sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

Moved to tears by a work of art

Many years ago, I learned a beautiful Japanese word that I am told does not have an equivalent in English. The word is “kanrui” and I was told it means to be spontaneously moved to tears by at work of art.

I don’t know much about art, but I have had this experience twice in Victoria. Once in 1985 at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, when I looked at Mr. Quru’s work.

I met the artist, an elderly Chinese man, who was then considered “a living treasure” in China. I could see why.

And the second time was just last week when I entered the Van Gogh immersion event in town for another few weeks. It felt like I was stepping into a beautiful painting and the experience was amazing.

We are all moved by such different things, but I just wanted to pass that on for anyone looking for an art experience that might be memorable.

Thelma Fayle

Victoria

Poor choice of venue for pop-up concert

Re: “Hundreds flock to Cattle Point for surprise DJ concert,” July 25.

Cattle Point (other than the nearby Trial Islands ecological reserve) is home to some of the rarest and most endangered ecosystems and plants in all of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½.

The bluff that Felix Cartal staged their pop-up concert at has been facing years of degradation from off trail use that compacts the soils and threatens these extremely rare plant communities.

The choice of venue was far from ideal. These plants are federally protected, and our students at UVic, along with dedicated community members have been working for years to protect and restore these ecosystems.

Part of this work has been engaging with the public and educating people to tread lightly and leave room for nature.

Happy that the get-together was a success. Dismayed at the choice of location.

Andrew Elves

Victoria

New ferry service is a great idea, for others

Re: “Hullo? Come to Victoria as well as Nanaimo,” letter, July 25.

A great idea! But is it real? Is it another dream?

History shows that a harbour-to-­harbour ferry service between Victoria and Vancouver is not supported by residents, businesses (read tourism), the business community and the operations of governments (all three levels).

Relatively recently an Australian firm tried to make a success with V2V. It lost a tonne of money, the vessel ended up being moored in the Inner Harbour for a long period of time and is now somewhere in Florida.

This is not the first such failure. Both a previous catamaran and a hovercraft operation have met the same fate.

The culprit for failure was the lack of support by the public and our unwavering love affair with the single occupant internal combustion engine car, SUV and pickup truck.

This same love affair is at the root of the public attitude and comments in regard to bike lanes and bikeways.

Passenger ferries, encouraging leaving the car at home and encouraging use of transit are great ideas for everyone but me. I need my car.

Until the public as a whole changes attitude, policies and subsidies favouring single-occupant vehicles will continue to the detriment of walking, taking transit, cycling, increased passenger travelling on sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Ferries, passenger only ferries, and yes, the idea of the revitalization of the passenger railway up-Island to Comox, Port Alberni and Nanaimo.

Good luck and best wishes to “Hullo” and all of those other great ideas.

Robert Townsend

Saanich

Densification adds to heat island effect

To prevent deaths due to extreme heat caused by climate change, the provincial government announced recently that they would supply air conditioners to people in need whose dwellings would otherwise become too hot.

But it is important to understand that an air conditioner generates more heat than it removes; it merely transfers some heat from inside to outside. (The one exception is geothermal heat pumps, which transfer heat to subsurface water.)

Cities are “heat islands”, they can be several degrees hotter than the surrounding countryside, due to all sources of heat, including human bodies. Thus, adding air conditioners is something like baling a boat with a hole in the bottom.

When I was young, most people in sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½, rich or poor, lived in single-family detached houses with front and back yards, trees and grass.

During hot weather, poorer people could retreat to their cooler basements or sit in the shade under their backyard tree; richer people escaped to their country property.

With governments at all levels pushing for greater densification, and developers building out to the property lines, the heat island effect will increase, leading to a higher number of heat deaths.

Governments must take the lead in creating a more holistic approach to development, including mitigation of climate change, so that cities do not become unlivable.

“Heat-neutral” needs to be considered alongside carbon-neutral.

Kenneth Mintz

Victoria

You say Hullo, but soon it might be goodbye

Re: “Hullo? Come to Victoria as well as Nanaimo,” letter, July 25.

In response to the letter from the Victoria area resident expressing jealousy of the new Hullo ferry, that will connect downtown Vancouver with Nanaimo, perhaps wait to see how this unfolds.

Launching in mid August? Why miss the busy spring and early summer?

More perplexing, they are not allowing passengers to bring large luggage! Small carry‑ons only?

Hello?

The benefit of arriving in downtown Vancouver harbour, with easy access to the cruise ship terminal and the sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Line (and on to YVR) is rendered useless without the ability to bring luggage.

It calls into question the leadership of this new venture.

Like past ventures — perhaps before long — we’ll be saying goodbye to Hullo.

Robert Sharman

Gabriola

Health public servants are competent, dedicated

I would like to clarify the penultimate sentence in my June 7 letter, “Health system serves politicians, bureaucrats.”

I did not mean to unfairly imply that the sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Ministry of Health is a deficient organization. This is the furthest thing from the truth.

I made the mistake of lumping politicians and bureaucrats together. As a former public servant myself, I should (and do) realize that the ministry is following the direction and policies of the party in power.

In my 14 years working in the ministry, I know that the people working there are exceptionally competent and dedicated professionals who do really good work dealing with an extremely complex system that is health care.

Bruce Brady

Victoria

Don’t like ferry lineups? You’re welcome to leave

Our Island is becoming over-populated. There was a time when catching a ferry to the mainland was like catching a bus downtown … no big deal.

Not anymore due to the sheer amount of passengers, mechanical breakdowns and lack of staff.

Yet more and more buildings are being demolished so townhouses, condos and apartments can be built for the people planning to move here. This leaves long lineups for even foot passengers to board a ferry.

Bottom line is we live on an island. If you don’t want to be waiting in long lineups to get off of it perhaps you should consider living elsewhere.

Linda Pierson

Victoria

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