The Times Advocate, 2008-06-11, Page 44
Times–Advocate
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
OC
TIMES ADVOCATE
Editorial Opinion
PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511
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Canada
Deb Lord – Manager
Scott Nixon – Editor
it The Times -Advocate is owned by
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Metroland 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850
Media Group Ltd. Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • 519-235-1331
Doug Rowe -General Manager, Southwestern Ontario Division
EDITORIAL
Using less
If concern for the environment wasn't
already enough incentive for you to con-
serve water, new water rates being pro-
posed by the Municipality of South Huron just
might be enough to encourage residents to cut
back on the water they consume.
As detailed on this week's front page, water rates in
Exeter and Stephen are slated to go up (pending final
approval from council after two public meetings), and
the increase isn't insignificant. In fact, the per cubic
metre figure used to charge customers based on how
much water they use is proposed to more than triple
between now and 2009, rising from the current 57
cents per cubic metre now to $1.76 per cubic metre in
2009. In addition Exeter water customers will have a
new $82 quarterly charge on their water/sewage bills
to pay off the new Lake Huron pipeline. These figures
will be somewhat tempered by a decrease in the quar-
terly Exeter base charge of $75 to $60, plus decreases
in sewage charges.
But overall, the average Exeter customer will see an
increase in their annual water/sewage bill from the
current $758 to $1,123 in 2009, while Stephen cus-
tomers will see a more modest increase, from the cur-
rent average of $764 to a new figure of $811. Stephen
customers will benefit from significant decreases in
the sewage fee they will pay with the new rates.
What does this all mean? Well, for one, it means the
cost of living just went up. On the other hand, most
people saw this coming — somebody had to pay for
that $13.5 million Lake Huron pipeline and with
increased operation costs due to tougher government
legislation in light of the Walkerton tragedy, water
rates were bound to increase. Still, the overall
increase in Exeter is dramatic and there will be upset
residents.
But with the increased per cubic metre fee, water
users have never had a better reason to use less
water. Maybe the car doesn't need to be washed after
all. Maybe the lawn doesn't need watered and maybe
you can make your showers quicker.
It's easy to be upset at the municipality for rate
increases, but operations manager Don Giberson said
the municipality's water systems have been under-
funded for years and the new proposed rates reflect
the cost of running the system and, naturally, paying
for the new multi-million dollar water pipeline. Both
he and chief administrative officer Roy Hardy told the
T -A Monday they expect water rates to similarly
increase at other municipalities.
And if you don't like the new proposed water rates,
you can always let your feelings be known at the two
upcoming public meetings the municipality is holding,
the first at South Huron Rec Centre June 18 at 7 p.m.
and the second at the Crediton Community Centre
June 24 at 7 p.m.
Distributed by Canadian Artists Syndicate
Earth is doing us a favour
There is something I have to say to all the people
who took part in the Earth Hour "Lights Out" cam-
paign a while back.
I'm sorry. You were right and I was wrong.
Because as it turns out, by turning off that light
switch for 60 minutes, you did make a differ-
ence. You saved the world.
I mean who knew that with the Earth being
billions of years old and with carbon dioxide
being just .03 per cent of the atmosphere and
the man-made part of that being three per cent
,the planet could be saved in a month.
So give yourselves a pat on the back, although
most of you already do on a regular basis.
Because like Russians in a tough hockey
game, the Earth is basically giving up and going
home. It was announced recently that researchers
studying long-term changes in sea temperatures said
they now expect a "lull" for up to a decade while nat-
ural variations in climate cancel out the increases
caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
As the scientific journal "Nature" reported in a
paper, "The average temperature of the sea around
Europe and North America is expected to cool slightly
over the decade while the tropical Pacific remains
unchanged."
Noel Keenlyside of the Leibniz Institute of Marine
Sciences in Kiel, Germany, said, "Our prediction is that
there will be no warming until 2015 but it will pick up
after that."
And what else could it be except that "Lights Out"
saved the planet? As Barack said last week,
"This is the moment when the rise of the
oceans began to slow and the planet began to
heal."
The Earth, in her infinite goodness, has
granted us a holiday, so let's take advantage
of her generosity by doing what you're sup-
posed to do on holiday and take her for all
she's worth, because we may never get
another chance. It's time to bust a bottled
water cap in the Earth's ass and kick her
while she's down because if you can't take
advantage of someone who is four billion
years old, who can you?
And let's face it, for the first few billion years of the
planet, it's been pretty much all poisonous gas atmos-
phere, ice ages, earthquakes and general unpleasant-
ness caused by the Earth.
But as soon as we toss a few dozen nuclear bombs
back in her direction or stash a few barrels of toxic
waste, then it's, as Mr. Burns says, "Nature started the
fight for survival, and now she wants to quit because
she's losing. Well I say, hard cheese."
Like the slogan says, "Earth first, we'll mine the
other planets later."
PAT B
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