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: 1 |

IT's Too bad the totalitari-
an countries didn’t clue into
ecology earlier in their awful
» careers,

“The planet, might already have
, been saved, Instead, as we all know,
the poor counties that were part of
the ‘former Soviet Union are environ-

“mental disaster zones today.

“In Ukraine, cancer deaths contin-
ue to mount from Chemoby!. The
black-lung industrial ghettoes of
Poland continue to spew. -

~The new Russia herself is littered
with abandoned nuclear submarines.
Her arctic muskeg i is soaked with oil. .
Her lakes suffer massive acidifica- .
tion. Her rivers are all contaminated.

The decimation of her forests is
‘accelerating. Nearly. al! wildlife is
éndangered — the legacy of central-

zed ideology-driven industrial dicta- .

‘China, the communist giant of.”
‘them all, is‘oné of the most polluted
“ countries in the world, and, in terms
of scale, the most pollution-causin 7.
‘ “Oh well, some trains come in

Tam referring to the n news § that
China's Director General of the
National Environmental Protection’
“Agency, Xie Zhenhua; has..."
announced that the charge of “jeop-
ardizing the environment’ will scon

incorporated into China's s crimi-
nal law.; : ;

Has this: Xie flipped out over *
Rachel Carson, or what? Get this: .

s ete MRO ABIT ALS WLI ULI NS

ob
Hunter_

“Those units or individuals who

" -cause serious pollution will be sen-’

tenced to imprisonment or even
death.”

I'm not a big fan of oligarchic
totalitarianism. Please, let's have no °
“. misunderstanding about that. | !
Oligarchic totalitarianism —- mean-.

_ ing, when‘a raomful of old bandits’

runs everything — is bad.

: I just can’t help reflecting how
that would sure get recycling hop-
ping, though, wouldn't it? no

It's not that I'd expect the old.

. bandits who run the government of
* China to suddenly start lining them-

selves up to be shot for “jeopardiz-"_

, ‘ing the environment.”

Still, there’s'a certain brute

- appeal to the. concept, I mean, think |
‘how. much easier it would be to

implement environmental refornis if

. you could just go and grab the pol-

‘Ask about Seniors’ Discounts J
cnn Serving the Nerth Shere for 24 yours

era of eco-execu'

luters, fine them t up against a wall,
and blow their brains away?

What is interesting to me, asa
conspiracy theorist, is that a high-
level government mission from
China was recently ‘wined and dined

by Jean Chretien in Ottawa as part of |

Canada’s effort to spread Canadian-
style high energy consumption civi-
lization to the far corners of the
world, and maybe knock off a few
nuke sales while we're at it.

Can it be just a coincidence that a
mere month after the visit to Ottawa,

- China suddenly announces plans to |

start locking up polluters, with
Director General Xie adding he's

“even thinking of executing them? : |

Could some kind of crazed éco-
logical subversive have gotten
through to the Chinese delegation,

. perhaps disguised as Sheila Copps, -

and convinced them to go straight
from | red to green?

Hey! Anything’s possible! Think
about it.

The astonishing thing, really, i is
that the totalitarian countries didn‘t
start shooting polluters and other
environment criminals a lot sooner. -

The National Socialists did;
indeed, toy with land reforms to pro-

tect farmland and soil, but that was

about as far as they went.
. Supposing somebody like Stalin.

. Established ‘1958
431 clyde Ave:

fast Vancouver

Janet Ketchen.
—

t rocks. |

_ covered hydrogen fuel cells.

with us.
It is rather Jate in the game, but

it does seem that China is about to,

redefine itself as the most radical’
environmentalist regime in the
world.

had turned out to be an early eco-
Here in the decadent West, not

freuk. The Gulag Archipelago might
have blassomed us 4 thousand bio-

. dynamic farms with enemies of the
State shovelling manure instead of

ly executing people for crimes “
against the environment, and
groups like Greenpeace get posi
tively, mystical about not hurting ’
anybody or even their property.

I dunno, It's a touch extreme,
sure. But I say let's. wait and'sec if: :
it gets results. The 3Rs or Xie. It.
has a ring to it...

The Red Army might have
acquired tens of millions of tanks ,
powered by methanol. The Soviet -
space program itself might have dis-

The Aral Sea might stil! be

Barristers '* Solicitors-;
is pleased to welcome

Bryce A. Dyer

Mr Dyer, formerly ia-senior ‘partner. with an
established Vancouver law firm,’ practised in’ general
litigation for 22 years with emphasis on insurance and ©
family law, He ‘has: acted at various times as counsel in
British. Columbia. for six major ‘life insurance.
companies.’ He has’ also. worked . extensively..on,
- various copyright. and trade-mark infringement and |
injunction. matters.” He is a qualified Family. Law:
Medfator Mr. Pye will continue 10 fractise ‘in the

Me «Dye will join ‘with Robert Ww. /. Goutlay ‘and Pete

’ group practising civil and commercial litigation, includi ey ;
criminal Law, Gourlay Spencer Slade & Witich has its Office in the Aribleside a area

“of West Nancou ver, Bri fh Columb .

As} you c can see oy has completely fi finished her Christmas shopping. The most important’ piirch ase
was her new n sofa. If yeu come in now, you! too ca experience comfort & joy. Now on sale. /

even Earth First! advocates actual-