Youth seeking action on climate change
I applaud our young people for taking group action to draw our governments’ attention to their demands. Whether we like it or not, they are globally aware, and they know that they are in a battle for their own survival, and that governments must act quickly and decisively to turn the tide. Individual action isn’t nearly enough with global warming irrevocably on its way, even without the immediate and drastic action needed at all levels of government to keep the very worst effects from being realized.
Elizabeth May says it best for Canada. This is wartime and we need a council of all political parties to work on our challenges together and fast.
Join us this Friday noon at the legislature and let our governments around the world know that we want major changes now.
Sheila Drew
Victoria
Trying to get people to see the danger
I stood in the intersection of Government and Belleville last Friday and listened to two young women sing “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” a song I first heard in 1970, when I was their age. Back then, we thought environmental issues were urgent and we hoped people would listen.
Now we know we have a dire planetary emergency and people are still not listening. Standing in an intersection and singing is a mild way of getting public attention. I am proud to stand with those who do. Sadly, I think that only further climate catastrophe will be necessary to wake up the general public.
Mary Anne Pare
Pender Island and Victoria
Going nuclear to save the planet
Your pages are giving us a wide range of perspectives about global warming and its ugly consequences. Most people understand the need for remedial action and are demanding it. Unfortunately, nobody is proposing actions that will really make a difference to this global problem.
It is particularly discouraging to see Canada’s leaders claiming that we can improve the global situation by meeting our national emissions targets. This is not true. Because Canada does not make a significant contribution to the problem, meeting our targets will not make a significant contribution to the solution.
Ethics require us to do our part in Canada but we must also contribute to a sharp reduction in the use of fossil fuels globally. Underdeveloped countries have a legitimate right to generate electricity even if fossil fuels are their only option. We have the knowledge and skills necessary to provide zero-emission power generation plants to those countries. Are we ready to take on such a challenge?
The only available large-scale solution is nuclear power plants. Such plants present risks that can be mitigated. Global warming presents risks that cannot be mitigated.
I fervently hope that our scientific and political leaders will develop the courage and maturity to tell us the truth about what we have to do.
David Stocks
Colwood
Greta Thunberg’s words will be remembered
Re: “ClImate activist to leaders: ‘How dare you?’ ” Sept. 23.
On May 13, 1940, Winston Churchill famously said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
On Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King said the memorable words “ I have a dream. ...”
On Sept. 23, 2019, Greta Thunberg, age 16, told world leaders at the United Nations: “This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.”
Shall we try to guess which of these famous quotes will be most remembered 2030? My guess is that it will be, “you have stolen my dreams.”
Thank you Greta. You have given us the kick in the pants that we all need.
Bill Ashwell
Victoria
Why handyDART plan is not a good idea
Re: “Puzzled by complaints about handyDART plan,” letter, Sept. 25.
My wife and I have been residents of View Royal since the mid-1980s. We moved to this location 18 months ago, which is about 200 metres away from the proposed handyDART maintenance facility.
The biggest problem we have is that the majority of work will be done during the evening and into early-morning hours. This work, at times, will require the use of noisy pneumatic tools, hammering and the general activity noise that goes with a maintenance and repair facility.
We were advised by View Royal they would be in consultation with B.C. Transit and the province regarding the zoning change required and to stay tuned so we can voice our public opinion. I’ve stayed tuned and there’s been nothing until a few weeks ago when the province stepped in and dictated the land will now become zoned as “arterial highway” which will allow them to build the facility without having to chase the zoning change.
Now they are playing “confuse a cat” by vesting the title to the B.C. Transportation Authority, which still bypasses the zoning process.
No wonder there was no consultation with the municipality! Why would they want to waste time talking to close-proximity citizens when they can make a negative impact in everybody’s life with a stroke of the pen on paper behind closed doors. It seems quite obvious this “government for the people” would like to remain behind closed doors and hopes this will get done quickly with no publicity.
S.L. Murphy
View Royal
A little tape to help find your way
Re: “Hiker calling for better directions on secondary Thetis trails after six-hour ordeal,” Sept. 19.
I grew up hiking and camping with the Scouts and learned many things about survival. On the issue of getting lost on the trails at Thetis Lake, two words come to mind: bread crumbs.
Those pesky Steller’s jays could become an issue so, flagging tape. And remember to take it back out with you.
Rob Hinton
Maple Bay
Reflecting on why blackface is racist
I feel the need to clearly explain why Trudeau dressing up in “brownface” is indeed racist, or at the very least, problematic. I’d like to acknowledge that as a white person, it is not my intention to speak for or over people of colour — but since the only letters I’ve seen are from (presumably) other white people with no understanding of the nuances of race and privilege, I am simply trying to fill in the blanks.
A white person dressing up in black- or brownface is problematic because at the end of the night that white person gets to wash off their makeup and go back to enjoying the privileges white skin allows, privileges not afforded to people of colour. A white person dressing up as a person of colour is exactly the same as a white person saying something that ridicules brown people, like mimicking an accent. In both cases, we are making a caricature out of real human beings who experience struggles directly related to their race.
White people do not get to decide what is offensive to other groups, because our privilege shields us from fully understanding and acknowledging what can cause hurt to people of those groups. Persons of colour know what is racist — they experience it every day.
You can’t slap a person and then tell them it didn’t hurt. Funnily enough, our privileged position as white people is also what makes us feel entitled to gatekeep these things, when instead we should be educating ourselves.
Eryn Yaromy
Victoria
Include all types of mobility
Re: “Not everyone can walk, bike or take public transit,” comment, Sept. 24.
While I empathize with Anne C. Lyman’s reliance on her car to take her places and live a normal life, she misses the point. Nobody’s trying to get her out of the car. The notion of building an infrastructure that’s inclusive of all types of mobility is a necessary and healthy prerogative of civic leaders in cities around the world.
The “us” (cars) versus “them” (everything else, presumably) theme, harped on famously by Toronto’s former mayor Rob Ford, has become very tiresome. There is no such thing — cities are only trying to harmonize a traffic situation that is traditionally skewed toward automobiles. And to suggest Victoria is trying to ban all cars is simply not true. The real enemies of car congestion, it can be argued, are the people who have the choice, but decide not to use other available means and possibly occupy all the parking spots she's circling to find.
A liveable, breathable city has to make room for everyone, the car included. Not one at the expense of the other.
Hans Pellikaan
Victoria
Permanent daylight time makes sense
Re: “In defence of Pacific Standard Time,” comment, Sept. 22.
The advantages of British Columbia adopting permanent daylight time go beyond not having to change clocks twice yearly. One additional benefit is that during the 125 days that the remainder of the country reverts to standard time, the time differential between east and west would be reduced by a full hour. This would have a number of benefits for those doing business or otherwise communicating and travelling across Canada and the U.S.
Adopting standard time would not only negate these benefits but would also exacerbate the time differentials between British Columbia and the rest of the country by adding an hour during the eight or so months that the other provinces and states go on daylight time.
There is no perfect solution to the time-zone dilemma but providing that the other jurisdictions in the Pacific Time Zone adopt permanent daylight time, a majority of people living here would see some immediate benefits and not suffer the twice yearly time-zone change.
Ray Demarchi
Duncan
Send us your letters
• Email: letters@timescolonist.com
• Mail: Letters to the editor, Times Colonist, 2621 Douglas St., Victoria, B.C. V8T 4M2.
Letters should be no longer than 250 words and may be edited for length, legality or clarity. Include your full name, address and telephone number.
