The beauty of autumn

(Hiking the King City trail system with my family on Thanksgiving weekend)

As a birdwatcher, photographer, and nature-lover, autumn is like a dream for me. Crimson, auburn, and golden hues are ablaze, a cool fresh breeze sweeps a flurry of leaves across my path as a breath in deeply. Ahhhh, I love autumn. A feeling of nostalgia hits me: I recall, as a child, pressing leaves between wax paper, and hiking a leaf-covered forest path, swishing beneath my feet. We have but 100 autumns to enjoy, if we’re lucky. Do you have your eyes closed to the beauty around you? One of the biggest legacies of our provincial goverment is the Greenbelt. Get outside and live it. Be like a three year old and discover your world again for the first time.

World's Longest Traffic Jam... 100km and 10 days

Chinese authorities are battling to end the world's longest traffic jam, a 100-kilometre-long gridlock stretching from Beijing to the northern province of Inner Mongolia.

The jam on the main north-south motorway into the Chinese capital has lasted 10 days and has been blamed on the construction of a road that will not be finished until next month.

Trucks joining the back of queue in Inner Mongolia were travelling at an average speed of only 3.5 kilometres a day.

The jam has spawned a thriving local economy with opportunists and some extortionists selling fruit, nuts, water and instant noodles to the marooned drivers, many of whom spend their time playing cards.

China is undergoing a huge expansion of its national road system.

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Longest+traffic+kilometres+days+long/3440222/story.html

Who Grows Up Happier?

The kids in suburbs or the kids in the slums of Dhaka?

[photos from Adbusters magazine]

Wealth is not nearly as important as social networks. Children in the suburbs are losing the freedom to explore their world due to protective parents who are fearful of traffic, strangers, and other worries.

Happiness and economic growth are independent. Perhaps we should invest more in relationships than growing our portfolios. After all, what would you rather have on your tombstone: successful businessman, or beloved father and cherished friend?

I learned this phrase from the relatively poor people of Costa Rica: Pura Vida (pure life)!

Seven Generations

Many of us will have the opportunity to meet our great-grandparents and great-grandchildren, a timespan of seven generations in our lifespan. All of our decisions should be based on the impact of the seventh generation into the future. This is our legacy.

"What about the seventh generation? Where are you taking them? What will they have?"

[photo taken at the Bruce Peninsula National Park Visitor's Centre]

Time for a change in Vaughan

I am dismayed and bewildered at Vaughan Council’s historic decision to approve the urban boundary expansion and remove any timing restrictions for developers. From the polarized views of Council, it is evident that there is a lack of shared vision for the future of our City. The priorities of Mayor Linda Jackson, Regional Councillors Joyce Frustaglio, Gino Rosati, Mario Ferri, and the Chair of the Official Plan Review, Peter Meffe, are out of touch with the needs of our City. It is time to draw the line in the sand when it comes to more unsustainable sprawling development, and rather, focus on intensification. Vaughan is well below Provincial density targets as it is. Imagine our City with dedicated lanes for buses and light rail that come every five minutes, so people would choose not to drive. Imagine a network of bikeways throughout the City that would take you anywhere you want to go, with vibrant public spaces to walk and socialize in the absence of noisy traffic. What a wonderful place it would be. We need decision-makers with guts to champion a transformative and compact City of Vaughan that all of us can be proud of.

Mayor Jackson says “we’ve had planned, controlled growth for 25 years and we are known for that”. Far from it. We’re one of the cities in Canada most frequently criticized. Take a look at a map of Vaughan from 1984 and you’ll see how much has changed. Huge swaths of agricultural land have been converted to low-density housing. Development brings a great deal of money to Vaughan, but at what cost? Cars make low density development possible, and low-density development requires cars. Distances between destinations are too far to walk and public transit systems can't operate efficiently.

The 886 hectare expansion has been cleverly marketed as the smallest urban boundary expansion in the history of Vaughan. Maybe, if you ignore the rules of exponential growth. A 3% expansion now is much bigger than a 3% expansion years ago. It should be looked at in terms of land area. 886 hectares is more than double the size of Maple’s urban area in 1984, and it had taken Maple a century and a half to get there. The entire island of Venice is 517 hectares. But we’re not looking at building another Venice. It’s same old, same old in Vaughan, plus more traffic.

It’s been said that “we will never know the worth of water ‘til the well is dry”. Please vote wisely. Vaughan Council has been plagued with controversy and scandal for the past decade. It's time for a change! The future of our city is at stake.

A Greener Christmas

From sustainwellbeing.net:

Finding satisfaction within ourselves creates a foundation for a sustainable world. Turn off the TV; make friends; sing; dance; play music, sports and games; write letters, books, poetry, music; create; cook; sew; knit; paint; draw; sculpt; learn; love; laugh; talk with your kids, your neighbours, your friends; reach out to those less fortunate; pray; love and appreciate nature. When one enjoys one's self, one is less likely to be influenced by the half trillion dollar annual advertising budget, which aims to convince us that we are inadequate and cannot be happy unless we buy the resource consuming products being sold.

Rather than getting more stuff that uses precious resources, is made overseas and shipped across that globe, and pollutes our planet, I would like to encourage greener gifts when you are looking for one for me. I think the following suggestions are in line with my goals and are about enjoying what life is all about:

• Membership to Toronto Zoo, Art Gallery of Ontario, McMichael Art Gallery, Toronto Region and Conservation Authority (includes Kortright, Black Creek Pioneer Village, and Albion Hills), Wonderland, Nature organization, ROM, museums, etc.
• Meal at a local restaurant
• Tickets to a show (Vaughan City Playhouse, Toronto Symphony, Musical by Mirvish Productions, movie, etc)
• Tickets to a sports game
  
• Plants, seeds, trees
• B&B/hotel stay somewhere in Ontario
• Tour
  
• Lessons (e.g. tennis, golf, photography, art, etc)
  
• Canoe/kayak rental
• Ski/golf passes
• Babysitting service
• Bike tune-up
• Make a gift from discarded or re-used items
• Workshop or course
• Magazine subscription
• itunes songs
  
• Write a letter, poem, song or short story, or make another creative/artistic gift
• An evening out together
• Doing a volunteer activity together
  
• Energy efficient home improvement
• Health food
• Donation to charity or local group. Here are a few suggestions.
  

Stephen Lewis Foundation (supports community-based organizations that are turning the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa)
http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/

Bicycles for Humanity (ships bicycles to Africa to improve access to healthcare, education, food, water and employment)
http://www.bicycles-for-humanity.org/Ottawa/index.php

World Vision Canada (meaningful gifts to families in the developing world)
https://catalogue.worldvision.ca/gifts/Forms/Home.aspx?mc=3221603&lang=en

Nature Canada
http://supporter.naturecanada.ca/site/MessageViewer?em_id=4501.0&dlv_id=9261

World Wildlife Fund
David Suzuki Foundation
Engineers Without Borders
St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Maple - restoration fund
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada
End Poverty Now
Scouts Canada
etc.

View this great little twenty minute video on 'stuff'
www.storyofstuff.com

-Shawn

Read me on Metronauts

About Metronauts
Metronauts is an open community of people from across the greater Toronto region (and beyond) who care about the future of our cities and the role transportation has in our lives.
Who are they?
Metronauts participate in the creation of a future of sustainable transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). We are concerned citizens from every walk of life - passionate amateurs and professional experts - who have chosen to take an active role in shaping our cities.

I'm not a regular contributor. Read my posts on Thursdays.
http://metronauts.ca/author/shawn905/