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February 25, 2011
17
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Pesticide opponents try again
Coquitlam OKs new street lights The City of Coquitlam is looking to overhaul its inventory of streetlights with newer, more efficient technologies, but one councillor says the new lights raise safety concerns. With the exception of Coun. Lou Sekora, council voted to replace close to 3,000 streetlights across the city, begin a small pilot project with light emitting diode (LED) lights and consult with developers around how to best phase in LED technology in future neighbourhoods. Referred to as adaptive street lighting technology, the 2,800 lights are expected to lower the illumination of the high-pressure sodium bulbs currently in use and drop energy consumption rates by 25 per cent. Replacing those lights is estimated to cost about $228,000, though the energy savings realized through the new technology are expected to earn that money back in less than five years. “I think that’s an incredibly short payback for the investment we’re putting in and it makes a lot of sense for us to do it,” Mayor Richard Stewart said at Monday’s council meeting. Retrofitting those same lights with LED technology would have cost the city more than $2.2 million, taking 25 years to earn back in energy savings. Going the route of adaptive street lighting also provides the city with some leverage in applying for grant money, as funds are made available for those retrofits via BC Hydro and the Ministry of Environment. According to a staff report, neither agency offers those same opportunities for LED lights. The city installed 10 of both kinds of CONT. ON PAGE 6, see SEKORA.
Stories by John Kurucz jkurucz@thenownews.com
Paul vanPeenen/NOW
Photos
NOW
Visit www.thenownews.com for a gallery of Pink Shirt Day photos.
PINK POWER: Porter Street Elementary students choose wooden cutouts in the shape of pink shirts to attach to the school’s fence. Grade 4 student Josh Eisner organized the event, which saw each student paint a cutout to show their support for Pink Shirt Day, held Wednesday across the country. A local TV station visited the school to interview Josh about his campaign.
STEAKHOUSE & LOUNGE
Armed with more research, more political experience and more than 400 signatures on a petition, Coquitlam Coun. Selina Robinson is looking to reignite the debate around cosmetic pesticides. Robinson introduced a notice of motion Monday that would ban the use of cosmetic pesticides to kill weeds, insects or other pests, as well as other chemicals used solely for esthetic purposes. Her motion goes on to suggest that the city’s newly established sustainability and environmental advisory committee hammer out the details behind any future bylaw. “Thirty-four municipalities in our province have already gone down this road,” Robinson said Thursday. “This is a perfect opportunity for [the committee] to take a look at what’s out there, who’s had the best success and what they have done.” Monday’s motion comes almost 18 months after Robinson’s attempt to hold a public meeting to gauge community sentiment on the matter, a move that was voted down by council. The issue eventually turned into a letter being sent to Ottawa requesting the federal government “ban all pesticides and other chemicals deemed to be unsafe by federal government scientists.” “I was shocked. I was absolutely stunned,” Robinson said of the failed 2009 motion. “I thought I was testing the waters just to get a gauge, but the fact that a community dialogue didn’t pass … it was unbelievable.” Robinson’s motion notes that on top of the 34 bans in B.C., 171 municipalities across the country have also phased out the use of cosmetic pesticides, including Port Moody. “A lot of the Metro Vancouver municipalities have already taken that step, so I think that Coquitlam should be in step with them,” said Coun. Barrie Lynch, who seconded Robinson’s motion and serves as vice-chair of the environment committee. “There are much more environmentally sensitive ways of dealing with those issues now, so it’s not like we’re saying you can’t take care of your yard.” Research from the Canadian Cancer Society links the use of pesticides to various forms of cancer, including childhood and adult leukemia, childhood brain cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, neuroblastoma, brain cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer and some lung cancers. On top of citing that research, Robinson is also using a petition campaign with more than 400 signatures to back her case. That campaign was headed up by Coquitlam’s Maggie Moss and a handful of CONTINUED ON PAGE 6, see VOTE SET FOR MARCH 7.