Terri-Jane Yuzda













READERS FORUM

 


Let's hear from you...

The PEGG welcomes letters as an avenue for members to express opinions and concerns on issues or topics of interest to the professions. Share your experiences with other members.

Just mail: 1500 Scotia One, 10060 Jasper Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T5J 4A2
E-mail: glee@apegga.org
or
Fax: (780) 425-1722 your letters to the editor, signed with your name and address.

Of course we can't publish all letters received and can't run letters concerning specific registration matters before any APEGGA regulatory body. Do try and keep your letters to 300 words or less.

Created Wastes Ignored

Re: Waste Feeds Generators, The PEGG, March 2002.

I am quite surprised at the misinformation in this article. It implies that there will be a halt to burning of waste wood (biomass) at these facilities. "Burning no more," reads the photo caption. However, the fact of the matter is that the waste heat boiler burns the biomass and produces both solid and gaseous emissions.

There is a clear intention not to discuss these emissions. In fact the flow diagram on page 12 fails to show the off-gases from the boiler stack and does not address where the ash from the boiler goes. For example, it does not mention how the acids produced in the combustion process are handled or the combustion efficiency of the boiler.

As a member of APEGGA I am concerned about this type of reporting. It is one-sided and is not engineering oriented. It is at best an advertisement for the parties involved.

Tony Galloway, P.Eng.
Calgary


Court Decision Response Unnecessary

Re: APEGGA's response to the court's decision in the case of Willy McCaffrey (APEGGA's Mandate Has Not Changed. . ., The PEGG, March 2002.)

My goodness! Such outrage. Your response reminds me of the kid in the sandbox whose toy was just taken. Imagine - an authority greater than yourselves with the audacity to disagree with you. Outrageous indeed!

Murray D. Weatherhead, P.Eng.
Calgary


Why the Infomercial?

Re: Trusting That Gut Feeling, The PEGG, March 2002.

I would like to know when the PEGG became a venue for "infomercials" disguised as articles. The article ended with a description of an upcoming leadership retreat, and gave a website. A visit to the website results in viewing an advertisement for a three-day course
costing $2,400 (well, only $2,200 for early registration).
Is this the kind of article we are to expect from now on in The PEGG? Is
this part of a plan to completely deplete readership?

Karl Miller, P.Eng.
Calgary


As Long as It's Correct

Re: Stop Mixing Measurement Systems, Readers' Forum, The PEGG, April 2002.


Kevin Moorman, P.Eng., bashes mixing different systems of measurement and the
very use of the imperial system. While he makes some valid points, I
cannot accept his overly agitated tone and misplaced passion. This matter is
certainly not as hot as he sees it.

The imperial system is archaic, yes; but it has served the mankind for
centuries and for that alone, it deserves some respect. We are not the first
nor the last people here; we are living in an environment created by
previous generations, and these generations mostly used the imperial system.

To me, when dealing with existing facilities, 20 feet makes a lot more sense
than 6,096 mm, 40 p.s.f. sounds more natural than 1.9 kPa; and when I drive on
Icefields Parkway and see a sign saying that vehicles over 4,550 kg are
prohibited on this road, I can't help laughing. Those who mindlessly
converted 10,000 pounds to the metric system forgot that 10,000 is a round
number, and is appropriate here, whereas after seeing the 4,550, one can only
ask: "How on earth did they manage to calculate it with such precision?" It
is just one of the myriad examples around us when common sense is sacrificed
to a political campaign.

I was born and trained as engineer in Russia, and till age 33 I never
knew what a foot and a pound was; still, it didn't make me a genius to
figure that out when I started practicing in Canada. I often use mixed units
in the same formula in my calculations, and it's OK as long as you are
careful with the conversion factors.
But the same holds true when you use any system of measurement; not to confuse meters with millimeters, kN/mm2 with MPa, and so on. And this problem is not unique to Canada. In early 1980s when the Soviet Union signed SI convention, there was an attempt, in the weather forecasts, to call the atmospheric pressure in hectopascals.
Guess what? In three months it was all rolled back to millimeters of mercury.
Custom and tradition are real factors, not to be taken lightly.

Mr. Moorman says that he "cannot accept any argument against switching to SI." Probably so; but who cares? Good designs, as well as bad designs, can
be prepared using any system of measurement.

Konstantin Ashkinadze, P.Eng.
Edmonton

Kyoto Position Needed

Re: A Busy Year of Building Your Association, President's Notebook, the PEGG, April 2002.

While I am hesitant to criticize President Dale Miller, P.Eng., and the APEGGA
Council in discharging their essentially volunteer duties, I must challenge
the assertion that "there still remains no dominant issue
threatening APEGGA." How could the President and Council have arrived at
this state of denial?

I am referring to the Alberta government's position of rejecting the Kyoto protocols, and APEGGA's reaction to that decision: apparently none. In my opinion APEGGA should either be opposing the provincial decision or actively pursuing a reassessment of the 1992 Rio/1997 Kyoto action recommendation process.

Since Kyoto strikes at the heart of APEGGA's Mission, protecting the public, I would have hoped that Council would have acted in full confidence of membership support.

H. Neal Collins, P.Eng.
Calgary

Editor's Note: Although Council has not been involved in the current debate over Kyoto, in the July 1999 edition of The PEGG, the following policy statement on climate change was published:

APEGGA's professional membership represents a broad spectrum of individual positions on climate change. APEGGA remains neutral with respect to specific climate change targets. APEGGA does not favour any specific sector's position.
However, in response to the climate change issue, APEGGA does support:

1) the efficient and responsible use of our energy and natural resources

2) continuing dialogue to facilitate understanding among APEGGA members and with the broader public

3) ongoing awareness of, and due regard for, linkages between climate change and other environmental concerns. APEGGA's Environmental Guideline provides further guidance to its members

4) continuing research to develop cost-effective and socially acceptable technologies to address climate change concerns

5) key business and individual consumer actions to improve energy efficiency as identified in Alberta's Strategy for Action on Climate Change.



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