Monday, September 3, 2012
The Great Lakes in trouble
Climate Change and the Great Lakes is a great article I read on the Weather network. The end of the article is what impressed me the most.
"Toxic algal blooms thrive in warm conditions, and they've been doing exceptionally well in Lake Erie since 2002.
In fact -- "last year the algal bloom in Lake Erie was 2.5 times larger than anything we've ever seen in the past," says Dr. Jeffery M. Reutter, Director of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program at Ohio State University. "It covered the water intake [structures] for more than 8 million people in the Cleveland area."
...
Phosphorus, a chemical element commonly found in household fertilizers and cleaning products, has exacerbated the issue. ...
Dr. Reutter says the problem can be curbed by improving agricultural and sewage treatment practices. He recommends choosing household cleaning products and fertilizers that are low in phosphorus and trying to keep water out of storm sanitary systems. This can be done by installing rain barrels and switching to low-flow toilets and showers."
If only North America would get away from its wasteful lifestyle and upgrade to what's already the norm in other developed countries before it's too late. I have trouble to keep up some optimism. North America can not afford the loss or collapse of the Great Lakes!
Gone to Europe - now homesick
About a month ago we spent two weeks in Southern Germany, Switzerland and France. I loved it. My husband wants to move to France now, into the foothills of the Alps not far from Lake Geneva. We have good friends there with young children, besides it was so beautiful. Our friends though warned us that it is an expensive area since lots of people like to live close to mountains and lake and work in Geneva, earning a Swiss salary. Oh well, we aren't so full of illusions that we don't realize that there will be obstacles too and we will not strike it rich overnight but if we moved to Europe, still I think we'd be happier.
Being back in Europe reminded me that life is possible without a car. Of course we had a rental car but in Switzerland and Munich I wished we had not but traveled by train instead. It's easier. In Munich we actually paid parking for the car and did not drive it in town, other than when we arrived to the B&B. The public transit was efficient and overwhelmingly busy for us who are now used to half empty buses even at rush hour. I don't know how many times I reminded my husband not to walk on the bicycle lane since cyclists hate pedestrians in their way. Sure, Germans are somewhat rude and the cyclists can't tell we are tourists from Canada but generally blocked cycle lanes are annoying. Anyhow, wherever we were we could walk to do the shopping we needed, to get a meal, or to sightsee. We'd even walk right into the store without having to cross a massive parking lot.
Or imagine pedestrian zones. Kitchener had an art market twice on its main street King Street recently. They closed two blocks of the street for that purpose. I am sure drivers were annoyed although it's generally not a pleasant drive down King Street. Personally I think they should close the street for traffic forever. Uptown Waterloo has in summer an Open Street event once a month from 1-4 PM on a Sunday! I read an opinion piece on what a waste of money this event is since it does not actually draw more people into the uptown because, so the explanation, people are used to drive along King Street and pull up right in front of the store they want to shop at. Bah! What an attitude. It's time to get people used to walking again.
I sometimes think I am going insane over the fact that in Canada wherever we live I am stuck, unable to go anywhere without a car. My husband takes the car to work even though he does not like the drive but it's faster than the bus and he otherwise would not get to see his daughter during the day. We both do absolutely not want a second car so I get around by bike and foot. I have the feeling I have been to every corner of KW now and sick and tired of the same parks and playgrounds. But trying to get out into the countryside by bus or train is not worth the effort since it simply won't work.
When you tell people you don't want to depend on a car, in Canada they tell you to move into a big city like Toronto or Vancouver. Makes me choke. I'm a countryside person and moving into a huge, noisy city is the last thing I want to do again.
Anyway, once our family expands in a few weeks things will get even worse. No more cycling - just doesn't work with an infant. My husband thinks about finding a job closer to home so he can leave the car in which case we should almost get rid of it since it's too expensive. Unfortunately that would kill a considerable part of our social life and that is not extensive to start with. I hate this car-dependent culture.
I also dislike the throw-away culture. We walked the English Garden in Munich, a huge park with at least two beer gardens. They serve the beer in glass mugs! No, the park was not full of broken glass, in fact there was not a piece of broken glass anywhere. Upon returning to Canada I instantly noticed the paper cups and fast food containers lying around in streets, along strip malls, in parks, on playgrounds, sometimes just a couple of steps away from a garbage bin. It's so careless!
In KW we walked on a beautiful but not too hot Sunday afternoon through a wooded park that borders with back yards. We did not meet anybody. I said to my hubby that in Germany on such a day people read books on the porch, have coffee and tea in their garden, stroll the neighbourhood ... what do Canadians do since we can't see any? He hesitated and answered, they enjoy the air conditioning in their house while watching football. Very disappointing!
We stayed at my sister's apartment, saw the holiday apartments of my parents and aunt & uncle, saw the apartment of our friends in France, stayed at a B&B in an apartment in Munich - they all had nice sealing windows although they were not brand new or posh, just ordinary apartments. Even more disappointed!!
Do you think I wanted to come back to KW and our sauna of an apartment? Thought about taking my daughter camping for a few days but erased that idea from my mind. Ever noticed how expensive camping has gotten? - $35 per night minimum. Yikes! Camping is not what it used to be. Not to talk about the entrance fees one has to shell out when going to a lake since every lake that is not on private property or too polluted for swimming has been declared a conservation area or is part of a provincial park or such. We probably did most of our swimming this year while on holidays in Europe where one can swim for free in almost every lake there is. Oh what a joy!
Being back in Europe reminded me that life is possible without a car. Of course we had a rental car but in Switzerland and Munich I wished we had not but traveled by train instead. It's easier. In Munich we actually paid parking for the car and did not drive it in town, other than when we arrived to the B&B. The public transit was efficient and overwhelmingly busy for us who are now used to half empty buses even at rush hour. I don't know how many times I reminded my husband not to walk on the bicycle lane since cyclists hate pedestrians in their way. Sure, Germans are somewhat rude and the cyclists can't tell we are tourists from Canada but generally blocked cycle lanes are annoying. Anyhow, wherever we were we could walk to do the shopping we needed, to get a meal, or to sightsee. We'd even walk right into the store without having to cross a massive parking lot.
Or imagine pedestrian zones. Kitchener had an art market twice on its main street King Street recently. They closed two blocks of the street for that purpose. I am sure drivers were annoyed although it's generally not a pleasant drive down King Street. Personally I think they should close the street for traffic forever. Uptown Waterloo has in summer an Open Street event once a month from 1-4 PM on a Sunday! I read an opinion piece on what a waste of money this event is since it does not actually draw more people into the uptown because, so the explanation, people are used to drive along King Street and pull up right in front of the store they want to shop at. Bah! What an attitude. It's time to get people used to walking again.
I sometimes think I am going insane over the fact that in Canada wherever we live I am stuck, unable to go anywhere without a car. My husband takes the car to work even though he does not like the drive but it's faster than the bus and he otherwise would not get to see his daughter during the day. We both do absolutely not want a second car so I get around by bike and foot. I have the feeling I have been to every corner of KW now and sick and tired of the same parks and playgrounds. But trying to get out into the countryside by bus or train is not worth the effort since it simply won't work.
When you tell people you don't want to depend on a car, in Canada they tell you to move into a big city like Toronto or Vancouver. Makes me choke. I'm a countryside person and moving into a huge, noisy city is the last thing I want to do again.
Anyway, once our family expands in a few weeks things will get even worse. No more cycling - just doesn't work with an infant. My husband thinks about finding a job closer to home so he can leave the car in which case we should almost get rid of it since it's too expensive. Unfortunately that would kill a considerable part of our social life and that is not extensive to start with. I hate this car-dependent culture.
I also dislike the throw-away culture. We walked the English Garden in Munich, a huge park with at least two beer gardens. They serve the beer in glass mugs! No, the park was not full of broken glass, in fact there was not a piece of broken glass anywhere. Upon returning to Canada I instantly noticed the paper cups and fast food containers lying around in streets, along strip malls, in parks, on playgrounds, sometimes just a couple of steps away from a garbage bin. It's so careless!
In KW we walked on a beautiful but not too hot Sunday afternoon through a wooded park that borders with back yards. We did not meet anybody. I said to my hubby that in Germany on such a day people read books on the porch, have coffee and tea in their garden, stroll the neighbourhood ... what do Canadians do since we can't see any? He hesitated and answered, they enjoy the air conditioning in their house while watching football. Very disappointing!
We stayed at my sister's apartment, saw the holiday apartments of my parents and aunt & uncle, saw the apartment of our friends in France, stayed at a B&B in an apartment in Munich - they all had nice sealing windows although they were not brand new or posh, just ordinary apartments. Even more disappointed!!
Do you think I wanted to come back to KW and our sauna of an apartment? Thought about taking my daughter camping for a few days but erased that idea from my mind. Ever noticed how expensive camping has gotten? - $35 per night minimum. Yikes! Camping is not what it used to be. Not to talk about the entrance fees one has to shell out when going to a lake since every lake that is not on private property or too polluted for swimming has been declared a conservation area or is part of a provincial park or such. We probably did most of our swimming this year while on holidays in Europe where one can swim for free in almost every lake there is. Oh what a joy!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Last Call at the Oasis
I watched Last Call at the Oasis (also http://www.takepart.com/lastcall/) recently at the cinema, the so called last part of the "Participant's Media Crisis Quartet" after Food Inc., An Inconvenient Truth and Waiting for Superman. It was a great documentary for sure and disappointing as always how few people came to see the show considering only one was scheduled.
I am not running over all the details but I tell you about the opening scene and a few bits and pieces. The film starts showing people in poor countries fighting over water. These people either regularly experience severe drought or floods but they all lack clean water for consumption, and their situation is not going to change. They have to live along polluted rivers, watch their livestock die and crops dry out while working hard to survive. The music then changes to Pink's "Raise your glass" in which she sings "Why so serious?" Next you see people in the First World waste water on public fountains, water their lawns, power wash driveways, splash around in pools, grow crops in the middle of the desert with irrigation water that has travelled 100s of miles through pipelines, and you see Las Vegas. Las Vegas depends on water imports especially now that the reservoir behind Hoover Dam is drying up and the years are counted until the water level is so low that the connected power plant will stop operation. While Las Vegas wants to steal its water from even further afield I think it deserves to go down and plainly dry out. The sprawl and wastefulness of this city is simply disgusting. And in a country like the USA people pay next to nothing for their water which is even more disgusting! The film also pointed out that California is the next Australia and we all know how dried up, burnt down and deserted Down Under is. The days of eating produce grown in California might as well be counted too.
Unfortunately I can't find my favourite quotes from that film right now but I recommend watching the trailer at least. The quotes went somewhere along the lines of 'humanity is capable of committing infinite destruction of the Earth and still be ignorant about it'. In one part of the film a bunch of business people tried to figure out how to market "recycled water" that for example would come from recycling urine. Naturally most people's reaction was "yikes, no way would I drink this, that's disgusting". The technology exists and is being used on spaceships already. So these guys come up with some clever marketing and get people to drink the recycled water and most realise it's fine and tastes like any other drinking water. One woman proves herself to be bloody stupid and ignorant saying something like, why do you bother doing this, we surely don't have a water shortage considering the size of the oceans'. Dah! Time to wake up!
The film was presented by Community Renewable Energy Waterloo, an organisation that I had not heard about but that certainly tries to make a difference here in the region. And while I see more garden signs here advertising that a house is "Bullfrog Powered" than in Edmonton, living in an apartment sucks in so far that we have no influence whatsoever about the effiency of our appliances, the quality of the building, the energy provider etc. The other day I spoke to someone from Reduce the Juice and she said they are trying to get the green bin (organics) into apartment buildings as well. Wouldn't it be nice. It's a lot harder to have a compost bin in an apartment than in a garden!
I am not running over all the details but I tell you about the opening scene and a few bits and pieces. The film starts showing people in poor countries fighting over water. These people either regularly experience severe drought or floods but they all lack clean water for consumption, and their situation is not going to change. They have to live along polluted rivers, watch their livestock die and crops dry out while working hard to survive. The music then changes to Pink's "Raise your glass" in which she sings "Why so serious?" Next you see people in the First World waste water on public fountains, water their lawns, power wash driveways, splash around in pools, grow crops in the middle of the desert with irrigation water that has travelled 100s of miles through pipelines, and you see Las Vegas. Las Vegas depends on water imports especially now that the reservoir behind Hoover Dam is drying up and the years are counted until the water level is so low that the connected power plant will stop operation. While Las Vegas wants to steal its water from even further afield I think it deserves to go down and plainly dry out. The sprawl and wastefulness of this city is simply disgusting. And in a country like the USA people pay next to nothing for their water which is even more disgusting! The film also pointed out that California is the next Australia and we all know how dried up, burnt down and deserted Down Under is. The days of eating produce grown in California might as well be counted too.
Unfortunately I can't find my favourite quotes from that film right now but I recommend watching the trailer at least. The quotes went somewhere along the lines of 'humanity is capable of committing infinite destruction of the Earth and still be ignorant about it'. In one part of the film a bunch of business people tried to figure out how to market "recycled water" that for example would come from recycling urine. Naturally most people's reaction was "yikes, no way would I drink this, that's disgusting". The technology exists and is being used on spaceships already. So these guys come up with some clever marketing and get people to drink the recycled water and most realise it's fine and tastes like any other drinking water. One woman proves herself to be bloody stupid and ignorant saying something like, why do you bother doing this, we surely don't have a water shortage considering the size of the oceans'. Dah! Time to wake up!
The film was presented by Community Renewable Energy Waterloo, an organisation that I had not heard about but that certainly tries to make a difference here in the region. And while I see more garden signs here advertising that a house is "Bullfrog Powered" than in Edmonton, living in an apartment sucks in so far that we have no influence whatsoever about the effiency of our appliances, the quality of the building, the energy provider etc. The other day I spoke to someone from Reduce the Juice and she said they are trying to get the green bin (organics) into apartment buildings as well. Wouldn't it be nice. It's a lot harder to have a compost bin in an apartment than in a garden!
The energy for your air conditioning
Are you dreaming of solar-powered air conditioning right now, just like I am? If you live in Ontario you might be dreading the heat by now, at least I do. I long have had enough of summer. Ontario as it turns out has made efforts to produce more solar and wind power and reduce their coal power plants contribution. That's nice, but unfortunately, the government seems to be hesitant to switch the coal plants off completely. Besides, they are way too much into nuclear power plants which have already had a massive impact on the provincial debt and power rates for consumers. I'm not a fan of nuke power either. Japan has shown more than impressively what can happen when nature's forces strike and don't stop at man-made obstacles such as power plants.
A brochure of the Clean Air Alliance states that "According to the Ontario Energy Board, rising nuclear costs are responsible for 45% of the increase in Ontario's electricity generation prices over the past five years. Renewable energy, by comparison, has contributed just 6% to the increase." On their website the Clean Air Alliance runs some interesting articles on both coal and nuclear power, for example:
"Ontario now has a significant surplus of coal-free electricity. We do not need to wait until December 2014 to finish the coal phase out. ... Meanwhile, Ontario Power Generation has been paid close to a billion dollars to keep unneeded coal plants open. Send a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty asking him to shutdown unnecessary coal units today!"
We recently spent a few days around Point Pelee and noticed there the co-existence of oil wells and large solar panels and wind turbines. It was surprising to be honest. Definitely good to see the solar panels and wind turbines. I get angry when I see road signs urging people to fight wind turbines. It's total BS to me. They cause a lot less noise than the average Canadian city during its day-to-day operations of people driving everywhere, construction sites and so on. Those most be Conservatives that for any price and environmental destruction want to stick to traditional ways of energy production. Why else would the federal government investigates the effects of wind turbines but isn't very rigorous about the shortfalls of the oil and gas industry which is still operating and expanding despite more oil spills and gas leaks.
A brochure of the Clean Air Alliance states that "According to the Ontario Energy Board, rising nuclear costs are responsible for 45% of the increase in Ontario's electricity generation prices over the past five years. Renewable energy, by comparison, has contributed just 6% to the increase." On their website the Clean Air Alliance runs some interesting articles on both coal and nuclear power, for example:
"Ontario now has a significant surplus of coal-free electricity. We do not need to wait until December 2014 to finish the coal phase out. ... Meanwhile, Ontario Power Generation has been paid close to a billion dollars to keep unneeded coal plants open. Send a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty asking him to shutdown unnecessary coal units today!"
We recently spent a few days around Point Pelee and noticed there the co-existence of oil wells and large solar panels and wind turbines. It was surprising to be honest. Definitely good to see the solar panels and wind turbines. I get angry when I see road signs urging people to fight wind turbines. It's total BS to me. They cause a lot less noise than the average Canadian city during its day-to-day operations of people driving everywhere, construction sites and so on. Those most be Conservatives that for any price and environmental destruction want to stick to traditional ways of energy production. Why else would the federal government investigates the effects of wind turbines but isn't very rigorous about the shortfalls of the oil and gas industry which is still operating and expanding despite more oil spills and gas leaks.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Dirty Dash
There's quite a few things I have been wanting to write about recently but I don't get to spend much time at the computer. With the drought and heat we have spent tons of time outside, yes outside, because our apartment is like a sauna. So, in the shade of a park tree or at the spray park it is for me and my daughter most of the time. In the "cool" morning we have done a few bike tours too. Today we finally got some rain in the afternoon with lots of thunder and we were out for a walk and stop at the spray park, enjoying the wet. In the morning though I did the Dirty Dash run and for once it was humid as the rain was looming in the sky but simply did not come until hours later.
The Dirty Dash is a 4 km loop in a park that for the longer option is run twice. It's got a man-made mud pit at the end with flags put up low across the mud so that one has to crawl, belly slide or whatever underneath. We ran mostly on grass and forest trails (the forest is awesome, cool and dark), through a creek twice and up and down a few hills. As a surprise by the organisers we also got to jump over a log, car tires, and three rows of straw bales right before the mud pit. Yeah! Besides, they watered an uphill section with a sprinkler to make it slippery. This race went over faster than any other one because the obstacles and change of scenery made it so much more interesting than a road race. Besides, spectators like my hubby are much more entertained since they can see the runners along different parts of the course including most obstacles.
The latest result list put me 50. overall from 177 runners, 12. women, and first again in my age category with a time of 45 min 13 sec. Not bad under the circumstances. Will do it again!
By the way the fastest man finished the 8 km in 31 min, the fastest woman in under 36 min. The first guys to come in apparently still had the energy to make somersaults in the mud and one of them ran afterwards the 4 km. Crazy, suppose they train for that. I keep fit with a toddler, a bike and my two feet, so there's not much need to go running laps in the wood every other day (which still would not make me win the race).
The Dirty Dash is a 4 km loop in a park that for the longer option is run twice. It's got a man-made mud pit at the end with flags put up low across the mud so that one has to crawl, belly slide or whatever underneath. We ran mostly on grass and forest trails (the forest is awesome, cool and dark), through a creek twice and up and down a few hills. As a surprise by the organisers we also got to jump over a log, car tires, and three rows of straw bales right before the mud pit. Yeah! Besides, they watered an uphill section with a sprinkler to make it slippery. This race went over faster than any other one because the obstacles and change of scenery made it so much more interesting than a road race. Besides, spectators like my hubby are much more entertained since they can see the runners along different parts of the course including most obstacles.
The latest result list put me 50. overall from 177 runners, 12. women, and first again in my age category with a time of 45 min 13 sec. Not bad under the circumstances. Will do it again!
By the way the fastest man finished the 8 km in 31 min, the fastest woman in under 36 min. The first guys to come in apparently still had the energy to make somersaults in the mud and one of them ran afterwards the 4 km. Crazy, suppose they train for that. I keep fit with a toddler, a bike and my two feet, so there's not much need to go running laps in the wood every other day (which still would not make me win the race).
Sunday, June 24, 2012
REEP House rocks!
I participated in a tour of REEP House for
Sustainable Living (http://www.reepwaterlooregion.ca/)
on Wednesday night. REEP House is located at 20 Mill Street in Kitchener and should be visited by anyone considering
buying a house or renovating one. The tour is very informative to say the least
and should direct people towards redoing their home in a more responsible way
for the environment and their own health.
It starts outside with native plants in the
garden, driveway paving that is 9 times more water-permeable than standard
interlocking bricks and rain barrels capable of holding 2000 litres which are used
for flushing the toilet and gardening. Besides grey water from the bathroom sink
is collected to flush the toilet. The bathroom includes a 3-litre-toilet with air
suction for superior performance. A water filtration system in the basement treats
the water to eliminate chlorine and other chemicals that harm appliances and
human health. Skin absorbs more chlorine through a shower then we take in from
drinking tap water! The tankless water heater was not new to me as it’s been
around in Europe for a while but it’s new to
Canadians.
For heating they have a high efficiency boiler
and radiant heater as well as a geothermal heat pump which the guide admitted
is more useful in rural areas than in the city where natural gas is still cheap.
The energy recovery ventilator became necessary after the house was sealed off
with thick insulation to regulate moisture and condensation. The programmable
thermostats to regulate the three levels of the house separately are again newish
in Canada
but leave me in disbelief, growing up with a thermostat in every room which I
still miss since I don’t want my bedroom and kitchen as warm as the living
room. The ceiling fans were a neat thing so simple and effective, especially
since they opened up the ceiling of the upper storey into the attic which required
the rising warm air to be spread out throughout the room in the winter.
The house features a variety of windows. Windows
are usually the last thing they recommend people to replace while insulation is
the most important part to save on energy and make a house more liveable. The
reason is that windows are fairly expensive compared to all other eco-friendly,
money-saving (in the long run) adjustments possible in a house – unless of
course the windows are leaking as in our apartment.
For lighting and appliances REEP house
features a lot of options that might seem a bit “too much” (sensor light
switches) and aren’t often necessary, as behaviour changes are cheaper e.g. switch
off the light when you leave a room, or unplug the computer when you are done with
it. Since fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury only LED lights were
installed. They last 50,000 hours, 10 times longer than a CFL bulb and are
getting better too. The initial investment can be up to $100 per light fixture but
it pays off to buy a high quality LED light. The refrigerator was super awesome
as the compressor is on top (instead of underneath or behind) and warm air
rises without reheating the fridge from the outside. The fridge was way more
insulated and can be hooked up to the outdoors to use cold winter air for
cooling. It costs $7 per year to run! Besides there was a steam washing
machine, induction stove and high efficiency dish washer.
For furniture only solid woods were used,
flooring, doors, stairs etc. were built from reclaimed materials, the roof is covered
with recycled polymer shingles (including from used tires) that come with a 50
year guarantee. They are just as good as a steel roof but much better than asphalt
shingles.
Now I mentioned that insulation is the most
important part in a home and we thankfully talked a long time about it. While different
options (rockwool, fibreglass, cellulose, polyurethane foam) were shown and
savings in energy cost calculated REEP house is almost entirely insulated with
that foam. Insulation is measured in R-values and the building code requirement
for new buildings just went from R-20 to R-26 while REEP House has an R-38. Thankfully
the guide emphasized that polyurethane foam is, though best for insulation,
terrible for the environment. It’s a petroleum-based product that causes greenhouse
gases worse than carbon dioxide. So instead of putting in 6 inches of that foam
he recommended not more than 2 inches of foam combined with 4-5 inches of another
option. Rockwool is a by-product of the steel industry, cellulose is recycled
newspaper and some other stuff was recycled too. More care needs to be taken to
not squish these materials when installing them or the insulating effect gets partly
lost but it’s also not as permanent as the foam, if ever repairs on the electric
wiring or plumbing need to be done. Besides, the off-gases from spraying in the
foam are toxic.
The EnerGuide rating of REEP House went
from 49 to 87 after completed renovation. It becomes exponentially harder to
get a higher rating and REEP is still aiming for an 89 with more changes. Our
guide had never seen a house with over 90 though. Even 49 for a century-old
home is more than usual but the previous owner had done some insulation. Most
of the energy savings came from the insulation of the whole house and fixing
air leakages (for example around the windows!).
If we ever consider buying a house I am
sure to be back at REEP house for advice. The energy advisors there also do
home evaluations with regards to the structure of a house and what could be
improved at what cost. Before leaving I exchanged a few words with the guide as
we talked about cycling (of course I cycled there) and home improvements. I
mentioned I can’t understand why Canadians are so slow to catch on with both of
these things and he totally agreed. Good morning, Canada, it’s time for a behaviour change!
Slow Death by Rubber Duck in more detail
In the last chapter of the book, the authors summarise each chemical again and how best to avoid it, even though it's virtually impossible to escape any of them completely since by now they are so spread around in our environment (water, air, soil) that only moving to Mars might help.
Phthalates
– plastic softeners: found as perfume and fragrance
in body care products, in PVC shower curtains and other PVC products, in air
refresheners & toys – The EU, Japan, Korea & Mexico have banned
phthalates in toys, but Canada & the US have not – www.healthytoys.org and www.momsrising.org/notoxictoys
have databases for tested toys
www.stoptoxicimports.org
is about a campaign to raise awareness of lead in toys and to help organise
“Get the lead out parties”
Reduce your fat intake – many chemicals are
stored in fat tissue and travel up the food chain that way. By consuming less
fat through meat and dairy you’ll expose yourself less to phthalates,
pesticides, PBDEs.
Perfluorochemicals
(PFC’s, e.g. Teflon) – the non-stick stuff:
very persistant & indestructible, stick
around the environment for a long time and are possibly carcinogenic; found in
non-stick cookware, water-repellent clothing like Gore-Tex, Stain-repellent
products like Scotchgard & Stainmaster to treat carpets, upholstered
furniture and fabrics, food packaging such as fast food wrappers, pizza boxes
& microwavable popcorn bags, also appears in some lipsticks, windshield
wiper fluids and the like – read the labels!
No legislation in place yet to ban this
group of chemicals, industry agreed to phase out PFOA (perfluorooctane
sulphonate) by 2015 but that does not mean that the replacement chemicals will
be any safer!
Polybrominated
Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) – flame-retardants:
Found in clothing, furniture, mattresses electronics,
PBDEs also accumulate in dust so vacuum & dust often
Wear natural fibres like wool, hemp,
(organic) cotton that are naturally fire resistant;
Newer furniture tend to be PBDE-free, some
companies changed to PBDE-free products e.g. IKEA, Greener Lifestyles,
Essential; again electronic companies opted out e.g. Sony, Philips, Panasonic,
Samsung – remember the 3R’s and responsibly discard of your electronics they
don’t belong into the landfill!; National Geographic’s Green Guide lists
companies that manufacture PBDE-free furniture, electronics & other
products;
No significant legislation in place yet to
stop PBDEs in consumer products
Triclosan
(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) – the anti-bacterial stuff:
Found in personal care products, cleaning solutions
& tools, even in socks, sandals & underwear, toothbrushes, toys,
cutting boards, knives, aprons, J Cloths – Triclosan is also marketed as
Microban, nanosilver & nanoparticles has also been used as antibacterial
agent but has not been proven safe
Alcohol-based anti-bacterial products are
fine, but those with Triclosan aren’t, check out the Skin Deep’s www.cosmeticdatabase.com or www.safecosmetics.org/companies/compact_with_america.cfm;
clean with baking soda, borax & vinegar
Pesticides:
Found in food & lawns
Keep a chemical-free lawn, choose plants
that are insect resistant, native and drought-resistant over grass, some
municipalities have banned cosmetic use of pesticides on private properties, in
schools & parks; Eat organic & local food, if not organic then wash
your produce thoroughly and avoid the “dirty dozen”
Bisphenol
A (BPA):
Lots of plastic food & drink
containers, children’s products, epoxy linings of tin cans (incl. for infant
formula), plastic bags, car parts, CDs, eyewear, building materials (vinyl), foam
packing materials, coat hangers, electronics housing etc.
When it comes to plastics check the
recycling symbol and remember: “4 (LDPE), 5 (PP), 1 (PETE) and 2 (HDPE), all
the rest are bad for you!” (3 (V, polyvinyl chloride), 6 (PS, polystyrene) and
7 (PC or other, polycarbonates) contain more harmful chemicals than just
BPA)
http://zrecs.blogspot.com
created a directory of children’s products containing BPA;
Opt for glass over plastic containers and
fresh or frozen foods over canned;
Don’t use plastic containers in microwave;
BYOB (Bring your own bag);
Ban disposable water bottles even though
most are made of PETE which does not contain BPA it’s best to avoid plastic
altogether since most of it ends up in landfills instead of recycling
Mercury
– the natural toxin:
Released majorly through industrial
pollution especially coal burning in power plants and waste incineration!, it
then works its way up the food chain
It’s found in fish, fluorescent lights,
batteries, thermostats, contact-lens solutions, baby vaccines; Used to be used
as mercury amalgam in tooth fillings, in bathroom, kitchen & hospital
paints, in agricultural fungicides, in medication for tons of ailments
Mercury is found in nature e.g. rocks and
soil but the right conditions will turn it from inorganic to organic and make
it more absorbable by living things – but mercury in all its forms is very
toxic, linked to a range of diseases and kills if exposure is high enough
Eat fewer fish & smaller fish – the
bigger the fish, the more mercury it will have accumulated, especially
predatory fish, avoid white albacore tuna, light skipjack tuna is better, check
out www.seachoice.org or www.edf.org, if you fish yourself make sure the
fish is deemed safe for consumption; return & recycle mercury-containing
products to keep mercury out of landfills.
The chapter about Mercury/ Quicksilver was
one of the most interesting ones in the book!
Monday, June 18, 2012
The Waterloo Classic Run
I did another run yesterday, 10 km this time, and I am waiting for the stats to be posted online.
So far I came in 107. overall, 16. woman, 1. in my age category, in 48:43 min
So far I came in 107. overall, 16. woman, 1. in my age category, in 48:43 min
Slow Death by Rubber Duck
That's a nice book if you like to know a bit more about certain chemicals created by some clever humans to increase the convenience of daily life - and that at the same time harm or even kill you. It's written by two Canadian authors (Rick Smith & Bruce Lourie) and contains some Canada-specific data. I say some because often enough Canada won't take its own steps to research, analyse, and take legal action first but instead observes what happens in the USA or Europe. So there's a lot of US data in there too.
The authors on purpose expose themselves over a defined period of time to toxins that surround us every day but that we can't necessarily see or feel or smell. Then they get their blood and urin tested to see how the badly toxins have accumulated in their bodies. It's about BPA, Teflon, antibacterial substances and items (containing Triclosan), flame-retardants, pesticides, as well as mercury. Mercury is the only naturally ocurring substance in the list but it's highly poisoneous and although that's been a known fact to humanity for a loooooong time we still use it a bit too carelessly.
It will make you rethink a lot what you eat, what you have in your home, how you care for your garden, what you are exposing your kids to.
I have not finished the book yet so I better get back reading.
The authors on purpose expose themselves over a defined period of time to toxins that surround us every day but that we can't necessarily see or feel or smell. Then they get their blood and urin tested to see how the badly toxins have accumulated in their bodies. It's about BPA, Teflon, antibacterial substances and items (containing Triclosan), flame-retardants, pesticides, as well as mercury. Mercury is the only naturally ocurring substance in the list but it's highly poisoneous and although that's been a known fact to humanity for a loooooong time we still use it a bit too carelessly.
It will make you rethink a lot what you eat, what you have in your home, how you care for your garden, what you are exposing your kids to.
I have not finished the book yet so I better get back reading.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Monday, May 28, 2012
Oh those runs
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
He had a dream - it became a nightmare
Imagine you pack up your family and move out into a pristine countryside away from cities, noise and everyday hassles. Your family builds a house together, starts a garden and raises animals like goats and sheep to pursue self-subsistence, and generally lives a bit more simple to focus on things that matter more to you. After a few years a gas and oil company sends you a letter informing you that they'll start drilling for gas on your property next week. In no time you have a gas well next to your shed, without receiving compensation of course. In disbelief, you search for help but it turns out that you only own the top layer of your property and your government has sold underground rights to that oil & gas company without notifying you - because they don't have to. It also turns out that the gas is sour gas which contains some of the deadliest substances on Earth, including H2S - the colourless, highly poisonous hydrogen sulfide. Suddenly your animals abort, the women in your family miscarry and every family member falls sick. Oops, there was a yet undetected leak. Despite your struggles to live on your own property, neither the oil & gas company, nor a government body or the Energy Board cares about you. In fact, as you object and fight against what is happening to your family you become the suspect of "eco-terrorism" and the law-enforcement body of your country repeatedly invades your property and searches every corner of it.
If this happens to you, you probably live in Canada. Feeling lucky?
I'm not making this up - Wiebo's War is a real story of a large family that wanted to get away from it all to follow their religious beliefs and live more acccording to how God wants them to live. They move into Northern Alberta, unfortunately right into the middle of a large gas reservoir that is discovered a few years later. Within a few more years a 100 wells are covering the land around the farm, some wells stand right on the farm. The gas production, including leaks, threaten the life of the family as it contaminates the air, the water supply of the family and the soil. Meantime, gas wells are being bombed in Northern B.C. Although no evidence has ever been found, the RCMP highly suspects the Ludwig family (Wiebo is the head of the family) to be involved and starts disrupting the family's life. The most shocking part to me was that nobody cares about the health issues that affect the family and their livestock ever since the sour gas drilling has began. Even the neighbours oppose the Ludwig's fight against EnCana as most of them simply start working for an oil & gas company that moves in to "develop" the area further.
I don't agree with the bombings or with the family's religous beliefs but I don't get why the family is being attact for not submitting themselves to the regime of the oil & gas companies. Surfing quickly the internet on the subject, I read opinions expressing hate for him, saying he's a terrorist, he tore church communities apart in Ontario where they family moved away from, he could have just accepted an offer to be bought out by the oil & gas companies ... hang on a minute. Where do we end up if everybody just takes the money and runs and ignores the distruction that's being caused by greedy corporations that turn your once-idyllic home into an industrial site? We need more people like Wiebo if we don't want this country to become the synonym for apocalypse.
The film, a production of Canada's National Film Board was recently shown at Waterloo Library and there were a "whopping" 12 persons in the audience. Sigh.
If this happens to you, you probably live in Canada. Feeling lucky?
I'm not making this up - Wiebo's War is a real story of a large family that wanted to get away from it all to follow their religious beliefs and live more acccording to how God wants them to live. They move into Northern Alberta, unfortunately right into the middle of a large gas reservoir that is discovered a few years later. Within a few more years a 100 wells are covering the land around the farm, some wells stand right on the farm. The gas production, including leaks, threaten the life of the family as it contaminates the air, the water supply of the family and the soil. Meantime, gas wells are being bombed in Northern B.C. Although no evidence has ever been found, the RCMP highly suspects the Ludwig family (Wiebo is the head of the family) to be involved and starts disrupting the family's life. The most shocking part to me was that nobody cares about the health issues that affect the family and their livestock ever since the sour gas drilling has began. Even the neighbours oppose the Ludwig's fight against EnCana as most of them simply start working for an oil & gas company that moves in to "develop" the area further.
I don't agree with the bombings or with the family's religous beliefs but I don't get why the family is being attact for not submitting themselves to the regime of the oil & gas companies. Surfing quickly the internet on the subject, I read opinions expressing hate for him, saying he's a terrorist, he tore church communities apart in Ontario where they family moved away from, he could have just accepted an offer to be bought out by the oil & gas companies ... hang on a minute. Where do we end up if everybody just takes the money and runs and ignores the distruction that's being caused by greedy corporations that turn your once-idyllic home into an industrial site? We need more people like Wiebo if we don't want this country to become the synonym for apocalypse.
The film, a production of Canada's National Film Board was recently shown at Waterloo Library and there were a "whopping" 12 persons in the audience. Sigh.
The Freedom Train against Pipelines
This is an interesting website about First Nations fighting the Enbridge Pipeline from Edmonton across Northern Alberta and B.C. to Kitimat. It comes with a petition too: Freedom Train
Sunday, April 22, 2012
To charge or not to charge
We went with our local hiking group today to Webster Falls Conservation Area in Dundas (near Hamilton) , part of the Niagara Escarpment and the Bruce Trail goes through there as well, of course. We hiked 10-12 km, saw Tew and Webster Falls and enjoyed the scenery. It's very beautiful out there, the trails are interesting enough and even partially hilly and with staircases. Yeah!
The downturn was the entrance charge. Last year $8 per car, they are now already charging $10 per day! In order to avoid that we parked the cars at a school less than a km down the road. At this conservation area's main parking lot they don't trust people to use the parking ticket dispenser and instead have a cashier who happened to start working at the time when we gathered in the parking lot. Smelling that we must have gotten there somewhere she grumpily told us we all had to pay $4 per person. Dave and I had come in a pedestrian entrance though that said $2 per person. I must say the majority of the group was annoyed about the charges that hike every year considerably and this woman even seemed to make them up out of anger. So we cramped 8 people into a car, laughed ourselves stupid (this was stupid after all) and paid $10 for the load. The woman mumbled something about calling the cops. Blabla.
Note that there are at least another 5 entrances to the conservation area, especially when you come along the Bruce Trail or enter through a residential area where there is not even a sign mentioning a fee. If you stick to the Bruce Trail you will not even get close to the ticket booth.
Here's what angers me: I hate paying to enjoy nature. But here the conservation areas (CA) are run by municipalities. So even if we bought an annual ticket that gives us access to a bunch of local CAs we pay extra every time we visit one a little further away. Bah. Go to a Provincial Park and the province wants your money, go to a National Park and the feds (Parks Canada) want it. Boo boo booo!!! Stupid system. Why don't they introduce a single annual ticket for ALL protected areas in the country and that's it, if it really has to be.
In Germany all this access is covered by our taxes already, nobody would dare to charge a per day user fee. Besides we don't have too many fences around farmland so you walk, cycle, ride horses there. In the UK they have a Public Right of Way which allows everyone to cross private farm property on foot, sometimes by bike if you don't mind lifting it over fences with steps. That gives people access to the countryside just about anywhere, totally legal and nobody has to bother driving to a conservation area, provincial park etc just to go for a hike. They've created a trail system that basically covers the whole country!! In Iceland you can go just about anywhere. In Canada there are fences, everything's private and nobody wants to have you on their land (after all, you may bring a stupid ATV or snowmobile). So unless you stick to city parks you pay to get access to a trail, waterfall or whatever. Nonsense! Besides, the fees are too high.
The downturn was the entrance charge. Last year $8 per car, they are now already charging $10 per day! In order to avoid that we parked the cars at a school less than a km down the road. At this conservation area's main parking lot they don't trust people to use the parking ticket dispenser and instead have a cashier who happened to start working at the time when we gathered in the parking lot. Smelling that we must have gotten there somewhere she grumpily told us we all had to pay $4 per person. Dave and I had come in a pedestrian entrance though that said $2 per person. I must say the majority of the group was annoyed about the charges that hike every year considerably and this woman even seemed to make them up out of anger. So we cramped 8 people into a car, laughed ourselves stupid (this was stupid after all) and paid $10 for the load. The woman mumbled something about calling the cops. Blabla.
Note that there are at least another 5 entrances to the conservation area, especially when you come along the Bruce Trail or enter through a residential area where there is not even a sign mentioning a fee. If you stick to the Bruce Trail you will not even get close to the ticket booth.
Here's what angers me: I hate paying to enjoy nature. But here the conservation areas (CA) are run by municipalities. So even if we bought an annual ticket that gives us access to a bunch of local CAs we pay extra every time we visit one a little further away. Bah. Go to a Provincial Park and the province wants your money, go to a National Park and the feds (Parks Canada) want it. Boo boo booo!!! Stupid system. Why don't they introduce a single annual ticket for ALL protected areas in the country and that's it, if it really has to be.
In Germany all this access is covered by our taxes already, nobody would dare to charge a per day user fee. Besides we don't have too many fences around farmland so you walk, cycle, ride horses there. In the UK they have a Public Right of Way which allows everyone to cross private farm property on foot, sometimes by bike if you don't mind lifting it over fences with steps. That gives people access to the countryside just about anywhere, totally legal and nobody has to bother driving to a conservation area, provincial park etc just to go for a hike. They've created a trail system that basically covers the whole country!! In Iceland you can go just about anywhere. In Canada there are fences, everything's private and nobody wants to have you on their land (after all, you may bring a stupid ATV or snowmobile). So unless you stick to city parks you pay to get access to a trail, waterfall or whatever. Nonsense! Besides, the fees are too high.
EndurRace
In Elmira: 5 km flat ground, 303 runners, I came in 88. overall, 9. women, 4. in my age category, 22:58 min (22:50 chip time)
Part 2 is next Saturday at 6 PM - Stay tuned.
303 runners finished that race, 404 started although some of those would have done 2.5 km only. They took 584 photos and I am not on a single one :-(
Part 2: 8 km at 6 PM (that's too late for racing, for future reference). I came in 68. overall, 37 min 20 sec which I think is a bit faster than in February but really I was so tired all day I could have fallen asleep at the start line. Anyhow, 9. women I think (not too sure on that one), 2. in my age category.
Both races combined: I was 46. overall, 4. woman, 2. in my age category again. They called out all participants that finished both races and I had the impression my age category (women 30-34) was the largest with 6 or 7 runners finishing both races.
I bet I was the best pregnant runner ;-) not that there is such a category ...
The results from the February race have by the way been corrected (not sure how some runners got missed?!) but I'm now 39. overall, 5. women, 2. in my age category. Oh well.
Part 2 is next Saturday at 6 PM - Stay tuned.
303 runners finished that race, 404 started although some of those would have done 2.5 km only. They took 584 photos and I am not on a single one :-(
Part 2: 8 km at 6 PM (that's too late for racing, for future reference). I came in 68. overall, 37 min 20 sec which I think is a bit faster than in February but really I was so tired all day I could have fallen asleep at the start line. Anyhow, 9. women I think (not too sure on that one), 2. in my age category.
Both races combined: I was 46. overall, 4. woman, 2. in my age category again. They called out all participants that finished both races and I had the impression my age category (women 30-34) was the largest with 6 or 7 runners finishing both races.
I bet I was the best pregnant runner ;-) not that there is such a category ...
The results from the February race have by the way been corrected (not sure how some runners got missed?!) but I'm now 39. overall, 5. women, 2. in my age category. Oh well.
Earth Day
What did you do yesterday? I volunteered at an event in Huron Natural Area, in the south of Kitchener, where I also had a chance to plant 10 trees. Due to the weather, 5 degree C and a bit of wind, the turnout was not as big as last year and there weren't enough people walking out to the planting area to get the 550 white cedars, birches and black cherries into the ground. I love tree planting, it's not hard, especially not when all materials are provided. Fingers crossed we get rain soon to water the little fellows.
The event also included a birds of prey presentation, snakes and turtles, a butterfly display, bird silhoutte crafts, bird box building, fishing (for foam fish) and searching in the pond for aquatic insects. The Kitchener Trail riders, part of the city's bylaw enforcement unit, explained their jobs to keep the city's parks safe and sound. REEP was present too. All in all it was a very excited event, given one was dressed for the weather.
The downside of the event: the shuttle bus that connected several Earth Day Events in the city came and left repeatedly empty, while the road and parking lots of surrounding businesses were choked with cars for the entire afternoon. Preserving hte planet by pumping more emissions into the air.
The event also included a birds of prey presentation, snakes and turtles, a butterfly display, bird silhoutte crafts, bird box building, fishing (for foam fish) and searching in the pond for aquatic insects. The Kitchener Trail riders, part of the city's bylaw enforcement unit, explained their jobs to keep the city's parks safe and sound. REEP was present too. All in all it was a very excited event, given one was dressed for the weather.
The downside of the event: the shuttle bus that connected several Earth Day Events in the city came and left repeatedly empty, while the road and parking lots of surrounding businesses were choked with cars for the entire afternoon. Preserving hte planet by pumping more emissions into the air.
Monday, April 16, 2012
I love spring
Did I mention I love spring, really really love it. Not too hot yet but everything is fresh green. No other season can beat that. I want to go camping and hiking and BBQ and sit in the garden that we don't have. Sitting on the balcony is not the same. Mornings and evenings are especially beautiful. Unfortunately, we are very strict with getting our child to bed which is currently way before sunset so we don't get to enjoy evenings outside often. We still dream of the evening walks we used to take, because we don't have a garden.
I started our balcony garden, put seeds for parsley, chive, radishes and spinach in those long planting pots. We need more soil now and more hooks to mount the pots on the balcony railing since I don't have space for the pots to stand on the balcony floor. Nor do they get much sun and rain there. Our local hardware store - th one we can walk to because it's not in those endg-of-town-malls - had only two hooks left though, sigh.
I also take an hour lunch every day to go for walks or cycle to that one park nearby which has meadows and woods. So nice. Can't get enough. Spring should last 6 months. The old neighbourhoods in Kitchener, those with tree-lined streets, large front yards and garages set-back past the house front (all contrary to the new neighbourhoods), are beautiful now too. Hope you enjoy the spring as well!
I started our balcony garden, put seeds for parsley, chive, radishes and spinach in those long planting pots. We need more soil now and more hooks to mount the pots on the balcony railing since I don't have space for the pots to stand on the balcony floor. Nor do they get much sun and rain there. Our local hardware store - th one we can walk to because it's not in those endg-of-town-malls - had only two hooks left though, sigh.
I also take an hour lunch every day to go for walks or cycle to that one park nearby which has meadows and woods. So nice. Can't get enough. Spring should last 6 months. The old neighbourhoods in Kitchener, those with tree-lined streets, large front yards and garages set-back past the house front (all contrary to the new neighbourhoods), are beautiful now too. Hope you enjoy the spring as well!
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