Dear editor,
So back in May of this year the City of Courtenay declared a climate emergency, but what does that actually mean?
Usually, it means taking drastic measures immediately or as soon as possible. According to NASA (https://go.nasa.gov/2WmFaOh), holiday light visible from space increases by 20-30 per cent and as much as 50 per cent in the suburbs during the seven weeks around the Christmas holidays. Those are significant numbers, which contribute to the planet’s greenhouse gases.
Holiday lights and fireworks are luxuries we can’t afford in an emergency, and are easy to turn off today. The City of Courtenay and other local communities could ban holiday lights and fireworks in the entire Comox Valley district.
If we are unable to give up the simple things for the future, how will we manage when we are forced into doing the very hard things to come.
Fred Fern,
Merville