Letters, July 31

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/07/2024 (750 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Future generations

Re: Jen Zoratti’s column “It takes a village of respectful opinions”, July 27

I appreciated Jen Zoratti’s Saturday column on not having children.

As a child-free senior, I am still planting trees that are unlikely to be mature enough to offer me shade during my lifetime.

I relish the thought of next generations enjoying my efforts.

Similarly, I care about the state of the world that will be faced by future generations.

The fact that J.D. Vance is only motivated to care because he has children, his “direct stake,” says more about J.D. Vance than about Kamala Harris.

We should all seek to leave the world a better place for all people, not out of selfish desire, but rather because it is the right thing to do. It appears that Kamala Harris gets this.

Joan Simpkins

St. Andrews

A larger story

I want to congratulate Niigaan Sinclair on his insightful column last Friday about the impact of wildfires (“Wildfire horror real for many communities, not just historic resort towns”, July 26.

Amid the extensive media coverage of the tragic burning of Jasper and other northern communities, Mr. Sinclair stands out for highlighting the direct link between these tragedies and the increasing atmospheric heat, which fuels the outbreak, frequency, and intensity of wildfires, affecting every living being on Earth.

The irony of Alberta’s premier shedding tears over the devastation in Jasper, while leading a government that promotes fossil fuel consumption, should not be lost on anyone. Let’s keep it real.

Last Sunday was reported to be the hottest day on Earth since records began, a direct result of the increased use of fossil fuels.

While the coverage of personal tragedies, community resilience, and firefighter heroism is essential, it must be accompanied by a clear message to governments and the fossil fuel industry: cease and desist from resisting effective efforts to limit the use of products that cause this spiraling devastation.

Lloyd Axworthy

Ottawa

They’re people first

I truly appreciate the article by Nicole Buffie (“Mobile health-care clinic launches in Winnipeg,” July 29) and the work of the staff in the new mobile clinic in reaching out and working with people who live in poverty and have many other challenges most often linked to intergenerational trauma.

I have one small suggestion for Free Press journalists and that is to begin describing a situation by reversing the way you write about any person … they are people who are marginalized or impoverished, not homeless people or marginalized people or impoverished people.

They are people first, all with a story, human.

So too a person who is middle class or wealthy…they are people who are wealthy, who come from advantaged circumstances, who are often doing good work to spread the wealth. We don’t have at risk youth, we have youth who are at risk, who come from tough circumstances.

We don’t have special needs children, we have children with special needs and exceptionalities. It’s simple … just verbally/in writing switch around the words and you’ll help change how we think about our relatives and neighbours, the people around us.

It took us years to learn this in our school division. The shift could happen at the Free Press … staff meetings a good place to start.

Peter Krahn

Winnipeg

Sports funding, rethought

Looks like it’s time to rethink all the funding that goes to our elite athletic programs.

(Not picking on one sport but if the soccer shoe fits …).

Imagine all the benefits there could be to Canadians if that funding was used for local splash pads, indoor pools, lifeguards, amateur coach training, repairs to hockey arenas and other facilities, soccer fields that get mowed, programs for all ages, equipment etc.

Then we could all parade in honour of our improved national fitness and wellbeing!

Carol Montanti

Winnipeg

More than one side

Just exactly how did the squatters at the University of Manitoba campus “breathe life into a vision of what the university could and should be”? (“Proud of students,” Letters, July 26)

Clearly, the mess that is the Middle East can hardly be described without bias, confusion, contradiction, and passion.

This geographical area has been the locus of fighting and disputes as far back as recorded history, and probably for time immemorial with the arrival of the first African immigrants. That the mission of a university includes the discussion of such controversial topics is hopefully never in doubt.

However, the very fact that a topic is controversial demands that its discussion be open and subject to debate, questioning and further research. Such cannot be the case when a group of zealots occupies for its exclusive use an area of the university traditionally open to all.

In framing the current war in Palestine as an unwarranted incursion by an occupying army, the pro-Gaza squatters completely ignore the spark which led to the war: the unprovoked slaughter of 1,100 people within the State of Israel, and the kidnapping of some 251 innocent hostages.

A strong argument can be made that the Israeli Army is killing too many civilians. An equally strong argument can be made that Hamas is deliberately contributing to these killings by placing its fighters and the hostages in harm’s way, “shielded” by innocent Palestinians.

Israel’s enemy is Hamas, and not the Palestinian people. While too many innocent Palestinians have died, to call this war a genocide is disingenuous.

I mentioned bias as a key element in any discussion of the Middle East. Here is mine: I favour the destruction of Hamas and the subsequent rebuilding of a truly free Palestinian State as foreseen in the UN resolutions which led to the creation of Israel in 1948.

Israel should provide financial reparations to assist a truly free Palestinian people.

Francis Newman

Winnipeg

A bigger problem

Re: “A home for spent fuel”, Think Tank, July 29

To begin I will refer you to the “A Race Against Time; Interim Report on Nuclear Power in Ontario”, specifically Chapter Four, which outlines “the Candu Fuel Cycle”, including the Front End, the Power Point and the Back End.

The Front End — All operating uranium mines and mills in Canada are located in northern Saskatchewan. The tailings and mineralized waste rock must be managed over the long term because they could contain significant concentrations of radioactive elements (primarily thorium-230 and radium-226, along with their associated decay products) which is estimated to be 358 million tonnes.

The Power Point — Candu reactor fuel is in bundles. Plates welded to the end of the elements hold them together; spacers brazed to the sheaths keep the desired separations. The bundle is approximately 50 cm long and 10 cm in diameter. As of 2023, Canada’s existing inventory is about 3.3 million used nuclear fuel bundles in temporary wet storage.

In addition, the power point produces a large amount of waste in the form of irradiated clothing, tools, filters, reactor parts and fluids that have to be securely disposed of.

The back end — It’s not just as simple as digging a deep hole and burying nuclear waste. The hole has to hold the waste securely; “for Strontium-90 and cesium-137 have half-lives of about 30 years (half the radioactivity will decay in 30 years). Plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24,000 years”. How do we write a warning; “don’t dig here” that will last 30,000 years?

Another issue is getting 3.3 million bundles to the hole. the only solution is dedicated rail and that will have to be built.

Nuclear power is not as simple, clean, or as cut and dried as we think.

Mike Clarke

Winnipeg