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2-ORONO WEEKLY TIMES. JANUARY 9th, 1974 orono weekly times Second Class Mail Registration Nuimber 6368 Published every Wednesday at the office of publication SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada$3.00A........U.S.A.$4.50 editorial A GREATER MEANING TO LIFE In speaking with Rev. Long this week he made an interesting statement when he said, "We are being driven by circumstances to a greater meaning in life." We take it that he meant a deeper and more rewarding life, one that reaches into the very sole of man. On thinking about the statement further there are a number of questions, to which we would have no answer. How do we recognize or feel a greater meaning in life? How do we separate, so to speak, he chaff from the straw? We doubt that the individual would ýver know for even fanatacism is not a guideline. The way an environmentalist by Warren Lowes NO.3 WATER, WATER EVERY¯WHERE - BUT When Champlain sighted the coast of Newfoundland, and later guided his sailing craft into the gaping estuary of the St. Lawrence River, be was so sick of looking at water that he was glad to get his feet again on solid ground. That was back in 1604, only 370 years ago. But, further inland, he was to learn that there was more water. North America, in ber lake and river systems contained the greatest volume of fresh waterof any continent on earth. What, then, is ail this talk of a water shortage in the United States today? Why is water such a concern to cities like Chicago, New York, Frisco and Los Angeles? Last week, in this series, we discussed land and soil. As you have possibly guessed, this installment will focus on the subject of water and its ecological importance. As a preliminary, let us say something about the properties of water. It is the most plentiful liquid on the face of the globé and, as such, carries a great amount of foreign matter in solution from place to place..min- eral salts, decaying organic material and chemicals of all kinds are swept along by a flowing stream or stored as residue on the bottoms of lakes, ponds, or on the ocean floor. In the natural state, fish, plants, insects, algae and bacteria feed on these 'impurities' and a balance is maintained. Natural water systems, then are only pure in the sense that they are continually cleansed. We have only to imagine what will happen to this balance if the raw sewage of a large city is allowed to empty into a river, if the drainage from garden and .orchard lands seeps back into the water systems carrying residues of D.D.T. and herbicides, a paper mill is spilling acids and other noxious compounds into a flowing river, or if volumes of phosphates from a thousand washing machines are flushed daily into the lakes and rivers of a given area. The number of source of water pollution in Canada is the pulp and paper mills. In the United States (where they have already eliminated over five sevenths of the natural forest), the main source is from the sewage of densely populated areas such as Chicago. These are the basic factors. Now let us see how they interact and effect national welfare and international relations. News print from Canadian paper mills moves in large quantities to the U.S. market. Here it is used largely to print millions of pages of advertising directed to creating consumer demand for goods, much of it not needed. To support this greedy appetite for luxury items, the U.S. gobbles up over 33 percent of the entire worlds energy output. The net effect is the production of heaps of refuse composed largely of mass produced goods that are designed to wear out quickly. This accumulated garbage, plus the industrial wastes from tbeir own plant, further adds to the pollution of their turgid water systems. At about, this point all eyes start to turn to Canada for a clean supply. And so, a great new round of financial scheming and government jockeying gets underway. It's 1970. Some interests would divert the waters from the James Bay watershed in Ontario The sign of the times, energy crisis and shortages, are possibly the "circumstance which are driving us to a greater meaning in life." We must begin to live within the structure of nature and accept a life less cluttere.d with material trivia. The structure of nature could well drive us back to community and family centred living, something that in the past few decades has been eroding as we sped off the seek individual enjoyments. Man's drive is unlimited as is his hunger for satisfaction. Used in the right channels and will achieve a greater depth to life. Cross country skiing at hailf the price The best ski equipment, privacy, glistening winter scenery, no tow tickets or line ups, and all for half the price. It's called cross-country skiing and anyone who can walk, between the ages of four and seventy, can do it. sees it into Lake Nipigon and thence into the Great Lakes. Other "developers" would divert waters from the Athabaska-Churchill-Lake Winnipeg chain into the Mississippi and thence to central U.S. Or the waters of the Columbia-Fraser systerms could be diverted into the arid regions of the south west to service the badly polluted sections from Oregon to California. Yes, it would appear that many American business interests, with the tacet collaboration of counterparts in Canada, have some great plans for what they can harness of Canada's fresh water. In the months and years to come we can expect a relentless pressure to comply with these needs, and we as Canadians will have to make some hard decisions - shall we protect our remaining fresh water reserves inviolate, or shall we sell them to further: serve the colossus of American industrial- ism? What are the alternatives? Are there any factors that can be said to be in the interests of Canada as a nation? On the positive side we can claim that the building of dams will create jobs and also a surplus of hydro power that can be sold. We would gain American funds with which to buy more American citrous fruits, cotton, rice, etc., or the mixed blessing of more American industrial gagetry. On the negative side we must come to realize that major water diversions would cause large areas of our Northland to be flooded, inundating some productive mines (Pickle Crow and Central Patricia for example); our unspoiled wilderness would no longer hold its charm and appeal to tourist adverturers; wide expanses of forest country would be lost forever and literally thousands of Native People would be made homeless through the loss of hunting, fishing and trapping sanctuaries thus fanning the flames or racial discord. In what way will these water diversions serve the best interests of the United States? On the positive side it can be understood that precious Canadian water would be a boon in arid regions where agricultural production could be vastly improved. Hydro power owuld be in more abundant supply enabling the installation of more cybernated machin- ery. Some interests look to Canadian water to flush the pollution out of the Great Lakes System. However, before we get carried away with such pleasant dreams, let us not forget that this polluted mess would have to be flushed. through the St. Lawrence esturay, would be picked up by ocean currents and most probably would conta- minate the entire Atlantic Seaboard. Additional power would tend to stimulate more unplanned industrial expansion, create more millionaires, and add to the already full complement of shoddy goods, cheap gadgetry, more polluated air, more contaiminated water systems and higher heaps of garbage. It may come as a surprise to many Canadians that there are hundreds of environmentalists in the United States who are begging us to do them no favours of this kind. Dr. Paul Ehrlich puts it in these words: "The very best thing that Canadians can do with the United States, as far as water exportation is concerned, is to say right now, absolutely and forever - not one drop of Canadian water will cross the American border." Estimates place the num- ber of cross-country skiers in Canada at more than 250,000 and the sport is attracting more enthusiastic supporters each winter. The reasons are simple: the equipment is relatively inexpensive; you can learn the basics with a minimum of fuss and it's fun. Norwegians and Swedes introduced skiing to North America in the latter half of the 19th century. However, alpin skiing with its sophisti- cated equipment overshad- owed the older form of the sport until recent years. From a practical viewpoint cross-country ski touring is the best kind of introduction to the winter outdoors and it's not hard. You simply walk along on your skis helped by the ski poles. In a short time you can catch on to the trick of balancing, even on steep hills. The equipment is light too, about half the weight of alpine equipment. This includes skis which weigh about six pounds, lightweight toe bindings and ski boots which resemble light hiking boots. Poles are usual- ly made from strong tonkin bamboo. Cross-county skiers can also choose their ski area, they are not confined to ski tows and the configuration of ski runs at a resort. A wooded ski trail through a provincial park or conservation area offers its own challenge. Even a city park of golf course can become the setting for an afternoon of fun. More cross-country areas are opening each year, and many Ontario resorts offer cross-county trails as well as alpine facilities. Daily rentals are also available at some resorts. Clarke Hi News Practically everyone at the school is glad to see the snow. To some it means a possible day off because the buses can't run and to others it means a trip to the ski-hill. The Ganaraska and Dur- ham'Forests north of Orono are ideal areas for cross country skiing. They offer the skier, good conditions, inter- esting terrain and beautiful country-side. A Club has been organized in Oshawa which makes use of the Ganaraska for many of their skiing outings. The mystique of cross- country skiing, especially rom the spectator's point of. Aiew is how cross-country ;kiers manage to jog up hills xithout losing stride - it's all n the wax. One important aspect of choosing cross-country equip- ment is to make absolutely certain the boots fit well. A couple of rules when choosing your equipment: ski length is determined by using the floor-to-wrist-of-upraised- arm-method; some skiers prefer a longer ski to improve the glide characteristic how- ever. The correct pole length is determined by standing 'the pole on the floor at your side. The pole grip should fit snugly under the armpit. You don't need fancy ski togs for -cross-country touring just some warm loose fitting trousers, longjohns if it's cold enough, a sweater, gloves, lightweight parka and a touque to keep your head warm. Cross-country skis are gen- erally sold as a package - skis, poles, boots, bindings. These range between $40 to $100 depending on the quality you want. For a small fee a sports outlet will also install the ski bindings. A good cross-country ski book can be a lot of help to a novice, in addition' to some sort of instruction. Once he has mastered the snowplow turn, step turn, and the sit-down stop, cross-country skiing becomes pure unadult- erated fun, just like a kid riding down a hill on a sled. It's also a good way to get away from it al for a couple of hours. A member of the staff is organizing field trips to the ski-hill at Kirby the first of which is this Thursday. These outings provide a chance to learn or to practise their skiing skills in less expensive and less crowded conditions. Tickets are on sale now at the school for a hundred dollar drawk. The proce help finance a trip for orienteerers to go to Scandin- avia for a meet. The Yearbooks have also been on sale since Friday. I am happy to report that this year's staff is large and enthusiastic and hopefully this will be reflected in their Yearbook that will be pub- lished by next fall. A yearbook is important to the life of the school. Mr. Witherspoon, our principal expresses it this way in his message to the students "the Invictus is an important cog in the life of Clarke High School that could not be fulfilled in any other way." The sports scene is fairly quiet righ tnow. However, teams are practising and hopefully we will be able to see the results before too long. CAROLBARNETT Beware those mittens Winter driving is treacher- ous and requires precise handling control of your car. If you wear mittens to drive, you may lose your mittens and your life, warns the Ontario Safety League. Driv- ing gloves with fingers and leather palms insure against steering slippage. Headgear should not block out hearing or sight, says the Ontario Safety League. Cov- ering up a child's face with bulky bats and too many mufflers may prevent hi- from hearing and seeý. traffic dangers. When you are in an area where children are playing in or near the street and the sides are piled high with plowed snow, slow down so you can brake safely if you have to. Statistics show that most accidents involving children at this time of the year occur with the child running onto the roadway. AN OPEN LETTER - UNITED CHURCH MODERATOR The Moderator of the United Church of Canada, Right Rev. N. Bruce McLeod has issued the following open letter to his fellow Canadians. "So much violence and hurt come to us through our newspaper pages and our television screens that it is easy to become numb and turn to the comic or switch channels. "No one's head is big enough to care about the whole world at once. The complexities are too much and partisan voices are too shrill, yet some situations stand out unambiguously and our human- ity is diminished if we do not respond. Let me list four: One is refusal of the Syrians to give information about Israeli prisoners who are or have been in their hands. They have prevented the International Red Cross from verifying the condition of surviving prisoners and the world should cry out for these unarmed, defenceless. hopefully still alive, people. "Another is the continued detention and torture of tens of thousands of political prisoners in South Vietnam. The figures are verified by Amnesty International. Many children are included. One seven year old has been in prison for three of his seven years. His father is suspected of being a communist svmpathizer. "A third is Chile, where 1500 refugees who fled there from oppression in Brazil and elsewhere, have been given until December 31st to be taken in by other countries. They went on a hunger strike December 24th and 25th to draw well-fed people's attention to their plight. Many are students. Canada, so ready to receive refugees from other lands, is notorious among these refugees, many of whom wanted to come here, for being hard to get into. "The last is West Africa where the desert is dying and people are toe similar conditions existed in ManitobV-d South Dakota we would rush to respond. We have not rushed. "What can you do about these situations? You can care about maybe one of them. That's a start. Then you can share your concern with our government. You can organize local action groups. You can match the money you spent at the liquor store the last two weeks and send it away. (To any helping organization like your own church, The Red Cross, CANSVAE, UNICEF and others. The telephone directory will have addresses. The world is a small village. Neighbour love can't stop at the end of one's own circle of friends any longer. And love in the world neighborhood is what is needed no0w. '-'