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economist sunsuntfibune saturday oct 15 2005 suntnbune a metroland community newspaper 34 civic ave 3rd floor stouffville on l4a 7z5 publisher ian proudfoot editor in chief debora kelly business manager robert lazurko director production interactive media john futhey advertising director retail flyer sales nicole fletcher advertising director classified real estate events management gord paolucci distribution director circutation barry black director circulation systems lynn pashko marketingpartnerships director debra weller york region printing general manager bob dean letters to the editor habitat for humanity better lowincome housing re home ownership dream alive at project sept 29 how can a 660squarefoot condominium at a cost of 169000 be considered low- income housing mayor don cousens mpp tony wong and mp john mccallum who were all at the sod- turning event for the construction of this con dominium complex on kennedy road appeared proud markham really cares about our growing lowincome population im unsure of the exact income that quali fies a family as low income but to the best of my knowledge it is about 24000 per year divide this by three assuming the family pays little to no income tax and the 30percent allowable formula for housing works out to less than 700 per month should the deposit for such a miniscule condo be 5 per cent i estimate the family would be carrying a mortgage of about172000 taking this one step further i figure the mortgage payments tax payments and maintenance fees would amount to approx imately 1250 per month this would give a family a balance of about 750 per month for food clothing transporta tion possibly babysitters ohip fees medica tion etc personally i sense this family would be liv ing hand to mouth for many years to come on the other hand should our three above- mentioned politicians agree to have habitat for humanity come into markham low- income families could acquire a threebed room house with a finished basement such as the one in newmarket for an interestfree mortgage of 100000 with no maintenance fees to me theres absolutely no comparison i consider this far more affordable than a con dominium its certainly time for markham and the whole ofyork region for that matter to under stand what is truly affordable to lowincome families who currently live in belowstandard illegal basement apartments many of which are fire hazards markham council turns a complete blind eye to these rental units that are advertised en masse in the economist sun and other metroland papers in york region please excuse me if my calculations are not spot on but i sense they are within a 5per cent range of the actual costs positive action is needed now while govern ment subsidies are available joyce riettie unionville agenda to undermine scientists alive in canada too when should scien tists be advo cates its a simple question that often raises a storm of controversy some argue scientists should not be advocates period according to this view science is valueneutral simply a quest for knowledge scientists should conduct research to reveal infor mation about our world but leave it up to society to decide what to do with that information of course such a viewpoint ignores the fact no activity is truly valueneutral even deciding what research to undertake requires a value judgment so for most people the question is at what point should scientists take a stand on an issue correcting misleading infor mation in the media would be a good start right now wellheeled groups that have a lot to gain from main taining the status quo are actively funding campaigns of misinfor mation to confuse the public about science issues some of these campaigns are organized through conservative thinktanks based in the united states but their presence is felt in canada too one of their most successful strategies in recent years was to have spokespeople consistentiy complain about the liberal bias in the media it was like a mantra over and over of course there was no liberal bias but by repeating the phrase ad nauseum people began to believe it they assumed it must be true in response media in the us in particular took a sharp turn to the right journalist chris mooneys new book the republican war on science chronicles just how suc cessful and farreaching these groups have become he argues there has been a deliberate mis representation of science and an exaggeration of uncertainties that stretches all the way to the white house from acid rain to climate change birth control endan gered species stem cell cloning and more mr mooney says david suzuki industry groups and the bush administration have deliberately tried to keep the public misin formed dont think this doesnt hap pen in canada newsrooms across the coun try are routinely bombarded with articles from rogue scientists or environmental consultants who have a story to tell these stories are usually the opposite of the prevailing scientific opinion but because of this conflict media often pick them up thats why even though there is no debate about climate change in scientific circles you still see one being played out in the editorial pages of newspa pers and thats why television news programs still find a spokesperson with an opposite view to provide balance to a story even if that opinion is patently absurd one could argue its the media that is letting us down after all the task of disseminating infor mation to the public belongs squarely in its hands having worked both as a sci entist and a journalist i can see why that argument is tempting but journalists work on tight deadlines and with evershrink ing resources journalists with specific beats who would get to know an issue in detail are becoming scarce and science journalists are a rare breed indeed perhaps journalists could be doing a better job but so could scientists it isnt enough to do good work in the lab or in the field only to have your issues distorted in the press if those who know the issues most intimately dont set the record straight who will in a recent essay in the journal science philippine aquaculture scientist jurgenne primavera made the case for scientists in the developing world to speak up but much of what she says is univer sal we scientists in developing countries need to come down from the ivory tower and dissem inate results not only in peer- reviewed journals but also through advocacy and the popu lar media we must not forget our hearts even as we apply our minds we do not do science in a vacuum but against the grinding poverty and environment- unfriendly character of modern times and we can use our scien tific knowledge to reduce suffer ing and make life more full for fel low humans and creatures when should scientists be advocates whenever they can me 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 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