Grizzly E-Mail

Not that I’m taking any sides in this decision, but I wonder if anybody bothered to consult the grizzlies before lifting protection. After all, it is their hides on the line – literally – and they deserve a heads up before the first shot is fired.
I’m thinking a face to face meeting would present some dangers for the human delegate if disagreements turned somewhat hostile. Just those claws drumming on the meeting log would send a horde of goose bumps up my spine.
I considered snail mail, but since grizzlies eat just about anything including snails, I figured that postal people or Fedex guys would also be fair game.
Dropping leaflets seemed to be an excellent option until I realized education benefits had never been extended to the grizzly population. Come to think of it, I never noticed a library out there or even a newsstand; of course, grizzly bears are not known to hold down any 9 to 5 job too long except for the Hollywood star types.
Then it dawned on me. The wildlife service has gone to considerable expense to equip the bears with radio collars, so it should be an easy matter to add in a phone and e-mail service (a few cell towers in the park shouldn’t bother anyone; if it does tell them to get a life).
Maybe the authorities can send out a group e-mail warning to the grizzlies, 24 hours in advance regarding new hunting regulations, which will give them adequate opportunity to cover their asses.

Pardon the Soup Stains

Aren’t we all in love with green – not talking Irish – the environment? Then we should all congratulate the ‘new’ Conservative government on the budget program to institute rebates for purchasers of selected vehicles – those that restrict gas guzzling to less than 8.2 litres per 100 kilometres.
Now the way I see it, it will become a subsidy for the poor automobile dealers who are having a difficult time feeding at the Ottawa trough. Seems the big auto companies keep pushing them out of the way; as quickly as they knock one factory down, they wheel into the capital, hat in hand, to demand taxpayer money to fund a new factory or major addition. How long until the dealers punch up the price of the selected vehicles to match the potential rebates? Appears reasonable since the customers will get their money back after filling out a few bureaucratic forms. So each of us will contribute to the green cause at the end of April. Of course, maybe the automobile dealers have a better lobby in the capital than I thought. Well, I pray for their sake they use the extra money to clean up their ties and shirt fronts before the manufacturers decide the money belongs to them by raising wholesale prices.