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Little did we dream that out of the ensuing space race between the USSR and the United States would come 24-hour television news channels, cellphones and GPS navigation. In 1958, the only trans-Atlantic phone lines were cables laid on the ocean floor, so phone calls to England had to be I began my last year of college in 1957. On Oct. 4 that year, the Soviet Union electrified the world by successfully launching a satel- lite, Sputnik 1, into space. Like them, I was filled with trep- idation, but also excitement about testing my physical and intellectual abilities beyondhigh school. But my how the world has changed in 50 years. than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number. name and addm The Sun-Nbuneresems the right to pubflsh or not publish and to edit for clarity and space. LottontotMEdltor. msummm 6290Mfln8t. WON . mus? ast month, I attended the 50th anniversary of my college graduation. A week later, I celebrated my grandson’s graduation from high school. I don’t think I was much dilTerent from the kids in my grandson’s class when I went away to college in 1954 (give or take a few rings and tattoos). lETTERS POLICY The Sun-'IHbune welcomes your letters. All submissions must be less 6 lutys.2oos The problem is this policy doesn’t hold in allcases. Somekidsinfl'lemralareasnorth of Stouflville will be bused through the YR’l‘ zone directly to their school at a cost of So a kid from Keswick will pay $200 per year for a yellow school bus to Newmarket and another $1,200 or so a year to take the YR’I‘ from there. Those living outside YRT-serviced areas will be bused to YRT-serviced areas and then be expected to take YRT the rest of the way. The Board informéd panenté all students who live in York Region Transit-serviced areis will 90w have to take public transit. Not Only that, but the board has not developed fair policies and taxpayers have eveiy right to ehpllenge unfair policies. The board has every right to change its policies, but there is a process for doing so and the board did not follow its own docu- mented processes. Thank you, York Region Media Group reporter Teresa Latchford,' for keeping in the news the transportation fiasco that the York Region District School Board has cre- ated for itself. School board spokesperson Ross Virgo obviously doesn't get it.- jmasonflrmtcom LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I $200 er ear, While othel Bad smell to York board 5 will fiavey to pay for m. arts school busing policies Regopalmnsit; ,, Re: Legal action possible over busing issue, June 26. Technological strides in 50 yearsqaite amazing INTERACTIVE MEDIA Marketing Advertising Man-set Dawna Andmws dandrnmfi’yrmg. mm jmason@yrmg. mm 13an Editor Iim Mason In half a century, our lives have been transformed by sci- entific, medical and technologi- cal advances, as well as a host of In 1958, parts of the Amazon, Congo and New Guinea had not been explored. We were yet to learn of species extinction, depletion of fish in the oceans, the effects of CFCs on the ozone layer, acid rain, global warming, PCBs and dioxins. Polio was still a problem in North America, smallpox killed hundreds of thousands annually and oral contraceptives, photo- copiers, personal computers, colour TV and DVDs didn't exist. In 1958, scientists were still debating if genetic material was DNA or protein. We didn’t know how many chromosomes humans have or that theY chromosome determines sex. and the Green Revolution was yet to come. booked hours or sometimes days in advance. I flew from Toronto to a roommate’s wedding in San Francisco on a propeller plane that made several stops during the 22- hour trip. I would also like to suggest the planting of inexpensive trees/ bushes that have some type of berries or fruit as food for birds and wildlife. I noticed signs of large herbivores using this area and would like to encourage town planners to plan a wildlife corridor that connects this area with the Oak Ridges Moraine to our north. Appreciation of nature is a recent discoverysoyoungplannersnfightnotsee thevalidityâ€"buttheyshouldgivethemseh/es I have enjoyed the scenery the green space created between Hwy. 48 and McGowan Road near 16th Avenue. Wildlife corridor needed ' Something émells here and l have now asked the Minister of Education to look into it. ' This is a public school system not a system where some kids get elite status and others don't; where some parents get spe- cial cost privileges while others don't. $200 per year, while other kids in Stoufiville will have to pay for the $1,200 for York Regional Transit. damned Manager Bonnie Rondeau hmndaauOyrmg.mm Anvmmsmc Rot-ll Manger Stacey Allen SWIM sallenermgoom 6290 Main St. StoufMlle, GM. MA 167 www.mwmmm , PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot SfiW-Tribune IENNIE BANGAY STOUFFVILLE Beset by vast problems of wealth discrepancy, environmental issues, poverty, terror. genocide and preju- dice, we are trying to weave our way into an uncertain future environmental problems. No one deliberately set out to undemiine the planet’s life-support systems or tear communities apart, but those have been the consequences of our enormous economic and techno- logical “success” over the past five decades. I began speaking out on TV in 1962 because I was shocked by the Pnonucnon TIM WISE MARKHAM David Suzuki Busmnss humans Robert Lazurko Dmcron lmmcnvn Mann I: Wows}! John Puthey Dmcron, Anvumsmc You REGION PRINTING a. Dmu'nou GENERAL MANAGER Ban), Black Bob Dean ADVERTISING 905â€"640-26 l 2 (Elmifiod: 1-800-743-3353 Fax: 905-640-8778 Don’t want to believe in evoluâ€" tion? No problem, you can find support for intelligent design and creationism in magazines, on websites and in all kinds of books written by people with PhDs. Want to believe aliens came to Earth and Today, thanks to computers and the Internet and television, radio and print media, we have access to more information than human- ity has ever had. To my surprise, this access has not equipped us to make better decisions about such matters as climate change, peak oil, marine depletion, species extinction and global polluu'on. That's largely because we now have access to so much information that we can find support for any preju- dice or opinion. I felt we needed more scientific understanding if we were to make informed decisions about the forces shaping our lives. lack of understanding of science at a time when science as applied by industry, medicine and the mili- tary was having such a profound impact on our lives. DISTRIBUTION 90543404612 905-640-2612 1:: 905â€"640-8778 EDITORIAL A York Region Media Group community newspaper We Sun-Tribune, published every Thursday and Saturday. is a division of the Metroiand Media Group Ltd, a whoiiyowned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. Metroiand is comprised of 100 community pubiications across Ontario. the York Region Newspaper Group Includes The liberal. serving Richmond Hill and Thomhiii, Vaughan Citizen,The Era-Banner (Newmarket/Aurora). Markham Economist Sun. Georgina Amrocate, York Region Business “mes, North of the City. yorkregionoom and York Region Printing. Dmncron, Cucuumou Svms Lynn Pashko SEW-Tribune ‘ With those tools, his generation will certainly leave a better world to its children and grandchildren 50 years from now. The challenge today is there is a huge volume of information out there, much of it biased or deliber- ately distorted. As I think about my grandson, his hopes and dreams and the immense issues my genâ€" eration has bequeathed him, I real- ize what he and all young people need most are the tools of skepti- cism, critical thinking, the ability to assess the credibility of sources and the humility to realize we all possess beliefs and values that must constantly be reexamined. Think human-induced climate change is junk science? Well, if you choose to read only certain nation- al newspapers and magazines and listen only to certain popular com- mentators on television or radio, you'll never have to change your mind. And so it goes. abducted people? It's easy to find theories about how governments have covered up information on extraterrestrial aliens.