As a hydrogeologist in…

As a hydrogeologist in Ontario, it is my job to protect our groundwater resources for our potable and agricultural needs. The Greenbelt, the Oak Ridges Moraine, the Niagara Escarpment are important continuous natural areas in which our groundwater resources are replenished, filtered naturally and protected by keeping the areas un-urbanized such that the land is permeable to allow rain water to percolate into the ground and replenish our groundwater resources and at the same time the land is free from potential contaminants from an urban area, whether it be excessive road salting, petroleum spills from vehicles, organic contaminants from dry cleaning facilities, other chemicals from residential, commercial and industrial facilities in an urban environment. These natural areas were designated per scientific knowledge in the locations where they are based on the natural settings, the environment and the resources that exist there. Re-designating land from the Greenbelt to an area where there is no current urban development is not based on scientific knowledge but on human convenience and only gives the appearance to the public of being acceptable. The resources on the current land of the Greenbelt, Oak Ridges Moraine and Niagara Escarpment will still be there but now they will be at risk of degradation. Do we want the Toronto area to become a megapolis with unsustainable urban sprawl or do we want the area to be sustainable in the long term by intensifying development within existing urban land by building higher, smaller and more densely, such as is being done in places such as Waterloo Region or Halifax. There are 8 billion people on the planet now, not to mention the billions of other species of plants and animals, and we cannot all live a lavish lifestyle of some dream but we must live according to the realities of our planet, the biological, chemical and physical laws that govern life on the planet, the laws by which we are ultimately limited. Have you looked at the recent photos of our Earth as seen by the Orion spacecraft from the orbit of the Moon? You should. Realize that we have only one planet and one set of resources on it to live on and from. There is nowhere else for us to go. Let’s take responsibility for future generations and show the children now growing up that we want them to have a sustainable city to live in. Do not implement these amendments to the Greenbelt Plan. Respect the work of previous scientists and policy makers who in good faith and based on science set up the Greenbelt and associated such natural areas and the laws in place to protect local resources in a densely populated area of Ontario.