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the HERALD Environment Friday Augusta Heat islands pose serious threat By DONNA PASSHORE Program Director Global Each of us has seen it That languid haze above what appears be a pool of water on the road twenty feet ahead on a hot sum day The haze and pool that keep twenty feet ahead of one s movement It looks like an oasis It s part of a heat island and unlike the pleasant South Pacific vacation spot its name implies this island is a serious threat to human and environmental health in urban communities throughout Canada At the heart of the problem is the type of development that all too many of us recognize The steady loss of green space to buildings and blacktop has left the downtown area of most North American cities being 3 to degrees hotter than their rounds on summer das How can temperatures vary so dramatically over short distances Just recall the last time you walked barefoot along the paement on a hot summer afternoon First the scorching pain on the soles of your feet and then the soothing relief ex when you scampered to the nearest patch of grass or the shade of a nearby tree In urban areas where there is little tree canopy and grassland to buf fer the intense heat from the suns rajs the heat is absorbed and held in the dark road and SAME DAY WINDOW AND SCREEN REPAIR SERVICE 15 Years Experience Custom Mirror Plexiglass Culling A Shaping RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL RVsAND INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT 7 DAYS A WEEK Cdll Paul 5198532192 aptain SERVICES LTD FOR ALL YOUR MORTGAGE NEEDS CALL CAPTAIN DAVEKRAUSE Lend Experience Persona zed Sev 8734991 FAX NEW SATURDAY HOURS NOW OPEN am 6 FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE GEORGETOWN building surfaces and temperatures escalate Heat from the urban oven contributes to global warming and the forma The heat island effect coupled with everyday urban air pollu tion 15 a formula for photochemical smog Smog is visible as a thin brown haze that we traditionally associate with the skylines of Los Angeles or Athens but which is becoming a familiar part of the view of Toronto Vancouver Montreal and other population centres in Canada It not only hard to look at smog can produce short term irritation and serious long term damage to sensistive eye nose throat and lung tissue It can reduce life expectancy But every time we reach to the airconditioner for relief from the unbearable heat in our we actual make it worse The burn ing of fossil fuels toil coal gas- is the leading cause of global A growing amount of Canada s electricity comes from fossil fuels and every time the air conditioner goes on the pollu that causes heat waves is in creased The irony is that each time we use energy to cool our immediate surroundings we con to the gradual insidious warming of the planet There is a v ay out of this mad cjlce Human alterations to the urban landscape have created the problem and revers ing them can help to solve it One solution is the simple act of plan ting trees millions of trees around our homes and buildings in parks along streets around parking lots in empty lots and everywhere that shade and from trees can provide cooling benefits dur ing hot Canadian summers Cities in the United States Europe and recently in Canada are undertaking creative reforestation programs to reduce urban heat islands In Canada where far more energy is ton for winter heating than summer cooling planting trees for windbreak is something of a tridition However the combined effects of increasing urbanization and global warming are resulting in higher temperatures and In creased demand for cool air In formation from Statistics Canada reveals that in 1990 percent of Canadian households had air conditioning That is a significant increase from the 16 7 percent of airconditioned homes a decade ago and reflects a rise in sum energy consumption Tree planting makes sense and saves dollars That is the inspira tion for some North American power companies municipal governments and citizens who are working together to shade their towns and cities St Louis Missouri and Corpus Chnsti Texas have ordinances which re quire the strategic planting of shade trees in and around park ing lots Learn to Drive and Survive Young Drivers of Canada GEORGETOWN CLASSROOM 16 RD S SPECIAL DAY PROGRAM CONSECUTIVE DAYS AUG 21 am to 338 pm CALL 8770751 400 000 GRADUATES RECOdMEND YOUNG DRIVERS I OF CANADA On Now ON YOUR PURCHASE Ul TO MUST SELL Civics Accords Preludes BRAND NEW THE NEXT 1M CAM Honda will automatically qualify the to win back HALF THE PURCHASE PRICE ua to One can told Georgetown Honda will at winning