Dear Editor:
Earth Day (April 22) is a special time to recognize the innumerable benefits that our planet has to offer to us. As we appreciate our gardens, clean air and readily available water, we also need to remind ourselves that if we want this Earth to continue offering the elements that make daily life possible, we have to be willing to help sustain it.
Yes, there are natural climate cycles that affect our world, and we need to adapt to them. But we humans have developed industrial processes that undermine these natural cycles and hasten global warming, with carbon dioxide emissions being at the top of the list. Too much carbon released into the atmosphere caused by burning fossil fuels has many effects – increasing the frequency of extreme storms, acidifying our oceans, and drying up fresh water supplies during droughts, to name three.
What can we as ordinary citizens do to help our planet? We can appeal to our local Members of Parliament, both federal and provincial, to enact laws to limit Canada’s carbon emissions, which – per capita – are among the highest in the world.
And, at the basic level, we can continue to recycle, limit our use of plastic, find homes for unused items instead of sending them to the garbage dump, and maintain a compost heap for our kitchen waste. It is so important that each of us do our bit, however small, toward maintaining this wonderful world.
Sincerely
Lindsay Dole,
Erin
(Mrs.) Lindsay Dole