York University offers up experts on the good, bad & ugly of summer: from camp culture and star gazing to smog, road rage and lawn anarchy

TORONTO, June 30, 2000 -- Summer for most people has really just begun -- a day after most school children skipped out their classroom doors while the rest of us slide into summer with the start of the Canada Day long weekend. With that in mind, York University offers up an eclectic range of experts on some of summer's ills -- like smog and road rage -- to summer glories like camping, community gardening, and star gazing.

Air quality and the Environment

According to a report released by the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) this week, smog will cause 1,900 deaths across the province and drain the health care system and economy of more than $1-billion. We know this thanks to modelling done by York University Environmental Studies instructor Ed Hanna, based on new computer software he developed to determine the cost and effects of air pollution across the province. Hanna, who headed up the project, and York Environmental Studies Dean Peter Victor, who served as one of the project's consultants, can comment on the health and economic costs associated with air pollution, and the future costs of government inaction. Hanna can be reached at (905) 839-7163; Victor at (416) 736-5284, or by e-mail: pvictor@yorku.ca.

That yellow halo surrounding Toronto ñ commonly known as smog -- contains harmful sulphur and nitrogen oxide, according to York University Environmental Studies Professor Grant Sheng. Sheng says increased vehicle use and coal-fired electric generation plants are among the root causes of our air pollution problems. He can discuss the process in which tailpipe and power plant emissions, combined with sunlight and high summer temperatures, break down to form harmful ground-level ozone. "If this chemical soup can peel paint and erode concrete, think of what it is doing to our lungs," he says. Sheng can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 22666, or by e-mail: sheng@yorku.ca.

Road Rage

Summer road repairs, road closures, traffic congestion, and impatient drivers often lead to undue stress and flared tempers on our roadways, says York Psychology Professor David Wiesenthal, an expert on road rage and aggressive driver behaviour. Wiesenthal, who has researched and written extensively on the subject, advises people prone to anger behind the wheel to take the following measures: keep a cell phone handy (hands-free of course) to phone ahead if running late; play your favourite music; or listen to a book-on-tape. If you find yourself getting angry or frustrated, pull off the road and count to ten. Wiesenthal also recommends that drivers keep their displays of anger or disapproval with another driver in check -- honking horns, swearing, or rude gestures will only escalate an already tense situation. Wiesenthal can be reached at (416) 736-2100 ext. 30114, or by e-mail: davidw@yorku.ca.

Community and Ethnic Gardens

One of the first ways immigrants and refugees new to Canada communicate with their neighbours is through their plants and gardens, says York Environmental Studies Prof. Gerda Wekerle. Wekerle and photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo have collaborated on a photo exhibit entitled Growing Cultures, showing at the Royal Ontario Museum. The exhibit demonstrates how immigrants can enhance the life of a city by reshaping neighbourhoods, introducing new cuisine and expanding the potential for urban gardens. One of the gardens highlighted belonged to the late Joe Foti, a former janitor at Toronto City Hall whose garden was the long-time site for annual Liberal Party barbeques. Immigrant gardeners from 18 different countries now living in the GTA (some recent immigrants, others in Canada for decades) have planned and maintained these gardens, which are featured in the exhibit running until January 2002. Wekerle can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 22636, at home: (416) 486-6490, or by e-mail: gwekerle@yorku.ca.

Lawn Anarchy (Cut that middle-class grass!)

You can tell a lot about a person's socio-economic status and political beliefs by how they maintain their lawn, Allan Greenbaum argues in his Sociology PhD dissertation, The Lawn as a Site for Environmental Conflict. Greenbaum says the recent stir over a Toronto resident fined because of his unkept lawn exemplifies the polarization between those who advocate natural, pesticide-free, untamed lawns and gardens and those who strive for the perfect "golf-course," weed-free lawn. Greenbaum's research shows that people engaged in creative occupations such as writers, teachers, and artists most often prefer natural lawns, and lean toward social democratic principles associated with the political left. Business and Bay Street professionals, on the other hand, prefer the uniformity of the perfectly manicured lawn, and lean toward the fiscal conservatism of the right. Greenbaum can be reached at (416) 537-6606.

The Great Outdoors

"Canada's National Parks have been created for just about every purpose other than ecological preservation," says York Environmental Studies Professor Cate Sandilands. "The fact that the parks fall under the Federal Heritage Ministry rather than under the Federal Environment Ministry is evidence of this." Sandilands, who researches the national and cultural significance of Canada's National Parks, says parks were usually created to serve political or economic development purposes. For example, Banff National Park was created in 1885 as a tourist destination for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Few national parks are designated for wildlife and nature preservation, she adds, and that those are threatened by tourists. Her most recent article "Canada's National Parks: Profit, Preservation and Paradox," appears in the current issue of Canadian Parks and Recreation Magazine. Sandilands can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 70178, or by e-mail: essandi@yorku.ca.

York Environmental Studies professors Paul Wilkinson and Michael Hough both served on the Ecological Integrity Panel on National Parks which reported to the Federal Heritage Minister this spring. They can both comment on the effects of tourism and ecological restoration on the park system. Wilkinson can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 22627, at home (416) 482-7126, or by e-mail: eswilkin@yorku.ca. Hough can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 22629, at home: (416) 488-7059, or by e-mail: mh@yorku.ca.

Summer Camps: With school out, many parents are sending their children off to summer camp. For many children, camp is a unique opportunity to escape the city and be exposed to a variety of recreational activities in a natural setting. Sharon Wall, a PhD history candidate at York University, is studying the historical and cultural significance of summer camps in Ontario from 1920 to 1955.

Her research compares camps for children from wealthy families with camps for economically disadvantaged children. Among her findings: working-class mothers often accompanied their children to camp and were given classes in ëproper' mothering skills. Wall says this reveals a paternalistic assumption that working-class people did not know how to raise their children, who were regarded as in need of character building. Wall can be reached at (416) 537-9635, or by e-mail: swall@yorku.ca.

Canoeing is a passion for York University Language and Literature Professor Richard Pope -- so much so that he decided to retrace the same canoeing routes as the coureurs de bois and write a book about it. Superior Illusions (Natural Heritage Books, 1998) recreates in vivid detail the path of Canada's early fur traders and de-mythologizes the lives of the voyageurs. It took Pope nine years of canoe trips and extensive historical research to produce the book. This summer he's back at it again, canoeing up the Spanish River near Espanola, Ontario. When he's not on the waters, Pope can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 88728, or at home: (416) 484-1878, or by e-mail: rpope@yorku.ca.

Night Skies: The days are already getting shorter, with the sun setting earlier each night. York Astronomy Professors Marshall McCall and Paul Delaney are available to explain how the sun's position relative to the earth affects the diminishing amount of day light as summer progresses. They can also weigh in on all aspects of the evening summer sky, including planet positions and other phenomena in the heavens. Delaney can be reached (after July 17) at (416) 736-2100, ext. 33959, at home (905) 729-2871, or by e-mail: pdelaney@yorku.ca. McCall can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 33773, at home (905) 881-4417, or by e-mail: mccall@yorku.ca.

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For more information or additional experts, please call:

Ken Turriff
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
e-mail: kturriff@yorku.ca
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