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8 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2007 End the Green debate and teach your readers To the editor, I wish to provide some information to The New Tanner on the subject of Global Warming after read- ing the articles published in the January 11 paper. First of all, Hartley Coles column was, for lack of a better term, an old mans rant. My father, too, recalls winters when he was a child where there was little snow. What we are experiencing now is quite different from the anomalies of the past. In years gone by, one odd season, once or twice in a decade could be considered cyclical. Today nearly every year is warmer than the one before it. In his day the ice at the North and South Poles werent breaking up and melting away, as weve now seen both in Antarctica and just recently on Elles- mere Island in the Canadian Arctic. While I do commend Mike OLeary for providing readers with a good array of information (he certainly had done some research) I think his article left many readers confused about whether to be concerned or not. Yes, a local science teachers theory could have some validity, but lets not forget the fact that the ocean levels are edging up by about 3.5 millimeters per year. If the teachers theory were correct, then the ocean levels should go down again when the weather is cold, yet the rise is constant. Coastal towns in Alaska have had to relocate. The ice melting occurs faster and faster as time goes on because as more ocean water is exposed to the sun, more of the suns rays are absorbed in the water and heats it, thus melting the ice even faster. A rise of just a few feet would flood many seaside towns around the world, displacing millions of people. We have seen in the past where an event such as drought has brought on war as people struggle to survive. Flooding people from their homes could have much the same effect. This year we have started seeing creatures that nor- mally hibernate until spring emerging early. At this time of year there is little or no food for them and they will weaken and could die. We will start to see more of this as the temperature increas- es. Polar bears are losing their habitat, and drowning in record numbers. Tropical diseases are working their way north. Weather patterns are changing and becoming in- creasingly harsh. We started to see this with Hurricane Katrina and the first ever South Atlantic Hurricane off the coast of Brazil. We are likely to see more freak storms like those in British Columbia recently, not just there, but everywhere. Although the Kyoto Protocol may be flawed, decreasing our emissions is a good idea no matter how you look at it. If the dirtiest coal plants in Canada were closed it would be equal to 3 million cars being taken off the road permanently. That would be a huge benefit to our planet. What the readers dont need is endless debates is it / isnt it happening. What they need is information on what they can do to help. Although our government has been slow to act, it is a mistake to believe it is up to them to fix it. We all pol- luted our earth, and it is up to us to help fix it. Tell the readers to replace their incandescent light bulbs with CFLs. Tell them to walk to the store instead of driving for the sake of the earth, and their hearts. Plant a tree. Consider a hybrid vehicle the next time they are in the market. The fuel economy could pay for the difference in price over the life of the car. When replacing appliances always look for the Energy Star. The savings are good for the environment and for the pocket book. Many of the ways to help the environ- ment also help the wallet. Shielding your house against the cold with weath- er stripping and insulation saves money and energy. Turning your thermostat down a degree in the winter and up a degree in the sum- mer is hardly noticeable but can reap huge savings. Finding ways to reuse every- thing has so many benefits. Recycling and avoiding landfills is just one of them. Websites like freecycle. com enable people to turn their waste into someone elses treasure. Many old items like computers and clothing can be donated to charities. Grocery shopping with your laundry hamper will save you a cupboard full of plastic bags (which you probably paid $0.05 each for), and keep this non-recyclable item out of landfills. In North America enough of these are used each year to carpet the entire globe several times. Being aware of the CO2 problem isnt enough. Peo- ple need to learn what they can do to make a differ- ence. Once habit, it is not difficult to do. This doesnt have to have catastrophic economical effects. Much of what we can do will save us money. But the longer we wait the harder it will be and the more drastic the measures will have to be. At that point the economical and environmental effects are anyones guess. Sincerely, Laura Scriver, Acton. Editors note As readers will note there are two sides to every debate and The New Tanner has published columns by David Suzuki outlining the perils of global warming several times and will continue to publish items both pro and con. Acton Seniors Recreation Centre 415 Queen Street (Acton Arena) Annual General Meeting Tuesday, February 27@ 1:30 pm Refreshments will be served Please plan to attend this important meeting and hear what your centre has accomplished in 2006. To the editor, We always knew that retailers in small cit- ies and villages could provide good service, but never thought they would ever be able to price compete with the giant national box stores that have plagued our society. How wrong can we be? Having decided to purchase a new large flat screen TV for our home, we visited all of the well known box stores in the Toronto area looking for technical information, advice and the best possible price. Before making our final decision to purchase the brand we had decided on, my wife suggested that we visit Rockwood TV to see what he could do since they advertise the brand we were interested in. After calling his store, Rob Gray was at our home within 10 minutes to discuss our needs, examine the pre-wiring we had already done, and confirm that our decision was a wise one. In a very professional and courteous manner, we were asked where we had shopped, what level of service, installation and pricing we expected, and then surprisingly told us that he would be able to match the price and any other expectations we may have. Quite frankly, Rob Gray exceeded any expectations we ever had. He delivered on time, expertly completed the installation, followed up to see if we were perfectly satis- fied, and said that if we ever had a problem he was only five minutes away and would be over immediately. What is incredible is that he meant every word he said. Our lesson is that there are many great people around like Rob Gray who have been in this community for years, built their repu- tation on professional service by delivering quality products and, given a chance, will out perform and meet pricing of the Big Boys who compete for their business in the Village. Maybe you too can be surprised by shop- ping locally. Very Satisfied Rockwood Resident. Box store in the village Whats Your Beef? Put it in a letter to the Editor! Deadline is Tuesday at noon. Unity Service proof again Acton is caring community To the editor, The Unity Service held on Sunday, January 21, our first ecumenical com- munity worship service of the New Year, was a great opportunity for Acton citizens to come together to worship in unity. On behalf of the Acton Ministerial Association, I would like to express our thanks to several individuals and groups whose contributions helped to make this service so meaningful. Canadian Legion Branch 197 provided the facilities for the adult service, St. Joseph School hosted the childrens service and Knox Presbyterian Church hosted the youth service. The ecu- menical choir inspired us with their music, and our local flower shops, Blooms Away and Blue Springs, donated the lovely floral arrangements which deco- rated the Legion. Bruce Graham set up and ran the excellent sound system. Sobeys donated treats for the children, and several volunteers helped with su- pervision at the school. Here we have proof again that Acton is indeed a car- ing community. Once again, thank you for contributing to our Unity Service. Sincerely, Kathy Sanford, Secretary, Acton Ministerial Association. No one to blame but selves if missed out on passports To the editor, Re: Turner rant If anyone, except those with newborns, misses their trip due to the passport issue, they have no one to blame but themselves. This issue was well reported by all the media in plenty of time. My passport expired in December. At that time, I got the form locally, filled it out, obtained the necessary pix and signatures and went to the passport office at Hwy 10 and Bovaird Dr. After a very brief wait, ev- erything was processed and I received my passport in the mail before Christmas! I understand the passport folks brought back over 200 retirees to assist with a problem that has nothing to do with our government. As for Garths rant, I previ- ously considered him to be one of the best examples of what an MP should be, but if any balls were dropped it must have been his. Doug Pratt, Acton.