Saturday, October 17, 2009

Newspaper Clippings: How bleak is bleak to you?

Did you read the World Wildlife Fund report on Thursday in the London free Press? Very enlightening and discouraging at the same time.

A subhead said a mouthful! “From the St. Lawrence to the great rivers of the northwest, a damning report due out today finds troubling undercurrents - mainly from human use - for Canada’s 10 most significant river systems, including the Grand in SW Ontario.”


["Suzie, after Mommy hangs the wash, we'll go water the lawn and wash Daddy's big Chevy"]

As far as the Grand River system is concerned (the one closest to our taps, toilets and manicured lawns), a brief comment on the front page of the paper says: “Well managed but increased demand for water from growing cities is a threat.”

I admit, I like my water. Showers, laundry, tea, cold drinks with ice - none would be the same without my water. But can we do nothing right?

Yes, we can.

According to the report:

“The Nipigon River in Northern Ontario was cited as an example of progress. Fish stocks had suffered from a series of hydroelectric dams until operators got together and adjusted the water flow to more closely resemble natural conditions.”

Team work, thinking, talking, adjusting... all factors that work.

Likely, the key will turn out to be conservation of resources (taps, toilets and manicured lawns spring to mind, along with many other things) but conservation is not a habit that the majority of Canadians practice.

Why?

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More to follow.

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