Give a hoot...

...Don't pollute. For those of you around in Ontario in the seventies, you will remember the campaign. It seems many of us have forgotten this slogan or a whole new generation has arrived, many from immigration and many are just under 30 years old and don't remember.

The campaign worked, for the time. My generation and older remembered it and tend not to litter. We take pride in a clean Canada. We like the lakes to be clean, we want our children to breath clean air and drink clean water. Many people are respectful, but with a growing and diverse population base it is important to refresh our ideas and share hope for a cleaner future. It seems that it is time to review this policy and campaign though and help a newly arrived population understand the value of a clean society that respects the land we live on. After all, we really are just buying our time here, the land will be here long after we are gone.

According to the Government of Ontario 2006 census about 12 million people live in Ontario and 3 million were not born in Canada, and 2.5 million are under 30. Although some of the 2.5 million were also not born in Canada it is clear that close to half of the population may not be aware of pollution or may not care....but they could. Most of these 12 million people live in Toronto or cosmopolitan areas, so if we can change the views in the cities, perhaps more widely targeting youth and multi-cultural stations we could make a difference. So don't you think it's time to give a hoot...don't pollute.