Rhythm of the Tides: my arctic experience

Wind Farming North of 60

On the same side of Lake Geraldine where the dam is located sits the city's power plant. It generates electricity by burning diesel fuel, which not only pollutes the environment, but also contributes to greenhouse-gas emissions. Standing on top of the dam, taking a picture of the power plant, I'm being pushed by a strong wind. Iqaluit is a windy city, but there is not even one wind turbine in sight harnessing it. We're in the north where the wind blows cold and strong, but there is not a solitary wind turbine generating electricity.

The wind that would generate electricity is free, while the fuel that the city burns instead is costly because it has to be brought up by tankers that can only enter the bay during the summer. Consequently, a large array of fuel storage tanks is needed to keep the city humming year round. Wind turbines are non-polluting but the power plant in front of me is. Why, in the name of heaven, are there no wind turbines?

As Sheila Watt Cloutier pointed out in her book, The Right to be Cold, the North is a very fragile place and pollution generated elsewhere in the world eventually condenses in the arctic, poisoning its waters and food. Why would Inuit harm themselves by contributing their own unnecessary pollution? It's unnecessary because there is an economically viable alternative.

Why are there so many cars and trucks polluting this fragile environment?

Yes, it's true that cars and trucks are convenient, and even necessary during the cold winters, but the town is so small, why not have a shuttle bus system? After all, there are no roads out of Iqaluit: it's all local traffic! Can you imagine how much more efficient it would be, and by how much emissions would be reduced? Is there no concept of town planning and sustainable development? Is there anyone in the city government that makes decisions for the common good and for the good of the environment?

With so much free wind energy, why not harness it and maybe even export some of it to the south? Not as electrical energy, of course, but as high-tech services. Computers mining crypto-currencies like Bitcoin need a lot of electricity and software-mining companies have moved to Iceland, where hydro, wind and geothermal power are being harnessed to produce relatively cheap electricity. The cold climate is also a positive factor for cooling the large stacks of computers needed to mine Bitcoins. Why not Nunavut? It could happen here too by harnessing the wind!

The financial industry of the future will be much more energy intensive and will be looking for cheap sources of electrical energy, just as crypto-currency miners have. To capitalize on this future potential, Nunavut has to act now. Free wind energy can be harnessed to provide good-paying jobs for its people and raise the territory's standard of living, which would help solve some of the social ills that still plague it.

Electrical energy consumption has steadily increased and will continue to do so. Today's world economy runs on electricity. Fifty years ago we had no computers, smart phones, automated teller machines and automated supermarket checkouts, all of which need electricity. Per capita electricity consumption has tripled in the same fifty years and will keep growing. It's a consequence of modern living and Nunavuttium can turn the bitter arctic winds to an economic advantage.

Farming is not yet a word in the Inuktitut lexicon, but it needs to be. Wind farming needs to become a reality in Nunavut, just as it has in other regions of Canada and the world. Why it hasn't happened so far is a real mystery to me because Nunavuttium have always harnessed nature's gifts to live sustainably. They have an incredible opportunity ahead of them.

The Inuit traditionally lived sustainably, in harmony with nature. Nature gave them ice, so they ice-fished. It's only in the recent past that they have become dependent on the south for their livelihood. Nature also gave them wind, but until recently, they didn't have the technology to put it to work. Today, wind farming gives them the opportunity to break this vicious circle of dependency. Do they have the visionaries to make it happen? I hope so!

A move to wind farming would immediately reduce diesel fuel imports for power generation. But why stop here. Houses could be electrically heated; electrical cars and shuttle buses could replace those gas-guzzlers in use today. Imagine what a dent that would make on the city's carbon and pollution footprints! I'm sure that Sheila Watt Cloutier would agree.

Imagine eradicating hunger and poverty here by harnessing arctic wind! That's what the new generation of Inuit leaders need to focus on!

How can wind power help reduce hunger in Nunavut?

It's a lot easier than one might think!

With wind farming, food farming in large electrically-heated greenhouses becomes economically feasible.