As you may have noticed I have decided to do a few runs this year - a little trick to keep me exercising, haha. Every time I am at a run though I see tons and tons of garbage. There are water stations along the way, not just at the start and finish line, and food is served on paper plates. These paper cups and plates aren't usually from a supplier that produces compostable throw-away dishes. They are ordinary paper cups that once dirty go in the garbage - garbage, a word that should be made redundant but instead has become to signify a huge problem.
The races I have done had only about 300-400 participants so that's small scale but just think about the number of runs and walks that are on every week, and the size of some of them with thousands of participants. It's a fast growing mountain of paper garbage. During the Toronto marathon for example the water stations were so littered with cups that the runners had to run over them.
No, I don't have a solution for the problem other than that the organisers should use compostable cups and plates and runners should be encouraged to bring a water bottle (at least for use after and before the race) and reuse cups. The latter option is not going to happen during the race but could happen after and before the race if refill stations were provided. At one race I got quite upset actually about the teenage volunteers (who with little enthusiasm probably fulfilled their mandatory volunteer hours) that kept filling cups even way after the race had finished and runners were heading home, probably just because they were told to do so and still had cups left. I bet they ended up having to pour the water away and throw out the cups.What a waste for nothing. Personally I always take my water bottle to the runs and try to refill it or keep a cup to refill. Summer might be different but usually I do not require to drink during the run. Seems like it's going to be a hot and dry summer though and I am almost hoping it will rain on the next race day.
And no, sporting events (unless it's motor sports) should not be erased due to the garbage they create, after all our society has become too lazy and fat to stop promoting physical activity.
Monday, May 28, 2012
It's great to be German - part 2
The DE Magazin had a article on the German love of cycling. It was a bit of an eye-opener to me but I also keep shaking my head at it, still. Why is it so hard to understand the advantages of a bike and the fun in riding it? And I mean riding it to commute, to run errands, to go from A to B, not just to ride around the park on a Sunday afternoon. When I still worked I cycled past avalanches of cars, lined up in the main roads of Kitchener that are currently under heavy construction, every single day. And every single day I wondered why these people sit like ... (well never mind) in their cars waiting for something to happen. A bike is so flexible in city traffic. Unfortunately lots of places in KW still do not have bike racks and I am left searching for a lamp post and the like to lock my ride.
"Most non-Europeans who come to Germany find it hard to imagine that people voluntarily use their own muscle power to get around." - Human beings adjust surprisingly quickly to whatever they do regularly, may it be sitting around or cycling and walking. As far as I am concerned a bit of exercise has not harmed anybody, but not exercising at all has harmed a lot of people. Also I still walk a lot but with my developing belly I much prefer riding my bike. It combines sitting on my bum and exercising - how awesome is that? Sitting for hours in the car meantime just makes me stiff and I am only in my early 30s.
"What, even the rich ride them?” she asks. “Yes, even rich people ride them.” My aunt from Istanbul can’t believe it. “What do their customers think when they see their investment banker riding a bike?” I say: “They probably think – look at that big head, showing off his wealth. Riding an expensive bike while my shares are hitting rock bottom!” She says: “I would never trust a cyclist with my money.”
I can't believe that this aunt can't believe the German cycling culture. I suppose it's one of those advertising scams that has taught us over many years that you have money if you drive a car but you are super poor if you cycle. Some bikes costs a fortune though. And I'd rather have a better, more expensive bike than a fancier car. I intend to get a bike for my daughter in a couple of years and hope she'll have the opportunity to cycle to school just like I did for 13 years, even though she does not grow up in Germany. I don't want her to be like one of these kids that expect to be carted around all day by mum or dad, and think there's no going anywhere without a car.
"Most non-Europeans who come to Germany find it hard to imagine that people voluntarily use their own muscle power to get around." - Human beings adjust surprisingly quickly to whatever they do regularly, may it be sitting around or cycling and walking. As far as I am concerned a bit of exercise has not harmed anybody, but not exercising at all has harmed a lot of people. Also I still walk a lot but with my developing belly I much prefer riding my bike. It combines sitting on my bum and exercising - how awesome is that? Sitting for hours in the car meantime just makes me stiff and I am only in my early 30s.
"What, even the rich ride them?” she asks. “Yes, even rich people ride them.” My aunt from Istanbul can’t believe it. “What do their customers think when they see their investment banker riding a bike?” I say: “They probably think – look at that big head, showing off his wealth. Riding an expensive bike while my shares are hitting rock bottom!” She says: “I would never trust a cyclist with my money.”
I can't believe that this aunt can't believe the German cycling culture. I suppose it's one of those advertising scams that has taught us over many years that you have money if you drive a car but you are super poor if you cycle. Some bikes costs a fortune though. And I'd rather have a better, more expensive bike than a fancier car. I intend to get a bike for my daughter in a couple of years and hope she'll have the opportunity to cycle to school just like I did for 13 years, even though she does not grow up in Germany. I don't want her to be like one of these kids that expect to be carted around all day by mum or dad, and think there's no going anywhere without a car.
It's great to be German - part 1
Last Thursday during a trip to Toronto I picked up two publications, one called Canadian Wilderness from CPAWS and one called DE Magazin at the German Consulate. I read both cover to cover, especially since the DE Magazin had a special on sustainability. Well, Germany is pretty good on protecting the environment - even exceded its Kyoto target - and exports its ideas and skills as well. So I am all proud to be German considering the effort Germany puts in to do its share for the future of this planet and the next generations. Surely, this magazine aims to tell the public about the good things that happen in Germany while CPAWS aims to educate people about where there is still a need to take action in order to help the environment, besides pointing out one or the other success the organisation has achieved. So reading the CPAWS paper was rather depressing. The main focus fell on the unfortunate turn in the development of Canada's National Parks, away from putting nature first to implementing more theme-park-like attractions that might attract more people but impact flora and fauna negatively. Sigh, it's simply so wrong - how can the executives at Parks Canada not see that?
Today we received the newsletter from our local (Conservative) MP who did not even mention the word environment in any article, especially not the one about the 2012 Budget. On the comment card that we will return to this MP my husband noted as "issues that most concern you and your family": Protecting the environment. I have little hope though that it will ever sink in with the Conservatives that they are on a path or death and destruction.
Today we received the newsletter from our local (Conservative) MP who did not even mention the word environment in any article, especially not the one about the 2012 Budget. On the comment card that we will return to this MP my husband noted as "issues that most concern you and your family": Protecting the environment. I have little hope though that it will ever sink in with the Conservatives that they are on a path or death and destruction.
Monday, May 7, 2012
It's unecological to be pregnant
I am not going to talk about the environmental impact of a child growing up right now, it's huge no question. But the nine months leading up to having this child can already be an issue.
Being pregnant alone is a small environmental disaster if you get morning sickness, food aversions and strong sensitivity to smells like I did. We noticed that over the last weeks our garbage and recycling amounts have risen. That's because I am pregnant and buy and eat things I would otherwise avoid. My sense of smell makes everything and everywhere stink so cooking and baking are more torture than fun. I am totally off a lot of good foods but long instead for a lot of junk food. Obviously, to make cooking easier I'd use more canned food for example. I have to buy more bread, pizza, cookies ... baked goods because I can't bare to stand in the kitchen making them myself. Oh, leftovers have become a nightmare to me too so they end up in the garbage currently.
I hate the first trimester of pregnancy. It's going to be our second and last child, for sure. Last time I was pregnant I was working on a farm so I did not have to cook ... what a bliss. Obviously, we could have eaten out a lot recently but that costs a lot of money and it's against my good consciousness to spend so much money on eating out. There are better options to spend it on. Besides, our food expenses went up with buying more "convenience" food. So why is there the persistent opinion that cooking from scratch is expensive? It sure is not!
I can't wait to return to normal eating behaviours and enjoy all those foods that I used to love, including bread. My husband already mentioned that our daugther eats too much junk (sweets, potato chips, sucking hard candy all day etc.)... because that's what she sees me doing. Sorry, honey, can't help it. And my apologies to the environment too.
Being pregnant alone is a small environmental disaster if you get morning sickness, food aversions and strong sensitivity to smells like I did. We noticed that over the last weeks our garbage and recycling amounts have risen. That's because I am pregnant and buy and eat things I would otherwise avoid. My sense of smell makes everything and everywhere stink so cooking and baking are more torture than fun. I am totally off a lot of good foods but long instead for a lot of junk food. Obviously, to make cooking easier I'd use more canned food for example. I have to buy more bread, pizza, cookies ... baked goods because I can't bare to stand in the kitchen making them myself. Oh, leftovers have become a nightmare to me too so they end up in the garbage currently.
I hate the first trimester of pregnancy. It's going to be our second and last child, for sure. Last time I was pregnant I was working on a farm so I did not have to cook ... what a bliss. Obviously, we could have eaten out a lot recently but that costs a lot of money and it's against my good consciousness to spend so much money on eating out. There are better options to spend it on. Besides, our food expenses went up with buying more "convenience" food. So why is there the persistent opinion that cooking from scratch is expensive? It sure is not!
I can't wait to return to normal eating behaviours and enjoy all those foods that I used to love, including bread. My husband already mentioned that our daugther eats too much junk (sweets, potato chips, sucking hard candy all day etc.)... because that's what she sees me doing. Sorry, honey, can't help it. And my apologies to the environment too.
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