Air Quality "Good?" Are You Kidding?

(Aired on July 30, 2010)

It seems that there's nothing wrong with the equipment, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the people who work there either.  So something must be wrong with the Ministry of Environment's Air Quality Health Index. 

The index was at a 3 in Kamloops for most of the day today, on a scale of 1 to 10.  That means the index has determined the air quality in Kamloops is "good."  Yet in the time it took me to walk from my car in the parking lot to my desk inside the building, my eyes began burning.  Thankfully, I have a fairly robust respiratory system.  Others who don't are suffering today.

If you judged the air quality based on the index, though, you'd think it was all good.  People like me are in a good state of general health are told that this is "ideal air quality for outdoor activities."  And the at-risk population is encouraged to enjoy life in the great outdoors as usual.  Yet when you step outside, it looks like a cloudy day when there are no clouds, and it smells like an ashtray. 

So there is likely no one who is taking the Air Quality Health Index seriously.  If that's the case, the system needs to be revamped.  If it's not, the Air Quality Health Index will soon lose all credibility and rendered completely obsolete.

Cigarettes Still Causing Wildfires? Ridiculous!

(Aired on July 28, 2010)

There is some suggestion last night's Barnhartvale fire was started by a discarded cigarette.  If that's the case, it's utterly, mind-numbingly stupid. 

I'll be quite clear - as of the time I am recording this segment, the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.  However, this much we know.  It started near a church on Todd Road.  There was no lightning in the area.  It started under cover of darkness.  And to top it off, RCMP this morning issued a stern warning for people not to discard cigarette butts.  Police encouraged witnesses to turn in violaters, and threatened to levy fines against people found to be responsible.  So it's not far from the realm of possibility that last night's chaos was caused by a simple act of carelessness and/or laziness.

Anyone who has lived in the BC Interior for any length of time should know by now that this is a no-no.  And if they haven't had it drilled into their by firefighting public relations types, it should be a matter of common sense. 

A spark from a train causing a fire is one thing.  It's not inexcusable, but at least in most cases - like last week on the Kamloops Indian Reserve - the railway takes responsibility and tries to make things right.  But a cigarette thrown out of a vehicle is pure negligence.  It's awful close to being malicious.  And the penalties for doing it are not nearly steep enough.