Thoughts Vancouverites?

[jet a1]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... cerns.html

[akoch]

He should also go after the car pollution, human pollution which is especially awful in the downtown area, smog than never seems to leave DT, water contamination from the city sewage and ships.

There will always be enough crazy people around, just can't help it. I like it in the bush. And I still have an office in DT.

[frozen solid]

Same old story, people move in next to an airport and they want to get rid of the planes. Of course in this case the residents in question probably didn't take advantage of the reduced property value due to the proximity of the airport.

This is a fairly obvious attempt to attack the airlines, which are bothering the good Doctor with their noise. He is obviously not aware that Jet fuel contains no lead. How many Beavers are operating out of the harbour? I'm pretty sure the lead is coming from somewhere else.

[xsbank]

Vancouver has many conceits, amonst them the "green" thing, which is total claptrap - the landfills are full of construction msterial from crushed houses as the well-to-do bulldoze old houses to build newer, "green" houses (the colour?) The bicycle thing is a very visible fad, largely on the weekends as crowds of spandex-clad menaces wobble and zoom on $10,000 carbon bikes as the city pisses away money blocking off lanes and streets; more clear-cutting on the North Shore mountains for housing for drop-in Asians whom will be absent and these homes empty half the year.

Its arguable whether there are more SUVs in Vancouver than in Calgary, but they are certainly the vehicle of choice here, the Chelsea Tractor (Land Rover) being paramount, driven by the same cyclists during the week!

This letter is a thinly-disguised attempt to shut out the floatflanes, which make conversation difficult while sitting on the balcony of a $3 million condo when a Beav takes off. That's it. NIMBYism at its finest.

Vancouver is beautiful, but present company excepted, it is populated by the most selfish citizens this side of the Senate.

[Panama Jack]

Vancouver is Canada's version of Flaky California. Even the licence plates are blue on white. "Best Place on Earth" sounds like a Snapple commercial. Best place in Canada? Probably. But on Earth? Really? Maybe people should get out of Lotusland and travel a bit. Thank God that slogan has been consigned to the dustbin.

With that off my chest, sure, it is a valid concern to test children for lead levels. However, this must also be done throughout the Vancouver area to identify whether it is really a Coal Harbour area thing, or a Vancouver thing. We always knew that living in a large, metropolitan area does expose residents to greater levels of harmful pollutants than living in remote villages. Just ask people in Beijing an Xi'an.

Now, if there really is higher levels of lead in children living in the Coal Harbour area compared to the rest of Vancouver, then the next question is whether it is actually due to piston engine aircraft, and how much of it? Remember, Coal Harbour is a busy commercial ship port with all sorts of traffic going through it.

Yes, we do need a solution to lead in AvGas and industry is working on it. Lets just make sure that this a legitimate health concern rather than other motives at play.

[CpnCrunch]

Ironic that the pic shows two turbo otters.

[Beefitarian]

Leads oh noes!eleventy1!!1

I take it this "dokter" is either under thirty and/or completely ignoring the fact that all fuel used to contain much higher concentrations of lead (hence the LL) and people used to syphon gas by sucking it up a hose until it hit their mouth.

I'm not saying lead is a healthy part of this complete breakfast just maybe go easier on the panic.

Stress, it's a killer, sir. And he was a fruit bat.

[182-SS]

Vancouver is Canada's version of Flaky California. Even the licence plates are blue on white. "Best Place on Earth" sounds like a Snapple commercial. Best place in Canada? Probably. But on Earth? Really? Maybe people should get out of Lotusland and travel a bit. Thank God that slogan has been consigned to the dustbin. .

As a BC resident I agree and so do many others the pompous arrogance that slogan of the “Best place on earth” was embarrassing to say the least.
I actually contacted my MLA to complain about this slogan. I’ve been all over Canada and, Like you said, we have an argument about being “One of” the best places in the country but there is also some other amazing places in the country let alone the world……….
But ya this isn’t the first time a Dr. has brought this stuff up. This guy wants his 15 min of fame and for sure is trying to use his position for leverage (conflict of interest much?) in his NIMBY situation.

[moocow]

NIMBYism seem to be the case here. The old terminal was there long before the condos went up in Coal Harbour. It's their fault for not doing their research before hand, just like the Richmond and Boundary Bay idiots. Like most posters here, I find it funny that non of these residents bitch about the traffic along Georgia Street every f-ing day during rush hour and complain about the pollution there. That street is only 2 to 3 blocks south of the new float terminal and runs from one side of downtown to the other (from Stanley Park to Chinatown). They are simply million dollar condo owners that don't want the sound and smell associated with the terminal but will no doubt pay for a ticket to avoid BC Ferry. I think it's time to look for work outside of GVRD.

@xsbank are you referring to the development on the West Vancouver hill side? The vacancy rate for condos is pretty bad everywhere due to foreign investors.

[azimuthaviation]

I take it this "dokter" is either under thirty

Van Buynder is also Chief Medical Health Officer for Fraser Health, but he wrote the letter as a private citizen. He wrote that he is a public health physician of more than 20 years who has "spent many years as a provincial medical lead on environmental health issues and risk assessments."

Yeah if he got his MD when he was 6.

[Beefitarian]

I take it this "dokter" is either under thirty

Van Buynder is also Chief Medical Health Officer for Fraser Health, but he wrote the letter as a private citizen. He wrote that he is a public health physician of more than 20 years who has "spent many years as a provincial medical lead on environmental health issues and risk assessments."

Yeah if he got his MD when he was 6.

You should have deleted "either." Then you would have got me.

[AirFrame]

The lead pollution from the turbine otters in the lead photo? I'm guessing it's pretty low.

[Rowdy]

We should continue with our moniker as the 'green' airline.. not just as a reference to the colour on our planes, but that we run Mogas! No lead there Doctor fancy pants

How many decades have seaplanes been operating from the Harbour now anyways? By my count, as long as this individual has been alive at least.

[Panama Jack]

Here is an alternative theory on elevated lead levels in Vancouver. Too early to rule it out:

http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/ ... -poisoning