The Green Room

Marnie & Darren share thoughts on green living:

We both worked at Royal Roads University in Victoria, which is very green and my husband and I are trying to do our part.

We clean mainly with microfiber – which I’ve been using for 8 years. We have our own business called Enviro Gem. We are consultants and distributors of natural and organic cleaners. We recycle and only garden with nature. I have a bird feeder and love what sounds like a million birds in the trees in our backyard (my favorite is the Steller Jay).

What I also want to say is, instead of the government banning wood stoves when so many people need them to keep their families warm in the wintertime, why not fine the vehicles that spew out black toxic smoke? They are out driving around all year long. I walk a lot and the smell of the exhaust is really bad. It’s almost worst for your health to go for a walk!

Derek Malivoire of Oakville Ontario writes:

"With all the golf couses in Ontario, how can they be exempt from the pesticide ban? Half of Ontario is covered with golf courses, with lots of streams running through them. They are the bigest user.
My garden has been drug free for years., but I have seen the frogs, snakes and a lot of the good insects disappear. In fact, I have not seen any for the last three years."

Thanks for this question, Derek. According to Lisa Gue, our Health and Environment Policy Analyst, the short answer is yes, the proposed Ontario ban would exempt golf courses, as does the ban in Quebec and in most municipalities.

The Ontario legislation has yet to pass and may be amended, but in its current form, golf courses would be exempted from the ban if they comply with certain requirements. Those requirements would be specified in regulations and would likely involve measure to reduce (but not eliminate) pesticide use.

We suggest you write to Premier McGuinty and Environment Minister Gerretsen and urge the Ontario government to tighten up that aspect of the law. You’ll find a direct link to them on this page of our David Suzuki Digs My Garden site: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/NatureChallenge/GardenContest/Take_Action.asp .