4 - Sunday, April 22, 1990 - North Shore News ALTHOUGH TODAY ’S Earth Day is billed as the 20th anniversary of the original Earth Day demonstrations, sup- posedly the ‘‘dawn’’ of the eco-age, the first great piece of modern environmental legislation pre-dates the 1970 water- shed by a year. The initial ban on the spraying of DDT was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1969. The mountain of poison didn’t move immediately, of course. But by 1984, all indus- trialized nations had Yanned the deadly pesticide. That’s the good news. The bad news is that DDT is still available on the black market and is used heavily in Third World countries. Of these nations, only Kenya has so far banned it. But a start is a start. And if you wanted to put an accurate date on the start of the Green revolution, 1969 and that first DDT ban would be the most appropriate ben- chmark. Until then, it was all just talk. The year 1970 did mark a major yf n 1975, a@ major victory for the environment was scored when the French government bowed to international pressure ... and cancelled atmospheric testing at Mururoa Atoll...’’ triumph for environmentalism, however. That was the year the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed — the first concrete step taken to slow, if not halt, the spread of nuclear weapons. Obviously, the program has not been a 100 per cent success, to a considerable degree thanks to Canada, which provided nuclear technology to India, which led to the Indian atomic bomb, which forced Pakistan to build its own bomb. Canada continues to play its hypocritical nuclear game, I might add. Iraq’s efforts to build atomic weapons is being supported by South Korea and Argentina, both of whom got their nuclear exper- tise and equipment from —~ you guessed it — Canada. Back on the bright side, the next memorable date after the original Earth Day has to be the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, named after the village in Iran where an agreement was signed with the goal of preserving ecologically vital wetlands around the world. Next on the good news list was the 1972 decision of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission to give up its underground nuclear testing program at Amchitka tsland after mass protests in Canada, kicked off, of course, in Vancouver. Just incidentally this resulted in the birth of Greenpeace, recogniz- ed now as one of the biggest en- vironmental organizations in the world. The year 1972 also saw the pass- ing of the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, an exemplary piece of legislation, which, alas, has not been copied by many countries. On a global level, the next great thing to happen was in 1973, with the creation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, an agreement to list all the endangered species and make it a crime to ship any or all of their body parts between countries. The convention’s successes include last year’s ban on the shipment of ele- phant ivory. In 1975, a major victory for the environment was scored when the French government bowed to in- ternational pressure — triggered in large measure by Greenpeace and Vancouver’s David McTaggart -- and cancelled atmospheric testing at Mururoa Atoll, although the tests continue underground. We had to wait until 1982 before there were any other major breakthroughs. But then, in Brighton, England, the Interna- tional Whaling Commission voted by a two-thirds majority in favor of a 10-year moratorium on whal- ing. The ban, unfortunately, left a loophole whereby rogue nations like Japan and Iceland could con- tinue to kill a relatively small number of whales for “‘scientific purposes.’’ But compared to the tens of thousands being slaughtered in the mid-70s when the anti-whaling movement kicked into high gear (again, in Van- couver) it was a triumph. In 1985, the London Dumping Convention ordered an indefinite moratorium on the disposal of low- and intermediate-range ra- dioactive wastes in the ocean. In 1986, California voters passed Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking, Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which established an entirely new set of stringent standards for- bidding significant amounts of dangerous chemicals to be con- tained in any products. The act has since become a model for legislation elsewhere throughout the world. In 1987, the Harp seal pup “hunt” off the coasts of New- foundland and Labrador was of- ficially closed down after a decade of protests. The final blow was the European Economic Community’s ban on the import of seal pup fur. (My sources inform me, however, that the federal government is planning to start the slaughter up again, so stay tuned.) The year 1987 also saw the establishment of South Moresby National Park, despite the dogged opposition of the logging industry, and the passing of the Montreal Protocol to Control CFCs and Halons, an agreement to protect the world’s ozone layer by cutting production of chlorofluorocarbons in half by the end of the century. And in 1988, the Hanford plu- tonium production reactor in Washington state was closed, an event hailed as the first step ina worldwide campaign to cut off supplies of nuclear material for weapons. It is far too early to say the world is ‘‘saved,’’ but the steps that have been taken so far are serious and far-reaching. So enjoy Earth Day. There are some things to celebrate. B RASI3 | selye 2tone. "90 ESCORT Tinted glass, AM/FM cas.., split rr seat, pisteering, interval wipers, air cond. 6.9% fin. avail. ES 485 — °90 SABLE GS Piwindows, speed control., air cond., AMIFM cass., light group, p/locks. | suse $18,333 90 GRAND MARQUIS A GS, 4 dr, V-8, auto o/drive, air cond., piwndwsilocks, cruise cont., AMIFM cass. So , 99 0 GM48a1 790 RANGER 4X4 Supercab XLT, 4.0 engine, cast wheels, 5 limited stip axle, air cond., piwndwsilocks, dix. 2-tone. $20,990 °90 F250 S/CAB : V-8, XLT, rr chm. burnp., conv. group, It. group; cont., tilt, pllocksiwndws, air cond.| et $22,390 RE LOWER: WE. WON BE UNDERSOLD:: 90 TOPAZ 4-dr., auto, AM/FM, interval wipers, dual elec. mirrors, Clearcoat paint. fear $41,138 ‘90 COUGAR LS 6 cyl., auto, power windows. cos: 18,303 °90 LINCOLN CONT. Signature series, leather int., p/moonroof, ney seats, compact 543,888 90 BRONCO II 4X4, XL Sport. priv. glass, pAwdws./locks, cast wheels, spd. cont., AM/FM/ cass, sport pkg. BR225 90 F250 4X4* 5.0, 5 spd., rr bumper, conv. group, sport wicovers, spare tire & wheel. $21,220| °90 COUGAR XR7 | 6 cyl., supercharged, air cond. piwindows, cast mag wheels. coset “23990 "89 FESTIVA HIB 4 cycle Standard 87910 FE200 90 F150 P/U* 6 cycle, 5 speed Maroon 90) RANGER S/CAB* | 6 cyl., auto, 60/40 split seat, deluxe tu-tone paint. nor °13,910 ~ REBATE 73 DEAL EF , 1695 MARINE DRIVE “NORTH VANCOUVER, Business After Business. Hosted by North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce LOCATION / B.C. Rail Passenger Station, 1311 West Ist Street DATE / April 26, 1990 TIME / 5:00 - 7:00 pm ADMISSION / $/2 Members / $15 Guests & Prospective Members NO HOST BAR / Ample Free Parking Available Sponsored by BCFAIL north shore.