HOW MANY of you out
there are having your
festive feelings dampened
because you're on the
horns of a Christmas tree
dilemma?

People who swore they would
throw themselves on a sharp ob-
ject before buying an artificial
tree find themselves in a quan-
dary in the age of environmen-
talism.

Even if cut trees are harvested
from tree farms that exist for the
specific purpose of being chop-
ped down, and are indeed a
renewable resource, the problem
lies in disposing of the trees after
Christmas.

Whether it is left to decom-
pose in a landfill or burned in an
incinerator, carbon that con-
tributes to the greenhouse effect
is emitted as part of the process.
This, of course, occurs naturally
in the life cycle of a forest, but
it doesn’t help to have us adding
to the problem with miilions of
our Christmas cast-offs.

However, as Christmas tradi-
tions are sacrosanct in most
families, it’s not easy to sud-
denly announce at the breakfast
table that everyone will be sing-
ing O Tannenbaum to a syn-
thetic version of the original this
year.

This is a subject that must be
approached with some delicacy,
using manoeuvres reminiscent of
Tom Sawyer in his outstanding
bid to convince his acquaintance
that whitewashing a picket fence
on a hot day was really where it

Ve

ECOINFO

was at.

Hold a roundtable to
brainstorm creative alternatives
to the usual dead tree arrange-
ment. Award amazing prizes to
family members who display the
proper enthusiasm.

You could put tiny lights and
some lightweight ornaments on
one of your large indoor plants,
such as a fig tree, or you could
go with a good quality artificial
one that will last for years.

If possible, the greenest way
to go is to buy a potted tree and
plant it after Christmas (be sure
you keep the tree indoors less
than two weeks so it doesn’t
come out of its winter dorman-
cy).

Seek advice from the nursery
on how to plant it to maximize
its chances for survival. If you

Our restaurant will be
closed for filming
Mon. Dec. 17 thru Fri. Dec. 21 at 7:00pm

Don Carmody Productions Ltd. will be
filming interior scenes for “The Hitman”
starring Chuck Norris.

We apologize te our loyal customers for
any inconvenience this closure may cause.

don’t have anywhere to plant the
tree, consider donating it to your
local Parks department or take
part in an event such as the one
being organized by Chris and
John Sallis of Deep Cove.

This couple, along with their
neighbors, have organized a
tree-planting to take place in an
area of greenbelt near Seycove
School.

Various families’ potted
Christmas trees are being sup-
plemented by 100 cedar seedlings
donated by UBC. They will be
planted, rain or shine, under the
expert supervision of the Lynn
Canyon Ecology Centre's Kevin
Bell on Sunday, Dec. 30 from 1
to 3 p.m.

Preferred species are yellow
and red cedar, amabilis fir, sitka
spruce, western larch, hemlock
and Douglas fir. Participants are
asked to muster at the Sallis
homestead at 1 p.m., 1009
Kinloch Lane. For information,
call 929-8757.

xin

A great gift for the concerned
activist on your Christmas list is
a subscription to the 20/20 Vi-
sion organization.

20/20 was started in the Unit-
ed States by Lois Barber, a
former Vancouver resident and
one of the original instigators of
Vancouver’s now-annual Walk
for Peace. it has recently been
adapted for B.C. by North Van-
couver’s Steve Macdonald and
some of his friends who had
been meeting regularly to write
letters calling for action on peace
and environment issues.

The premise is simple. Each

Friday. December 14, 1990 - North Shore News - 45

month, members of Steve’s core
group keep in touch with their
anti-war, pro-planet organiza-
tions. Each month, they gather
to report on current issues and
decide which one is most press-
ing and umely.

Ther: comes the question: how
can 20/26 subscribers, with their
busy schedules, best address the
issue at hand? Usually by writing
a well-informed letier.

A synopsis of the issue and
the call for action are written
up, along with the address of
whom the letter should be sent to.
This information is sent to ail
20/20 subscribers, who currently
number 104.

Why the name 20/20 Vision?
Because it costs $20 per year to
subscribe, and it only requires 20
minutes of your time to com-
plete the monthly action.

Because the information is
well-researched and double-
checked, it is a good way to
keep abreast of important issues.
And it’s a very good motivator
to sit down and write the letters
we always mean to but often put
off.

Says Steve Macdonald: *‘Most
people’s hearts are in the right
place, but they don’t feel they
have enough time to make a dif-
ference. Doing simple things: in
conjunction with a lot of other
people, however, does make a
real difference."’

To subscribe, send your name,
address, phone number and a

cheque made out to 20/20 Vision
to 1475 Chamberlain Dr., North
Vancouver, V7K IP8. Call 988-
6898 for more information.

BC. Transit
users rate
system high

THE VANCOUVER Regional
Transit system is more popular
than ever, according to the finan-
cial and performance report for
the operation's second quarter of
1990.

The quarterly report shows 92
per cent of the riders participating
in a weekly survey rated the tran-
sit service satisfactory or better.

Each week 100 North Shore and
Lower Mainland residents who
have travelled with B.C. Transit

_are interviewed by telephone by a

marketing research firm.

According to the survey, ratings
increased for all three modes in
the system — SeaBus, SkyTrain
and transit buses.

Customers gave B.C. Transit a
positive rating for on-time service,
frequency of service, and friendly
staff.

In addition, transit staff have
maintained close to 100 per cent
service reliability while increasing
service hours by 6.2 per cent over
the same period a year ago. An
additional 2.7 million more riders
used transit than in the same
quarter last year, an increase of
9.5 per cent.

““We expect that by year’s end,
ridership will reach 123 million.
Cur system’s growth rate is the
highest of any major transit
system in Canada,"’ said former
West Vancouver mayor Don Lan-
skail, who is also the former
chairman of the Vancouver:
Regional Transit Commission.

“These increases show a grow-
ing reliance on transit as more
people become aware of the dam-
age the single occupant motor
vehicle is causing the environ-
ment,”’ he said. ‘‘People are leav-
ing their cars at home to Go
Green.”

B.C. Transit is planning an 11
per cent service expansion in
1991-92," .

BELIEVING IN SANTA
SHOULD BE FREE

Be

Free Photos With Santa

Now until December 23
Santa Hours: Daily 10 am - 1 pm, 2-5 pm
6:30-8 pm (late nights), Sunday 1-4 pm

Donations ave welcome for the
Vancouver Sun Chiklren’s Fund

CAPILANOMALL

UNCFUN

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