Page k3, Whitby Free P'ress, Wednesday, March ý4, 1993 The only Newspaper owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents! MEMBER OF: ONTARIO CANADIAN COMMUNITY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER NA NEWSPAPER " ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION SCANADIAN CIRCULATIONS CNA DIVISION AUDIT BOARD 25,500 COPIES DELIVERED WEEKLY Published every Wednesday by 677209 Ontario Inc. Box 206, 131 Brock St. N., Whitby, Ontario L1N 5S1 Phone: 668-6111 Toronto Line: 427-1834 Fax: 668-0594 Doug Anderson - Publisher Maurice Pifher - Editor Alexandra Martin - Production Manager Printed on newsprint with minimum 20% recycled content using vegetable based inks. To the edito ... Shoveiiing 'superior' To the Editor: I am writing in response to Gord Kerr's comments (Whitby Free Press, March 17) on the "useless" snow-clearing program for the Town's sidewalks. I couldn't agree more. In fact, I first wrote The Free Press in February 1987 about this very matter. This year I have written to and telephoned our councillor about the same subject and was told by the Town public wprks department that they feel their program is "most effective." In the days before the municipality assumed responsibility for all sidewalks and footpaths, each homeowner was responsible for his/her own little bit. Where has our sense of community gone, now that people will let the snow lie on the footpaths for days, before the plow comes to try and clear the impossible icy ruts that result? In our family, we. walk for recreation, for transportation and, yes, we do our bit for the environment. The pathways we use have not been properly cleared since Dec. 11. One snowpile still blocks the footpath from Harrison Court to Manning Road, and pathways connecting Pilkington and Robinson are a mess, just to give a couple of examples. It is certainly easy to see which residents care for their community despite the bylaws. Thank you to those of you who took the trouble to clear your own piece of sidewalk. One person with a shovel will always do a superior job to a machine. To expect the Town to be able to assume responsibility for alI sidewalks is completely unrealistic. In these times of economic hardship, I find it frustrating that money is being spent in this way. If each homeowner once again became responsible for clearing his own walkway, then the Town should be able to do a faster and better job cn non-residential areas. This winter, as we have walked and jogged around the neighbourhood in all weather, most of the time we have had to use the road or face the danger of falling. I would urge other taxpayers who would like to see this situation improve (and save some precious tax dollars) to contact their councillor. Jacky Bramma Whitby 407 a priority To the Editor: Recently The Free Press printed a letter from Lynda Buffett regarding the 407 and Durham Region's need for enhanced services. There is no question that I agree that Durham Region should get its fair share of provincial and federal government investments. Ontario, as a whole, has been sadly neglected by the federal Conservative government. Over the course of the Conservative government's regime, there have been $20 billion in unpaid bills to Ontario. This shuffling of the federal deficit has grown exponentially and is now $4.5 billion per year. Not only that, but our area has been devastated by the economic effects of their free-trade deal and the savaging will soon be compounded by NAFTA. I would like to see the construction of the 407 sped up and, aso, Durham's requirements prioritized. This would require a shifting in our plans that have been materializing over the past 25 years. Along with my colleagues, Gord Mills and Allan Pilkey, I will be pressing for an upgrading of the 407 commitment to our area. We have seen some of the results of our work in recovering a fair share for Whitby and Durham. Recently, we were able to announce essential sewer and water expansion to Brooklin, a $7-million boost that has been awaited for 20 years. Durham College will soon be opening its new campus in Whitby -- the largest investment in a college in Ontario. The GO train is being built into Oshawa. Fighting for Whitby and Durham's needs is the responsibility of ali of our elected representatives. It is not a partisan activity. My job is not to represent Queen's Park to you so much as it is to represent constituents' best interests -- to secure services, including roads, health and education. I would encourage Ms. Buffett ta join me in fighting for Whitby and Durham, rather than in fighting each other. Drummond White Durham Centre MPP Urgent warnings By Stephen G. Leahy There is a great deal of misunderstanding about environ- mentalism. A typical environmentalist is often seen as a young, bearded radical chained to a tree or blocking a road. Others think of environ- mentalists as little old ladies pointing fingers at local politicians, students picketing at Queen's Park or people in little rubber boats racing around huge factory ships. What about those of us who use the blue box? Seems like an ordinary activity now, but 20 years ago, recycling newspapers, along with bottles and cans, would have had your neighbours referring to you as "that nutty environmentalist" -- or worse. Today, we recycle without even thinking about it. Does that make us environmentalists? In one sense it does because a basic definition of environ- mentalism is caring for our natural environment that includes aIl forms of life and that which enables life to exist (air, water, land, etc.) Since we depend on a healthy, natural environment for our very survival, taking care of it should be part of our self-preservation strategy. Therefore, we ail should be conscientious 'environ- mentalists. Most people would reject that label with a passion since environmentalism has come to have other, more extreme meanings. Labels like this more often obscure t han clarify. A child who puts an apple core in the compost bucket at school is an environmentalist. An office that recycles its fine paper is committing an environmental act. A factory that reuses some of its waste products to lower its disposai costs is taking environmental action. A person who wants a little exercise and walks or bikes to the store instead of using the car is caring for the environment. Those who call themselves environmentalists, and the rest of us who don't, have but one thing in common: our lives are dependent on the natural environment -- so we must take care. Not that long ago the range of environmental activity had at one end the few who were exploring the connection between the natural environment and ourselves. The vast majority of people were at the other with no idea that there is a direct connection between the health of the natural environment and their own or their children's. That has now changed substantially. The reason for that change is the increasing evidence of damage to the natural environment. There are still those who would deny that there is evidence of damage. Or that this damage is a serious problem. Some even claim that the reported evidence is overblow\. and unproven. Perhaps. But is it nòt possible that the facts are so disturbing that we want to believe they are exaggerations. Here are two recent examples: The Toronto Star, Dec. 9 issue, quoted a United Nations Environment Program report that concluded: "It is no exaggeration to say that the ability of the biosphere to continue to support human life is now in question." In November 1992, the Union of Concerned Scientists, made of of more than 1,600 of the world's most esteemed scientists, including 102 of the 196 living Nobel prize winners, issued the following statement: "Urgent warning to humanity -- Human activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our ýurrent practices put at seriou risk the future that we wish for human society ... and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgent Should we keep our heads in the sand and continue to ignore the warnings? Should we lend our credibility to the conspiracy theories that the media, scientists or environmentalists have fabrica- ted these doom and gloom forecasts? Surely it is better to act to preserve' our own skins by making the fundamental changes needed to take care of the earth -- just in case these warnings are correct. Even if the odds were 50/50 of this impending environmental nightmare actually happening, who would risk the consequences of not acting? No matter what the odds really area, they aren't getting better with each passing day. Opinions expressed are those of the author. To the Editor: As members of the Muslim community in North America, we deplore the recent car bomb attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Reports now indicate that a Muslim has been implicated in that bombing. If, in fact, a Muslim individual or group had any role in the bombing, tney acted on their own and agznst Islamic principles that assure the safety of civilians, even in the times of war. As Muslims, we are outraged by violence against civilians wherever it occurs, whether in New York or other parts of the world. We ask official agencies and the media to stop using the misleading terms like 'funadmentalist Muslim' or 'Islamic fundamentalism' in this situation. These labels wrongly equate the practice of Islam with hostile actions. We also appeal to the authorities to relentlessly pursue the due process of seeking justice but take all possible steps to avoid harmful implications against innocent individuals or groups. In particular, the sanctity of the places of worship should be strictly safeguarded. lqbal Rehan, Whitby N. Ail Zaldl, Whitby M. Aufullah, Whitby Salman Abbasi, Ajax Shahbaz Hussaln, Oshawa Zehevat Ali, Ajax Rashid Anzarl, Oshawa Mashkoor Hasan, Oshawa Control the extremes To the Editor: Sex and violence sell The recent fuss over telephone sex advertisements is only a small part of the sensationalizing of extreme behaviour patterns amongst animais, including man. As likely to be offensive is the recently mailed advertising for the Time/Life videos sensationalizing feeding behaviours. All animais have enormous repertoires of behavioural patterns that, taken to extremes and/or out of context, could be seen as abhorrent and could be tittilating to segments of the population. Sex, like the death of a prey animal, is an undeniable part of life. Sex is appreciated as a part of the behavioural continuum and is applauded for its contribution to ongoing life. The extremes, when out of context, then become 'Sex and Violence,' and they sell and, in turn, offend some. Control extremes in advertising of this sort and the marketplace will still be served, with little offense given. John T. Hulley Brooklin To the editor... Against Islamic principles