Choose native trees for the best results
Re: “Arbutus ‘landmark’ cut down for Langford towers,” Feb. 9.
After removing a beloved arbutus tree in Langford, the developer intends to plant 26 trees to “achieve the same canopy, habitat and environmental benefits.”
Those 26 trees must be of native tree species if that noble goal is to be achieved. Habitat and environmental benefits will not be realized if exotic, non-native trees are planted to replace the arbutus tree that was cut.
The developer also says “more suited to the urban environment,” which loudly rings the alarm bells. Developers and municipalities have the unfortunate habit of planting the worst possible trees, based on “urban suitability.”
The choice of tree is tremendously important. Owing to their size, the right trees make an outsized contribution to the ecosystem that surrounds us. But the wrong trees, non-native exotics such as ginkgos or zelkovas, do not participate in the local ecosystem. They do not support insects, which in turn would support birds. The wrong trees make green deserts.
If Jagpal Development is truly committed to the stated goal of replacing the canopy, habitat and environmental benefits of the arbutus tree that was removed, they will choose the trees to be planted in its place with great care, ideally appropriate native species.
Ann Tiplady
Victoria
Blame the system, not the patient
Re: “The demise of common sense in health care,” commentary, Feb. 8.
This anonymous physician argues that “patients need to take some blame” for the issues facing our overburdened health care system, and suggests placing limits on when and how patients are permitted to access emergency services.
They ask the “simple” question: “Who holds the voters, the public, accountable for their use of the health-care system?” I have a simple answer: no one does, and no one should.
Who is ultimately most affected when we blame and shame patients for how they use the emergency department? It is the people who experience inequities in our society and already face discrimination and poor treatment within our health-care systems.
For people who anticipate stigma and struggle with the decision to seek necessary health care, this comment sends the dangerous message that they could be turned away or treated with disdain.
Blaming people for a lack of “common sense” in managing their own health fails to account for what is actually constraining our health-care system: capitalist, neoliberal, colonial policies that restrict health-care spending and prioritize efficiency over care.
The idea that we should hold people “accountable” for their health care use will only further entrench the impacts of these policies by inviting gatekeeping, punitive measures and, ultimately, the privatization of health care.
Place the “blame” elsewhere. We must look upward at the real causes of our health-care system challenges to avoid an us-vs.-them stalemate, and instead unite health-care providers and patients in advocating for a better system.
Allie Slemon
Victoria
Let’s use our power to save Mother Earth
Our aging Mother Earth is not in good shape these days. She’s really starting to show her the ravages of time. The cause, the enemy? Human greed, that never-ending insatiable quest for wealth, power and control.
But there is hope. We are in a unique position in history to change this doomsday scenario. We’ve been given the tools. Mass media exposes truths so that we can learn what’s really going on in the world.
Computers are connecting us globally, so we have the means and opportunity to express outrage, sign petitions, share our thoughts and ideas, and find solutions. It will take individuals uniting in this fight to win the battle. We can’t rely solely on our elected officials.
Let’s stop giving in to the “money-makers” and instead make more conscious decisions in all that we buy. We need to spend money where it benefits our planet and humanity, not some overpaid CEO.
We have to stand up against the growing trend of monopolization, and force businesses to cease any practices that are destroying this Earth.
It is important to remember that we have a lot of power … with our hard-earned cash. We can make or break any giant companies that benefit at the expense of others. Just don’t buy from them. Support local. Let’s educate ourselves to find out who the “good guys” really are, then switch our allegiance to them.
We can do this … together.
Kathleen Hagerty
Duncan
Stringent requirements before assisted dying
Re: “Have we created a monster with easy access to MAID?” commentary, Feb. 9.
I found the commentary interesting as coincidentally I had just finished reading Dr. Stefanie Green’s book This is Assisted Dying. She was one of the first medical doctors in B.C. to venture into this field and her account was both fascinating and educational.
Dr. Al Wilke invoked the spectre of Nietzsche and made the proposition that MAID will be abused and is a subterfuge to save health care costs. This is an unfortunate depiction of MAID.
Green documented many cases she has encountered in the past six years, explaining the process for applying and how the system is safeguarded against abuse.
Compassion is the hallmark to MAID. Why let a loved one suffer when the end is clearly in sight? A key aspect is that the person requesting MAID must have the cognitive capacity to request it on their own and meet key criteria that must be certified by two medical practitioners.
If anything, the stringent requirements are quite limiting, and she provides details on two cases that were not approved because of technicalities.
Having friends and family at one’s bedside once MAID is being administered provides a poignant occasion for farewells to be said and love expressed. In one particular case, a grandmother was finally able to express her true feelings towards her nephew, which maybe helped set him on a better course in life.
Anyone who wishes to know more about MAID is encouraged to read Green’s book. It certainly doesn’t weigh the financial costs or savings, but only expresses the love and compassion when a person may die with dignity when the time is right.
Don Thain
Victoria
Remember all that Russia has done
Re: “Tanks but no negotiation is bad news for Ukraine,” Feb. 1.
Maybe it’s just me, but I completely disagree with the writer’s curious view that Canada should basically be sending diplomats to Ukraine, but not tanks — really?
No doubt the writer has a good memory, but perhaps, just perhaps, did he forget in the first place who invaded whom, thereby breaking the 1994 Budapest memorandum protecting the territorial rights and sovereignty of Ukraine?
Did he forget Flight MH 17? Did he forget who has committed war crimes, targeted civilians killing women, children and the elderly, and demolished several towns and villages, apartments, hospitals and schools in Ukraine?
Did he forget Russia’s current and historical attempts to “Russify” Ukraine — did he forget the Holodomor? And did he forget “Rash Putin’s” murdering, poisoning and jailing of adversaries, and abuses of human rights of Russian citizens?
The writer would do well to acknowledge comments from various European Union representatives who recommend that when “negotiating” with Putin to “be aware from the start that he is lying.”
But maybe it’s just me.
Gordon Zawaski
Parksville
Trust being destroyed in vital institutions
The art of public relations seems to be as much at play as science in the ongoing debate around sea lice in salmon farms on northern Vancouver Island.
After federal scientists concluded that the amount of sea lice contamination from Island-based fish farms is statistically insignificant, accusations quickly emerged from an opposed group of scientists claiming bias and poor scientific method.
Such a transparent effort to generate publicity raises the question of bias and poor scientific method in this opposing group of scientists. Though their public response sounds very technical and factual, scientific-sounding assertions in news stories are not how good science is conducted.
If they want science to be settled by public opinion, instead of presenting data in forums where their claims against the federal study can be tested and proven, they commit their own scientific sin.
Without using the terms, they impute conspiracy and corruption; that federal scientists are in cahoots with a corrupt business sector. This sounds more like conspiracy theory than good science.
Canadians are as tired of conspiracy theories, mistrust and ad hominem attacks as they are of corruption, bad science and corporate greed. Will wild salmon stocks be destroyed by sea lice from fish farms? Maybe, but not so far, after years of claims that they will.
What we can say is being destroyed is trust in two vital institutions, science and government.
Paul Walton
Nanaimo
Shamed, stigmatized for using drugs
One of the often-stated reasons for decriminalizing possession and use of hard drugs is to remove the shame and stigma attached to their use.
Shame and stigma do not occur naturally. They are human concepts that have developed as human society has evolved.
Their purpose in society is to reprimand those members of society who have deviated from acceptable behaviour and to encourage them to act in a manner that is not harmful to society.
Judicial penalties such as fines, incarceration and corporal punishment have developed within societies as natural extensions of this, to be employed when shame and stigma do not lead to improvements in behaviour.
Martin Hill
Sooke
One good mooning deserves another
Re: “Let’s face the facts: Jupiter as a moon hog,” letter, Feb. 9.
Has the letter-writer never heard of mooning? Or was that just a ’70s thing? We used to moon our neighbours, pressing the “hams” against the living room window. It was called a “Lunar Cluster.”
And I have photos to demonstrate the technique, in case your readers wonder.
T.L. Pedneault-Peasland
Saanich
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