To the editor:
The June 27, 2024 edition of The Terrace Standard, on page 15, has an ad
by the Province of British Columbia, "Turning off the tap to brush your
teeth saves up to 8,300 litres a year." And on the bottom of the ad it
states, "One small change. One big difference. And it's even greater
when we can do it together." Plus it has "Learn more at
gov.bc.ca/drought"
The ad is to remind people we are in a drought and to save water. But
what about the changing climate, that has made the drought worse, and
killed lots of people like the 619 people that we know of in the heat dome of 2021.
To make matters worse, people still think they can do whatever they
want and pollute our environment and just do not care about others.
In 2008 the Province of BC published Technical Circular T- 08/08 with the
subject of idle reduction signs, like they have installed at the Old
Bridge.
In that document, under background it states: "The
transportation sector (land, sea, air) is the largest single contributor
to greenhouse gas emissions in British Columbia and is a major
contributor to smog in urban areas. Reducing vehicle idling helps
preserve air quality and reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases."
But you see very few people stopped at the bridge doing that. I myself
started about two years before those signs went up. I completely
understand that in winter people do not want to freeze in those 2-3
minute of waiting and the same in the summer when it hot.
But what is totally beyond me is when I see people sitting in their vehicle engine
running, window or windows open. And then 10 or 20 minutes later, they are will there, engines running with an open window.
Next time I see somebody doing that, I will walk up
to them and ask them for $20. I will burn the money in front of
them because they do not care about the pollution they cause for other
people. They must literally have money to burn.
Martin Holzbauer,
Thornhill, B.C.
