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Zurich Citizens News, 1977-08-10, Page 4, �i7i!'aP ti'te'r f.N Waterways pollution Pollution of our waterways Is a conse- quence of our bewitchment by science and disregard for nature's ways. We allowed ourselves to be convinced that natural resources were infinite and capable of limitless abuse or exploitation, that bigger was better, and the sky no limit. for human genius. Now we are being presented with staggering bills for our presumptuousness, bills which may be paid in human lives. Contamination of waterways like the Great Lakes can not be separated from pollution at the local level. Farmers are finding themselves in the line of fire along with industrialists this summer, as a series of open meetings are held by land use ac- tivities groups which will submit findings to the .International Joint Commission. (The IJC signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972.) The 10,000,000 Canadians and Americans living around the Great Lakes should be turning out in larger numbers at these meetings: their lives will be directly affected. At one such meeting recently in Goderich agricultural practices were singl- ed for as contributors to pollution. Pesticides and fertilizers, increasingly used to augment production and income, are helping contaminate the Great Lakes. They may also seep gradually into wells and the water table itself. Tile drains and dredged drainage ditches, while permitting earlier cultiva- tion and planting have led to erosion of top- soil. Enormous deposits of sediment have been borne to the lakes. Often these are laced with discharges from livestock and poultry farms. Even the run-off from manure spread on frozen ground near drainage ditches has travelled to the lakes, promoting algae growth. Agriculture is by no means entirely responsible for pollution. Industries have been major culprits. The metal content in industrial sludge and discharge of harmful chemicals have done much harm to lakes and rivers, and sometimes have threatened municipal water systems. Landfill sites and sewage lagoons, unless on clay, allow minerals to seep into drains and the water table, too. We face a very complex problem, com- pounded as often by greed as ignorance. Let us hope all the findings of the groups exploring local pollution concerns will be given full weight at the policy-making stage. Too many honest surveys have ended as dusty reports on obscure shelves. Prevention possible Many of the deaths caused by rolling farm tractors could have been prevented. Last year 28 percent of all fatal farm accidents occurred when a tractor turned over. Usually it had rolled sideways. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food, in a recent bulletin, listed some safety hints. Wheels should be set as far apart as possible for the job at hand. Brake pedals should be locked together before moving at top speed. Speed should always be consis- tent with loads and driving conditions. When going downhill, use engine brak- ing. Turns should be made slowly. It's wise to avoid crossing steep slopes, and to watch for depressions when going downhill and bumps when going up. If a machine seems unstable, it's best to turn downward rather than upward. Avoid banks of ditches and rivers, which are steep and treacherous. When in motion, keep the front-end loader as low as possi- ble. A load should never be hitched higher than the draw -bar. Backward flips by tractors are sudden and usually kill the driver. A tractor can hit ground less than one and one-half seconds after its front wheels start rising. Weights can be added to help prevent this kind of ac- cident. Start forward slowly; change speed gradually. Avoid backing downhill. Drive around ditches. If a machine gets stuck in mud, try first to back out. If that doesn't work, pull it out with another tractor. A little care can add years to a life — maybe yours or mine. FIRST WITH LOCALNEWS :.r Published Each Wednesday By J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. -- Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association eNA Manager — Betty O'Brien News Editor — Margaret Rodger Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 Subscription Rates: $7.00 per year in advance in Canada $14.00 per year outside Canada Single copies 204 '1111111111111111LIIIIIIII81111111111181111111111111111i1111lllllllllllllllilltllillll(1i91lllllRUl1111111111Y11; !Editor's !Desk By MARGARET RODGER Yin and Yang Recently an editorial appeared opposite this column concerning the findings of a Cambridge medical professor. He claimed women holding top executive positions were go- ing bald, developing baritone voices and growing hair on their chests. Some questions arise about the validity of his research. There are female clerks and housewives with balding heads, startlingly deep voices and moustaches. Are they destined for multi -national directorships? There are men prominent in business and industry who are bald and have hairless chests and high-pitched voices. Are they male ex- ecutives who are slipping from power, or are they women who haven't completed the transition described by the professor? His conclusions seem unwarranted. Maybe he needs a course in logic. In Anglo-Saxon cultures the words masculine and feminine refer to physical sexual characteristics. In China, they apply to life principles and are known as Yin and Yang. Qualities in people denoting non -conformity, aloofness and strength and qualities in things referring to hardness, straightness and rigidity are called Yin. Yang describes gentleness and passivity in people; wavering, fluctuation and softness in things. For the past half -century, in western civilization, the view has prevailed that no such thing as pure masculinity or femininity exists. However, Yin qualities have been deliberately cultivated by many men at the expense of Yang. The professor is an obvious victim of Yin - mindedness. In the Orient, Yin thinking is abstract and mystical. Here, it is action -directed, hard and driving. Both versions are dehumanizing, since they are unconcerned with human well-being. The one is vague and speculative, the other focuses on money -making. War and poverty are still with us because of Yin -dominated thinking. To control our destinies, what we need is a fusion of Yin and Yang. We would then have both men and women in in- fluential positions who displayed strength and gentleness, prudence and altruism, compassion without sentimentality, hard-headedness and tender -heartedness, virility and creativity. They would be such admirable people that nobody would ever dream of counting the hairs on their chests. 75 YEARS AGO August 1902 Saturday, August 9, has been proclaimed a public holiday in honour of the King's coronation. Charlie Fritz reports that he is still the Corn King. On Friday last his corn measured 10 feet 61/2 inches, and was growing so fast that he was forced to cut it down. His apple trees were shaded to such an extent that the apples began to decay. The roof of his barn is also beginning to show the absence of direct sunshine. It is too bad that Fritz was forced out of the race at this interesting period. 50 YEARS AGO August 1927 Drilling operations at the village well have w e s gceased ed for a few days, as owing to the old well caving in, it is found necessary to fill it up with earth. The drilled well is now approximately 240 feet deep and a good supply of water is looked for any time. Thieves entered into the store of J. Gascho & Sons on Tuesday night and picked the till of about $25.00 in cash. The theft was dis- covered on Wednesday morning. Nothing was found out of place Tears Ago... and how the robber gained en- trance into the store is a mystery. 25 YEARS AGO August 1952 A peculiar incident occurred to Mr. Sid Baker recently (in Dashwood area). While he was cutting wheat with the binder he lost his keys which were on a ring, and after hunting for them for some time could not find them. He threshed his wheat and drew a load to Hensall. While there he looked up and dis- covered his keys coming down the elevator on the fanning mill. The keys were in good shape; only the house key was broken in two. 10 YEARS AGO August 1967 There is still room for a number of booths or concessions at the big Bean Festival in Zurich on Saturday, August 26. What the committee is still look- ing for is individuals or groups who wish to sell home-made products, such as cheese, bread, pickles, honey, summer sausage, hams, etc., along with any other items of produce such as potatoes, tomatoes or corn, rsnyi, 4 .:, 1'