Editor:
I am disappointed and disturbed by the negative backlash coming from Kamloops residents in response to the new pesticide-ban bylaw.
All of the arguments I have witnessed in opposition to the bylaw are focused almost entirely on dollars and cents and a ridiculous societal belief a perfect lawn equals a higher and more refined status.
What Kamloops residents are failing to see is the big picture.
Not only are pesticides harmful to human health, they destroy and pulverize the delicate ecosystem that is within the soil under our feet. This intricate ecosystem is what allows us to grow healthy fruits, vegetable and herbs.
Climate change has brought us to a critical tipping point in the history of our city and our earth. Things are not hunky dory.
Temperatures are rising drastically, severe drought threatens and natural disasters like rampant forest fires are destroying our resources.
In crises like this, it is imperative to our survival we develop new practices that serve the future of our species and conserve our resources — and drop the ones that prevent it.
If we continue to dump harsh chemicals into the earth, we will lose the ability to grow food within it. This is a real threat that looms in the near future. Some are oblivious to the truth of the matter because they can’t see it yet, like they can the clover on their lawn (which, by the way, is beneficial to soil health).
So, what’s more important, Kamloops? Your pennies and your wounded pride or our continuation as a species?
It’s the small steps that are going to make a big difference in the long run.
Kayla Sorley
Kamloops
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