Earth Day can’t be symbolic

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Too many people continue to throw non-biodegradable garbage down a dark chute or flush pollutants down toilet/sink drainage pipes, as though they’re inconsequentially dispensing that waste into a black-hole singularity where it’s compressed into nothing.

We still discharge smoke out of elevated exhaust pipes, smoke stacks and, quite consequentially, from sky-high jet engines. It is a perception that it’s all absorbed into the atmosphere without any repercussion. Then there are the corporate-driven, toxic contaminant spills. It seems that out of sight is out of mind.

Every day of the year needs World Earth Day action – with a genuine effort and not just brief news media tokenism nor subtle dismissal.

Obstacles to environmental progress were quite formidable pre-pandemic. But COVID-19 not only stalled most projects, it added greatly to the already-overflowing landfills, including with disposable masks and other non-degradable biohazard-protective, single-use materials.

Meantime, here in Canada, carbon taxes manage to induce some of the shrillest complaints – even though this tax is more than recouped (except for high-income earners) via federal government rebate.

Many owners of superfluously huge, over-powered, gas-guzzling vehicles seem to consider owning them as a basic human right. It may scare them to even contemplate a world in which they can no longer readily own and flaunt that ‘right’, especially since much quieter electric cars are no substitute for them.

Once again, the disturbing mass addiction for fossil fuel products by the larger public is quite evident, which undoubtedly makes them to not pay mind to the planet’s greatest polluter – it seems they don’t want to be seen as hypocrites.

FRANK STERLE JR

White Rock, BC

Canada