It’s easy to blame the governments for the negative things happening, and it’s easy to assume they have the power to make all that is wrong right again.
But it’s simply not true. The real power to make a better life in Squamish lies with the regular citizens – with you and me.
The wildfires raging that have encased Squamish with smoke are an example. Once ignited, the fires are difficult – sometimes impossible – for our heroic firefighters to contain and control, and the smoke makes the air difficult to breathe for people throughout the entire region. But the blazes can start with something as silly as a person tossing a lit cigarette butt from a car window on the Sea to Sky Highway. And when the flames encroach upon cities and towns, they can easily destroy homes that are not fire-smart, for example, houses that have woodpiles, tree brush and propane tanks right next to their walls. It’s our responsibility to visit bcwildfire.ca to see what we can do to protect our families and prevent damage to our homes.
The same applies to the environmental damage to Howe Sound. While hundreds will gather to protest the possibility of a liquefied natural gas plant being built on its shoreline, how many will ensure that no plastics are left on the beach to be washed out to sea? Bits of plastic have entered the aquatic food chain, meaning the salmon that feed both the eagles and us can now contain little bits of that plastic bag or pop bottle that was left by Nexen Beach or the Mamquam Blind Channel. You can join the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup event in September, but really, we need to do what we can year-round to reduce the amount of plastic waste.
We’re lucky to live by the ocean, but we also have a responsibility to ensure we do no damage and that we do not allow corporations to do so, either. Gone are the days when the ocean was the toilet for industrial waste.
While we are coughing the forest fire smoke, here’s one more thing we can do: Stop idling. We live in an idle-free zone, but many continue to leave car engines running when it’s not necessary. Shut off the engine, or better yet, walk and cycle instead. Our air will be cleaner.
We hold the power to improve our lives and our environment.
– Editor Christine Endicott
