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Yellow and brown colours show relatively high concentrations of chlorophyll off the coast of Haida Gwaii in August, 2012, after iron sulphate was dumped into the Pacific Ocean as part of a controversial geo-engineering scheme.

At sea on nature

Poor Mother Nature. Even the aboriginals seek her conquest: tons of iron sulphate scattered on the ocean in a bid to spur plankton growth (Its Livelihood Gone, Fishing Village Tried Scheme To Seed A Barren Sea – Oct. 17).

John Disney, the economic development officer with the Old Massett Village Council, says that the Haida "are losing the salmon and that's a fundamental foundation block of their culture, and there's nothing you can threaten the Haida community with more than to say you are not going to have any more salmon."

Who is it, exactly, that is doing the "threatening"? Might the absurd answer be the limitations of Mother Nature?

It is surely a poignant sign of our times that an aboriginal community has hired a consulting firm to justify and conduct a geo-engineering project.

Jay Conte, Niagara Falls, Ont.

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As you report, volcanic eruptions have caused plankton blooms and resulted in unexpectedly large salmon runs. This is surely the mildest of geo-engineering, with the greatest hope for reducing carbon in the atmosphere as well as increasing life in the sea.

Hugh Jones, Toronto

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Worse than outrage

The proroguing of parliaments elicits something far more worrisome than outrage: fear that our democracy is degenerating into nothing more than an election every few years (Silent Parliaments, Muted Outrage – Oct.17).

We elect MPs and MPPs to represent us in a continuous democratic process involving debate, consideration of motions that become policies and laws of the land, and holding those in power accountable for their actions. Proroguing parliaments arrests democracy in its tracks.

Proroguing is a process designed for limited purpose and is now being abused. Our governors-general or lieutenant-governors have collectively failed to protect the democratic process. In the short term, they need to fulfill their role and keep the process of democracy sacrosanct. In the long term, proroguing itself needs to be modified so that it cannot be abused.

Parliaments exist, and parliamentarians are elected to do the messy job of democratic government. We cannot let the party leader in office take that away from us all.

David Kister, Toronto

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The Liberal bag of prorogue-ish tricksdo not this voter impress;

Should the House which sits at Her Majesty's pleasurerise to hide Dalton's mess?

Ted Zittell, Toronto

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Less NHL is more

NHL defenceman Kevin Bieksa says players are trying to "come to terms" with the league and "create a deal that will help these bottom-end teams" (Vancouver Players See Signs Of 'Progress' – Sports, Oct. 17).

I say the bottom-end teams are the problem. They are a metaphor for the wider issues affecting a business and league that, without recognizing it, have collaborated in diluting the quality of the game itself, especially at the professional level. These same teams can't make it because they're in markets they shouldn't be in. Almost by definition, that's the heart of the strictly commercial side of the problem.

The league needs to go on a diet to save itself as a business and professional sport. Everything needs to be pared back by at least 25 per cent: number of teams, games per year, number of teams making the playoffs, salaries. Maybe even ticket prices, but I'll leave that to be decided in the open market.

Brian Tansey, Ottawa

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Canada's seal hunt

If the EU had been truly interested in promoting animal welfare in relation to culling or harvesting seals from abundant populations, it would not have instituted a ban on the importation of seal products from Canada (Killing Seals – letters, Oct. 15; EU's Plan To Cull Seal Population Raises Eyebrows – Oct. 9). Instead, it would have worked with Canadian authorities to promote sound hunting practices. It chose, however, to turn its head away, realizing full well that the harvest of seals in this country would go on.

Fortunately, Canada has continued to work diligently with the sealing industry and, with its full support, has now in its legislation very specific harvesting methods that can be practically enforced and ensure that the Canadian seal hunt is done as well as, if not better than, any other form of exploitation of animals, domestic or wild.

Pierre-Yves Daoust, wildlife veterinarian, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island

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Sitting: bad, very bad

Just the other night, my long-time smoking companion and I decided it was long past time to join the ranks of all the non-smokers and ex-smokers in our lives. Imagine our delight upon waking to the news that sitting is the new smoking (Get Up And Get Moving – Life, Oct. 16). It gives new meaning to the expression "last smoker left standing."

Ellen Reinhart, Guelph, Ont.

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Value has a price

CBC is a public broadcaster and the music content we offer on radio and online is not there to make a profit; it's designed to provide Canadians with a service they use, value and can't get elsewhere (CBC Music Losing Millions As Content Costs Surpass Revenue – Oct. 16).

The bulk of the costs associated with CBCMusic.ca are in creating the content. When we launched the service, much of the funding came from redirecting existing resources. We've changed the way we work. Our staff creates digital content alongside broadcast content, teams producing radio shows program web radio stations, producers are writing blog posts and we've started shooting video at the live events we record. We're spending the same amount of money we always have creating music content, but as technology changes the way people consume content, we're delivering it to them in new ways.

Since launching last February, we've streamed over 17 million hours of music, had nearly eight million visits to the website alone and served over 20 million pages of content. That's real value for Canadians.

Chris Boyce, executive director, Radio and Audio CBC English Services

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It is, uh, what it is

Okay, that's it. It's time to officially ban the use of the word "brand." Examples: Ottawa's Effort To Rebrand Museum Met With Criticism (Oct 16); "the death knell for the Liberal brand" (Trudeau The Only Glimmer Of Life For Moribund Liberals – Oct 16) … Everything has become a brand: people, places, political parties, even pets.

And while we're at it, here are other worthy candidates for extinction: the status quo is not an option, so everything is on the table, but at the end of the day, the bottom line is what it is, as we go forward, seeking closure.

Tim Jeffery, Toronto

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