According to the news, one could say Yellowknife has sprung a leak. In fact, from the sounds of it, several leaks. Let’s hope they can get this sorted out because if it is a bad year for forest fires, we might need all the water we can get.
Now, apparently during last year’s evacuation, the water pressure in the system was increased considerably to test the sprinkler systems that had been installed. I just wonder if that has had anything to do with some of the water problems experienced since then. It is something the city should think about and consider, if they decide to increase the water pressure again.
You may not have heard this but this week, there was a meeting in Ottawa, one that involved over 4,000 delegates from 175 countries. They are trying to set up a Global Plastic Treaty and will vote on it later this year. Some want to eliminate plastic by 2040, while others want to try to recycle it and manage it better. In Canada, a staggering 227 million kg of plastic goes to dumps every year and 98 per cent of it is produced from hydrocarbons or oil.
It is estimated that worldwide since the 1950s, when plastic came into use, seven billion tons of plastic has been produced. That is a whole lot of plastic and it is everywhere now: oceans, rivers, lakes, in the soil, in plants and animals, including humans. It really is a serious problem and the powers that be should have started dealing with it decades ago.
I am old enough to remember what the pre-plastic era was like. At the Yellowknife Historical Museum, there are some dioramas which show the pre-plastic age and everything was made of metal, glass, wood, paper or cardboard.
In the 1950s, a couple of Canadians discovered how to turn oil into green plastic garbage bags, which went into mass production in the 1960s. I can remember a politician saying they would never catch on because people already had garbage cans, so why would they waste money on plastic bags to put into their garbage can? I thought of this the other day as I was carrying out a white plastic bag full of household garbage, which was mainly plastic food containers and wrappers.
Everything is wrapped in plastic and so much of it is getting into the environment, we are basically wrapping the world in plastic. Step one would be to stop people from littering and not handling garbage in a responsible fashion. Just look around Yellowknife as the snow melts: plastic and litter everywhere, including hanging off the trees and underbrush.
Imagine if you did an audit of your house and stuff — you would be amazed at just how much plastic you have. People talk about banning plastic straws, but how about plastic rugs, drapes, clothes, and water bottles. So, getting rid of plastic is not as easy as people think.
Also, I would like to know what hosting this conferences cost Canada. What was the carbon footprint with 4,000 delegates attending from all over the world? Also, what was the meeting’s plastic footprint and how much of it went into a Canadian dump somewhere? In today’s world, did all those people really need to attend and couldn’t they had done more remote work?
The other day I was out picking up a little litter and I came across some plastic pot containers. When the government legalized cannabis, they demanded these. So, on the one hand, you have the government trying to cut down on plastic but on the other hand, they are encouraging new uses for it.
A good start would be to audit the government’s plastic use.