Drive-through divorce?
Dear Editor:
RE: Town to offer drive-through marriage service on Sept. 9, Sept. 1.
I read with great glee that there will be a drive-through “marriage service” on Sept. 9 in the town of Erin.
My immediate thought was: “Will there be an Elvis Presley impersonator present”?
And, my cynical reaction was: “I wonder if there will be a drive-through ‘divorce service’ on Feb. 15” (the day after Valentines Day)?
Brian Cameron,
Salem
Shouldn’t be charged?
Dear Editor:
On Aug. 29, I went to the Trailside Medical Centre in Fergus for a blood test. On my way out, I put the parking ticket in the machine in the lobby and paid the $3.
When I got home and looked at the payment receipt, I noticed that I had entered the parking lot at 8:19am and exited at 8:30am. That is 11 minutes.
When they opened, Trailside said that the first 15 minutes of parking would be free. Based on this I should not have been charged $3. The parking tag, the payment receipt and the Trailside website do not show any contact information – this means you cannot lodge a complaint. I wonder how many people, every day, are being charged the $3 when they should not.
Anthony Martins,
Elora
‘Authoritative word’?
Dear Editor:
RE: Critical thinking, Aug. 25.
According to John Burger’s reply to my letter, I guess those “without their critical thinking caps on” might get confused so would prefer someone else do their thinking for them.
Democracy is not akin to spectator sports; in order for it to thrive and survive it requires active participation. We need both sides of any issue out in the public eye in order for us to weigh them with any semblance of discernment. To do otherwise is a prime example of the abhorrent censorship alive and well today.
My letter was not actually about the subject matter in the initial letter, but was directed to the editor’s penchant to only make comments on COVID-19 and climate change letters that don’t match the current narrative. I see this as a form of censorship which has the goal of redirecting a reader’s thoughts away from one pathway, and down another, and apparently – according to letters like John Burger’s, it’s working.
Unfortunately, there was no backup on the 90% of complying scientists that one might investigate. That was my point. But because it’s suggested by the editor, it’s taken as the authoritative word on the matter.
I’m not a scientist nor do I purport to be one. But changes the governments have planned seriously affect us all, and it behooves us as citizens – on behalf of ourselves, our children and theirs – to ensure we are well informed and educated, instead of going along to get along. Because that is exactly how democracy falls.
Barbara Bowie,
Fergus
Oversimplified
Dear Editor:
Voting for your representative has become greatly simplified over the years.
The prime minister has acquired authority over parliament. No need to vote for other parliamentarians. The premier dictates to the provincial legislature (See Bill 7). No need for members of the legislature.
Under the “strong mayor” system we can do away with municipal councilors. Elections for all three positions could be placed on one ballot.
Chris Woode,
Fergus
‘Green people ideas’
Dear Editor:
I read the many letters regarding climate change and often do some head scratching.
They routinely blame the general population for being the main cause of global warming. No mention is ever made of government activity regarding years of nuclear bomb testing, that was quite prolific around the world between 1945 and 1975.
The amount of heat released by just one bomb, at an average temperature of 100,000,000 degrees Celsius, would easily exceed anything the average population could produce driving a car or heating their home over several years.
Climate change was first noticed during the Second World War, when many tons of TNT explosives were routinely being detonated world wide, but nobody really cared about it.
It was also realized, many years ago, that coal was a major problem. Most western governments are controlled by “big business” to some extent and have to “tow the line” to stay in power. I think they know what the problem is, but they have short memories and it’s easier to blame the general population for it. “They” will bleed “working men and women” for it, just like they did with emission controls on motor vehicles, which was a very good thing by the way, but the car manufacturers should have been held more responsible for it as they knew about the emissions being created before they sold them.
Just like cigarette manufacturers, to name another good example, who were warned in 1946, regarding extensive research performed by the Germans that confirmed the link to lung cancer.
It is going to take many years to unravel the global warming crisis that has evolved and no amount of expensive and usually impractical “green people ideas” that merely shift emissions and problems to a different level are really going to help.
Let us start by enforcing existing anti-pollution laws, but does anybody know who to call? Try it sometime.
Mac McCulloch,
Fergus
’A gloomier picture’
Dear Editor:
RE: Damaging, costly, Sept. 1.
In last week’s letter to the editor Henry Brunsveld paints a rosy picture of the planet due to increased CO2 emissions where “crop yields have doubled or quadrupled …and the number of deaths from weather and climate catastrophes has dropped by 97%.”
Craig Stewart, a vice president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, paints a gloomier picture of the same planet. “The 2022 federal budget should allocate robust funding … if we are to protect Canadians from the flood, wildfire, heat, wind, and hail events already growing in frequency and severity.”
He states, “Climate change is real, and the fatalities, emotional turmoil, and financial consequences we’ve recently witnessed must be a call to action – we must adapt now. Achieving net zero emissions by 2050 is a foundational step to limit our future risks from climate change, but we need funded measures implemented immediately to protect us from the worsening severe weather that is already happening.”
He continues, “Canada’s national climate plan will remain incomplete until such measures are identified and implemented. In today’s world of extreme weather events, the new normal for yearly insured catastrophic losses in Canada has become $2 billion, most of it due to water-related damage. Compare this to the period between 1983 and 2008, when Canadian insurers averaged only $422 million a year in severe weather-related losses.”
Put on your critical thinking caps and draw your own conclusions.
John Burger,
Orton
‘Informed decision’
Dear Editor:
You know it strikes me as very interesting that the voter turnout traditionally for municipal elections is lower than both the turnouts for federal and provincial elections. The reason it is interesting is that the issues the municipal government deals with are the ones that impact citizens most on a day to day basis: local taxes, roads, water, etc.
I would encourage everyone to read up on their candidates and engage them when they knock on your door so you can make an informed decision when you vote on Oct. 24.
Every vote counts.
Penny Lipsett,
Elora
Setting record straight
Dear Editor:
I read the article on page 32 of Aug. 25 issue on the car show at the Wellington County Museum and Archives.
The article states the show “was started by local car clubs and enthusiasts who just showed up. Eventually the museum took it over.” This is not accurate
It was started by one club – Historical Automobile Society of Canada, Central Region – and organized by “yours truly”. They did not “just show up.”
I organized it for several years and turned it over to the museum when attendance declined. I continued to organize the parade that started at the sportplex, went through Fergus, over to Elora and back to the museum. The museum decided to end the parade (some believed I quit).
George Milne,
Cambridge
‘Stand for life’
Dear Editor:
RE: Council reverses decision on support letter for new hospice, Aug. 25.
I think it’s wonderful news that there will be a six-bed hospice at Wellington Place. However I very much support councillors Stephen Kitras and Steven VanLeeuwen in their opinion at the council meeting regarding medical assistance in dying (MAID).
Having had experiences of palliative care with family and young friends, I have seen firsthand the sensitivity given to dying patients which allows them comfort, peace and dignity. It should always be a place of quiet where they can slip away without fear or threats of coercion.
There has been so much lack of care for the elderly who were sick during the COVID-19 pandemic. They often died alone. How wonderful it would be for this place in Fergus to be a loving haven to support those who are close to death, without fear of being euthanized!
Thank you Kitras and Steven VanLeeuwen. I appreciate your stand for life.
Anne Jones,
Fergus
‘Prevailing narrative’
Dear Editor:
Americans’ number one concern according to recent polls is the state of democracy in their own country. The prevailing narrative in the West for the war between Ukraine and Russia is the preservation of democracy. Half a year into this fiasco, we can see how well that is working.
Huge parts of Ukraine have been devastated by Russian artillery. Support by the West, backed by the military might of the United States, has also contributed to the devastation in the name of democracy. Elsewhere, world-wide, people are suffering directly linked to the war in Ukraine. Even the World Food Bank is overwhelmed with cries for help from the global south. People are food insecure, fertilizer for crops is too expensive, wheat is slow in coming, if it comes at all. Is there an end in sight? Maybe. Possibly. Some time.
Where does this leave global citizens? I would say both powerless and silent. Where are the voices of dissent that challenge the prevailing narrative that this war in Europe in the 21st century is a just war?
If democracy is under attack in the United States and Americans are not sure of the outcome, then how can the United States protect it around the world with aid and guns?
Janet Calderwood,
Rockwood
‘Sickening’
Dear Editor:
RE: Rabbit whisperer, Aug. 18.
It is hard to read the letter from Deborah Dietsche and not respond at all.
Plain and simple, people with guns who go out for a walk on a nice day to take pleasure in killing and wounding any creatures they come across are a different sort from most of us.
Thank God most people would not enjoy this morbid, sickening, bloody and violent activity.
To them, it is very amusing and pleasurable to blow an animal’s head off in a spray of blood and laugh at the wounded ones writhing in pain. To them, anything that lives is vermin, to be used for target practice on a nice summer day.
Strange people to the rest of us…
Alex Themelis,
Guelph
Energy evaluations
Dear Editor:
RE: Evaluating energy use, Aug. 25.
Estimating one’s carbon footprint: the main sources of emissions for a family, are the vehicle, heating and cooling the home, and powering the lights and appliances. It’s best to take the whole year into account because emissions vary with the seasons. Any starting date is fine as long as the end date is a year later.
The vehicle: fuel bills can be collected for a year or one can multiply kilometres (km) travelled in a year by the average litres (L) burned per km. Each L of gasoline produces 2.31 kilogram (kg) of CO2e.
The home: if natural gas is used for heating, look up a year’s worth of bills to find out what volume of gas was burned. A cubic metre (m3) of natural gas releases 2.4kg of CO2e. If a different fuel is used the CO2e released can be found on the internet.
The kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy used to run the home can be found from a year’s worth of electricity bills. Ontario’s electricity generation is very clean. 1 kWh of electricity releases 0.044 kg CO2e.
My experience: In 2018, I drove a Honda Fit that averaged 6.8 L/100km. Now I drive a Prius plug-in hybrid that averages 1.45 L/100 km. I drive about 12,000km per year, so the Honda would have released 1,885kg, but only 402kg from the Prius.
In 2018, I burned 1,980m3 of natural gas to heat water and my home, and 2,750kWh of electricity to power everything. The gas released 4,752kg and the electricity 121kg.
Between 2019 and 2021, I purchased the Prius, added solar panels to the roof of my garage, installed battery storage, switched water heating from gas to electricity and home heating from a gas furnace to an air exchange heat pump, which uses electricity but supplements with gas on very cold days.
This year, I expect charging my car and powering the house will use about 10,000kWh of electricity, but only 4,100kWh (180 kg CO2e) will come from the grid, the rest is free from the sun. The heat pump will use about 530m3 of gas and release 1,272 kg.
My carbon footprint from car + natural gas + electricity in 2018 was 6,758kg or about 6.8 tonne, and for 2022, 1,842kg or about 1.9 tonne.
Ron Moore,
Hillsburgh
‘Geopolitical lesson’
Dear Editor:
I noticed in a back issue that you reported on bands from “Southern Ireland.”
While there is a province of the UK called “Northern Ireland,” there is no place called “Southern Ireland.”
The 1937 constitution renamed the “Southern Ireland” state “Ireland.” In 1949, it explicitly became a republic under the terms of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 when it left the British Commonwealth.
The bands in question were from County Donegal which is not even in the geographic south of Ireland, but is up in the northwest corner.
Here ends the geopolitical lesson for the day.
Robert Moore,
Guelph