WILLFULLY BLIND WOOLWICH- IF THEY CAN"T SEE METHANE THEN IT"S NOT THERE

If there's one thing I've learned over close to thirty years of butting heads with various politicians, authority figures and others supposedly working in the public interest; it is that it is rarely a case of honest disagreements or differences in opinions on matters. It is a case primarily of selfish individuals and groups who put their interests, usually money, ahead of the public good. They of course are not so crass, brave or honest to come right out and say so. Oh no they much prefer to wear the mantle of authority and sober second thought if politicians and if profit oriented corporations then they carefully hide behind both the politicians and their tame, client driven consultants. This is our system. It gives grossly undue credibility to money and power and generally speaking they exploit it unmercifully.

I have spent serious time and effort informing myself of the facts surrounding the history of methane problems in the Bolender Park Landfill here in Elmira, Ontario. I have not simply asked the opinions of local residents or any other persons who might have an axe to grind against either landfills in general or against Woolwich Township and council. Instead I have done that as well as read the many technical reports produced by Conestoga Rovers (GHD) on behalf of their client, Woolwich Township. I have also done on-line research digging up both old and newer technical information regarding methane production in municipal landfills. Both the references to these articles and their contents have been made available to both Woolwich staff and councillors. There are a plethora of articles from consulting companies, university researchers and government agencies both Canadian and American. All these articles paint a very unpleasant picture when one learns what our authorities should have been doing versus what they have done. Could this be the major reason for Woolwich's bizarre, head in the sand behaviour?

Last week both a Woolwich staffer and a Woolwich Councillor decided to put their bias, dogmatism, credibility and frankly their honesty on the line. I have called them in writing on their nonsense and they have not replied. Undoubtedly both of them have very good reasons, in their minds, as to why they are being so unreasonable, willfully blind and simply bullheaded. Could their reasons be even slightly somehow in the public interest? Well I suppose that occasionally either politicians or others among us have believed that lying to citizens was somehow in the citizens' best interests. Maybe those authority figures have even on occasion been correct in their beliefs that lying to us was for our own good. Maybe this is one of those extremely few occasions. Or in the alternative maybe lying has simply become such an ingrained habit in order to deflect criticism that they no longer think twice about their standard operating practices and always reliable fall back method of handling problems.