Lawns – Issue 79
Love your lawn? Do you hanker for a perfect carpet of green fescue? How many hours do you dedicate to weeding, watering, and mowing to get those perfect geometric stripes? Has this summer proven difficult for lawns where you live? Watering restrictions? Pests? Perhaps your lawn wars begin in the spring when you take on […]
Urban Green Space – Issue 77
We need urban green space! And yes, we have to preserve agricultural land and wilderness areas. The biggest road blocks to achieving these objectives: suburbanites demanding development freezes to halt densification. Densification results in more urban green space – not less. Also, it helps prevent urban sprawl to more distant municipalities that grow by re-zoning […]
Week of January 31st
What caught my attention the Week of January 31st? A Shell First Shell opened its first all-electric fueling station in Hammersmith and Fulham, London. Not a gas or diesel pump in site. Ultra rapid chargers bring car battery capacity from 0% to 80% in less than ten minutes. Built of sustainable construction materials, the charging […]
Week of January Tenth
What caught my attention the Week of January tenth? Appeasement Did you notice that this week, the US and NATO are taking the lead in Ukraine negotiations with Russia? If my memory of history serves me correctly, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain left Czechoslovakia on the sidelines while negotiating the Munich Agreement of 1938. As […]
I was born in Scotland, Issue 64
I was born in Scotland. However, my family left our home in Dundee for Canada when I turned three. So, I am more Canadian than Scots. The double “o” sound in spoon is the only remnant that I have of any kind of Scots accent. But, I do a better job than most in understanding […]
Municipal Elections, Issue 59
Québec has municipal elections on a set date every four years. Candidate campaigns are now in full swing with voting scheduled for November 7. Items high on the agendas in most municipalities – housing and population density. Focus Pointe-Claire I live in Pointe-Claire, an on-island suburb of Montréal. It has a lot going for it […]
Canadian General Election – Issue 57
I did vote NDP! I have almost always voted Liberal Party of Canada (“Libs” / LPC”). However, I meant to sit out this election in protest. But I will vote – for the New Democratic Party (“NDP”). In hind sight, I should have voted NDP when Tom Mulcair led the party. It was and still […]
Too Much Going On – Issue 56
Jagmeet Singh, Leader of Canada’s NDP
What Have I Been Reading – July 30, 2021
Learning to live well on this fragile planet is far more important than dreaming about the next one. Tim Jackson, Professor of Sustainable Development, and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), University of Surrey. Tim Jackson, The Alternative UK, July 24, 2021 Essay – the Plutocrat Space Race Fear of […]
What have I been reading? July 20, 2021
Enjoy summer, but read! “Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose honest arrogance and have seen no occasion to change.” – Frank Lloyd Wright The Monocle Minute, July 13, 2020 Urbanism / USA – ROAD HOGGING Stop building freeways through our towns and cities ! I have been […]
It’s the environment, stupid! Issue 53
I have been struggling a bit since writing issue 52 that dealt with prejudice, hate, and discrimination. I just have too many interests. So, I am finding it difficult to focus on one of them. I have wanted to get back to writing about the kind of city that I would enjoy. However, I have […]