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economist suntribune the environment saturday sept 28 2002 23 save moraine group wins national award a group instrumental in pressing the provincial government to protect the oak ridges moraine was honoured with a national award this week save the oak ridges moraine which has fought for 12 years to preserve the scenic landform was given a gold prize in the sustainable living category at the canadian environment awards chosen by readers of canadian geographic storms executive director debbe crandall of caledon who attended the awards dinner at the canadian museum of civilization in hull que with fellow director dorothy izzard of king said storm will spend 5000 accompany ing the award on our new focus sus taining the moraine by making certain the provinces conservation plan and legislation are fully implemented ms crandall served last year on a panel which drafted the moraine plan she now advises the province on smart growth the magazine said it wanted to rec ognize canadians who act locally to protect and restore the environment why is my current electricity bill so high hotter weather and your bill your current bill may be unusually high consumption and price are directly related to increased temperatures and humidity we have experienced one of the hottest summers on record resulting in increased air conditioning- loads especially through the months of july and august remember your current bill represents your consumption for the previous two months due to the hot weather your water consumption is also most likely higher than normal in this open market the price of electricity is based on the spot market price which fluctuates based on demand your bill reflects these fluctuating prices the increased demand for electricity has driven the commodity price upward during this period all these factors contribute to higher than normal summerdbills although we experienced recordbreaking temperatures and load requirements the average electricity price since market opening on may 1 2002 is approximately 509 cents per kwh the good news is that as temperatures cool off trjis fall so should the price for updated information on commodityprices visit the independent market operator imo web site at wwwiemocom v looking for more information markham hydro visit our web site for current easy to understand information on the new market at wwwmarkhamhydrocom feel free to call our customer accounts department at 905 4773844 if you have questions on the open market your bill and standard supply service or if youre moving and require a meter reading our customer accounts representatives will be pleased to help you your retailer if you are bound by a retailer contract only they can answer questions regarding your electricity commodity charge orer contract details jf you are represented by an electricity retailer and have received a bill without a commodity charge we suggest you contact your retailer directly this missed amount may bejppiied toyour next bill their name and phone number appears at the bottom of your markjmydrjistatement for general information of ffledmretnwe electricity market markham hydro distributiowkwwmarkhamhydrocom ministry of energy science and technology wwwestgbvonca electricity distributors association wwwedaonca independent market operator imo wwwiemocom ontario energy board wwwoebgovonca markham hydro x distribution inc 4w youve trusted us in the past you can count on us in the future markham hydro distribution inc 8100 warden avenue markham ontario l3r 8h7 9054773810 or customer accounts department at 905 4773844 tii 1 i 1 1 1 ill arrive alive please dont drink and drive this message brought to you as a community service of the economist suntribune gaxosfrvthskne department of paediatrics presents ask dr bear dear dr bear could you please tell me about complimentaryalternative medicine in paediatric care yours truly unsure parents dear unsure parents in the past century medical care has come to be provided by conventional practitioners such as nurses doctors physiotherapists etc there has however always been a group of practitioners who offer care based on dif fering philosophies these models are meant to either replace standard methods or in addition to them recently these alternative and comple mentary methods have been assuming an increasing role in health care in this discussion i propose to review this topic with a focus on the care of children studies have shown that 20 of adults in canada have used alternative therapies in the united states studies have shown that 2030 of children visiting paediatric clinics have used alternative therapy including up to 70 of children with chronic diseases herbal remedies mostly of no proven value account for sales of 1 5 billion per year in north america chiropractic care chiropractic is the third largest regulated health care profession in north america with approximately 5000 practitioners in canada in the us near ly 1 billion dollars was spent on chiropractic care for children in 1998 in 1997 the association of chiropractic colleges stated that chiropractic is concerned with the preservation and restoration of health and focuses par ticular attention on the subluxation that is if these bones are subluxated or partially out of alignment they can cause pressure on spinal nerves it is felt that this pressure is the basis of medical illness the question is whether chiropractic is beneficial in nonmusculoskeletal conditions in a survey of canadian chiropractors that treat children 7of visits were for treatment of headache 5 for ear infections and 23 for treatment of conditions such as asthma learning disabilities colic and bed- wetting yet there is no evidence that chiropractic is of any benefit in any of these conditions in a recent statement the chiefs of canadian academic departments of paediatrics have denounced the use of chiropractic for non medical conditions in children this is a position i believe is shared by the vast majority of paediatricians in canada homeopathy homeopathic therapy is based on the principles of similars that a sub stance that can cause symptoms in a healthy person can stimulate self- healing in an illness with those symptoms even if it has been diluted so many times as to be undetectable homeopathic therapy is very common ly used in europe and north america and there have been studies sug gesting that it is of some benefit in conditions such as allergy ear infections and diarrhoea however these studies involved small numbers of children and had several flaws it is very difficult to make any conclusions about homoeopathy and all claims supporting it must be examined carefully one issue of major concern to me is the negative opinion that exists among many practitioners of alternative health care towards immunization against infectious disease this opinion has been studied amongst chiropractors in the us 36 of chiropractors believed that there are no scientific proof that immunizations prevent disease this belief is simply wrong at the canadian memorial chiropractic college a study published in june 2002 29 of graduating students had antivaccination attitudes as a paediatri cian i firmly believe that the benefits of vaccination have been proven beyond doubt and that severe side effects are very rare even the canadian chiropractic association in a 1997 statement supports vaccina tion as a cost- effective and clinically efficient public health preventative pro cedure it is the responsibility of every health care professional involved in the treatment of children to advocate the use of vaccination to prevent seri ous and possibly fatal disease it is clear that practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine pro vide a service that is valued by those they serve the individual attention comprehensive assessments and focus on prevention and lifestyle are wor thy models for all health care providers including physicians yet objectivi ty and evidence must be the foundation of health care practice it is the responsibility of all of us parents physicians and complementary health practitioners to use methods that have been carefully assessed and con stantly evaluated this is especially true when children are involved yours truly dr bear dr leo levin dr levin graduated from the university of manitoba with his md he completed his paediatric training at the hospital for sick children with a special interest in nephrology upon completion of his paediatric fellowship he opened a prac tice in markham with dr larry pancer dr levin joined the medical staff at markham stouffville hospital when it opened in 1990 he was the chief of the department of paediatrics from 1991 to 2001 dr levin maintains his affiliation with the hospital for sick children dr leo levin please mail phone fax or email your questions to julie ponsford child life specialist markham stouffville hospital 381 church street po box 1800 markham ontario l3p 7p3 phone 9054727000 ext 6408 fax 9054727564 bmat jocnsfcrijmshxxtca viskourttbstealmmjnshjonfa