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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2007-07-11, Page 4Poge 4 July 11, 2007 • The Huron Expositor( Opinion Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK 1WO a beautlllul lawn over air quality The lawn can be burnt to a_crisp from the scorch- ing sun during an unrelenting drought and a smog advisory warningissued day after. day. But, the sound. more constant than a cicada on a sultry summer day remains the drone of the neigh- bourhood lawn mower. And, most likely, the noise maker is a gas lawn mower, which is being blamed for as much as 10 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions across Canada every year. Against all reason, Canadians are obsessed with the beauty of their lawns and seem to feel they have not been responsible citizens if they haven't pulled out the lawn mower and pushed it around the yard at least once a week - whether the weath- er conditions or the lawn itself dictates the chore or not. While one home improvement chain, Home Depot, is trying to encourage consumers to "Mow Down Pollution" with a $100 rebate to replace old gas mowers, the City of Thronto recently targetted gas lawn mowers and leaf blowers as the top of its hit list in an effort to combat climate change. By. 2010, both gas -powered yard tools could be banned from the city, leaving homeowners r con- sider more environmentally friendly alternatives. While at least one Seaforth resident has replaced his gas mower with a manual push mower - with a concern for the environment as at least one of his motives - most of us have not yet followed suit. And, our municipal govnerments are so far show- ing no signs of creating their own local plans to combat climate change. Granted, the larger yards in older, established small town neighbourhoods and even larger rural properties outside of town make the physical work necessary with a push mower a little bit daunting to most. But, even those who choose to hold onto their gas mowers can contribute to improved air quality by reducing the frequency of the task and considering if a short but scorched brown lawn - which will also increase our desire to waste water on the lawn - is really more attractive than a long green one with maybe a few weeds poking out. We all have to choose whether a yard out of Better Homes and Gardens is really more impor- tant than a healthy environment. Susan Hundertmark A group of 18 in one cottage makes for one close family The older I get, the tighter I am with my fami- ly. I have a family I like spending time with. Parents, brothers and sis- ters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, all of them. When we get together we have a great time. Playing cards, like an intense game of Uno, which often involves way too much name calling and a little blood spilt by the end, is a great way to lose sleep. I am from Clinton, I have grandparents in and around Clinton and I have an aunt and uncle in the town as well. All of my siblings and cousins have birth- days spanning from May to October and that's seven excuses to get together. Add long weekends throughout the summer and that's 10 scheduled get-togethers in just five months. Then we find some more excuses when other family visit, for instance, an aunt, uncle and cousin combination from Seattle. For this little reunion my family is spend- ing more than a week together at our cottage near Kincardine. This is a place with no TV, no dishwasher and only one bathroom to serve, on my last count, 18 or so people who will be sharing the five bedroom cottage. People, like myself, will come and go, so for a steady week the property only really needs to satisfy the needs of about 14 people. But even so, that's 14 people to cook for and then 14 people who don't want to clean up the dirty dishes. That's a possible 13 (at times 17) people who will need to use the poison ivy - ridden bushes as a bath- room. That's 14 people that have nothing better to do than something with each other for days on end. Vacations after all can be more stressful than the stresses of regular day life. My grandfather is quick to tell us about how his friends are all fine and healthy and then they go on vacation and have heart attacks. The only way we really keep sane is cot- tage -projects, so that our vacations are rid- dled with work. We recently finished a project, probably four years in the making, for installing a vol- leyball court. Four years is a lot of time but we only, worked on it a couple times a year and the area was a disaster so it needed a lot of work done. It still needs a weekend's worth of work to keep it in good condition each year. And then a project for this time up is to get rid of a tree in the parking lot that I inadver- tantly struck with the family van, prompting the tree's immediate removal two years later. Put in new windows, fix the septic system, See ONLY, Page 5 Ron & Dave Hey...here's one of �I wouldn't those new "I -phones". recommend I think I' II buy one. it. C' mon Dave...you' re a complete Luddite. You don't know anything about electronic stuff. Remember when we were kids? That's ridiculous... You're exaggerating. by David Lacey HEMI DOES ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO WORK THIS THING? Your Communllty Newspaper Since 1860 E-mail us at seaforth@bowesnet.com Visit our home page at www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com �..wCanada oUHKOlt MEDIA pus MEW, 'We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs.' SUBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL - 36.18 a year, in advance, plus G.S.T. SENIORS; - 34.17 a year, in advance, plus G.S.T. Fie: 36.18 a year in advance, plus $181.48 postage, G.S.T. exempt U.S.A.: 36.18 a year in advance, plus $92.56 postage, G.S.T. exempt Published weekly by Sun Media at 11 Main St., Seaforth. Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occu- pied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts. photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT 40064683 PAP REGISTRATION NO. 7605 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO Circulation Department P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, ON., NOK 1 WO Member the Newthe Comedian Community spapers- A socspaper�tionrHon Susan Hundertmark Editor Aaron Jacklin Reporter Bernie Pugh Maxwell Bickford Advertising / Office Composing rr ' 1 Dianne McGrath Front office Editorial and Business Offices - 11 Main Street.,Seaforth Telephone (519) 527-0240 Fax (519) 527-2858 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK IWO