Wastewater Technicians Alex Johnston (right) and Claire Gibbs pull up a passive wastewater sample from one of their test locations in Toronto’s east-end on July 25.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Cause, effect
Re “Jasper fires show public policy shouldn’t be solely driven by public sentiment” (July 30): Contributor Gary Mar writes that “millions of dead trees” is a failure of government policy and that forestry policy has “directly resulted” in wildfires. One wonders how this theory applies to fires like the one that destroyed so much of Fort McMurray, Alta., in 2016, or in so many other regions of Western Canada where dry fuel for fires is not dead forests and there is active forestry in the region.
And who are the “predictable voices” that will say the Jasper wildfire is caused by climate change? My guess is those of climate scientists.
Mr. Mar asserts that good public policy should follow science and not necessarily public sentiment. I submit that statement applies even when the science disagrees with one’s political ideology.
Shaun Fluker Calgary
Contributor Gary Mar writes that “in the 1990s, mountain pine beetles were first discovered in a park in British Columbia.” Pine beetles are endemic to forests in B.C., infesting thousands of hectares in the Chilcotin by the 1970s. On rare occasions, tens or hundreds of beetles damage a tree, but large numbers are usual.
He also writes that, “if the cause of the fires were primarily climate change, we would expect diseased forests and large wildfires in Sweden and Finland.” Beetles have always been here, but cold winters killed most of them. That’s no longer the case.
Fewer cold winters mean more beetles. The rising population was recognized as an early sign of global warming.
Poor forest management has not helped: Thinning and prescribed burnings should have been more aggressively pursued. But climate change made beetles a problem in the first place.
John Kidder Ashcroft, B.C.
I am taking photographs off the wall and packing them into boxes, along with photo albums of our three children. I am wrapping up my great-grandmother’s 100-year-old teapot and carefully stashing it in another box. I have the insurance papers, our passports, birth certificates and marriage licence packed with a bit of jewellery.
We have small bags of clothing ready to go, including footwear. The woman who fled Jasper and later said, “I don’t even have shoes,” that haunts me.
I am increasingly resentful and angry as I pack these things, and not for the first time. I am lucky: Fire has not reached Whistler, B.C., like it has Jasper, Alta., and Lytton, B.C. But it could.
I am resentful of every foolish decision and action by people, politicians, business leaders and media who do not seem to care about climate change and the consequences for their children and grandchildren, or anyone else.
Jane Reid Whistler, B.C.
What a waste
Re “Ontario has a globally praised system for monitoring diseases through wastewater. So why is the province shutting it down?” (July 30): As cases of COVID-19 rise again, how can Ontario defend the decision to shut down a globally respected initiative?
Ontario Health experts have provided solid data which show that this program reduces chances of infection and subsequent hospital visits. The overall savings to our health care system would far outweigh the costs of the program.
How can the Ford government be so short-sighted?
Candace Yanchyshyn Toronto
Wastewater testing is also an important tool for individual health management.
My wife is immunocompromised and thus has a higher risk of adverse outcomes if she contracts COVID-19. She uses wastewater testing to gauge how risky it is to engage in social activities. Without such reliable data, her activities will be limited.
I wonder how many others, immunocompromised or not, will be similarly affected as the Ontario government shuts down this important tool? Ignorance is not bliss.
Jamie Oxley Ottawa
It’s so typical of government to “save” taxpayer money by cutting a program when officials suspect that action will be largely ignored.
Wastewater does not attract defenders like greenbelts or science centres. Politics again outplay expert opinion.
This is another move by the Ford administration that is unlikely to cause it much grief.
Rochelle Hatton Sudbury
Crunch time
Re “The unethical behaviour we are seeing in the drone-spying scandal is all too common in sport” (July 30): As Chinese Olympic swimmers are alleged to be organized, wholesale cheaters who got away unpunished and unpublicized, the Canadian women’s soccer team is penalized for sneaking a look at their opponent’s practice, surely one of the most common and least offensive fouls in sport.
Welcome to the Olympics, where it seems common sense goes to die.
Jack Kirchhoff Toronto
Since Canadian soccer officials have violated restrictions on gathering information about other teams, we should be prepared for the consequences. If it costs the women’s team their past Olympic gold medal and the men’s team their FIFA ranking since the Copa America, then so be it.
I question whether information about an opponent’s preparation makes a material difference to the outcome, especially when we have unimpeded access to hours of recordings of past games. Success is overwhelmingly a function of the quality of athletes on a team.
To be sanctioned for breaking the rules is shameful. To be sanctioned for an infraction that provides what I see as virtually no benefit is embarrassing.
David McGrath Kingston
Re “Play on?” (Letters, July 30): A letter-writer suggests that one or more Canadian players probably knew about the use of drones.
Christine Sinclair has stated that she was not aware. No player looks in a better position to judge, as she was team captain for many years. Just as important, it is my impression that no athlete has been consistently more ethical (and modest) than her.
No. I am simply awestruck and proud of how the players have performed since the shameful revelation last week.
Richard Harris Hamilton
That there was cheating is not in doubt, but dig a bit deeper and one finds that drone spying is widespread, at least according to soccer legend Didier Drogba and, no doubt, others across the globe.
Yet many are calling for even more retribution. There is serious talk about negating gold medals from three years ago. The athletes themselves should not be blamed for the actions of their coaches.
Time to move on and cheer our soccer players, hoping they achieve the coveted full nine points and qualify for the next round.
John Nightingale Ottawa
Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com