HEAVY HANDED PARKS STAFF?

Editor:

My husband asked me to pack a picnic lunch as he wanted to take me up in the hills to see all the fall colours and have a picnic.
We were driving along when all of a sudden there was a truck in the middle of the road and a young fellow walked up to us, not identifying himself, and said, We are deactivating this road; you will have to back out.rnWe asked him for ID and he said, My shirt is enough ID. This was not good enough for us and we had to keep asking him for some kind of ID. He finally showed his driver's licence, but that did not prove what he said he was.
So we backed out and sometime later, after we had our picnic, we were headed home and stopped to pick some elderberries, when a truck pulled up behind us with no ID on it. We asked if he wanted to get by and he said, No, I want to talk to you.rnWhile getting his ticket book out, he started writing a ticket. He had come from somewhere else as he was not there when we came upon that truck in the middle of the road.
So he said, You drove on a park road and there was a sign that said no unauthorized vehicles beyond this point. He must have put it up after we were there as we both were very careful to read all the signs. If it was there, we did not see it.
Also, why would they deactivate a road 50 yards past a sign that supposedly said no unauthorized vehicles beyond this point? He proceeded to give us a ticket for $86 for driving on a park road.
This is why we want more parks?

Donna & Stan OystrickrnOsoyoos

— (OSOYOOS TIMES — OCTOBER 17, 2007)

[b]WE NEED TO BE PROTECTED FROM DAILY PRODUCTS[/b]

Editor:

Why are we not protected from the pollution from everyday consumer products?rnCosmetics, tile cleaners, insect repellants, shampoos, laundry detergents and prescription drugs are just some of the everyday products containing harmful endocrine-disrupting substances (EDS) that can seriously damage our health. The red flags currently being raised about these EDSs ending up in our water couldn't have come sooner.
We have learned from harrowing stories in the past that exposure to incredibly small amounts of EDSs, such as Thalidomide and the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol, and the timing of the exposure, can cause dramatic birth defects. Developing fetuses are a vulnerable population needing our protection.
It's clear that governments and academia need to set clear priorities for research and put more resources into examining and understanding this issue. Unfortunately, the Harper government's new Science and Technology Strategy is going in the opposite direction as it hints at privatizing its government research labs.
And in Ontario, the government needs to listen to the Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller's advice and support research into water treatment technologies to remove these substances from our water. 
Last year, the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP) published 'There is No AWAY', a major report on EDSs in our water (available at www.cielap.org that includes recommendations to the government for handling this problem, specifically, creating policy that would prevent these pollutants from getting into our water in the first place. And when we don't have enough hard proof, precaution and prevention ought to be the course of action.
We highlight a number of actions governments can take to curb EDS pollution. They can initiate public and consumer education programs; establish municipal by-laws about avoiding home pesticide use and not discarding drugs down toilets and sewers; develop product standards; and restrict manufacturers from using some substances, or at least limiting the amounts they use.
Consumers also need a better system to be able to identify safer personal care and cleaning products. We need our government to initiate a system for mandatory labeling that allows and promotes consumer choice. It's absurd that consumers have no reliable way to tell whether the soaps, deodorants, and cleaners they buy “ to put on their skin and use in their homes “ contain potentially harmful substances.
In the long-term, however, people's safety shouldn't be left to consumer choice. As we learn more about EDSs and the risks they present to human health, problem ingredients should be banned.
We must act now to educate citizens and provide them with the tools they need to make informed decisions for their health and the health of their environments. A labeling program, which would let consumers better understand and choose the chemicals they consume, would be a good start.

Anne MitchellrnExecutive DirectorrnCanadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP)rnToronto, Ont.

— (OSOYOOS TIMES — OCTOBER 17, 2007)

[b]FALL ORCHARD BURNINGS HARM MANY PEOPLE[/b]

Editor:

At this time of the year smoke and haze from fires is a problem.
Other people tend to be more skeptical, but I still believe that people would not do orchard burnings if they knew what suffering and pain this can create.
Would you start a fire if you knew that this makes your neighbor sit up at night unable to breathe? Would you make a fire if you knew that the smoke often remains for days in the valley, and that this would make others depressed, listless and weak for days on end?
You may step in front of your door and say but I don't smell anything. The truth is that the haze settles on the valley and often does not move for many days because the warmer air is trapped under the cooler air of the mountaintops.
For people with allergies and asthma this implies that they cannot leave the house and are unable to function in a normal way.
Are there solutions? Of course there are.
First and foremost is the development of a program, sponsored by the government, that sends wood chippers from orchard to orchard. This makes economical sense. Given the high cost of healthcare for those with breathing difficulties it is much cheaper to sponsor wood chipping and support waste collection programs.
In addition it would help if all of us were more aware about what we burn at home or outside. We live in a valley, and that brings both advantages and disadvantages. If the farmers would then also think of new ways to dispose of orchard waste and make suggestions the problem would be well in hand.
We have a growing population of older people who are sensitive to this issue.
There is not much we can do about the weeks of wildfires and smoke during the summer. The fall and winter burnings can however be dealt with, and this would literally give a breath of fresh air to those who suffer from allergies and asthma.
This letter was also sent to the Lung Association and the B.C. government.

Oda LindnerrnOsoyoos

— (OSOYOOS TIMES — OCTOBER 17, 2007)