cktimes.ca Archives for Ecowrappin'
Ecowrappin'
Conservation and Reality
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
In recent months, the television media seems to be caught up in so-called "reality" programs. If I remember correctly, this pretty much started with a program called Survivor. As is typically the case these days, Survivor was quickly followed by similar-dare I say copied-programs with somewhat parallel themes. Nowadays, the visual media is loaded with what they call "reality TV". Everything from home renovations, temporary parental exchanges and famous, or infamous, family shenanigans is being presented as society's current realities. Well! If you accept all this as the way things are, or should be, then I would suggest that you believe most, if not everything, that has come from Disney over the past few decades. Let's face it; these programs have much more to do with dramatic acting and entertainment, if not outright fantasy, than they have to do with reality.Today is Sunday, January 2, 2005, the second day of the New Year. Since I wasn't gainfully active today, save a grocery shopping expedition, I spent a little time in front of the TV set. Thankfully I was able to avoid any of the new "reality" shows. I was quite content to take in a couple of real reality shows. One was the story of three enterprising brothers from Nova Scotia. These men are very close in both their personal and business lives. They have farmed, fished and built houses, but their primary celebrity is as the builders of fine fishing boats. These fellows exhibited an exemplary example of the cooperation and support that leads to success at family and community levels.
Another program I watched involved Environment Canada's attempt to prosecute a polluter of our coastal waters. While Environment Canada had the "goods" on the culprit, its sister ministries - Transport Canada and the Federal Department of Justice - failed to be supportive in carrying the case through to any conclusion. In fact, there was not only little in the way of cooperation or support among our federal employees, animosity and conflict appeared to have the upper hand. The message seemed clear to those who might have disregard for Canadian environmental laws at the international level; there is little to fear in the way of prosecution from Canada's federal authorities. Even if they had prosecuted the case and lost, it would have at least shown something in the way of being serious about our laws as related to the pollution of our coastal oceans.
Later in the day, I watched a program whereby a wildlife organization of international scope solicited financial support from the television viewer. Well, I watched as much of it as I could stomach before switching to something else. Half truths, heart rendering testimonials and sensational video clips aside, I failed to recognize any hard and fast examples of where any money that I might contribute would go as far as the benefit and or welfare of wildlife is concerned. I got a strong impression that much of the funding would support exotic adventures for wildlife "rescuers", some of whom were involved in the heart wrenching testimonials. In a similar vein, I recently listened to a radio program that solicited support wildlife for habitat and projects. Hmmmm! I would want to look closely at the number of projects and the scale of habitat that resulted from such solicitations before I became a regular contributor to this cause, worthy as it may well be! What are the realities here?
Maybe I'm outdated. I have been called a dinosaur you know. But my thoughts of reality involve honesty, integrity, credibility and truthfulness. My idea of reality also involves real actions coming from positive thinking and leading to real, ideally positive, and tangible results. This is also known, at least in some "older" circles, as hard work culminating in visible success. These are things that are easy to support, either financially or with personal time and effort.
Since we are now being lead to believe, through TV yet, that we are in a new era of reality, we would all do well to seriously check that reality out before we become advocates or proponents; and especially before we pilfer our pockets or lend our time on behalf of such realities. Another dinosaur once told me; "when it comes from the TV, believe half of what you see and one quarter of what you hear". Pretty good advice I'd say. Now as for the print media, you decide.
I was born on the Bruce Peninsula on July 20, 1951 and raised on a farm just south of the village of Lionís Head, which is located about halfway up the peninsula on the Georgian Bay shoreline. I graduated from Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology in Barrie in 1973 as a Resources Engineering Technologist. I was hired by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) in April of 1975 as the first DUC employee in Ontario. Throughout almost 29 years I was involved with the implementation of more than 500 wetland projects and project complexes in southwestern and south central Ontario. Some of these habitat projects included important waterfowl and migratory bird habitat along the eastern shoreline of Lake St. Clair. Just three weeks short of completing 29 years with DUC, I accepted an early retirement opportunity effective March 31, 2004.
