ENVIRONMENTAL LIP SERVICE ONLY PLEASE - THIS IS CANADA AFTERALL

The last couple of days we've seen three different articles in the Waterloo Region Record regarding either direct or indirect environmental problems. They have been the one about algal blooms on Lake Erie that I posted about yesterday as well as lead in the drinking water of residents of Newark, New Jersey. Finally yesterday's paper advised readers about concerns for a new gravel pit proposed along Witmer Road,south of Petersburg in Wilmot Township.

Our media understand the life and death consequences both to individuals and to humanity as a whole. Overall the media have been bringing the life altering, or worse, issue of climate change to the public regularly. And that pretty much is where it ends. Air travel expands, pipelines continue to be built and money is being made in the oilsands and will continue to do so for a long time.

Closer to home the article about the proposed gravel pit has all the local players telling us supposedly stupid citizens that gravel pits that follow the rules are not harmful. Two points to that. The first point is bull manure. The rules do not protect the public or the environment. They are far too lax. The second point is that what rules there are, simply are not enforced. Like the Ministry of Environment (MOE/MECP), the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) hasn't enough manpower to regularly and comprehensively monitor and supervise the plethora of gravel pits just in Waterloo Region much less throughout the province. Even if they do stumble across violations, just like the MOE they write up a ticket and personnel higher up in the MNR decide that it's not in the public interest to pursue either fines or charges.

There is a third point. The article about the Wilmot Township gravel pit near Petersburg suggests that the gravel pit will be restored to agricultural lands. More extreme bull manure. First of all the drainage beneath it has been drastically altered as the sand and gravel have been removed from beneath the soils. Secondly the fertile topsoil has been scraped away and piled up to be eventually (years or more likely decades later) spread back over the surface of the ground. Experts at the Hunder Pit Ontario Municipal Board hearing a few years back held in Woolwich Council Chambers put the lie to that scenario. Agricultural soils are filled with bacteriological and other life. Both bacteria and fungi in the soil actually assist the roots of crops in taking nutrients from the soil and making them available for crop growth and health. Disturbing this topsoil via scraping and piling drastically reduces the productivity of the soil and it can take decades for it to be restored AFTER it's been spread back out onto the ground surface.

As I said, here in Ontario and Canada it's all about lip service. Tell the people what they want to hear but do not ever even slightly impair the ability of the wealthy and powerful from exploiting our natural resources for their benefit to the detriment of the environment and the rest of our citizens.