Page 4 EXPRESS February7. 2001 opinion EXPRESS PHONE: (250) 354-39 IO EDITORIAL 354-11 I 8 FAX 352-5075 554 WARD STREET. NELSON, B.C. VIL IS9 E-MAIL: express@expressnews.bc.ca OFFICE HOURS: Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Put your mouth where your water is Dehydration is a sinister ldller. It's a condition you can catch by doing the very thing necessary to alleviate its worst effects: drinldng water. Unclean drinking water introduces the diarrhea pathogen to millions of people every year, resulting in severe dehydra- tion in many cases - dehydration that, for the very young and the very old, can be fatal. In the West Kootenay, we take clean drinking water as a necessary and natural responsibility of government and, by extension, all of society. As a democracy, we have the authority to insist on clean drinking water. We have laws and regulations that look after this function, in fact. And, like most of western society, we do a reasonably good job at providing safe drinking water. Problems arise when you attempt to define "clean water," however. What's clean to one person may be poison to another. Giardia dysentery may not show any symptoms in one person while maldng another seriously ill. Some The Editor's Mailbag methods of filtration may also be noxious to certain people. We can have very different sensitivities, and our definition of "clean" may vary. You can't ski on a melted glacier To ask the government to provide "clean" drinking water Dear Editor, Closer to home, the Starbird pie say the proposed resort is dead. It that meets every individual's requirements may be unreal- The World Watch Institute based in Glacier, just north of Jumbo Valley at is not. The development's environ- istic. It is possible to provide mostly clean drinking water Washington, D.C. stated in March the head of Horsethief Creek, has mental review process is still very that most people won't get sick from. 2000 that the acceleration in the melt- receded substantially. Glacier Dome much alive, but is going very slowly, Perhaps that is all we can ask for. We may, as individu- ing of the Earth's ice during the 1990s and the Lake-of-the-Hanging-Glacier, and Mr. Oberti has stopped trying to als, simply have to take on the responsibility for clean water occurred in lock step with a rise in also just north of the Jumbo Valley and move it along. He realizes that the pre- at our own taps, according to our own needs and prefer- global temperatures. feeders of Horsethief Creek, have no sent provincial governrnent may be ences. We may have to involve our health care system, if it Recently, glacierologist Dr. Mindy current data. But the Commander defeated in the next election. He hopes can be shown that certain individuals need their water fur- Brugman spoke at the Jumbo Creek Glacier, north and east of the Jumbo that a different government will be ther cleaned to certain specifications. Or we may find that Conservation Society's AGM in Valley, now has so many crevasses that receptive to his proposal though it it's necessary for every home to have its own personal Invermere. There she concurred that siding is unwise. Glacier Dome and would be an economic white elephant purification system. the glaciers of the world are shrinking. the Commander Glacier are two of the and would wipe out a wonderful area Government cannot provide "clean" water; it can only She said they'll all be gone in 50 years four glaciers included in the Jumbo of wildlife habitat. provide "cleanish" water. Surface water quality, changing if present trends continue. Glacier Alpine Resort proposal. We must not let our guard down from season to season, can never be guaranteed. We've all heard that the quality of Dr. Brugman stated, "The patterns when it comes to keeping Jumbo wild This should not be taken by government or business as a summer siding has deteriorated so are indisputable - we are losing our forever. license to degrade our precious water supply in the course much on the Whistler Glacier that it ice." This does not seem to bother Rowena Eloise, Argenta of business operations, and we can, in fact, demand that bas been moved to the Blackcomb Oberto Oberti, the development pro- for the West Kootenay Coalition government provide a certain level of water quality. We can Glacier. moter. Why should it? I've heard peo- for Jumbo Wild demand that outhouses are not placed next to streams. We can restrict access into watersheds. We can require industry to purify water before returning it to the environment. Whose water is it, anyway? But none of tbese solutions is perfect. It is up to each of Dear Editor, it has no right to convert employment. It's diverting the B.C. Government us to look after and take responsibility for our water supply. Cominco's recently pub- that power into a cash wind- energy wealth that belongs announced increases to its At present, chlorination is a cheap and effective method of licized exports of electricity fall for its shareholders. The to all British Columbians water licence fees, arguing "cleaning" water supplies and is used extensively. lf other at the expense of its zinc ECA, with over 5000 sup- into the pockets of its share- that jobs would be lost. methods can be found to be effective, then individuals will production have a regional porters, is B.C.'s largest holders. The Provincial Now Cominco is ldlling have more choices. consumer organization up grassroots utility consumer Government says Timber jobs in the businesses that We all need water. We all need clean water. in arms. The Kootenay- advocacy group and has West's forest licences can handle its zinc while using When we're able to exercise choice in our access to Okanagan Electric been active in B.C. energy be cancelled if the Youbou that same water licence to clean water, we'll have moved another step closer to the Consumers Association policy issues since I 986. sawmill closes. We've reap windfall profits. There health care we require, and a little closer to the democracy (ECA) recently charged that By exporting power asked Victoria to apply the shouldn't be a double stan- we deserve. Cominco's water licences instead of using it to pro- same logic to Cominco's dard. for power production were duce zinc, Cominco water licences. Donald Scarlett granted so the company deprives this province of In the past, Cominco has Kaslo ECA Director could process minerals, and economic activity and loudly complained when OWNER and PUBLISHER: Nelson Becker PRODUCTION: Julie Swenson ADVERTISING: Sharon Butler Letters to the Editor guidelines: DISTRIBUTION: Eugene Schmunk We encourage our readers to write to us. Letters are a require some research, and should offer new information as ADMINISTRATION: Rose Berge way for you to speak to your community, to give new infor- well as an opinion. January 24, 2001 Volume 13, Number 14 ISSN 1196-7471 mation, participate in a discussion or express an opinion. If you wish to write a commentary, please contact the The Express Newspaper is owned by Kootenay Express Communication Corp. Please address letters meant for publication to the Editor. Publication ■ Mail Agreement 10654353. Paid at Nelson, B.C. Editor. We do not accept open letters or poetry of any kind. 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