Reversing environmental harm starts with elected officials
By Letter to the Editor on August 26, 2020.
The Herald of Aug. 12 was interesting. We learned the town of Bow Island has been fined $10,000 and a former town employee sentenced to six months in jail, for failing to monitor the “safety of the community’s water distribution system.”
Over a few pages, Monica Field’s opinion piece informed us that the price of progress included as collateral damage “destructive land-use practices and development expanded through the headwaters of the Oldman River,” further adding that natural water has “become nothing more than a low-value commodity.” I agree, the way many legislators think of and deal with our natural resources is deplorable.
Grant R. Harrington, in his letter to the editor “What to do next,” instructs that “we must protect what we have now to survive and be ready to prosper.” All pertinent words spoken by good people who’ve taken the time to concern themselves.
A few days prior to the above words being spoken, I took pictures of a dumpster at a construction site in Copperwood, overflowing with cardboard, wiring, plastic pipe, drywall, plywood and copious beautiful clear-as-a-bell wooden pallets, all recyclable, all going to the dump – Lethbridge’s “precious landfill”! I sent those pictures with a letter explaining my disgust to a favoured councillor. I’ve heard nothing.
Seems to me the evidence is pretty clear. There’s a law with no teeth for monolithic, rich, unanswerable companies getting a pass for the unbelievable harm they’re doing and another with a thumb on the little guy on the street guilt-tripped if he/she don’t rinse those soup cans and cut cardboard into the appropriate size and sort it as per forced prescription.
This planet is on a trajectory that’s unquestionably impacting future generations, stemming from repeated fouling and degradation of our water resource, our soil resource and the air we breathe. The future does not look healthy. Why are we so bad at taking care of our environment? Reversal is doable. Let me suggest we start with our elected representatives becoming concerned enough they respond to a letter crying for an end to these destructive environmental calamities.
Alvin W. Shier
Lethbridge
10-9
Yes and council is very quiet about the hydro-fracking and drilling in city limits, on the west side. There was a large vocal group who started acouple of social media sites back in about 2012- 2013 against this practice. Haven’t heard a word from them? Is it because they elected and supported those councilors who paid them much lip service about this fracking?
Council claimed to be shocked and to have no knowledge of this active fracking back in Jan. 2019. The head of the planning department was fired in no small part because of this lack of communication,as that department knew of the active drilling since at least Oct. 2018. This is the same planning department that council just gave even more control and power to in the new bylaw 6300?.