Loading...
The Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-11-27, Page 17PAGE S-GODERICHSIGNAL-STAR, THURSDAY, NOVEMPER 27, 1975 , 4, Better land use pIning-ne4ed::su By Wilma Oke To edr.cate the members of th(. Huron -Perth Presbytery o'' the United Church on wise ,rid use a two-day seminar at the Brucefield church was initiated by Rev. Bert Daynarci of Staffa. On the first day Thursday, Mr. Daynard and Dr. Allan Churchill, Chatham, past president of the London Conference, established the theological foundations of the issue. Both quoted" from the old and new testaments to show the interdependency of people and the land. Dr. Churchill said more wars have been fought over land than any other com- modity as he warned against worshipping the land as a distinct entity. He said it was a gigantic problem to use, the land properly with the least harm and the greatest good for both people and the land itself. "We are so tempted to use land for our'own purposes so as to abuse it and so we need a strong theological basis for an adequate land use ethic," he said. "We can't get this ethic by romanticising nature or by developing our materialistic philosophy to which we seem to be en- slaved. We need to get back to the Biblical roots of a sound ethic, that recognizes God, the Creator, as still sovereign and still the ultimate owner of his creations." "We need to see man, made in the . image of God, as having some freedom"but also considerable responsibility to act as trustees of the land and all natural resources which God has put into his tem- porary care, but man has fallen and he continues to drag creation into, his fallepness.with him." Continuing, Dr. Churchill said, "The Bible seems to be saying that man will not be redeemed without the land being redeemed as well. This is a revolutionary idea and would be really revolutionary if we. treated all natural resources on the basis of lihis principle." In the afternoon session Thursday, William Heine, editor of the London Free Press, told of land -use at- titudes in a number of countries he •had visited around the world. Most Efficient ----!`Nobody is more efficient than thefarmer who is left alone to plant the crop he decides is best for his own farm," he stated. "No totalitarian land has ever been able. to compare to our system in North America where six percent of the population feeds the other 94 percent and have a surplus of millions of tons of foodstuff to send overseas." «`~" '"You have to accept the fact it is an enormously ef- ficient system when a free man operates in a free market of supply and demand. Enlightened self- interest works bests," he said.' Mr. Heine said the Russians are notorious for the inefficient use of land and -'must import tons of grain to feed the people, with their system ofu centralized far- ming decisions,, made by a bureaucracy and not 'the persons farming the land. The Chinese are much better at efficiently using land and are able to feed their over 800 million population, he said . The reason he gave for the success is that while there is central ownership of land, the Chinese farmers th.emselves have a say in what crops to plant. He pointed out it takes 80 per cent of the Chinese to grow enough food for the remaining 20 per cent and in Russia 32 per cent of the population to feed the other 68 per cent. Mr. 'Heine spoke of the excellent 'use of land in Holland and explained the kibutz way of life in Israel. In India the human agony of starvation can be seen where the . wealthy own the land which is being eroded as the poor tenant tries to get that final grain of rice.- He said most Arab people don't un- derstand the use of land. Mr. Heine commended the British system of control over land use which allows far- mers to. grow what they like but will . step in if land is grossly misused and given to someone who will use it to grow foodstuff. This is done in much the same way we have organizations which tale away animals abused and suffering, he Lald Exploiters. In, the, Friday morning session, Gary Davidson of Goderich, Huron County Planner, presented the local view on how man uses land and some of the pressures he is presently placing on it. Mr. Davidson said as a practioner of land use planning he deals with it on,a daily basis. He said man uses land for material gain. "We are not users of our land, we are exploiters of'it," he said. "In Souththwestern Ontario which has the best land in Canada, disintegration of farmland is reaching crisis proportions," he warned. Mr.Davidson said, "The best land in the country -is in Tuckersmith ' Township --98 per cent of it is class one land. It's a national resource! There is more class one land in Tuckersmith than in all of Nova,Scotia. In Huron County 89 per;, cent of the land is class one," Mr. Davidson said that �ng is a form of control -- the control of the use of land. "Planning goes against the concept of free will, some say even against the concept of democracy," he said. "During the past few years we have been going merrily along destroying the land -- now we are reaching certain types of crises which are overcoming arguments` against planning." M . Davidson said of planning, "The authority • rests with the local elected officials, planners only ad- vise." One delegate said the provincial authorities have the final say in planning. Mr. Davidson said , that when people are talking about planning they might- ask, "What's another five or ten acres going out of produc- tion?" He said this attitude, must be changed. Flood Threat Many delegates asked questions, among them Norman Alexander of Lon- desboro, who is a drainage inspector for Hullett Town- ship in Huron. Mr. Alexander said he is concerned that farm drainage may be causing erosion problems. Mr. Davidson ' answe ed that from a study rade in Grey Township it has been found that'the land is drained so extensive that the river system is incapable of taking any more. He said experts are looking at the dangers of over draining. and said drains should be considered carefully, , The artificial drainage system in Grey compresses the peak drainage period so. much' there is,. a severe flooding problem, he said. In an undrained area, spring drainage would nor- mally take three or four months, he said, but we have compressed that down to four weeks with the peak being .only one week. This results in .the low flow of rivers or streams or the drying up of some, the rest of the year. During_ low flow of the river, there is a tendency for it to be polluted, he added. Costly dams and flood - control systems are demanded for the brief flooding periods, he said. A four -man panel discussed the wise use of land in the afternoon session. The members were Jack Riddell, M.P.P. for Ruron-Middlesex; Doug Fisher, executive secretary, ,London Con- ference of United Church; Elgin Thompson, Rieve of Tuckersmith "Township and chairman of the Ausable- Bayfield Conservation Authority; and Ron White, a Birr farmer and president of the Middlesex Federation of Agriculture. Wise Use Needed Speaking first, Mr. Fisher spoke of the importance of personal awareness of the need for wise land use. He said We as individuals elect our governments to do the things- we can not do per- sonally on the pressures from the marketplace. .N1r: Thompson spoke of..the 38 conservation authorities in Ontario which provide recreation areas, preserve wild like areas, .build dams, provide gully control and grass waterways to prevent flood damage. He stressed -the important part the Authorities play in educating' the public by programs for school children who make field trips to conservation areas and some of which are overnight or weekend camping trips. Mr. White outlined the land use"pla-ening responsibilities of the Federation of Agriculture at the local, regional, provincial and federal levels. He said -'the- Ontario Federation has called for a national policy on a8riculture ayrd land use. "The federal government must safeguard long tenni agricultural policy from.the effects of short -term - trading decisions," he stated. "The federal government Trust co-ordinate and in- tegrate its agriculture and land -use policies . with the provinces and municipalities. Mr. White said that we need orderly growth but he warned the delegates that the world population has less than 26 days food stockpiled at the present time. Millions of Acres Lost Mr. Riddell said two million - acres of farmland was retired Agreement reached for mall waste The Goderich Works and Engineering Committee agreed to pay an additional $6,000 to C. and W. Sanitation for • garbage pickup at the marl over the remainder of the contract with the town. Pickup at the mall will be done twice a week as laid out in the contract which expires in August of 1977. The con- tract for the mall includes stores to be added at future dates which brings the total cost of town garbage collection to approximately $71,000. Two representatives of the sanitation company met with the committee and explained that there were basicall'y no problems with 'the contract except in the case where houses were removed to accommodate a commercial development. The contract does not allow for that. They cited Canadian Tire as a major example. It was estimated that the company presently takes. approximately four .hours per week to pick' up garbage at the mall since the larger stores generate a great amount of waste. .The time involved was worked into the 'cost at an approximate rate of $35 per hour. The committee also learned that the Met store does not have an enclosed area for their garbage. The mall agreement called for all stores to .provide a area for their waste. Com- mittee members agreed to send a letter 'to ' Bert Alexander of Suncoast Estates'. to .make sure the. problem was rectified and the terms of the agreement were compl;ed. with. -. y S from farming between 1951 and 1966 and the rate of loss has doubled since 1966. "There are 42 acres of farmla'trd going out of use every hour," he said. "1lemember that Canada has only 24 million acres of far- mland. "If we continue on the course we're taking at this time, experts predicLthat 60 per cent of the food consumed here in Ontario will have to be imported." Speaking on the vital need for housing Mr. Riddell said urban areas have the capacity to absorb the demands for housing and there should be no pressure .on farmland, but there is'. He said that planning has to be put back into the hands of local officials --they know best but said he knew municipalities are reluctant to go ahead with planning because their Mantes are restricted. SUNDANCE Blue -Green Reg. Price 516.95 (1 Roleleft- Discontinued colour) SALE SQ YD. $10 95 10.95 a PRICE RUBBER BACK CARPET (HAPPEYVALLEY) SQ. YD. $7.95 Reg. Price 510.95 CUSHION FLOOR 1 MILE EAST OF'GODERICH ONtHIGHWAY 8 ,PH.QNE 524-7123 "WE INSTALL" - -*2 position heat' control, low for,delicate and high for normal fabrics - automatic timer"gives up to.100 minutes of drying time - Permanent Press - heat automatically switches off 12 minutes before end • of drying time - large easy clean lint filter .. Self venting - push to start button Goderich United held their annual awards banquet Saturday night and the winners from the A team included. (from left) Harold •Refflinghaus, top scorer of the third McKILLQP MUTUAL FIRE VNSURANCE COMPANY 1 Established 1S7 %.046.• . HEAD OFFICE: Seaforth, Ontario Mrs. Margaret Sharp, Sec. Treas. Phone 527-0400 Z It Only Costs A Little To Be Safe Fire, Extended Coverage, Wind- storm, Theft, Property Damage, Liability, Etc. Directors a'nd Adjusters: Lavern Gdkin, RR 1, Walton, Ont. Robt. Archibald, RR 4, Seaforth - Ken Carnochan, RR 4, Seaforth Ross Leonhardt, RR 1, Bornholm John McEwing, RR 1, Blyth Stanley Mcllwain, RR 2, Goderich Donald Mc'.Kercher, RR 1, Dublin Wm. Pepper, Brucefield J.N. Trewartha, Box 661, Clinton Phone 527-1877 , 527-1817 . 527-1545 345-2234 523-9390 524-7051 527-1837 482-7534 482-7593 Agents: James Keys, RR 1 Seaforth K.J. Etue, leaforth Wm. Leiper, Londesboro Steve J. Murray,,RR 5, Seaforth • • • k ; division A team; Clare'Sager, top defericeman; and Dave Graf, the most valuable player of the A team. (staff photo) Tr.aIee Kitchen Cabinets• ANNOUNCIS THE APPOINTMENT OF Bill Nelson. of Lucknow as their area representative Bill 'would be pleased to show you the cotnplete line of Kitchen Cabinets and provide you with free estimates at no obligation Phone Lucknow 528-2949 Porcelain washtub - Aut o m - Suds return - atic timer - Hinged Safety lid - Splash proof recessed top - Whisper drive, transmission - 4,easy rolling casters WDW 676 Wood cutting board top. Weighted back prevents tilting, smooth roll casters. Soft food disposer eliminates need for pre -rinsing dishes - simply rehiove bones and large masses of food from plates before placing in dishwasher. Rinse' injector for spot free glasses.