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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2005-04-20, Page 5Opinion Fire siren mistaken for air raid siren, reporter says of his first few months From Page 4 Little things like stores closing at 6 p.m. and the fire siren going off in the middle of the night threw me off for the first few months I was in Seaforth. The only time I had ever heard the sound the fire siren makes was when Brantford's old air raid sirens (which have since been taken down) rang out in a summer afternoon when I was a child. Imagine my surprise the first time hearing the fire siren going off while I was sitting in my Seaforth apartment. I thought for sure the town was going to be bombarded by bombs from overhead airplanes. I almost thought my landlord had forget to tell me the directions to the closest bomb shelter. Quickly I learned what that siren meant and what, as a journalist, I had to do after hearing it ring. While I haven't been to a lot of fires while working here, every fire I have been to I have been treated with respect and the realization I'm just doing my job. People have been friendly Letters even when dealing with their worst situations. For the most part, that's what I am used to up here. Most people realize what the newspaper's job is and we know how to do jt. Since I arrived in Seaforth nearly a year ago, I've learned a lot about how rural Ontario works, what its problems are and why it is a great place to live. Reader thrilled with Father Lance's insight into John Paul II's life To the Editor, Was thrilled when I received an e-mail here in Florida, sent by a neighbour from Bayfield, with the interview you did with Father Lance. Thank you so much for printing such a wonderful interview.Truly gave me a insight of our late wonderful Pope, as only a"fellow Pole, and priest" could describe. Thank you Father Lance, and thank you Seaforth Huron Expositor. Sitting down here in Florida, it's nice to get news from "home." Again my thanks. Deanna Payne Zephyrhills, Florida/Bayfield, Ont. Earth Day is something we all should take part in, says reader To the Editor, Earth Day is April 22. It began in the United States in 1970 as an environmental awareness event and celebration of the environmental movement. In 1990, Canada, along with 141 other nations celebrated the first international Earth Day. The now annual event boasts over 500 million people in over 180 countries participating in events and projects addressing local and global environmental issues. According to Earthday.ca, "Nearly every school child in Canada takes part in an Earth Day activity." Today Earth Day is about reducing greenhouse gas emissions; energy conservation; planting trees; reducing and/or eliminating the use of harmful chemicals; and, of course, recycling, reusing and reducing. Although we recognize Earth Day only once a year we need to make it a daily habit. A 1996 government report states that Canadians throw away nearly two kilograms of residential waste every day or 657 kg per year per person. This translates into 22,500,000 tonnes of garbage that goes into our precious landfills every year —the equivalent of '6000 football fields piled over one metre deep. That's a lot of garbage! We have been taught about the benefits of composting, recycling, reusing and reducing and most communities now have a Blue Box program in place. Now, we need to take the next step. The Kyoto Protocol (negotiated by over 100 countries worldwide in 1997) became international law on February 16. Its goal is to have a five per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, world-wide, by 2012. Unfortunately, this protocol, although designed with the best of intentions, is flawed. Different countries have different restrictions and goals, and some major countries are not even participating. This makes for an incredibly uneven playing field both environmentally and economically. The United States formally withdrew from Kyoto in 2001 stating, among other reasons, that implementing the protocol would have a negative impact on the US economy. Instead, in 2002 they implemented a "Clean Skies Initiative." Its goal is to reduce power plant emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and mercury by 70 per cent. At the same time their new "Global Climate Change" initiative "commits America to an aggressive strategy to cut greenhouse gas intensity by 18 per cent over the next 10 years. The initiative also supports vital climate change research and ensures that America's workers and citizens of the developing world are not unfairly penalized." Canada's goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent by 2012. The Canadian government is encouraging Canadians to begin working on getting their homes more energy efficient and to consider the environment when purchasing products and vehicles. So, what can we do? We can do our part to reduce emissions and to lessen the negative environmental impact of our lifestyles. It's really not that hard. A few simple things are all that it takes. • Keep on using your BlueBox. • Choose products with minimal packaging or packaging that can go into your BlueBox. • Stop idling your car. (Did you know that if you idle your car for longer than 10 seconds it uses more fuel than it would to simply restart it? And the additional wear and tear on your engine to restart only costs about $10 dollars peryear compared' to the $60 you would spend on fuel if you idled your vehicle for10 minutes a day. Furthermore, idling causes unnecessary emissions.) • Walk, ride your bike or carpool. • Refill those empty printer toner cartridges. • Use rechargeable batteries and compact fluorescent light bulbs. • Use biodegradable household cleaning products. • Use bats (the rodent not the stick!) instead of insecticides to combat mosquitoes. • Use boxes or cloth bags when shopping. • Use cloth diapers. (In Canada disposable diapers contribute 250,000 tonnes of non -biodegradable garbage annually. It takes five hundred years for a disposable diaper, used only once, to compost. A cloth diaper, having had multiple uses, composts in about six months.) • Some communities, like Orangeville, Ontario have a "Take It Back!" Product Stewardship Program. With this program certain business will "Take Back" medications, needles and syringes, eyeglasses, computers, fax machines, televisions, satellite receivers and dishes, stereos, etc. • Return unwanted cell phones to your service provider. They can be refurbished and donated to Women's Shelters. • Turn off the TV, stereo and computer when you're not using them. • Turn out lights when you leave the room. • Flush less. • Compost. • Take the One -Tonne Challenge (Sponsored by the government of Canada, the challenge is to reduce your household's annual greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne. This can be done by using less energy, conserving water and resources, and reducing waste.) Start small so you don't become overwhelmed. Pick a couple of items off that list and work on them. As they become a daily habit add another one or two. The next thing you know, it will become automatic! Do your part. It's easy. It's important. It's a matter of life and death. Terri Shobbrook RR 2 Seaforth Opportunity Fund Encourage to: oke -free Huron t h r be sm r eat healthier active be physically Grants of up to $750 awarded for heart , healthy projects Call the Take Heart Huron Project at the Huron County Health Unit, 482-3416 or 1-877-837-6143 to receive your application package. The deadline for completed applications is extended to Ma 13, 2005. THE HURON EXPOSITOR, April 20 -5 N HURON CONCRETE SUPPLY LIMITED •Ready Mix Concrete 'Precast •Stone Slinger •Crane Rental Goderich 524-7361 Seaforth 527.0811 1-800-265-5199 SERVING THE AREA WI ITY CONCRE EI SEAFORTH PLANT NOW OPEN ea,4046.4 to the Seaforth Atom C Girls Hockey Team PROVINCIAL BRONZE MEDALISTS and their Coaches (Dave Murray, Kevin Melady & Liz Scott) R.J. Jansen Financial Services Rudy Jansen 34 Goderich St. E. Seaforth You are invited to attend these area churc St. Thomas Anglican Church A Congregation of the Parish of The Holy Spirit Jarvis St. Seatorth Fr. Michael Atk Parish Office 527-i1522 Sunday, AprII 24th - Worship at 9:30 a.m. Sat. April 23 - 6 p.m. Elvis Sings Gospel Tribute & Supper Tickets 527-0153 or 527-2546 Catholic Church St. James RC Church 14 Victoria Street, Seaforth 527-0142 Weekend Masses: Sat 5:15 pm Sun. 11:00 am St. Columban RC Church Saturday Mass at 7:30 pm Father Lance Magdziak Bethel Bible Church An Associated Gospel Church 126 Main St. Seatorth 527-0982 Sunday Worship Hour 11 am Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Egmondville United Church Sunday, April 24 10 a.m. Sunday School 11 a.m. Wortihip Steve Hildebrand - Lay Pastoral Minister in Training EVERYONE WELCOME NORTHSIDE UNITED CHURCH 54 Goderich St. W. Sun., AprII 24, 2005 Sunday School Adult & Youth 9:30 a.m. Junior 11:00 a.m. Worship 11:00 a.m. Rev. John Gould Sermon: The Way, The Truth, and The Life -Style First Presbyterian Church Goderich St. W., Seaforth Rev. Henry Huberts Sunday, April 24 Worship: 11:15 a.m. Supper Sat. April 30th Ages 6-12 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. To Pre Register can 345-2407 or 527-2518 Project Green: Towards a healthier environment and a stronger economy PROJECT GREEN is a national effort involving individual Canadians, businesses, communities and governments — working together to build a healthier environment and a stronger economy. And Moving Forward on Climate Change is part of it. With clear objectives, PROJECT GREEN and the Climate Change Plan will: if Keep our air clean and help reduce smog ✓ Keep our rivers, lakes and oceans clean / Preserve wildlife and green spaces ✓ Make Canada a lvorld leader in developing new sustainable technologies ✓ help to honour our Kyoto commitment To get your copy of the Plan, or to join the One -Tonne Challenge: Call 1 800 0 -Canada (1 800 622-6232), 'rn' I Kort -165_773. or visit climatechange.gc.ca Moving Forward an Climate Change* A Pica for HipaourIng ow Kyoto Com..Jaonr r•� r— :=- ffir Carmel '.'Government of Canada Gouvemement du Canada Ca.nad'a