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6- The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 29, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS A DIVISION OF METROLAND MEDIA GROUP WEST GROUP PUBLISHER IAN OLIVER NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, Caledon Enterprise, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Can't afford to wait Despite political positions to the contrary from George Bush and Stephen Harper, the majority of scientists worldwide agree the deterioration of our environment through global warming has reached a critical stage. In 2006, some of the brightest and wealthiest minds in the world put their money where their mouths have been when it comes to preserving the environment for future generations. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment reminds us that the holiday season is a good time to think not just about spreading peace and joy, but also about reducing your environmental footprint. According to the ministry, December marks a staggering increase in the amount of waste generated from all that wrapping, packaging and those leftovers from parties and big meals. Ontarians toss about 900,000 additional tonnes of holiday trash -- roughly 288-million Christmas cards, one million Christmas trees, around 900 tonnes of aluminum foil, approximately 35,000 tonnes of plastic packaging, and an astonishing 23 square kilometres of wrapping paper -- enough to cover more than 3,000 football fields. With multiple and frequent shopping trips and visits to family and friends, harmful emissions from vehicles and airline travel also increase at this time of year. After Christmas, many communities offer tree pick up and composting -- but the trees have to be free of tinsel and plastic, which are not bio-degradable. Long-lasting artificial trees have become more popular in recent years and some come with their own energy-saving LED lights that reduce energy use. Low-consumption LED Christmas lights are also available for outdoor use. They last for thousands of hours and use 99 per cent less energy than old-style light strands. Putting them on a timer further reduces energy consumption. Wrapping is another area where a lot of waste is created. Instead of buying rolls of tinfoil and bleached, heavily-dyed wrapping paper, presents can be covered with an "original" creation made from the colour comics or arts and entertainment section of the newspaper. The environment should always be on our mental "shopping" list -- not just at Christmas, but throughout the year. We got ourselves into this global warming mess and -- according to popular scientific opinion -- we can't afford to wait for future generations to get us out of it. The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Town Council should ban cosmetic use of pesticides I was surprised by the negative tone of your front-page article about the upcoming debate on pesticides at Oakville Council (Pesticide debate returns, Oakville Beaver, Dec. 20). If there's a reason this issue keeps coming up at Council, it's because it needs addressing and has not yet been addressed satisfactorily. Kudos to the Town for recognizing the harm of these chemicals and launching a pesticide education program to reduce residents' use - but is it really making any difference? It seems like the majority of people on my street are using these chemicals, judging by the sea of pesticide-warning signs that appeared regularly from spring through to fall this year, not to mention the stink in the air as the pesticides wafted over to my own property. One-hundred-and-twenty-five municipalities now have bylaws restricting pesticide use for cosmetic purposes. Had Oakville enacted a bylaw back in 2002 when concerned residents first voiced concerns and asked for action, this town would have been on the cutting edge in terms of public health protection from pesticides. Does Oakville want to be last to bat when it comes to restricting use of these carcinogenic, unnecessary chemicals? Many alternatives exist, and we need action by our councillors if we truly want to see a change in pesticide use. I, for one, am crossing my fingers for third time lucky this time around. ERIKA RISTOK, N.D. Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com Glen Orchy mystery solved There's no mystery about the origin of the name Glen Orchy. The Orchy River in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, starts at Loch Tulla, flows through the Village of Bridge of Orchy, through Glen Orchy into Loch Awe and eventually into the Firth of Lorne. See the following websites for further information: www.loch-awe.com/history/glenorchy.htm or www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Orchy In Trafalgar Township, the village was probably named by immigrants from the original Glen Orchy in Scotland. GEORGE CHISHOLM PRESIDENT OAKVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council.The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206,Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.