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Well, people are getting far more information today than they did 45 years ago. Although there are more facts, there are also more opinions. And we still make ill- informed decisions. I now believe we are experiencing a major problem in the eaflyâ€"let cen- tury. selective information overload. When I began my television career in 1962, I thought all the public needed was more informa- tion about science and technology so it could make better decisions based on facts. All too often, new technologies become part of our lives without much forethought as to their full impacts on our society, let alone that of the non-human environ- ment. Just think of nuclear power, genetic engineering and the devel‘ opment of new toxic chemicals to keep our lawns greener or vegeta- bles blemish-free, for example. thm 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number, name and address. The Slln-Tflbunemserves the right to publish or not Ihflsh and to edit or clar- he most powerful force shaping our lives is sciâ€" ence, especially when it's applied by medicine, the military and corporations. I find it ridiculous to say the bowling alley has not been financially sound. It is this vacancy rate and lack of sound mainte- nance and management that have caused lETTERS POlICY One of the landlords, Jack Chang, states in the article the bowling alley “has not been financially sound for the last 10 years". This is a crock. I have never in my 11 years as owner of the business been in arrears of my lease payments. I have paid the absentee land- lords in excess of $300,000 over my time here and, in my opinion, little of that money has not been put into maintenance. The two stores east of the bowling centre in this building were vacant for extended periods,*as were the apartments above. As the proprietor of the Stoufiville Bowl- ing Centre, 1 find it laughable Mayor Wayne Emmerson finds it to be a “great proposal" to turn the bowling alley into a medical centre. I have dealt with the landlords of the bowling alley since 1997 and, believe me, I know how they operate. Take a walk by the building and see how it has been maintained. Re: Medical centre to oust bowling alley, March 22. ' The Sun~1hbune welcomes your letters. All submissions must be less Listen to residents’ opinions, mayor, town councillors {h I - - I v 0- ' m I .- \ A“. A It - J. in Q WSun-mbmiWmezam jmason.yrm¢.com Letter: to the Editor, I». Sun-Tulane 8290 Mn 8:. W, ON LM I67 Scientific information easily accessible LETTERS TO THE EDITOR INTERACTIVE MEDIA Mnrketlnglthdverdslng MW Dawna Andrews dandmmfifyrmg. mm EDITORIAL Editor Iim Mason jmasonOyrmg. mm There are also dozens of web- sites, books and videos about intelligent design or creationism, pyramid power, UFOs, the Bemiu- da triangle, crop circles, Atlantis, alien abductions and so on. And this brings us back to our big chal- lenge: sifting through information overload. Well, yes, there are lots of web- sites saying that global warming is some kind of left-wing plot, junk science, baloney, etc. And, by this, I mean we can sift through mountains of information to find anything to confirm what- ever misconceptions, prejudices or superstitions we already believe. In other words, we don't have to change our minds. All we have to do is find something to confirm our opinions, no matter how mis- guided or wrong they may be. Whenever I give a talk on global warming, someone in the audience often tells me the Earth is going into a period of global cooling and should be burning more fossil fuels. When I ask for evidence, they typically answer, “a website”. The people running this town had bet- ter start looking after the things that its residents deem important, not just dismiss them with a stroke of a pen. As paid and elected officials of our town, it’s your duty. The bowling alley has been at this loca- tion since the 19505. It has served the citi- zens of Stouffville well, for more than 50 years. It is home to many groups who use it on a weekly basis. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. Like the downtown Memorial Park, the bowling alley will only be a fond memory of residents of what once was. Also, the extensive renovations that would be needed will likely cost an astro- nomical amount and could result in the plan being abandoned. If the mayor and councillors feel a medi- cal centre is indeed needed at this time, then find a more suitable location. This should not be hard. How is it going to supply the necessary parking for a medical centre? the landlords their problems. This location does not have sufficient parking now. Classified Manager Ann Campbell ammplwllfi’yrmgcom ADVERTISING Retail Manager Stacey Allen STOUFFVILLE BOWLING CENTRE SfiW-Tribune PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot 6290 Main St W. GM. MA 167 myoflcagionmm JOHN WHITE PROPRIETOR Of course, if we are each going to have some say in where we are going, we need information. And we need to inform ourselves using real facts put forth by credible sources. But even this is in jeopardy. For people who do not want to believe the painstaking evidence accumulated over decades by thousands of climatologists that human-induced global warming is real and demands an urgent response, all they have to do is rely on selective media reporting. Assistant Classified Manger Bonnie Rondeau hmndmuOyrmg.mm President GeorgeW Bush has Pnonucnon Team Leader Sherry Day David Suzuki Mth Faisal Moola All.“ in rldlra Arrrc§lr 308mm MANAGER Robert Lazurko Ennon m Cum!l pm. Dumcmn, Anvmmsuw You REGION Pmu'rmu Debora Kelly My: "mm In DISTRIBUTION GENERAL MANAGER Woman! Barry Black 3011 Dean nannies MANAGER John “they Classifiu Canada’s current government has also phased out the role of the national science advisor, and refused to accept the recommen- dations of its own expert science panel on biodiversity (COSEWIC) Recently, the internationally respected British science journal, Nature, published a strongly worded editorial that listed the federal gov- emment’s skepticism on the science of global warming and its retreat from Canada's Kyoto commitment. made things more difficult by imposing a heavy hand on scientifâ€" ic reporting, deliberately distorting reports and censoring information. Scientists, including a number of American Nobel prize winners, have raised the alarm over this intrusion of politics into science. Our own government's use of science to inform public policy decisions has not gone unnoticed Sadly, this practice is not con- fined to the United States. > Take Suzuki Nature Challenge at www.davidsuzuki.org ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 «fled: l-800-743~3353 Fax: 905-640-8778 905-640-2612 Fax: 905-640-8778 DISTRIBUTION 905-640-2612 EDITORIAL A York Region Media Group community newspaper The Sun-Tribune. published every Thursday and Saturday, is a division of the Metioiand Media Group Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroiand is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario. The York Region Newspaper Group includes The Uberai, sewing Richmond Hill and Thomhiil. Vaughan Citizen. The Era-Banner (Newmarket/Aurora). Markham Economist Sun, Georgina Advocate, York Region Business Times, North of the City, yorkregioncom and York Region Printing. Dlmon, CIRCULATION Syms Lynn Pashko (Sim-Tribune Scientific consensus does not mean we will always get the right answer. But if] were to bet on an issue, I'd put my money on scienâ€" tific consensus over an observer's hunch, a politician's opinion, or a business leader’s tip. And scientists, being human. also have their own biases and points of view that can influence the way they ask questions and interpret data. But in the arena of open scientific debate, over time, consensus can generally be achieved regarding the best pos~ sible understanding of an issue. Science provides the best infor- mation about the world around us. Of course, it isn’t a perfect system. Scientific conclusions are often tentative. and can only become more solid after more debate. more research, and more observation. The process can take years. to legally protect several endan- gered species, including beluga whales, the Porbeagle Shark, and two populations of White Sturgeon that live in British Columbia's Fra- ser River.