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np 13 -- 8 g Citizen -- Tuesd y, March 15, 1994 Chlorine one of many Great Lakes toxins GREEN IDEAS by Janet Banting In my last column I mentioned that Durham Environmental Network was having a speaker in to discuss "Chlorine and the Great Lakes". On March 9, Greenpeace campaigner Jay Palter gave an interesting talk which touched on the history of the International Joint Commission, the evolution of the concept of "zero discharge", and the recommendation of the 1JC in 1992 to effect a phaseout of chlorine, the industrial feedstock behind dioxins, CFCs, pulp bleaching, PCBs, water chlorination, pesticides, solvents, and PVC plastics. Mr Palter explained how persistent toxic substances multiply in their harmful effects as they move up the food chain, so that by the time people eat fish which have consumed organisms in the water exposed to even minute amounts of toxins, the effect on our systems (and particularly those of infants and young children) are magnified thousandsfold. Undoubtedly there are skeptics who may not believe the 1JC, the European and Mediterranean groups which support the 1JC's recommendations, and the thousands of scientists and At Stables, March is EAFOOD MONTH Please phone 985-1598 for our specials! ul Resercations are nol necessary, Dut it's alwaus nice to know you're coming. AT " GRECYSTONE OPEN EVENINGS for DINNER 5PMto 11 PM OPEN SUNDAYS from 11 AM to 9 PM; Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. SHIRLEY RD., PORT PERRY 985-1598 environmental organizations which also back them. The skeptics may think they are guilty of over-reacting. But listen to these words from the recent International Joint Commission report: "Mounting evidence reinforces concerns that exposure of fish, wildlife and humans to persistent toxic substances such as hexachlorobenzene, PCB, DDT, dieldrin and others is linked to long-term reproductive, metabolic, neurological, behavioural and intergenerational effects. Latest research findings point to possible human effects such as a startling decrease in sperm count, an increase in male genital tract disorders, rates of breast cancer at epidemic rates, and declining learning performance and increasing behavior problems in school children". Readers concerned about the shape of the Great Lakes will be heartened to hear that seven large environmental organizations have formed a coalition to pressure the Canadian government into accepting the recommendations of the International Joint Commission's Seventh Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality, released in February. The government has just promised to produce, within four to six months, "a list of timetables and schedules for sunsetting of all problem chemicals". This is good news, but certainly does not mean that solutions can be expected overnight. Efforts to clean up the Great Mark Your Calendar! ~N gift ideas MARKHAM F 7 km north of Hay Sat. & Sun. 10:00 'COUNTRY DECORATING | © COLL RTIBLES SHOW & SALE aida Canada's original Country Decorating Show invites you to enjoy Canada's largest collection of quality exhibitors selling the True Essence of Country: Country furnishings, folk art, antiques. ac cessories, accents, Victonana, crafts, fashions, and unique country MARCH 18, 19, 20 AIRGROUND Fri. 5:00 p.m. Admission $4 Adults NS (905) 649-2480 Lakes will affect us all, and will take many, many years. Each one of us can play a part by helping to create the political will that is going to be necessary to make the big changes required. One way people can become more informed is to get on the International Joint Commission's mailing list. Write to the IJC at 100 Ouellette Avenue, Windsor, Ontario N9A 6T3 (phone [619]257-6700). You can also call 1-800-668-6767 and ask Environment Canada to send you copies of their excellent nine part "Freshwater Series". Offering financial and/or volunteer support to one of the many groups working to clean up the Great lakes is another option. Have a look through the Ontario Environment Network's Resource Book at Scugog Library to see which groups are concentrating on Great Lakes issues. There are quite a few of them, but they need plenty of help! As always, there are no simple answers to complex problems, and the whole issue of chlorine is a far more complex one than I can even begin to do justice to in this short space. But we all can make a difference by becoming informed, then working to spread our knowledge as widely as possible. In the words of Enviro nt Canada, "It is importan h one of us to act - not only for ourselves and our children, but for future generations and for the other living things sharing the earth with us." Ton McCowan - 9:00 p.m. a.m. - 5:00 p.m. $2 Children under 12 J I XX XXX XXX XXX XXX XXXII XXXXXX TXXXITIITIITIIIIIIIIIZNXX SHOw YOL STUDENT sz. OFF | "We find i for you! 110 Water St., Port Perry Any CD Located in the Waterpark Condos (o] of Tape Across from the Ball Diamonds 3 1900000000000 00000000000 00600060004 RR FFE RRR REE ERE EEE RN ERR ERENT TT XXX, \