in Northern Manitoba, a continued example of Colonialism in action?

** Ask students to bring a light switch cover to the next class. Ask for a parent’s help (and permission) to remove it. We will be covering it with a reminder of “The Other End of the Line” **

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Day 4 - Don’t be Flippant - Light Switch Cover DIYSee Handouts

Other Ideas for Lesson Content

Guest Speaker - Ellen Cook

DamNation Documentary - http://damnationfilm.com

Clean Environment Commission Role-Play Presentations- http://www.cecmanitoba.ca

Manitoba Hydro’s Electricity Museum Tour

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HANDOUTS

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A Sad Sort of Clean Hydropower in Northern Manitoba

Manitobans are plugged into a huge northern hydropower system. Our TV's, toasters and indeed our daily lives depend on the electricity produced by remote dams. But at the far end of the transmission lines lies a reality few of us ever see.

Over the past half century, Manitoba Hydro has re-engineered the province's two largest rivers, three of its five largest lakes and many smaller bodies of water. The result at the southern end of the transmission line is reliable, inexpensive, low-carbon energy for customers here and in the U.S. The result in the north is more complicated.

While five First Nations have joined Manitoba Hydro's push to expand the northern system, the wounds from the existing project―both on the land and in people's hearts―remain a defining feature of northern Manitoba.

Some of the damage has been healed by time, by the Hydro-First Nations partnerships and by the $948 million the company has spent on compensation and mitigation over the past 50 years, but much has not.

Winnipeg photographer Matthew Sawatzky and Elder Ellen Cook of the Misipawistik Cree Nation travelled north in the fall of 2012 to document part of the troubling and seldom-reported reality at the northern end of the transmission line.

The images and words they brought back are of particular consequence now, as Manitoba Hydro pushes to expand its northern generating system with the proposed Keeyask and Conawapa dams.

This project was commissioned by the Interchurch Council on Hydropower and funded by St. Stephen's-Broadway Foundation.

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1) Lines"Our daily lives depend on electricity. But at the far end of the transmission lines that link our toasters and TVs to a huge hydropower system in northern Manitoba lies a reality few of us ever see."

2) Cedar LakeManitoba Hydro's dams permanently flood over 260,000 hectares of land—one-and-a-half times the area inundated during the “Flood of the Century”—including 115,000 hectares at Cedar Lake. Areas used by Aboriginal communities for hunting, trapping, berry-picking and camping for many generations are under water.

3) ReservoirThe spillway of the Grand Rapids Dam holds back a 30-metre high wall of water in Cedar Lake (left). Completed in 1968, Manitoba's fourth largest dam contains 200,000 tonnes of concrete and can produce as much power as 145 locomotives, or eight times the power needed to propel the world's largest cruise ship.

4) DebrisElder Herb Cook of the Misipawistik Cree Nation (Grand Rapids) surveys wood debris littering Cedar Lake. As shorelines erode, trees fall into the lake, accumulating over the years. This debris makes shore access difficult both for people and animals.

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5) A Grand LossThe old bed of the Saskatchewan River lies dry where the Grand Rapids flowed before water was re-routed through the dam. Misipawistik Cree Nation was named after these rapids. Misipawistik translates as Grand Rapids.

6) Left Behind"Most people here . . . all they want is for Manitoba Hydro to clean up the mess it left behind." – Stella Neff, elder, Misipawistik Cree Nation

7) ErosionAn Aboriginal trapper's cabin sits abandoned due to ever-advancing shoreline erosion on Split Lake. The lake is a widening of Manitoba's largest river, the Nelson, just upstream of Manitoba Hydro's three largest dams and immediately downstream of another. Untold hectares of boreal forest erode into hydro-affected waterways each year.

8) FluctuationHydro operations create unnatural water level fluctuations that destabilize hundreds of kilometres of shoreline, including this point on Split Lake. When water rises, erosion occurs; when water drops, debris-strewn shoreline lies exposed.

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9) ‘Clean Energy'"Manitoba Hydro sells power produced in our territory as clean, renewable energy―it isn't." – Alberteen Spence (right), social worker, Tataskweyak Cree Nation (Split Lake), pictured with Ellen Cook

10) Mist and MegawattsFisherman Robert Spence of the Tataskweyak Cree Nation prepares for a day on the water while residents of the American Upper Midwest use power produced by the same water to brew their morning coffee and power-up their computers. Approximately one-third of the hydropower produced in Manitoba is exported. 

11) Appetite "I can't stand it." – Robert Spence, referring to the fact that the waterways he loves and depends on are used to fuel the American appetite for energy

12) Sadness“I'm sorry my kids didn't get to see Split Lake the way it used to be. . . . They'll never see it.” – Robert Spence, pictured with helper Lionel Flett

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13) The Past is PresentAn island suffering the effects of unnatural water fluctuations serves as a stop-off during a day of fishing. “It eats away at you,” he says of fishing in a damaged environment.

Though hydro construction peaked in the 1970s, and most dams are at least 30 years old, for Robert Spence, the "past" harm to which Manitoba Hydro sometimes refers, is a present reality.

14) MemoriesTataskweyak elder Christine Garson holds a picture of her late husband Noah—who was a highly knowledgeable trapper, hunter and fisherman—paddling in his people's homeland.

15) SacredThe Creator encircles the natural world with wonder. When rivers are dammed and lakes altered, this sacredness is compromised.

The beaver lodge on this island sits stranded above the waterline after the level of Split Lake dropped. In a natural state, seasonal water level changes orchestrate the delicate shoreline ecosystem, sending key signals to various life forms. Hydro operations disrupt this.

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16) ResponsibilityThough some shorelines re-stabilize, collapsing banks are typical of hydro-affected waterways. “Manitoba Hydro incorporates environmentally responsible practices into all aspects of our business.” ―Manitoba Hydro Annual Report, 2012

17) Benefits"[The Manitoba Hydro officials] put a big paper down and on it is was pie, a big pie. It was cut into pieces. I looked at it. . . . There was a very small piece for us, a tiny piece for us, and big pieces for them. “'I don't want this pie,' I told them. . . . 'You are cheating us.'" – Betsy Flett, elder Tataskweyak Cree Nation

18) Abundance of the NorthManitoba's northern hydropower system produces over $3.5 million worth of energy on an average day. Exports of hydropower have brought $5.2 billion into the province in the last decade. Yet many Cree people in Split Lake and other affected communities have not been able to share in the abundance.

19) Homeland“The land looks strange now…. It doesn't look at all like it did in the past. It is falling into the lake.” – William Spence, elder, O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (South Indian Lake)

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A Sad Sort of Clean - Gallery WalkHydropower in Northern Manitoba

Manitobans are plugged into a huge northern hydropower system. Our TV's, toasters and indeed our daily lives depend on the electricity produced by remote dams. But at the far end of the transmission lines lies a reality few of us ever see.

Over the past half century, Manitoba Hydro has re-engineered the province's two largest rivers, three of its five largest lakes and many smaller bodies of water. The result at the southern end of the transmission line is reliable, inexpensive, low-carbon energy for customers here and in the U.S. The result in the north is more complicated.

While five First Nations have joined Manitoba Hydro's push to expand the northern system, the wounds from the existing project―both on the land and in people's hearts―remain a defining feature of northern Manitoba.

Some of the damage has been healed by time, by the Hydro-First Nations partnerships and by the $948 million the company has spent on compensation and mitigation over the past 50 years, but much has not.

Winnipeg photographer Matthew Sawatzky and Elder Ellen Cook of the Misipawistik Cree Nation travelled north in the fall of 2012 to document part of the troubling and seldom-reported reality at the northern end of the transmission line.

The images and words they brought back are of particular consequence now, as Manitoba Hydro pushes to expand its northern generating system with the proposed Keeyask and Conawapa dams.

This project was commissioned by the Interchurch Council on Hydropower and funded by St. Stephen's-Broadway Foundation.

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1) Lines"Our daily lives depend on electricity. But at the far end of the transmission lines that link our toasters and TVs to a huge hydropower system in northern Manitoba lies a reality few of us ever see."

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2) Cedar LakeManitoba Hydro's dams permanently flood over 260,000 hectares of land—one-and-a-half times the area inundated during the “Flood of the Century”—including 115,000 hectares at Cedar Lake. Areas used by Aboriginal communities for hunting, trapping, berry-picking and camping for many generations are under water.

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3) ReservoirThe spillway of the Grand Rapids Dam holds back a 30-metre high wall of water in Cedar Lake (left). Completed in 1968, Manitoba's fourth largest dam contains 200,000 tonnes of concrete and can produce as much power as 145 locomotives, or eight times the power needed to propel the world's largest cruise ship.

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4) DebrisElder Herb Cook of the Misipawistik Cree Nation (Grand Rapids) surveys wood debris littering Cedar Lake. As shorelines erode, trees fall into the lake, accumulating over the years. This debris makes shore access difficult both for people and animals.

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5) A Grand LossThe old bed of the Saskatchewan River lies dry where the Grand Rapids flowed before water was re-routed through the dam. Misipawistik Cree Nation was named after these rapids. Misipawistik translates as Grand Rapids.

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6) Left Behind"Most people here . . . all they want is for Manitoba Hydro to clean up the mess it left behind." – Stella Neff, elder, Misipawistik Cree Nation

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7) ErosionAn Aboriginal trapper's cabin sits abandoned due to ever-advancing shoreline erosion on Split Lake. The lake is a widening of Manitoba's largest river, the Nelson, just upstream of Manitoba Hydro's three largest dams and immediately downstream of another. Untold hectares of boreal forest erode into hydro-affected waterways each year.

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8) FluctuationHydro operations create unnatural water level fluctuations that destabilize hundreds of kilometres of shoreline, including this point on Split Lake. When water rises, erosion occurs; when water drops, debris-strewn shoreline lies exposed.

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9) ‘Clean Energy'"Manitoba Hydro sells power produced in our territory as clean, renewable energy―it isn't." – Alberteen Spence (right), social worker, Tataskweyak Cree Nation (Split Lake), pictured with Ellen Cook

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10) Mist and MegawattsFisherman Robert Spence of the Tataskweyak Cree Nation prepares for a day on the water while residents of the American Upper Midwest use power produced by the same water to brew their morning coffee and power-up their computers. Approximately one-third of the hydropower produced in Manitoba is exported. 

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11) Appetite "I can't stand it." – Robert Spence, referring to the fact that the waterways he loves and depends on are used to fuel the American appetite for energy

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12) Sadness“I'm sorry my kids didn't get to see Split Lake the way it used to be. . . . They'll never see it.” – Robert Spence, pictured with helper Lionel Flett

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13) The Past is PresentAn island suffering the effects of unnatural water fluctuations serves as a stop-off during a day of fishing. “It eats away at you,” he says of fishing in a damaged environment.

Though hydro construction peaked in the 1970s, and most dams are at least 30 years old, for Robert Spence, the "past" harm to which Manitoba Hydro sometimes refers, is a present reality.

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14) MemoriesTataskweyak elder Christine Garson holds a picture of her late husband Noah—who was a highly knowledgeable trapper, hunter and fisherman—paddling in his people's homeland.

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15) SacredThe Creator encircles the natural world with wonder. When rivers are dammed and lakes altered, this sacredness is compromised.

The beaver lodge on this island sits stranded above the waterline after the level of Split Lake dropped. In a natural state, seasonal water level changes orchestrate the delicate shoreline ecosystem, sending key signals to various life forms. Hydro operations disrupt this.

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16) ResponsibilityThough some shorelines re-stabilize, collapsing banks are typical of hydro-affected waterways. “Manitoba Hydro incorporates environmentally responsible practices into all aspects of our business.” ―Manitoba Hydro Annual Report, 2012

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17) Benefits"[The Manitoba Hydro officials] put a big paper down and on it is was pie, a big pie. It was cut into pieces. I looked at it. . . . There was a very small piece for us, a tiny piece for us, and big pieces for them. “'I don't want this pie,' I told them. . . . 'You are cheating us.'" – Betsy Flett, elder Tataskweyak Cree Nation

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18) Abundance of the NorthManitoba's northern hydropower system produces over $3.5 million worth of energy on an average day. Exports of hydropower have brought $5.2 billion into the province in the last decade. Yet many Cree people in Split Lake and other affected communities have not been able to share in the abundance.

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19) Homeland“The land looks strange now…. It doesn't look at all like it did in the past. It is falling into the lake.” – William Spence, elder, O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (South Indian Lake)

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“A Sad Sort of Clean” Questions1. What do you think is meant by the title of this exhibit: “A Sad Sort of Clean”?

2. Why do you think the photographer has chosen to include both nature landscape photos, and portraits?

3. From these photos and their captions, what are the environmental and social impacts of hydroelectricity?

4. Which photo has the most impact on you and why?

5. Which quote has the most impact on you and why?

6. Why does this exhibit call into question Manitoba Hydro’s claim of being a provider of “clean” energy?

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7. Hydro-Affected CommunitiesStatsCan Group Research Assignment

Pick one of the communities featured in The Other End of the Line:South Indian LakeGrand RapidsNelson HouseSplit Lake

Enter the name of the community into the 2006 Census Community Profile - http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/index.cfm?Lang=E

Data to find on the Census Profile

Make a poster of your communities statistics. Compare with the other groups findings.

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From megawatt to 'negawatt'Energy conservation is Manitoba Hydro's cheapest resourceBy: Will Braun (adapted and shortened for this Lesson Plan)

Keeyask, a 695-megawatt generating station at Gull Rapids on the lower Nelson River, is next up on Manitoba Hydro's construction plan.

Former NDP energy minister Tim Sale made a solid case (Hydro needs a new vision, Jan. 19) that Manitoba Hydro's singular focus on new dams is a path, not to a bright future, but back to the past. That case is strengthened by an examination of a basic assumption that drives Hydro's plans to build the $6.2-billion Keeyask dam and the $10.2-billion Conawapa.

The assumption is energy demand in Manitoba will always continue to grow.

Currently, Hydro expects energy use in the province to grow by 1.6 per cent -- about 80 megawatts -- annually. But if Hydro dropped the assumption and expanded its Power Smart program to the point of cutting energy demand by 1.6 per cent every year, then the risky dams would not be needed.

It is worth clarifying that the stated purpose of the dams is not export but meeting future Manitoba energy demand. Exports of extra power would play a role in paying for the dams during the period until Manitoba’s demand would catch up with their output, but ultimately, if we Manitobans didn't need them, they wouldn't be built.

But how realistic is it to save as much power -- by means of better fridges, better insulation, geothermal heat pumps and the like -- as the dams would produce? And how much might such efficiency measures cost compared to new dams?

In the electricity world, energy that is conserved acts as a resource. ‘A megawatt saved is a "negawatt" produced,’ as some energy gurus like to say. A negawatt has value -- it can be exported or used to put off new generation development.

If a utility needs 80 MW to meet estimated demand growth, it can build an 80-MW dam or save 80 MW. Either way, the lights stay on.And that is the purpose of Manitoba Hydro -- to keep the lights on at the lowest financial and environmental cost.

Back to the question then: Could conservation measures keep our lights burning without new dams, and would it be cost-effective?Hydro's Power Smart programs cost 1.9 cents per kilowatt hour saved (or

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produced, if you will), while Keeyask would come in at around 10 cents per kilowatt produced.

To be fair, in addition to the 1.9 cents Hydro spends on Power Smart programs, consumers put in about as much of their own money for insulation, geothermal systems or similar expenses. With that, let's say the overall cost to consumers of conservation programs is then double the 1.9 cents, or 3.8 cents. That is still far below the cost of Keeyask’s 10 cents per kilowatt produced.

Looking back, Hydro has spent about $400 million on a wide range of programs to reduce electricity use in the province since 1989. The achieved savings are 557 MW, which has won them a number of awards. (Notice the difference between 557 MW for $400 million and Keeyask's 695 MW for $6.2 billion).

Over the next 15 years, Hydro plans to spend only $388 million on conservation, compared to $16.4 billion -- 40 times as much -- on Keeyask and Conawapa. It plans to produce 2,180 MW from new dams and only 174 MW through conservation.

The kicker, if one is needed, is that conservation measures bring advantages beyond cost savings. Unlike dams, they do not require a decade to license and build. They can be introduced gradually, with no single multi-billion-dollar commitments. In most cases, they require no expensive environmental hearings & consultation. They are not at risk if there’s a drought. They require no transmission lines. All this reduces risk dramatically.

Plus, according to Philip Dunsky, an energy efficiency consultant from Montreal, numerous studies show efficiency programs create more jobs per million dollars invested than building new generation facilities.

And they do not require Hydro to pour cement into rivers or bulldoze transmission corridors through forests.

Could energy conservation measures keep the lights on at a lower cost and risk to Manitobans than Hydro's northern expansion plan?

Hydro's assumption of endless demand growth is a backward-focused, self-fulfilling prophecy. If it rests on that assumption, what will it do once all the rivers are dammed and the landscaped is filled up with wind turbines and transmission lines? At some point, we will need to slow the demand for energy. The sooner, the better.

Ultimately, the future lies in conserving energy. We as a province can either lead, or follow, quite possibly dragging $16 billion worth of concrete behind us.

Will Braun is the energy justice co-ordinator for the Interchurch Council on Hydropower

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Don’t be Flippant - Light Switch Cover DIY ActivityThis DIY project will help students remember to think about energy conservation, as well as the rivers, lakes, shorelines, wildlife, and people of the north.

Materials Needed:- Light switch covers or outlet covers- Magazines (National Geographic,

Canadian Geographic, etc)- Scissors or Exacto-Knife- White Glue & equivalent amount of

water- Small water colour paint brushes- Cutting Board or Mat or Cardboard

Step 1Students, with permission and help from their parents, remove a light switch cover from home. This could be their bedroom switch cover.

Step 2Students look through magazines (National Geographic is a good one) for pictures relating to Hydro, the North, or Water. Magazine cut-outs work better than computer print-outs because of the paper quality.

Step 3If you want to include text, such as:- Don’t be flippant!- We’re all connected- Think of the Other End of This Line- Remember the North- EtcPrint them, and cut them out.

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Step 4Place the switch or outlet cover on the image you’ve chosen. Allow for approximately 1/2” of extra picture around the edge of the switch cover.

Step 5Cut the image to size.

Step 6Make your “Modge Podge” by mixing equal parts white glue and water. The easiest way of doing this is emptying a white glue container into a cup or jar, and then filling the empty container with water and adding it. Shake vigorously if you have a lid, or stir if you don’t.

Step 7Using the paint brush, apply a thin layer of glue on the front of the cover and the back of the image.

Step 8Centre the outlet cover on the back of the image.

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Step 9Apply glue to approximately 1/2” around the edge of the back of the cover.

Step 10Cut an angle off the corners of the image, leaving a 1/8” of image exactly at the corners.

Step 11Fold flaps over the edge and press into the back of the cover. Apply extra glue if it doesn’t stick.

Step 12Using scissors or an exacto-knife, cut an X into the outlet holes.

Step 13Apply glue to the back of the cover around the outlet edges and fold back the inside edges.

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Step 14From the front of the cover, poke out the screw-hole with the back end of the paint brush.

Step 15Apply a light layer of glue over the entire cover. If adding text, place it and glue over it.

**This is how it might look if it were a typical light switch cover.

Step 16Let dry.

Step 17Screw back onto the light switches or outlets.

Page 44: Teaching About Hydro About Hydro

This set of lesson plans may be updated from time to time.Check http://energyjustice.mcc.org