@. @ Opinion Volume 76 Issue No.14 TheReview Wednesday, April4,1990 — AG ©. ae TE) Ai : ai Will Ea nt THESE eae HAVE BEEN ee ISLAND VIEW ED. [| FoR AS LONG AS I'VE LIVED ARou Lal li me HERE. THEY HAVE HISTORICAL vaue! I | il ie 2. .. HERITAGE POTHOLES... All good intentions: ia (A — good intentions: ay | And what they really cost mG The often-heard saying you only get what you pay for shouldn’t be forgotten in a world where more and more = emphasis is placed on environmental concems and good |! = intentions toward keeping our rural Peninsula atmosphere spilt intact. Nie There’s a price to pay for everything and we’re finding that fie the price is high to tum all good intentions into reality. ice | Just as operators of pulp mills up-Island have said, ““We ? = can achieve an environmentally safe operation.” The bad ; We UW) BY news is that in some cases that result is plant closures and layoffs because it doesn’t make economical sense for a | : company to spend the amount of money required to achieve ; S Z an environmentally friendly plant. To others it means an On Ain 2a i il) Ae | increase in cost to the consumer, like “green” packaging \ is We i Fes | we're seeing more of. = : | 2 —————————— i} | SSS | Locally, the Victoria Airport wants to become a profitable ———— —— = em = = = <8 g | operation, relying less on the federal taxpayer for support. 2 = > = =— Ba That’s a move we welcome and support, as many have ————————— ee ———— supported by stating the federal deficit must be reduced. The cost is brought into reality very quickly with a quick drive past Transport Canada lands, replete with signs inviting business people to submit lease proposals. Already, a golf course will be built at the airport. While green space and manicured fairways on a golf course will look nice, it will invite complementary businesses that wish to take advantage of the increased traffic. That means buildings and commercial development. Residents and politicians wonder where further details on the Pat Bay Highway upgrade are. But, on the other hand, provincial government — something that apparently has happened through reduction in staff and resources in the offices of various ministries, including Transportation. Articles have chronicled the results of staff cut-backs in those offices and the high-stress and added responsibility placed on remaining personnel. With Transportation Minister Rita Johnston’s long-awaited announcement a short month past, Highways’ staff were handed a monumental amount of work. They don’t have all the answers, yet. And it’s difficult for them to explain their position. Answers to most concems will come. But whether an overall environmental impact study will ever be done, considering the associated costs, is anyone’s guess. If taxpayers support a hike to pay for such a study, perhaps more consideration will be given. Let’s not forget the big picture and realize the growing precarious balance between all good intentions and what they really cost. 5 ; Saving the environment is great but we have to put our money where our mouths are. they support less spending and a balanced budget from the Letters fo the editor must be signed and contain the writer's address and telephone number. Letters should not exceed 500 words in length and may be edited for clari- _ ty, legality or taste. TheReview Serving The Saanich Peninsula Since 1912 9781 2nd Street Sidney, B.C V8L 4P8 or PO. Box 2070 Sidney, B.C V8L 3S5 Second Class Mail Registration #0128 656-1151 Publisher: Vic Swan Editor: George Lee AN ISLAND PUBLISHERS NEWSPAPER 289 PRE WINNER = ROIAN Comms S ch Orn, - “CNA _NERIFIED - CIRCULATION CONTROLLED Spill significant Editor: I would like to thank the munici- pality of North Saanich for their quick and concemed response to the gas and oil spill that occurred ~ in the small creek adjacent to Blue Heron Road on March 28. A representative was on site within ten minutes, and he in tum called on a member from the Sidney spill response team and from Department of Fisheries and Oceans. — Although a local television sta- tion called the incident insignifi- cant, to those of us that live near this creek it is far from being insignificant. Because the only visible effects were small dead and dying sculpins and crabs, a horren- dous smell and an oily sheen on the surface, this does not mean that these were the only effects. No one has considered all the invertebrates such as the poly- chaetes (worms), molluscs (clams and snails), amphipods (sideswim- mers) and dozens of other types of small creatures on which the abun- dant birds and waterfowl feed. On a normal day, I can easily count a couple of dozen common teal, green-winged teal, hooded mergansers, mallards, and golden- eye, as well as blue herons, king- fishers, killdeer and countless crows Swimming and feeding in this creek. Since this so-called insignifi- cant spill, there have been no animals except a few crows appearing intermittently. It is still difficult for me to comprehend the thoughts of those who willingly emptied gas storage tanks into storm drains and directly into the ground. Are we still so ignorant about our environ- ment to not care or know the effect of such a terrible deed? R.D. Kathman North Saanich Culinary herbs is my game Editor: I would like to thank Barbara Brennan for the mention in her Not Another Cooking Column _(Spungtime reminds us of herbs and spices, The Review, March 28) but I want to say medicinal herbs are not my area of expertise. Ravenhill Herb Farm’s empha- sis and my subject area is culinary herbs. Delicious meals filled with herbs are my aim. Herbs in every pot! Noel C. Richardson Saanichton Thanks John Editor: Should we taxpayers thank the B.C. government and Environment Minister John Reynolds for pro- viding us with their 24-page Envi- ronment B.C report? Isn’t it nice to see the govern- ment stand up for the environ- ment. Weren’t you warmed by the cover’s Carmanah moment? After all when you think of those fight- ing to save the giant Sitkah, don’t you think of the government first? Perhaps Reynolds hasn’t heard of the adage “he who brags loud- est, has the least to brag about.” If the environmental situation is as positive as the report would have us believe, and that environ- mentalists, government, business and the public are working together so successfully — why then the need for such an overzea- lous report? Sure it is great that the govern- ment has jumped on the environ- mental band wagon. But let’s not be cajoled into apathy or non- action. Whatever the government does in the name of environmental protection, it will never be enough. We must keep up the fight . . . forever. A.T. Currie Victoria Alternative to bypass surgery Editor: I feel compelled to respond to the desperate demands for increased funding for more heart bypass surgery. Chelation therapy, an alternate to bypass surgery is used routinely in 19 countties around the world, but not in Canada. Bypass surgery involves mechanical repair of a small por- tion of the arterial tree, where as. chelation therapy improves the flow of blood throughout the entire body and removes heavy metals, including lead. Chelation therapy consists of a series of synthetic amino acid infusions given intravenously, usually in a doctor’s office. It has been used safely and effectively for over 30 years. Many Canadians cross the bor- der regularly to get this fae in the U.S., paying for it out o their own pocket because our health care system will not pay for it. Yet chelation therapy costs one tenth the price of bypass surgery. Where is the logic? H. Graham Keating Proposed growth rate still to high Editor: On March 20, Central Saanich council released yet one more draft of a proposed new Official Community Plan (OCP) for the municipality. While it represents, contrary to the last draft, the wishes of the community to pro- tect agricultural land, it still reflects a troubling philosophy. In the 1984 (and current) OCP. the planners determined that approximately 15,000 people - would constitute what they labeled as the saturation level. The deter- mined that this level would not be achieved till the latter part of the first decade of the next century. Due to council’s inability to check the rate of growth in Central ~ Saanich, that figure will likely be achieved by 1995. The current draft for a new OCP has magically changed the satura- tion level to approximately 19,000. It suggests that Mount Newton and Tod Inlet be the next areas for urban development. While it ack- nowledges the need to protect environmentally sensitive areas, and identifies, in several places in the draft, these areas as such, nonetheless, the plan announces that council has a strong commit- ment to fostering development in Continued on Page A10 —