Today’s letters: Detentions — this smart student gets it right

Teen Elise Ravesloot sees little point in the way detentions are traditionally structured and has other suggestions for school boards. Photo by Jetta Productions /Getty ImagesArticle content

Student is right about classroom detentions

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How is it that 13-year-old Elise Ravesloot can see this outdated and ineffective punishment for what it is, a complete waste of time? Not only has she identified the problem with school detentions, but she has come up with an excellent solution to clean up our extremely nasty-looking city.

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Bravo Elise. Hopefully the powers that be will pay attention to this very wise and articulate 13-year-old.

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Marsha Maslove, Ottawa

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What you can do about bad indoor air quality

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There is bad air quality in Ottawa right now but here’s something we can do about it.

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The air quality Ontario web site (www.airqualityontario.com/history/summary.php) is telling us that the outdoor air quality is poor and to stay indoors as much as possible. The particle emissions (known as PM2.5) are near 100, which makes Ottawa air as bad as some of the most polluted cities on Earth.

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Unfortunately, most peoples’ indoor air quality is not likely to be much better than the outdoor readings as that bad air will soon permeate a dwelling that isn’t super well sealed and/or filtered.

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There is something that people can do, however. Buy an air purifier or build your own for about $50. Get a 20 x 20 inch box fan. Tape the same size furnace fan filter on the inlet side of the fan. Get it going inside your home. I’ve got my home-made version working right now and have got the indoor particle emissions down to nine when Ottawa’s downtown air quality station is reading close to 100.

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I’ve been covering this subject for a while, having led a project with the Sierra Club Canada to measure and improve air quality across Ottawa.

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Jake Cole, Ottawa

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Jake Cole’s home-made air filter: anyone can make one. Photo by Jake ColeArticle content

Astronaut Garneau embodied a sense of duty

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Marc Garneau, Canada’s first astronaut and a distinguished public servant, passed away on June 4, at 76. Born in Quebec City, he began his career as a naval officer and engineer before making history on Oct. 5, 1984, when he flew aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, becoming the first Canadian in space. He would go on to complete two more missions, logging over 677 hours in orbit and emerging as a symbol of Canadian scientific achievement and international collaboration.