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6 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, May 3,1994 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" Ep IT TACTICS ITTORIAL Editorial Comment Cleaning Up Our Acts When you take a moment to consider planet Earth, one begins to realize just how fragile our planet really is. Of the entire planet, 75 per cent of the surface is covered with water. The re- maining 25 per cent is land. Despite the fragility of this land, and the small percentage of the entire planet that the human population inhabits, we are extremely guilty of damaging a non- renewable resource. Since the beginning of time, man has been guilty of treating Earth with less than an ideal amount of respect. Through industrialization, expansion and progress, many of the advances in technology has occurred at the expense of the environ- ment, which is a non-renewahle re- source. We are all guilty of polluting the envi- ronment in some way whether it's not re- cycling goods which could be reclaimed, littering, dumping into the lakes or allow- ing toxins into the air. While in the past, we were often care- free in our treatment of the environment, this is not the case anymore. With the ever-increasing number of endangered species, polluted lakes, shrinking ozone layer and climbing smog counts, we have realized that we must do something to save the environment. Arbor Days, Earth Days and Pitch-in Weeks have been implemented to make us more aware of the environment and the natural resources which we take so much for granted. | Earth Day was greeted with much en- thusiasm across Durham Region and in Scugog where hundreds of people took par in various activities geared at clean- ing up the environment. Many more are expected to take part in Pitch-in Week ac- tivities which are taking place this week. Various environmental groups, Guides and Scouting packs, schools and individ- uals are dedicating their time to clean up the country side. This year's program will focus on not only cleaning up the area, but will also go beyond to maintain the trees planted in past years. While there is a cross-section of people getting involved in the Pitch-in Week ac- tivities, it is the student groups that are the most active. Several schools and groups will be scouring the neighbor- hoods to clean up after us. And this is the irony of the project. If we protect the envi- ronment today, it will be intact in the years ahead for our future generations. A is \ % "Ry fy WAT ASQUT SAFETY WM Your PRofseD 205 seit THIS WaReeNG 2? WEA, WHAT a 8 I EFTTERS Plenty of Earth Day activities in Scugog To the Editor: People who read last week's paper may have mistakenly received the im- pression that not much took place locally to celebrate Earth Day 1994, but nothing could be further from the truth! I know at Cartwright Central Public School, the primary grades put on the play "Oh My Deer" and two guest speak- ers came in to discuss environmental i18- sues. At Greenbank P.S. the new enwvi- ronmental club held a bake sale to raise money to protect acres of rainforest and Canadian wilderness, and succeeded in raising $111! I'm betting other schools held special events too. We need to publi- cize and celebrate the environmental work our children are engaged in, don't you think? Over in Uxbridge, the water conserva- tion module of the Global Action Plan for the Earth was launched, and it may not be too late for Scugog residents to join up. Call the Hotline at 852-4151 if you're interested. In Greenbank, a "Dear Neighbor" let- ter was hand-delivered to hamlet resi- dents asking them to consider stopping the use of pesticide sprays on lawns. The letter was accompanied by a pamphlet from the American Cancer Society Turn to Page 7 Random Jottings by J. Peter Hvidsten TIME TO BURY THE HATCHET Recently the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a decision not to hear an appeal by a local law firm with respect to use of a building which sits forlornly on a piece of unopened road in downtown Port Perry. This case has been dragged through the courts for more than six years now and it's time to bury the hatchet and get on with what it is right. The building in question sits on a piece of land at the foot of Shanley St., just west of Water St., which has been sitting empty and in a state of disrepair for far too long. The building is not hooked up to hydro, water or sewers and in fact has not even been lowered onto a foundation. It sits there charred froma fire last year, and an eye- sore in its present condition. With no further avenue of appeals open, the owners should now do the right thing. And what is appropriate, is to either remove or demolish the building. While it is still unclear exactly what the owners legal responsibility is, they should accept the decision of the Supreme Court, remove the building and get the healing process between themselves and the town- ship underway. OH, NO! NOT POPCORN Did you hear the results of a recent study which says that movie theatre popcorn is next thing to deadly? As I remember it from a television news- cast, last week a study found that eating a bag of movie popcorn is the equivalent of eating bacon and eggs for breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and steak and potatoes for supper. on if you want to compare it to eating fast food, one bag of popcorn is equal to about eight Big Macs. It's "J something to do with the coco- nut oil theatres use to pop their corn. Apparently it's one of the worst sources of | fat. Although the theatres have been asked to use other products for popping corn, to date they have refused because of the excel- lent aroma and color they get from using the coconut oil. We don't go to the "big screen" very often, but when we do, one of the high- lights is always a large bag of popcorn. But from now on, I guess the best thing to do is smuggle in a bag of air-popped corn from home. It may not taste quite as good, but there's no doubt, if the survey is correct, it will be healthier and a lot cheaper. LEISURE & ACTIVITY GUIDE Next week, the Township of Scugog Leisure and Activity Guide will be distrib- uted to every home in Scugog Township through the Scugog Shores News. The Port Perry Star is pleased to have been chosen to publish the guide, but want to thank and acknowledge the advertisers who really made the project possible. With no funding provided for the guide this year, local businesses were asked to finance the cost of production by purchas- ing advertising space in the guide. And once again, as they do so often eve- y year, the business community came through with flying colors. The township and residents owe them all a vote of thanks. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Port Perry Star encourages its readers to make use of the letters to the editor column to express their opinions and viewpoints on just about any subject, as we feel a lively letters column will help make this a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that all letter writers sign their name and include a phone number for verification. Sorry, anonymous letters will not be published unless The Star believes it to be in the best interest of the public. We also reserves the right to edit letters with respect to their length, content or libelous comments _-- --------_-- ---- pe | h f i { L : f Eh, Ps i, i . S Ii k lia SM SS