An Outside Chance

The clean green pipeline machine – a free-market fairy tale

A review of Donald Gutstein’s The Big Stall Also published at Resilience.org In late 2016 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was ready to spell out his government’s “Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change”. His pitch to Canadians went along these lines: We recognize that climate change is a serious challenge and that we … Read More

Quantifying climate hypocrisy – the Canada file

Also published at Resilience.org Which nation shows greater hypocrisy in the struggle to limit climate change – the United States or Canada? The US President, of course, misses no opportunity to dismiss scientific consensus, downplay the dangers of climate change, and promote fossil fuel use. Canada’s Prime Minister, on the other hand, has been consistent … Read More

A tale of three cities – cycling in Valencia, Paris and London

Also published at Resilience.org Efforts to promote cycling are gathering steam in many cities for a wide variety of reasons. Campaigns may fly the banners of carbon emissions reductions, reducing air pollution for immediate health reasons, promotion of active lifestyles to combat obesity, creation of safer streets for non-auto-driving residents as a social justice issue, … Read More

When good is not enough – extending the bicycle’s reach in The Netherlands

Also published at Resilience.org The Netherlands has a worldwide reputation as a bicycle-loving country – but bikes account for only a small proportion of kilometers travelled. While the Dutch have given far greater official support to bicycling than other industrialized countries have, the dominance of car culture is still a fact of life in The … Read More

fall on beach

PHOTO POST The weather along the lakeshore of late has been frosty, soaking, bone-chilling, blustery – with “warm” definitely not part of the list. Yet elusive rays of sunlight have teamed with the wind and waves to create beautiful sights. These sights are ephemeral, of course – even softball-size rocks roll around in the force … Read More

A modest investment with major dividends: cycling culture in the Netherlands

Also published at Resilience.org How would you describe the process in which a small country builds a 35,000 kilometer network of fully separated bike infrastructure – and traffic-calms 75 per cent of their urban streets to a speeds of 30 km/h (19 mph) or less? One apt analogy is “picking the low-hanging fruit”. While Dutch … Read More

reading the fine print

PHOTO POST Who knew there was a Green Heron in our neighbourhood? I’m sure many birders knew, but until this spring I didn’t know there is such a thing as a Green Heron, or that the Green Heron is hardly green at all, or that I had in fact seen and photographed a Green Heron … Read More

before and after flowers

PHOTO POST With most summer flowers now fallen away or drying, it is up to butterflies and damselflies, grasses and fruits, to provide flashes of colour. While monarchs are drawn to the late-blooming Silphium, their caterpillars chew through Milkweed leaves. A wide variety of dragonflies and damselflies drift across from the marsh to our gardens … Read More

house of orange

PHOTO POST The star that burns most brightly in our garden recently is the Butterfly Weed (aka Pleurisy Root, Butterfly Milkweed). This not-so-common member of the milkweed family is said to attract Monarch butterflies. So far this year the Monarchs haven’t paid much attention, but other insects have certainly noticed these blooms. The Musca domestica … Read More

heat of summer

PHOTO POST As the most intense heat wave in years takes hold of the lakeshore, the growth of some plants accelerates, others parch and wither, and many marsh-dwellers seek mid-day shade or the cool of twilight hours. With a still bountiful supply of moisture, green plants in the marsh are tall and lush, though the … Read More