8 - North Shore News — Friday, December 31, 1999 un mot seen in Vancouver Take trees back Anna-Louise Peniland Contributing Writer LUCKILY, Santa had Rudolph’s brilliant red nose to guide his sled through the dense fog that resided over Vancouver’s Lower Mainland this Christmas. The last time Santa would have had to call on Radolph was in 1985, when tac same sort of soupy fog settled in for a 10-day stay in fate December. “We have a very strong temperature inversion,” Trevor Smith, a meteorolo- gist with Environment Canada, explained. “We have relatively warm air at the higher elevation, so the air can’t mix. The cold, moist air is trapped near the ground. This is because of a big area of high pressure over the past few days.” This high-pressure system is usually fodged just off Hawaii or California, but because of “unusual patterns in the atmosphere,” it has been hovering over Vancouver. Most of the Fraser Valley and the Squamish/Whistler area have been enjoying “al Tg NEWS photo Mike Wakefield AN eerie stiliness surrounds a line of trees on Grand Boulevard iast week, veiled in a fog which was the result of an inverted weather system over Vancouver. highs of 9 C during the day to lows of 4 C at might. The fog dissipated at approximately 100 to 200 metres above sea level, mak- ing for some fine ski condi- tions in the mountains. If this high pressure sys- tem had hovered over area auring the summer months, the temperatures in the Lower Mainland would init have been in the 30s. But the winter sun wasn’t strong enough to burn off the spooky fand cover, leav- ing a narrow band of one to Cc. sad Lh to wilderness CHRISTMAS trees ali over the North Shore are breathing a sigh of relief. Their job is done for another year. Through the holi- davs they | stood proudiy at the centre of seasonal activities, displaying hot lights and heavy — orna- ments, — sheltering precious presents and surviving the tugs of toddlers and pets. Now it's time to do the decent thing and send these hard- working fixtures of our festive season back to where they came trom: back to nature. On the North Shore, there are many Christmas tree recycling events that support local charities through your donations: @ the Howe Sound Lions on Jan. 2 from 10 a.m. t 3 p.m. at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver; B® the North Vancouver Host Lions Club on Jan. 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the North Shore Winter Club (Keith and Mountain Hwy.), Lynn Valley Shopping Centre and the Edgemont Chevron; @ the Canadian Cancer Society, Jan. 8 and 9 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in the Extra Foods parking lot (17th and Lonsdale); B® the 13th Seymour Scouts Group, Jan. 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Parkgate Village Shopping Centre (Mt. Seymour Parkway and Mt. Seymour Road); @ North Vancouver City Fire department, Jan. 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 pam. in the Revy parking lot at Park & Tilford, complete with Starbucks coffee for adults and hot dogs for children. Christmas tree recycling makes good sense. Like all living things, Christmas trees are full of valuable organic materials like carbon and nitrogen that can benefit other plants and animals. These important nutrients are released back to the carth through composting, the narural recycling process by which bac- teria and organisms breakdown organic material. Many Christmas trees are shredded or chipped into tiny pieces and the resulting mulch is spread on flowerbeds and trails in loca parks. And some Christmas trees really do end up back where they started, on tree farms where growers spread the mulch or compost from recycled Christmas trees around the growing trees as a nat- ural soiJ-enhancement. If you have questions about recycling your Christmas tree, call the B.C. Recycling Hotline at 732-9253 for information. RETURN your Christmas tree to whence it came at a variety of venues on the North Shore. ICBC CLAIMS YOU SEE A LAWYER > FOR ONE REASON They understand the paperwork and the evidence to be collected They have the knowledge and experience to assess the value of the claim They have the « to collect a fair senlement THERE IS GNIY ONF REASON TO SEE A LAWYER...YOU NEED ONE ARDAGH HUNTER TURNER 986-4366 AFTER HOURS 926-3181 Criminal matters only. N.