14 Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 3, 1990

Wednesday

with
Fae

by Fae Mooney

The environment. Like the
weather, everyone is talking
about it. Like the weather,
what can we do about it?

Can one person make a dif-
ference?»

We Canadians are developing
a reputation for being among
the most wasteful people in the
world. That reputation does
not fit the image we have of
ourselves, unfortunately.

Do you know that passenger
vehicles.(we Canadians own 15

million of them) account for
fully half of the world’s fossil
fuel consumption!

Do you know that disposable
diapers are used by 85 percent
of diapering households and
that each Canadian throws out

from 1.3 to 1.8 kilograms of
household waste every day?
That adds up to 16 million ton-
nes per year, nation-wide.

[3 you know that in Canada
oiiy Ww percent of our waste
is roo ‘ed? (In Japan it's over
50 percent.)

Whart.are we doing to this
planet? A poster, published by
the Society for the. Protection
of Animals, shows a sea bird ©
on a shore. Frothy white sea
foam dapples the sand. It
should be a beautiful picture.
Except that a.wave washed the
bird ashore. It's dishevelled,
wings unnaturally spread; its

head rests on the sand in a -

strange position. Displayed
around its neck — a plastic
ring from a beer 6-pack. The
bird is dead. Strangled. Accor-
ding to the society, two million
-marine animals die every year:
because of 50,000 tonnes of
plastic garbage that is dumped
into oceans. ““And you thought
you were just killing a few
beers,’’ says the poster. Terrace
presently has only one recycling
facility. The extent of our
municipal waste management is
weekly garbage pick-up.

But we do care

The conservation ethic in
Canada dates back 100 years to
such well-known figures .as
Ernest Thompson Seton,
naturalist and writer, and en-
vironmentalist James B.
Harkin, an acknowledged
leader in wildlife conservation

- and our first commissioner of.
national parks (1911-1936).
This sense of responsibility to
the environment considerably
pre-dates the birth of the en-.
vironment movement in the
1960's. It does show that Cana-
dians care.

In the early part of this cen-. .

tury James Harkin promoted a
parks concept of-conservation -
— “of-unspoiled and publicly

accessible wilderness.’’ Early in

the century the concern was

-. concentrated on saving wildlife »

-.(such as the-bison) that had

oo Deen, hunted: ‘almost to extinc-
tion. “Today,” says lan Dar-. - :

| _stagh. of. the. Royal Canadian
Geographical Society, “‘the |

threat to our wildlife is more

insidious...
_ pioneering work of Rachel Car-

Ever since the

son, evidence has been moun-

ting that manmade-toxins in

the food chain are harming
wildlife... and may be threaten-
ing human health as we

Darragh quoted environmen-
tal scientist and activist F. Ken-
neth Hare: “There is a crisis in
the natural world caused by the
destructiveness of the human
economy.” .

The destructiveness of the
human economy is what
Skeena MP Jim Fulton ad-
dressed almost exclusively in
his winter issue of Skeena
Report. “Every householder is
going to have to assume
responsibility,’’ he said, concer-
ning the deterioration of the
ozone layer around our planet. -
“Our very future will depend
upon how responsibly each per-
son... acts.” Mr. Fulton wrote
graphically, and with urgency,

- about the state of the environ-

ment. On the potential for
global warming, he said,
“Ryvery person is going to have
to pitch in to help slow down
the process.”’

Every householder. Every
person. Each one of us.

In the past year polls have
revealed the environment to be
one of our major concerns.
Most of us are willing to pay,
if necessary, to help clean up
our environment, and slow
down the process of its _
disintegration. Canadians are
listening.to the strong voices of
our scientists and environmen-

talists.
But what can one person do?
Our representative in Ottawa
has several suggestions: ‘“There
are many things that each of us
can do to help protect and
clean-up the environment.”
Listed here are some of them:
@ Avoid purchasing products
that contain ozone-destroying

_ CFC’s (some aerosol sprays) or

that are packaged in styrofoam
containers (eggs, fast foods).

@® Walk or ‘cycle wherever you
have to go in town; car pool or
take the bus whenever you can
— Jeave your car at home;
avoid using fossil fuels.

@ Use recycled paper, if you
can find it (comment mine, not
Mr. Fulton’s).

@ Buy goods in recyclable
glass containers.

@ Avoid purchasing over-
packaged items.

@ Shop at stores that sell pro-'
ducts compatible with the en-
‘vironment.

. @ Look for ways to make
. your home more energy effi-
cient.
@ Plant more shurbs and trees
— they are the lungs of our
planet (one tree absorbs almost
12. kgs. of carbon dioxide an-

-pisummier,(as few as three trees

‘planted around your home can |

nually), they also offer shade in

A New. Year’ s resolution and _
a commitment to the 1990’s

cut air conditioning costs up to
50 percent), and offer protec-
tion from cold winds in winter.

@ Look for ways to conserve.

and recycle water.
-:@ Look for ways to recycle as .
many things as possible.

@ Cooperate with local efforts

to recycle.

@ Avoid using chemical fer-
tilizers and pesticides; look for
natural methods of controlling
pests and use natural fertilizers
such as manure and compost .
(from your own heap in the
back yard).

@ Avoid disposable and one- .
use items (such as diapers)...

® Consider organic gardening;
read publications such as Har-
rowsmith and Organic Garden-
ing.

@ Learn as much as you can
about working with the en-
vironment.

‘

It’s not difficult. to come up
with more ideas once you start
thinking about it:

Like making your own
‘designer’ shopping bags.
When asked at the check-out,
‘paper or plastic?”’ you can
reply, “I have my own, thank
you,’

Use cloth instead of paper:
cotton hankies instead of paper
facial tissues; torn-up old

sheets, shirts, and towels as
rags instead of J-cloths, fabric
dinner napkins in place of
paper napkins...

Wrap parcels to be mailed”
with cup-open paper grocery
bags; use them to line pet

Waste-conscious classroom
widens young perspectives

Contributed by |
Stephanie Wiebe, for
the Terrace and District
Teachers’ Association

There's a terrarium full of in-
sects ‘and. fungi ‘near the door.
Two hamsters rest in their cages,
and two birds usually fly freely
through the room. Every inch of
wall space is covered with pic-
tures, projects, and signs.

Under the heading of “Things
to look forward to’’, there’s a
list of interesting activities like.
‘‘dinner at my house’, and
‘‘oum chewing p.m.”.. In one
corner is an arrangement of
large pillows near a bookshelf,
inviting readers to curl wp com-
fortably. Desks are arranged in
odd groupings, and the room
has an atmosphere of organized
chaos. This is Mrs, Cox's Grade
5 and 6 class at Clarence Michiel
school.

The birds catch your attention
first. The idea’ of birds flying
around in a classroom seems
bizarre, but the birds are com-
fortable and the kids enjoy

.them. Recently, one of the birds: 1

-died-during an incident’ of: van-
dalism, but Mrs. Cox says,
“Two of the girls took it upon
themselves. to bring in a new

bird.”? The birds are temporarily

- caged:to allow for the new mem-
ber’s adjustment. The students

take care of. the animals, and .

tend to the plants that hang

cages..
Return refundable con-
tainers. Save scrap metal.

. There is money to be made in

saving the environment.
| Think before you throw
something out — can it be
reused? Sold? Donated?
Participate in the Northwest
Community College’s planned
Environmental Awareness —
Week (dates have not yet been
set). Public response is needed.
Call the college (635-6511, local

. 266, between 8:00 a.m. and

12:00 noon) with your suggés-

- tions and concerns. They are

seeking input on issues of

. Specific concern to individuals |
~ in northwest B.C, Because —

‘Severyone is affected by the
environment.”’

Read Jim Fulton’s report on.
the environment. Copies are
still available at his Terrace
constituency office (phone
number — 638-1818).

An individual responsibility

- Canadian singer Bryan
Adams spoke out against en-
vironmental destruction in a re-
cent Alive magazine interview.
‘“‘My greatest environmental
fear,” he said, ‘“‘is people. We
are the cause of most of the ma-
jor ecological disasters —
nuclear leaks, oil spills, sewage
pollution; chemicals in foods,
acid rain, deforestation,
depleting fish stocks, extinction
of wildlife, etc, We are certainly
-our own worst enemy and before
we will be able to save this

planet, we will have to change

cheerfully by the window. ~
Individual student projects
are lined-up on a display table,

: this month’s project being about

recycling. The kids toured
through other classrooms’ gar-
bage cans, noting the types of
refuse and discussing possible
alternatives that could be used to
cut down on waste. After some
brainstorming and discussion,
they were then given guidelines
for a project involving the reuse

of materials that would other-—

wise be tossed into a garbage
can,

Jenny made a newspaper-log
roller, Carrie made a small

‘egg’? cooker from a coffee tin,

and Jason made a fantastic
replica of a propeller plane from
seven pop cans. The table ‘is
almost overflowing with various
usable recycled items. Each stu-
dent introduces their project to
the class, explaining the

our entire way of thinking or
else. let apathy, incompetence
and greed rule the world. If you
really care about something that
is happening out there, instead
of sitting back and saying, ‘Oh,
well, what a shame,’ get out
there and say something about
it.

“Bach and every person, -
whether famous or not, ‘carries
the burden of responsibility on
their shoulders as to the future
of this planet.

As just one person, what is
Bryan Adams doing to help save
the environment? “‘I try to ‘con-.
serve energy at home by turning
lights off, I recycle all of my
newspaper...”

(As a point of interest: if we
were to recycle even half of our
old newspapers, 80 million
trees a year could be saved.)

‘} use a timed sprinkler
system to save on water,’’ the
singer stated, ‘‘we don’t use any
chemical or detergent products
for cleaning other than 100 per-
cent biodegradable soaps, we re-
use plastic bags for shopping
and never buy aerosol cans that
hurt the ozone layer. I’ve cut out
red meat, and the list goes-on.”’

We have begun a new year. -
And a new decade. For the
1990's, as an environmental goal
Bryan Adams suggests that we
“think globally, act locally.”

The environment. Can one
person make a difference? I”.
had better... 7

- Inaterials used, and the cost and
time involved. Their classmates -
ask questions, while Mrs. Cox
videotapes the presentations.
“Where did you get the
idea?’’... “How long did it take
you. to make that?”’ Ideas are
shared, and the students support
each presenter with applause.

Recycling is not a new con-
cept, but for these kids, this
‘hands on” experience brings.
the idea closer, makes it more
relevant to them. Mrs. Cox said
she’s ‘““become: more aware at
home” of the recycling potential
we all have; and her students
have displayed their ingenuity
and. creativity in this field. They
are showing’ each other what
they know, and sharing what
they’re learning, a prevalent
idead in this classroom.

They are learning more than
they realize.”

NOTICE

' ‘The City of Terrace will pick up discard-
ed Christmas trees on January 3rd and
4th, 1990. Please place trees where.

refuse.is normally left for: pick: up. | |

Public Works Department _