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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, A ug us t 1, 20 19 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised family of newspapers is comprised f of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editor@oakvillebeaver.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeavfacebook.com/OakvilleBeavf @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Director of Production Mark Dills Regional Production Manager Manny Garcia Regional General Manager Steve Foreman Halton Media General Manager Vicki Dillane Regional Director of Media Holly Chriss CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 289-293-0617 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Digital/Flyer/Retail: 289-293-0624 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We for verification purposes. We f reserve the right to edit, con- dense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM If you love this planet, plant a tree. It might, at first, seem like a futile gesture that will do little to prevent global climate change from exploding into a full-blown climate catastrophe. One person plant- ing one tree obviously won't make an appreciable differ- ence. But a new study published in the journal Science convincingly argues that planting billions and billions of trees could be the biggest - and cheapest - way to stop the Earth from overheating because of humanity's ad- diction to burning fossil fuels. The world's leaders who like to talk about fighting climate change more than doing what it takes to avert disaster should take note, and action. The most startling finding in the new study, led by Prof. Tom Crowther at the Swiss university ETH Zurich, isn't so much that planting trees makes huge sense but that there are 1.7 billion hectares of treeless land in the world on which a staggering 1.2 trillion native saplings could be planted. This area is roughly the size of the United States and China combined and accounts for 11 per cent of the Earth's land mass. Much of this open land is in Canada. It's also important to know this vast expanse of tree- less territory excludes urban areas and crop land. It's there, waiting for humanity to do something with it - and filling it with trees would not impinge on our living spaces or our ability to feed ourselves. The efficacy of trees in slowing climate change has long been known. As trees grow, they absorb and store the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warm- ing. They do it well, too. Prof. Crowther estimates a world- wide tree planting program could remove up to two- thirds of the carbon dioxide emissions human activities are putting into the atmosphere. And while reforesta- tion on the scale he envisions could cost $300 billion, that expenditure could be shared by scores of nations and spread out over years. Although some scientists question whether the large scale planting of trees could accomplish so much, it would at the very least help us transition from a civiliza- tion that depends on burning fossil fuels. It would be a wonderful and holistic way to not only mitigate climate change but improve the quality of the air we breathe. Nor would an international tree-planting initiative end the need to take other action against global warm- ing. We would still have to become a world powered by green energy. We would still have to implement carbon taxes or cap-and-trade programs to wean consumers off oil and gasoline. But those steps will take time - some- thing we're running out of. Humanity must launch a multi-pronged offensive to beat climate change. Tree planting can be one of those prongs. Of course, what's needed now is the will to make this happen on the part of the world's political leaders. A WORLD WITH MORE TREES WOULD BE A BETTER ONE I'm proud to share that according to a recent Sta- tistics Canada report, Hal- ton continues to be one of the safest communities in the country. For the 14th straight year, Halton region has maintained its position of having the lowest Crime Severity Index of all Cana- dian municipalities with a population of 100,000 or more. We had the lowest overall crime rate, as well as the lowest violent crime rate and property crime rate among Ontario's larg- est municipalities. Halton remains a safe, healthy and resilient com- munity for all residents, because we continue to work collaboratively on important safety and well- being issues. Our approach is highlighted in our award-winning plan, 'Com- munity Safety and Well-Be- ing in Halton: A Plan for Collaboration and Action.' Since the launch of the plan in 2017, Halton Region, the Halton Regional Police Service and our communi- ty partners have been working closely together to identify and address prior- ity issues. A key development in these priorities has been bringing together local child and youth mental health service providers to establish a designated point of access to the child and youth mental health sys-youth mental health sys-y tem. This will make it easier for children, youth and theirfor children, youth and theirf families to connect to thefamilies to connect to thef right services, at the right time. The designated point of access model will launch in the coming months. Additionally, a frame- work is also being estab- lished to strengthen how the region and its partners identify and support indi- viduals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This includes a centralized model of intake and refer- ral, a common assessment tool and a process to better connect individuals with mental health services. Together with the Hal- ton Regional Police Service and our community part- ners, we will continue to develop and implement strategies that strengthen our safety and well-being to ensure that Halton con- tinues to be a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. For more details visit halton.ca. Gary Carr is regional chair of Halton Region. His column appears the first week of each month. To contact him, email gary.carr@halton.ca. HALTON CONTINUES TO BE ONE OF CANADA'S SAFEST COMMUNITIES THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED MAKE THIS POSSIBLE, WRITES CARR GARY CARR Column EDITORIAL