Lögberg-Heimskringla - 31.01.2003, Side 2

page 2 » Lögberg-Heimskringla » Friday, 31 January 2003
Editorial .• Ritstjórnargrein
Lillian Vilborg
Managing Editor
WlNNIPEG, MB
Ireally admire the smoking
lobby. They have accom-
plished in a few short years
what most would have said was
impossible. Although the tobac-
co industry keeps fighting back
in legal and other ways, the
smoking lobby has succeeded in
having the weed eliminated
from most public places, has
tumed smokers into social pari-
ahs, and has given the once
powerless a voice. Ordinary
people have been successful in
getting smoke out of the work
place, out of restaurants, the-
atres, elevators, libraries, class-
rooms. You name it.
When I was young, it was
smart to smoke. Although not
everyone fell for it, most of us
did. (I have to say that neither
my mother, sister nor brother
ever smoked.) Smoking was
glamorized by Hollywood,
where actors let cigarettes hang
dangerously from their lips.
Many of us had parents who
smoked. And uncles and aunts.
And neighbours and friends.
When I went to university, stu-
dents smoked in classrooms.
There was a smoking room in
the library at the University of
Saskatchewan — one girl in
that room could roll a cigarette
with one hand, while she made
notes with the other. My broth-
er-in-law John was sure she was
a cowgirl.
When I first worked in the
Law Library at the University of
Alberta we allowed smoking all
over the library - we understood
that it would be too stressful for
the students otherwise. Then
we restricted it to one floor.
That went into the 1980s when
we finally banned smoking in
the library after the students
brought us a petition
We smoked at meetings in
windowless rooms. I think we
even smoked in movie houses.
Is that possible? Mostly men
smoked cigars. Of course
Winston Churchill made that
rather fashionable. Important
men smoked cigars. Now
Normands in Edmonton has
cigar nights once or twice a
year. It likely takes the rest of
the year for the smell to come
out of the curtains and wall cov-
erings.
I would like to see the
smoking lobby and all the ordi-
nary people who have made it
effective, who have forced gov-
emments at all levels to take
legislative action to ban smok-
ing, ban tobacco companies
from promoting sports and arts
events, ban them from advertis-
ing - I would like to see that
lobby and all the workers take
on some other things that
endanger our health.
Like drunk drivers. How
about zero tolerance for dmnk
driving. That would be good,
and would save lives and a bun-
dle for medical care. Countries
like Iceland have had zero toler-
ance policies for years. People
who drink don’t drive, they take
taxis.
How about taking on gas
emissions, which poison the air
we breathe as much as cigarette
smoke. Likely even more. Get
trains back on tracks to carry us
places we now get into our cars
to drive to - if there are any
tracks left that haven’t been lift-
ed. Get public transit systems in
place that satisfy people’s
needs. And use hydrogen pow-
ered vehicles like they are now
doing in Iceland. Get bicycle
paths in places people want to
ride. Get sidewalks cleared and
sanded like roads are (where
there’s snow and ice) as if peo-
ple actually walked places.
Have sidewalks even.
Maybe they could take on
the construction industry -
couldn’t there be rules about
environmentally conscious
building practices - renewable
resources and all that stuff. The
Mountain Equipment Coop has
shown Winnipeg that it is possi-
ble to build with used materials,
install compost toilets and have
a living roof - just like our
ancestors had in Iceland - grass
on the roof - and run a business
in a business like way. They
have now even made building
in an environmentally conscien-
tious way part of their business.
There are so many things
that an effective lobby could
take on - clothes dryers, flush
toilets, hermetically sealed
buildings; The list is endless.
They might even try creating a
world where peace is valued
over war. What a thought.
Letters to the Editor • Bréf til ritstjóra
Dear Editor
Lögberg-Heimskringla is
doing an outstanding job. I
appreciate the wide coverage. I
Minnist
BETEL
í ERFÐASKRÁM YÐAR
MESSUBOÐ
Fyrsta Lúterska
Kirkja
Pastor Michael Kurtz
10:30 a.m. TheService
First Lutheran Church
589 Victor St., Winnipeg
R3G1R2 Ph. 772-7444
would appreciate more news of
what is going on in Iceland.
The Icelandic language should
perhaps be directed to adult
readers. Keep up the good
work.
George Hansen,
a grateful Icelander
Port Townsend, WA
Dear Editor
I would like to congratu-
late you and your staff for the
excellent paper you are putting
out. It is really in tune with the
movement to get Icelanders
and those of Icelandic descent
here in North America together
in thought and action. Happy
New Year!!!
Einar and Rosalind
Vigfusson
Arborg, MB
Dear Editor
I would enjoy more
Icelandic news from the
Reykjavík dailies. “Stories
From Iceland” would be a nice
addition to the paper.
Activities of North American
Icelanders is also much appre-
ciated. Overall, the paper is
very good!
K. N. Thorarinsson
Saskatoon, SK
Dear Editor
“L-H” is an excellent
weekly as it is. I read it and
appreciate all articles. Archival
items re Icelanders who immi-
grated to Canada are a
favourite. My Dad came to
Canada in 1910 with his par-
ents and two sisters. My Dad
always said it was the best
thing for the family at that
time, and Amma had told me
the same. They loved their
home country but times in
Iceland were different then.
Many of their friends had emi-
grated before them and many
left around the same time. My
Dad made a “sentimental jour-
ney” to Westman Islands in
1975 and though he was only
six years old in 19ÍO^, he still
remembers London, where his
family lived on Westman
Islands - the name of the
street, or the house, where they
lived - it was a duplex. He
went to see it. The 1973 lava
flow stopped just behind the
house. My Dad brought pic-
tures he’d taken of the house -
heritage pictures for me.
E. F. Hanson
Port Edward, BC
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