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6- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday January 10, 2007 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 Media Group Ltd. NEIL OLIVER Publisher JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director TERI CASAS Business Manager MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA CALHOUN Circ. Manager IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Information overload? Open up a newspaper or tune in to a radio or television news program these days and you are likely to be exposed to a story about our deteriorating environment. With last year's release of former U.S. president Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, global warming has become the "sexy" topic pursued by news gatherers around the world. From in-depth reports detailing the irreversible effects of climate change on glacial ice fields, to scathing reports detailing how Canada has fallen behind the rest of the world in taking action against the impact of global warming, the picture being painted by the world's scientific community and environmental organizations is bleak. While the media's role has been to report on scientists' fears that we may be headed down a path of environmental catastrophe, there's an inherent risk that information overload may cause some people to begin tuning out the message. There's no denying evidence of dramatic climate change is there for those concerned enough to seek it out. Statistically, the number of Category 4 or 5 hurricanes has doubled in the last 30 years. In the summer of 2005 a giant ice shelf with an area comparable to 11,000 football fields broke free from Canada's Arctic, forever changing a part of our geography. Complicating the issue is a push by a small, but extremely vocal group of oil and coal industry-financed scientists who refute the threat of global warming and deny climate change is anything to fear. There are signs the anti-global warming lobby has influenced public opinion. On the local front, there are environmental issues that continue to be the subject of debate. The impact of pesticide use on our environment remains one subject that isn't going away. Last year there was a push by some Halton residents to establish a region-wide ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides. While Halton Region already supports a "prudent avoidance" approach to pesticides -- use of them on regionally-owned properties was discontinued five years ago -- council has not introduced a bylaw banning cosmetic pesticide use on private property. With so much information -- and disinformation -- it's easy to understand why ordinary people don't know what to believe -- or do. Perhaps the real fear should be that so much talk of impending doom for our planet may drive those who fail to see how they can impact this global problem into a state of complacency. 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 Oakville pesticide ban long overdue We're sure we are not the only worried parents in Oakville who caution their children to stay well away from lawns with pesticide application signs and who have had to call their children indoors on lovely days because the neighbours were spraying. We have adopted these basic health strategies because a minority of property owners endanger others in the belief that their right to spray pesticides overrules the right of everyone else to clean air and water. A bylaw to protect the residents of Oakville from dangerous, unnecessary pesticide exposure is overdue. In Canada 125 municipalities have passed bylaws restricting pesticide application on private property. About 40 per cent of the population of Canada is fortunate to live in a place which has put people's health and the environment first. On Feb. 5 town council will consider a proposed bylaw to restrict pesticide use. As parents, we hope that Oakville will be added to the list of towns and cities where children are safe from toxic lawn chemicals. RENEE LEHNEN AND ANDY KRANTZ Sign of Liberal gifts to come? Re: This is transparency? In less than one month, the new mayor has broken a key election promise. Which one's next? I agree with some writer's comments, in particular: It's great the tree was saved! Mayor Burton broke an important election promise. He would have been outraged if the prior council had acted this way. That said, is it possible the real culprit here is Kevin Flynn and the Liberal Party? With a provincial election on Oct. 4 of this year, it would seem to me the $25,000 challenge might really be an initial step in the Liberal Party's election campaign. I don't believe this mitigates Mayor Burton's actions, however, it could somewhat explain them as well as the haste. After all, over the next few months money will be rolling out of the provincial coffers and we certainly want our share of that. DAWN BOSTON 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. Pud BY STEVE NEASE snease@haltonsearch.com