The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

economist sunsuntribune saturday nov 12 2005 0 stoupllle mfpm suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffvihe on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director production interactive media john futhey advertising director distribution director marketingpartnerships retail flyer sales nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucci circulation barry black director circulation systems lynn pashko director debra weller york region printing general manager bob dean letters to the editor york police second to none with new technology re more than cops needed to fight crime editorial nov 3 i can assure your readers our police ser vices board and york regional police are more than ready to respond to the increas es in criminal activity outlined in your edi torial our board is responsible for providing adequate and effective policing to the citi zens of the region to govern the region effectively we must be proactive and antici pate issues that could affect the safety and security of our citizens our 20052007 business plan outlines our policing priorities and strategies to keep our citizens safe and crime prevention is our number one priority we know our population of 903600 will grow annually by about 35000 residents and that crime will continue to defy geographic boundaries we have positioned the police well in staffing training technology and equip ment including a stateof theart helicopter so that they can respond quickly and effec tively to criminal activity our sophisticated technology is second to none in this province in february 2004 our board adopted an aggressive staffing plan that will increase the total staffing of york police from 1302 in 2003 to 1855 in 2008 most of the 378 new police officers will be deployed to the front line patrolling our streets and neighbourhoods our 2003o4 crime rate is down 136 per cent precisely because we have increased police visibility in our communities by hiring 110 officers in 2004 alone in addition 61 experienced officers from ontario and canada joined york police since 2002 and these officers bring experience in the type of crime that is coming to the region over the last few years regional council has made a significant investment in polic ing to keep the region a safe community in 2005 council approved the boards budget of 150 million for 67 additional offi cers and 35 civilians our 2006 gross budget is expected to top 170 million bringing our percapita cost to 188 and our policetopopulation ratio to 775 to one a substantial improvement to the number quoted in your editorial we will never eliminate crime but crime prevention is just as much a priority for our board and chief la barge as is law enforce ment york regional police continues to provide excellent service in a costeffective manner to its residents regional councillor david barrow chairperson york regional police services board 1wake up your mind kid do you want an electlcm or nwt jy we have power to look to future so why dont we if we were to invent a time machine i would want to see what it was like in africa 100000 years ago when our species was just born if you have been to the serengeti you know how impres sive the variety and abundance of animals are even today a hun dred millennia ago the diversity and concentration would have been far greater in that context the small groups of naked apes who were our ancestors would not have been very impressive after all there werent many of us we werent very big fast or strong nor was our vision smell or hearing veiy acute but we did have a special advantage the most complex brain ever known that brain compensated for our lack of sen sory and physical prowess con ferring a massive memory curios ity and inventiveness and one of that brains inventions was the concept of a future our ancestors recognized that they could shape that future by making deliberate choices in the present foresight was the great leg up that enabled our species not only to survive but to flourish we are now the dominant species on the planet the most numerous mammal in the world and so powerful that we are affect ing the biological physical and chemical makeup of the bios phere and that is why climate change has become a major issue it is astounding to me that today with all the increased brainpower to give us greater pre dictive powers we no longer use foresight as our forebearers did for decades now the leading scientists of the world have been telling us we are on a dangerous path we are compromising the air water soil and energy by our activities and we are undermin ing the diverse creatures that make this planet habitable by cleansing capturing replenish ing and creating air water energy and soil we are upsetting the atmos phere upon which all life depends in the late 1980s when i began to take climate change seri- david suzuki ously we referred to global warm ing as a slowmotion catastro phe one we expected to kick in perhaps generations later instead the signs of change have accelerated alarmingly we saw when hurricane katrina hit the consequences of ignoring foresight scientists had warned of such a catastrophe for years even when the hurricane was forming experts gave warning days ahead of landfall and evacuation orders were given more than 24 hours before yet the richest most powerful and technologically advanced nation in the world failed to act on the warnings and we all witnessed the disastrous results what is it going to take to return to the strategy for survival that worked so well for 100000 years its time to take back the critical faculty for survival foresight and begin to act as our ancestors did to get us here in the first place the terrible part of this loom ing catastrophe is that people have been working on solutions for years and have developed con crete steps to massively reduce our energy use while stimulating whole new industries and tech nologies that are more efficient and affordable indeed amory lovins rocky mountain institute has released a massive study showing that the united states the greatest user of oil in the world can reduce its oil needs by at least 50 per cent while saving money and halting its dependence on foreign energy detractors often point to the variability of analytic models and the lack of absolute certainty well foresight was never absolutely certain if the sandwich on the table in front of you has even a 10 per cent chance of having food poi soning would you eat it climatologist stephen schneider of stanford universitysays i know i wouldnt yet here we are playing russian roulette with features of the plan ets atmosphere that will pro foundly impact generations to come how long are we willing to gamble its time to take back the critical faculty for survival foresight and begin to act as our ancestors did to get us here in the first place join the nature challenge and learn more at wwwdavidsuzukiorg letters policy the suntribune welcomes your letters submissions must be less than 400 words and include a daytime telephone number name and address the suntribune reserves the right to publish or not publish and edit for clarity and space letters to the editor the suntribune 34 civic ave 8oxl54 stouffvihe on 14a7z5 mason8yrng com editorial production managing director new editorial s v editor manager business flyer sales 9059055131717 suntribune jim mason jmasonymgconi pam nichols pnicholsyrngcom daivna andrews dandrewsyrngcom fax9055137525 advertising a york region newspaper group community newspaper the suntribune published every thursday and saturday is a administration advertising managing director 9055 classified member of the metroland printing publishing and distributing office manager classified manager real estate 18007433353fix 9055137515 ltd a whollyowned subsidiary of torstar corporation metroland vivian oneil ann campbell mikerogerson is comprised of 70 community publications across ontario the voncilymgcom acampbellymgcom mrogersonymgcom distribution york region newspaper group includes the liberal serving events management 9055131717 richmond hill andthomhillvaughan citizen the economist retail manager sun markhamthe erabanner newmarketaurora stouffvihe shows manager stacey allen ctaukxnfckhil r ofbs suntribune georgina advocate york region business times bonnie rondeau saltenymgcom tax bowl meatier xmm north of the city yorkregioncom and york region printing brondeauymgcom l