July 18, 12:13 p.m. – Election Issues

Thus far most of us are rather disappointed in the poor coverage of the three parties' environmental platforms and in the lack of journalistic debate on the issue. Education. auto insurance and health care seem to be your focus. Of these auto insurance and health care are fundamentally environmental issues as well.

Here is a question for you. Why not use the high and continually rising costs of auto insurance to encourage the re-development of a public transportation system, (health inducing) bicycle trails, and walkable neighbourhoods instead of the ever-expanding and costly system of roads which seem to require continual expansion, not to mention patronage filled repair? Reliance on this increasingly backward infrastructure forces members of the public into the purchase of even more automobiles and all of us into greater fossil fuel reliance even as the public, the government and the scientific community agree we need to get off of fossil fuels before we destroy the planet. Kyoto -- heard of it?

As far back as the 1990 federal election the environment was the No. 1 issue in the minds of Canadians. Here we are 13 years later and while environmental degradation has worsened so has the media's coverage. Please call the politicians on this in the upcoming debate. Just do a decent job of it.

   - Paul Shreenan, Nova Scotia Environmental Network

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