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6 ’W Sun-THbuneISaMdax MB], 2008 As most people know, spring yields many cute and cuddly hatchlings, including the goslings. While trying to photograph them, what I saw was truly despicable. The geese were resting near Mussel- man’s Lake, - just .beside Lakeshore Road, when someone went after them with a rake and shooed them back into the water. I am venting my reaction to witnessing a most disturbing and vile incident. 7 Not only does this person most likely not own the land, but she stayed there waiting for the geese to swim far away from the alcove. She even took a light swing at one. Leave baby geese alone Obviously, many people don’t like hav- mggeeseintheiryardsbecausetheyare harsh on the grass, but goslings don’t have much control over where they rest. Whoever you are, I hope you feel ashamed and remain that way because if those geese had the power to shoo you out of your house, they would not treat you as you have treated them. All geese need land to live on and they don’t mean any harm by staying on land that is already unkempt vasomeone is willing to shoe small, defenceless gosljngs into the water, this person must hate geese and probably most animals, for that matter. e United States has listed the polar bear as a threat- ened species under its Endangered Species Act. The US. Interior Department made the decision under pressure, including legal petitions, from environmental organizations. Its reluctance to legally protect the species is evident in the cave- ats on the listing, most notably, limiting the implications for US. climate-change policy. Nevertheless, the ruling does give polar bears more protection in the US. than in Canada. Despite similar pressure from conservation groups in Canada and recommendations from the federal govemment’s own committee of experts on endangered wildlife, little has been done to acknowledge the precarious position of the polar bear in this country. In April, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wlldlife in Canada assessed the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) as a species of special concern â€" one step below The Sun-Nbune welcomes your letters. All submissions must be lem than 400 words and must include a daytime telephone number. name and address. The Sun-Nbunereserves the right to publish or not publish and to edit for clar» lETTERS POLICY jmuon.yrmg.com Lotion to the Editor The Sun-mm 6290 Main St. StoufMflo, 0N m I67 ity and space Canada lackadaisical on polar bear status lETTERS TO THE EDITOR COREY KNECHT WHITCHURCHeSTOUFFVILLE lmmcnva MEDIA Marketing a. Adverdsmg Manager ‘ Dawna Andrews dandmwsfiyrmg.mm jnmsonOynng.mm EDITORIAL Editor lim Mason a threatened listing and two below endangered â€"- but the government has not yet listed it as such under the federal Species at Risk Act. The bear was also assessed as special concern in 1991, 1992 and 2002, but in 2005, the federal gov- ernment referred the issue back to the committee for a reassessment. The lesser designation is to reflect the fact the species was evaluated as a whole; although the decline of some populations has been well studied, other polar bear populations aren’t yet showing declines. The bear is protected, to some extent, under provincial law. Mani- toba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador have all listed it under endangered species acts. Thirteen of the world's 19 dis- tinct polar bear populations, or 15,000 of the Arctic’s 20,000 to 25,000 bears, live in Canada, with 12 of those populations living at least partly in Nunavut. Studies have found numbers for five popu- lations are declining. Re: Nowhere to go but up for price of gasoline, analysis by Sean Pearce, April 24. It’s all very true, but why Vstop there? How much energydoeSyourschool board use heating schools and operating buses? All but feds hurt by gas prices Stop in' at your municipal works garage andaskhmmuchmeyspendonenergyper year'to run transit systems, garbage collec- tion and other service The province, with all its has thousands of vehicles on the road, a multi- tude of buildings to heat and, with its share of the fuel taxes on a volume basis (a set number of cents per litre), it does not benefit from higher prices. Actually, ifthepopulationreallydoescut back on usage, it will receive less revenue, so look for its additional costs on your provin- cial tax return Is there a winner in all this?Why, the fed- eral government, of course. Its tax on ener- gy is a percentage, the GST. It will receive billions of additional tax dollars Is it going to share this windfall with the beleaguered taxpayer? lfyou believe that, in all probabil- ity, you also believe in the tooth fairy and Easter bunny. How about the hydro suppliers? Their costs will increase significantly. Look for all of these new costs on your tax and hydro bills. Classified Manager Bonnie Bandeau hrnndmuwyrmg. mm ADVERTISING Retail Manager Stacey Allen SfiW-Tribune 6290Main5t Stouflvflle, ON. MA 167 mMedonmm PUBLISHER Ian Proudfoot LB. MURRAY STOUFFVILLE But the factors in those declines, including melting ice flows caused by global warming, habitat loss, overhunting of some populations. increased shipping traffic and oil and gas exploration, and persistent organic pollutants, may put other populations at risk as well. Although Canada’s Environâ€" ment Minister John Baird acknowl- edged the role of global warming when he commented on the US decision, both the current govem- ment and the previous Liberal gov- Pnonucnom Team under Sherry Day David Suzuki 4n want A“ rc’llrd Bum MANAGER Robert Lazurko Burma m Cam Debora Kelly mamas Mann Dnncmn Mm Mann Womav lohn Futhey I: Dmmlmon Barry Black According to the New York Times, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthome said it would be “wholly inappropriate” to use the listing to deal with greenhouse gases that cause global warmâ€" ing. That, despite his admission that “the decision was driven by overwhelming scientific evidence that ‘sea ice is vital to polar bears’ survival,’ and all available scientific models show that the rapid loss of ice will continue." emment have dragged their feet on the issues of global warming and polar bear protection. The US. government took pains to ensure the polar bear’s new legal status is not used to address the main cause of the problem. Mr. Baird has at least come around to expressing concern about the link. “Let’s be clear there's no doubt that global warming is a major fac- tor and a major concern in this," he told the Vancouver Sun after the US. announcement. “It’s not just global warming, but it's humanâ€" lam'fird ADVERTISING 905-640-2612 sificd: 1-800-743-3353 Fax: 905â€"640-8778 905-640-2612 Fax: 905-640-8778 DISTRIBUTION 905-640â€"261 Z EDITORIAL A York Region Media Group community newspaper The SunJribune. published every Thursday and Saturday, is a division of the Metroiand Media Group Ltd. a whoiiyowned subsidiary ofTorstar Corporation. Metroiand is comprised of 100 community publications across Ontario.1he York Region Newspaper Group includes The liberal, serving Richmond Hill and Thomhiil. Vaughan Citizen,The Eraâ€"Banner (Newmaritet/Aurora). Markham Economist Sun, Georgina Advocate, York Region Business Times. North of the City. yorkregioneom and York Region Printing. museum, Cmcuumon Swans Lynn Pashko Damn, Anvumsmc You REGION PRINTING (SEW-Tribune induced global warming, which is what we need to take action on." The international community has also flagged global warming as a major threat to the survival of polar bears. Regarding listing the polar bear as a “vulnerable” species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature stated: “Due to their long generation time and the current greater speed of global warming, it seems unlikely that polar bear will be able to adapt to the current warming trend in the Arctic. If climatic trends continue, polar bears may become eliminat- ed from most of their range within 100 years.” With global warming opening up northern seaways to _more shipâ€" ping and oil and gas exploration, the federal government must do more to protect polar bear habitat, on land and at sea. The committee's recommenda tion that the polar bear be listed a “special concern" under the Speâ€" cies at Risk Act will go to govem- ment in August. Gunman. MANAGER Bob Dean