Harrumph Brigade protests too much
I see the Harrumph Brigade is out in full force since the climate strike action on the lawn of the legislature — much whining about how the the young people could reduce their impact on the environment by taking reduced showers, taking transit, being hypocritical by perhaps taking vehicles to the protest (no proof except people coming out of parkades — say what?), and on and on the whining and whinging go from the older folks who are criticizing from their armchairs.
Hark oh fellow seniors! Stop belly aching and start listening and be grateful for these young protesters. As for the letter writer who said she felt sorry for the people in the UN who had to look at Greta Thunberg’s “sour face,” I can only imagine what yours looked liked when you wrote that sour note.
Jo-Anne Will
Sidney
Kids understand better than most adults
Re: “A dressing down from a sour-faced teen,” letter, Sept. 28.
Whoa, just slow down. This “sour-faced teen” just travelled across the Atlantic by sail to lessen her carbon footprint. No, the rest of us can’t/ won’t do that BUT who exactly indulged these young kids who are protesting?
Parents and grandparents created the mindset of today’s young. They bought them far too many toys; the latest in fashion; every high-tech toy invented. They jumped to intercede when their kids had issues at school; were rude to teachers; didn’t do homework.
Yet these kids understand the climate crisis and world affairs better than most adults today. They are prepared to demand changes from our politicians and businesses. They are prepared to march for those changes.
Far too many adults (who bought the gas-guzzling SUVs) only want lower taxes, cheaper gas, and for the kids to be quiet and go away while they enjoy another glass of wine.
We, who created these kids, need to step up, give our heads a shake and to accept our culpability for the consumptive attitudes of our children, the mess of our planet and to start to “do something” positive.
I, for one, am damn proud of these marching kids and of Greta Thunberg.
Sally Barker
Saanich
Addressing the issue in a grown-up way
Re: “A dressing down from a sour-faced teen,” letter, Sept. 28.
“How did they get to the rally?” letter, Sept. 29.
Criticisms of youth who are concerned about climate change should be at least as articulate and mature as the youth themselves are. For example, calling Greta Thunberg “sour-faced” is reminiscent of the playground rebuttal “Yeah, but you’re ugly.”
And presuming that all young protesters did not walk to the rally (or might use a dishwasher) is as logical as, “Yeah, but your mother wears boots.” These and other ad hominem criticisms avoid addressing grown-up issues.
Janet Bavelas
Saanich
Greta Thunberg is showing the way
Re: “A dressing down from a sour-faced teen,” letter, Sept. 28.
I do not “pity the UN who had to sit through a dressing down from a sour-faced teen from the other side of the world.” Really? A reality check is needed. We cannot blame Greta Thunberg and others of her generation who have benefited from the technology that was handed down to them from their parents and previous generations.
There is no hypocrisy in what Greta is doing. Greta and others like her are the leaders of our future. We need to support and encourage their efforts to fight for the critical environmental policy changes that governments and corporations need to address. Greta is showing the way.
Stephanie Paulauskas
Victoria
‘Sour-faced’ letter refuted nothing
Re: “A dressing down from a sour-faced teen,” letter, Sept. 28.
This letter is a perfect example of the “ad-hominem” or “against the person” fallacy.
Not one sentence refutes the message from climate scientists or a “sour-faced teen.”
Graeme Gardiner
Sidney
I am so proud of our children
I am saddened by the response by some adults and the oil-and-gas industry to the efforts that our young children and adults are taking to heighten awareness of climate change.
I want all adults to stop, think and realize that we adults have been the pushers and the pimps of fossil fuels on the environment, creating addicts of our youth.
I am so proud of our children taking the stance they have. Awareness and recognition and taking responsibility are the first steps in overcoming an addiction. Our children are trying to do that.
Too bad so many adults need to have their faces rubbed in the s--t before they recognize a problem. Our children have shown courage, perception and forward thinking. They strive to make change and are insulted by our apathetic attitudes, insolence and efforts to minimize them.
We all own the problem; let’s not put them down with words like “naïve.” Let’s be the adults and set the example.
Ron Jeffrey
Victoria
Human dinosaurs might suffer same fate
All those who are so afraid of the words of a perceptive young Swedish girl that they have to attack her would be well advised to pay attention to the mountain of scientific evidence behind her words.
The planet will eventually survive the damage inflicted on her by the lemmings of the human race, but the human race may not.
Those human dinosaurs who insist on ignoring the evidence have obviously not learned what happened to the original dinosaurs when a dramatic climatic change occurred.
Bruce Irving
Victoria
They didn’t drive themselves
Re: “How did they get to the rally?” letter, Sept. 29.
One thing we can be sure of is that, since a large percentage of those attending the rally on Friday were young, they did not drive themselves in single-occupancy vehicles.
It is also impossible to tell how many of them rode bicycles, electric scooters and electric cars, and walked.
Diane Kennedy
Victoria
Dealing with costs of going green
Clean and sustainable energy seems a wonderful idea for the whole planet: solar panels, windmills, electric vehicles, batteries.
I like to believe we can trust that the international corporations that produce the new “green” will be responsible for the environmental costs of its manufacturing, transportation and installation, as well as the impact on the electrical grid. And, of course, the need for the sustainable disposal of the tons of plastic and hazardous materials in 10 to 20 years.
Will governments demand that? I like to believe that environmental damage will not be left for the taxpayers or the children.
Mary Douthwaite
Oak Bay
Install a heat pump in every home
While I applaud the efforts of the youth who initiated the climate-awareness actions this past weekend, I fear that this call to action will fall on deaf ears. No concrete programs were announced and no commitments were made. So, here’s my proposal.
Lobby the provincial and federal governments to commit to converting all B.C. households to heat pumps for heating, cooling and hot water over the next five years. The total cost would be in the range of $14 billion which could be paid for using the revenues from the B.C. carbon tax, which is nearing $2 billion per year.
Each household would save $1,000 to $1,500 per year in energy costs. More importantly, greenhouse-gas emissions would be reduced by nearly 75 per cent.
Ken Weatherill
North Saanich
Vaping is dangerous and should be banned
Re: “Vaping is harmful, it is not a safer middle-ground,” comment, Sept. 27.
As the U.S. officials report hundreds of youths with breathing illnesses related to vaping and the death toll rises to 12, why has the alarm for the safety of our children in Canada not been sounded? How many Canadians have to die before Health Canada bans the sale of these vaping devices?
The death of even one person from using a product that has never been tested for safety should not happen, and yet the tobacco industry has been allowed to use their advertising dollars to seduce our young. Health Canada seems reluctant to tread on the toes of large corporations.
How many people have to die before Health Canada bans vaping?
Janis Hoffmann
Langford
Second homes and retirees complaining
It’s tiring hearing retirees complain about how they can’t own a second home in Victoria anymore because of the speculation tax. Using a home for “weeks at a time, sometime months” is simply unacceptable in a city with such a low vacancy rate.
Our city has no obligation to be your playground. While your second home sits vacant, many of us who live here year round struggle to find affordable housing. Your lavish lifestyle is making it harder for others to find a single home to live in.
And people think millennials are entitled.
Chris Whipp
Saanich
Please don’t release piranhas into our lakes
Re: “Angler hooks in piranha in Nanaimo lake,” Sept. 27.
I can’t believe I actually have to say this but: “To whomever it may concern, please do not put dangerous, carnivorous fish in the nice lake where so many kids like to swim.”
After this year’s discovery of giant killer wasps and now a piranha here in Nanaimo, it makes me wonder what’s next. Salt-water crocodiles in Piper Lagoon?
Len Dafoe
Nanoose Bay
Policing our existing speed limits
Re: “Victoria mayor seeks power to lower speed limits,” Sept. 26.
Here's an epiphany: Before she seeks the authority to lower speed limits in her municipality, perhaps Mayor Lisa Helps should fund the Victoria Police Department enough to enforce the speed limits we have already.
D. W. Roland Stacey
Esquimalt
A return to rational living
It is a falsehood to think that unlimited economic growth is possible, or that such a concept should be upheld as a commendable objective; or that the strength and energy needed to engage such a concept is available in unlimited supply. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and efforts to do so are creating nothing but sorrow and strife.
A re-definition is required so that economic activity falls back into the realms of reason and possibility, and so that enjoyment and satisfaction in life are restored as reliable realities. It needs to happen here and on a global scale.
The love of money truly is the root of all evil and it’s time that evil is uprooted.
Joe Vroom
Victoria
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