Greener Side Celebration and Mill Pond Splash

With May bringing spring bird migration, blooming flowers, and pleasant temperatures, it's no wonder that nature festivals abound. I took my kids to Our Greener Side Celebration at the Kortright Centre for Conservation in Vaughan on May 28th, and the Mill Pond Splash on May 29th in Richmond Hill.

Highlights from the Mill Pond Splash included seeing some animals up close (including red tailed hawk, kestrel, and great horned owl), mural painting, walking along the pond, and getting a "grow your own butterfly" kit.

At Our Greener Side Celebration (the 3rd annual), my son discovered many creatures in the pond (the volunteers were fantastic!), we attended a Ontario wildlife show by Earth Rangers (see barn owl in photo), the pizza was incredible (local organic ingredients), sat in some electric vehicles, watched some entertaining musicians on stage. There was something for everyone, from crafts from reused materials to expert speakers to tours to a plethora of exhibitors. I hope even more people visit next year.

Nature festivals are a great way to enjoy our natural wonders with family and friends, come together as a community, and learn a thing or two about going greener. Another event coming up is the Carden Nature Festival from June 3 - 5, 2011.

A bike ride in pictures

Today was Bike to Work Day in the Greater Toronto Area. Here are some highlights from my bike ride today.

1. New section of Bartley Smith Greenway (between Planchet and Jacob Keefer Pkwy)

2. Bartley-Smith Greenway under Hwy 407

3. Bartley-Smith Greenway, north of Steeles and Dufferin

4. New subway construction at York University

5. Future multi-use trail in Finch Hydro Corridor (coming this summer).

6. Bike to Work celebration by Smart Commute at York University.

7. Collision at Keele/Steeles. Traffic was snarled up for quite a distance.

8. Memorial near Rupert's Pond at Barrhill/Rutherford in Maple

9. New bike lane on Dufferin (though I think 6 lanes for cars is excessive suburban arterial)

Artificial Leaf turns Water into Energy for Cheap

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) research team, lead by Dr. Daniel Nocera, have created a functioning artificial leaf which in reality is an advanced playing-card sized silicon+catalyst solar cell that can power a house in a developing country for a day using a gallon (3.79 liters) of water and sunlight....

The oxygen and hydrogen can either be passed through a fuel cell to generate electricity, or burned to generate heat. All the leaf needs is water and sunlight, and it will work for at least 45 hours without degrading in performance according to testing done in the lab.

http://www.reviewsofelectronics.com/scientists-create-artificial-leaf/228189/

Life, Money, and Illusion: Lesson from the East Coast Fishery

The City of Hamilton’s planning committee recently heard from Mike Nickerson, the author of Life, Money and Illusion: Living on Earth As If We Want to Stay. Excerpts from his presentation are reproduced below. The full transcription is on the CATCH website.

“…The really fundamental change between human beings and the earth has been well illustrated by the east coast fishery, because when Europeans came to North America you could drop a bucket into the ocean and pull up codfish. They were so dense in the water they couldn’t escape from a basket. And for 400 years, they were the foundation of the maritime economy. Anybody could go fishing and make a living.

“If somebody was ambitious, they fished a little more than they needed to for their immediate needs, they make some extra money and they could invest that in their boat or their net and catch more fish, and make more money. And that more money – more fish – more money – more fish process went on for 4 centuries. It just got better, and better and better and better and then it collapsed. And there’s something about better and better and better that doesn’t naturally need to collapse.

“There is something important going on that wasn’t being paid attention to. And that was the fish stock. And the reason it wasn’t being paid attention to is that for four centuries there was nobody that could even imagine that we would dent this incredible volume of fish let alone bring them to the status of endangered species. But because of the expansion of the number of fish and people fishing and particularly because of the power of the equipment we were using for fishing, you could no longer support yourself fishing cod on the east coast.

“And what we did with the fish we’re doing with the forests. We’re doing it with fossil fuels; we’re doing it in some places with fresh water, with soil fertility; with the ability of the environment to absorb our waste. These are all wake-up calls to the human family. They’re all telling us one thing. They’re saying we’re grown up now. We’re no longer a young offender; we’re fully responsible for the laws of nature, and we will be tried in the court of natural selection.

“There are only two laws in nature that we have to obey. One is the law of the minimum. How much resources do we need compared to what the planet offers – which is what the fish and the fossil fuels is about. And the other is the law of tolerance. How much of our waste can we tolerate - can the environment which supports us tolerate?

The truth about orange juice

Alissa Hamilton is author of the book "Squeezed: What You Don't Know About Orange Juice

Here's what the leading orange juice companies don't tell you:

- they strip the orange juice of oxygen so they can store it in huge tanks for up to a year

- this process also strips the juice of its orange juice flavors, so engineered "flavor packs" are added back to make it taste fresh

- without the flavor packs, which contain chemicals to simulate nature, the juice would taste like sugar water

-More details here:

http://civileats.com/2009/05/06/freshly-squeezed-the-truth-about-orange-juice-in-boxes/

Sue's Market in Richmond Hill sells 2L of freshly squeezed orange juice for $7.99, which is not much more expensive than the commercial stuff, plus it tastes way better and is better for you. Or, cut up a fresh Florida Valencia orange and awaken your senses to the taste that the major labels can't imitate.

The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary

This is brilliant... uses humour to educate.

GO Station's days are numbered

The York University GO Station is in the boonies. It's about a 2km walk from campus. A free shuttle bus makes the trip for the 4 trains in the morning and 4 in the evening.

However, once the subway is extended to York University, the GO train connection will be moved to the new Sheppard West subway station, providing a multimodal link with the north part of the City. York's GO Station days are numbered. And that's a good thing!

Photos: 1) Way too much salt! 2) Station platform 3) new Presto fare card is coming 4) e-waste at the adjacent industrial warehouse