Dave Getchell
Joined: 03 Sep 2005 Posts: 9
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Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 9:45 pm Post subject: The dirty side of Toronto Winter |
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The dirty side of Toronto Winter
By Dave Getchell
I’m in front of the tip of a very dirty iceberg. This year Toronto had record snowfalls, it is April 6th today and warm and it feels like it might not snow again (even though it did snow a bit the day before yesterday). I drive, bike or TTC by this lot each day and it struck me the other week just how incredibly black the mounds of snow were in the Super Centre parking lot, and I thought it needed preserved and deserved some editorial attention.
The reason for the blackness of course is partially from parking lot dirt, sand, tar and other materials that have been pushed up by the ploughs; however, the gridlock that now occurs at that intersection, has grown increasingly worse each year and exhaust from many vehicles idling by each day is causing huge amounts of hurt to this area. Look at the snow!!
This is shameful; not just that it is April and these megalithic piles of snow/ice/dirt/trash will take another month or more to melt, but also because there is that much extra pollution in the air due to traffic patterns changing and no decent accommodation made to assist consumers in getting to their business efficiently and without hurting the environment.
Hydrogen powered vehicles with fuel cracked by the sun should be commonplace by now.
Electric vehicles for city use, limited in speed, are manufactured in Quebec yet are only legal for use in the U.S. and in Vancouver and a European manufacturer (MDI) now offers compressed air powered cars that recharge from household voltages or can trade up quickly a pre-charged tank; they also offer hybrid models that double on varied bio fuels.
Toronto is not the only place with a lot of dirt in the air, but this year, due to excess snow accumulations the difference is clearly visible, the snow is defaced and is now just cold, filthy residue.
Bad air that discolors the snow also hits our lungs, we need to be conscious of our choices and try to think green. Foolish traditionalists and uncaring oil barons will kill us all, they need to start investing in solar cells, hydrogen and wind and water energy technologies instead of war technology and retribution.
dg |
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