Shaming is nasty but please stay home
Re: 鈥淒on鈥檛 be too quick to judge ferry travellers,鈥� Jack Knox, April 13.
I agree with Jack鈥檚 commentary with respect to the legitimate need to travel on sa国际传媒 Ferries and the nastiness of public shaming.
Having said that, I also know that some of our fellow citizens take the view that accepted societal norms and expectations with respect to lawful behaviour simply do not apply to them 鈥� in this case, the rules relating to stopping the spread of COVID-19. This was evidenced by reports of more than one camper, van or vehicle festooned with camping equipment, barbecues and mountain bikes at sa国际传媒 Ferries terminals over the long weekend.
John Stevenson
Victoria
Work together to fight climate change
Re: 鈥淎 tale of two futures 鈥� let鈥檚 choose the right one this time,鈥� Trevor Hancock, April 12.
Once again Trevor Hancock has eloquently outlined from a different angle the threatening climate calamity of which we are taking too little notice and for which we are taking even less responsibility to mitigate, let alone avert.
While the vast majority of us do not have our hands directly on the levers of power to change the system by decree, it is within our power as workers and consumers to bend the system to our will.
Without us, nothing works, unless we allow it. Just as our staying at home and keeping our distance is changing what our manufacturers do and how our retailers operate, so will it if we have the self discipline to restrain our greenhouse gas emissions and polluting ways to preserve our offspring鈥檚 comfort and lives.
COVID-19 is happening now and it鈥檚 awful, but climate change could become many times worse within a few decades. It has an important feature in common with the pandemic. Strong early action is worth exponentially more than later action in reducing the toll that will be taken.
Crop failures, the invasion of warm weather diseases, inundation of cities and rich delta agricultural areas, reduction of species variety and ensuing increase of ecological instability will make the costly northward movement of hurricanes and tornadoes the least of our children鈥檚 worries.
If we can mobilize effectively against COVID-19 we can do it against climate change. We need to start right now.
Glynne Evans
Saanich
Pandora suitable for homeless camp?
Re: 鈥淚sland Health nixes idea of putting homeless in Royal Athletic Park,鈥� April 8.
The powers that be have deemed Royal Athletic Park to be unsuitable for homeless sheltering.
Does this mean they deem my neighbourhood on Pandora Avenue to be suitable?
Obviously so because for years they have turned a blind eye to the situation we deal with every day. It鈥檚 not as if COVID-19 has 鈥渟uddenly鈥� brought this to their attention. For more than a decade they have actually encouraged it by clustering services that act as a magnet for anyone needing assistance.
The province needs to get its act together. Require and assist each municipality to do its part by setting up suitable housing with supports.
Spread it out so that one or two neighbourhoods don鈥檛 have to continually bear the brunt of coping with the problems that arise due to Band-Aid solutions.
Linda Hughes
Victoria
Conservative MP鈥檚 logic is flawed
Re: 鈥淲ith many COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, Tory MP asks whether economy can reopen,鈥� April 13.
Conservative party MP Marc Dalton suggests, 鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 time to restart the economy, given that COVID-19 deaths have been mostly confined to seniors鈥� care homes where the life expectancy is low.鈥�
If the canary in the bird cage dies, you don鈥檛 call the miners down the mine shaft to 鈥渞estart the economy,鈥� and breathe the deadly air that鈥檚 just killed the canary.
Paul Glassen
Nanaimo
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