Rolling Up Sustainable Energy

All photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country 

Imagine sitting on a dock on a beautiful lake with a laptop, performing your everyday job functions. You don’t ever have to worry about commuting to work and the only factor that can deter you from staying outside is the weather.

This is my dream - and with today’s technology for telecommuting, this is becoming closer to reality. For years - even decades - many people around the world have already been doing some form of telecommuting – from the remote software development “factories” in India, to stock brokers trading from the comfort of their own home.

Read more »

Wolfe Island Sustainable Energy Haven

Photo courtesy of Julep67 / Flickr 

On June 26th, 2009, 86 high capacity wind turbines began operation on Wolfe Island near Kingston, Ontario. Each turbine is capable of 2,300 kilowatts and the expected capacity is more than 593,500 megawatt-hours of clean, renewable energy each year.

I first stumbled across Canada’s second largest wind farm on Day 6 of my Toronto to Montreal kayak adventure last month. It was definitely a sight to see – I was amazed, mesmerized, and extremely excited that such an ambitious initiative had taken place in my province and country.

I was tempted to stop paddling and setup camp among the large turbines, falling asleep to the soft hum of the spinning 45-meter blades. Unfortunately I had a lot of ground to cover to stay on course and make it to Montreal, so I continued paddling on that day without even taking a break on Wolfe Island.

Read more »

Human-Powered Public Transportation?

Cycling is a healthy and sustainable method of transportation, but one of its limitations is that you’re susceptible to less-than-ideal weather conditions. What if you could cycle to work in any weather conditions without having to worry about your safety or comfort? Furthermore, what if you could cycle to work in a reclined, comfortable seat with an aerial view of your city?

This is the possibility that inventor Geoffrey Barnett had envisioned when he first thought about the idea while working in Tokyo. He wanted to find a more efficient means to cross the city. Six years later, in November 2007, the Shweeb monorail amusement ride opened for business at Agroventures in New Zealand, about 3 hours from Auckland.

The Shweeb is the world’s first human-powered monorail. One to four people can use the Shweeb and it uses about half of the energy required to ride a racing bike, or about 1/3 of the energy required to ride a mountain bike. The Shweeb is enclosed - thus shielding the rider from poor weather conditions - and they say it is as comfortable as lying in a hammock.

Read more »

Mountain Equipment Co-op Takes Home Gold

Mountain Equipment Co-op is known for its commitment to sustainability, but its new Burlington, Ontario store sets the bar high for retail store energy-efficiency.

For a company that diverts 92% of its waste generated at its stores and offices by recycling, composting and donating, it's difficult to raise the bar even higher. But MEC - a co-operatively owned business - did just that with the opening of its Burlington store last November.

After learning about the high-tech features that earned this retail store a LEED Gold rating - the second highest standard in the LEED certification - I had to see it for myself.

So I hopped on my fiancé Han's small-framed ladies commuter bike tonight and headed to my friendly neighbourhood train station. Sixteen dollars and ten cents bought me a return ticket to Burlington - a 56KM, 46-minute trip. I arrived at the store at 8:00PM – a full hour before closing time.

Read more »

Happy Birthday India!

Photo courtesy of www.indianveterans.com

Today, August 15th 2009, India celebrates it’s 62nd Independence Day from the 350-year British rule. India is the world’s largest democracy (I call it a ‘Democrazy’!) and has the second largest population in the world. In spite of our large numbers we do miserably in the summer Olympics and are non-existent in the winter Olympics (India being a tropical country and all…that’s our excuse and we are sticking to it!). We are a nation known for it’s brain drain of math geniuses and computer geeks, not athletes. Indian parents push their kids to be doctors, engineers or businessman, not swimmers, trampoline jumpers or track athletes. The mostly vegetarian diet doesn’t help either.

My theory is that we are just such a unique nation with a distinctive culture that normal sports like gymnastics, long jump and synchronized swimming are just not our cup of chai :) However, I do think there are some “sports” that we could give the Chinese and Americans a run for medals at the next Olympics. I have a few suggestions for sports to be added to the summer Olympic roster that I am sure a lot of other Asian countries can relate to and be excited about as well:

Read more »

Back to the Mothership: Punjab (Part II)

The second half of our journey in Punjab was primarily gastronomic in nature. Amritsar is famous for its food, especially it's Dhabas (check out ‘The Dhabas of Amritsar’). My dad is a total foodie and having lived in Punjab early on in his career, he knows a lot of local joints. We stopped by at Bharawan da Dhaba, one of his favourite eateries in Amritsar. He claimed that they had the world’s best tandoori parathas. Now that’s quite a claim! Before we proceed further into the world of tandoori parathas, here is the official definition of a paratha (from Wikipedia):

Paratha is an Indian flat-bread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Paratha is an amalgamation of the words parat and atta which literally means layers of cooked flour. It is one of the most popular unleavened flat-breads in Indian cuisine and is made by pan frying whole-wheat flour on a tava.The paratha dough usually contains ghee or cooking oil which is also layered on the freshly prepared paratha.

Parathas come in two varieties: plain or stuffed. Plain parathas are a staple in Indian meals. In fact, they are a meal by themselves with their delicious layers of flour and desi ghee and dollops of white butter (the color butter is supposed to be people!) dropped on top. But why just have a plain paratha when you can stuff it with even more food? The stuffings range from potatoes (a Sunday brunch fav in our household) to radishes, cauliflower or paneer (Indian cottage cheese). The Paratha’s best side kicks are a blob of butter spread on top, pickles and yogurt. Tandoori paranthas (recipe here) are like the king of parathas. They are stuffed with the best ingredients and cooked in a special clay oven called a ‘Tandoor’ from which all tandoori dishes in the Indian subcontinent and the middle east get their name. Food cooked in the clay oven has this amazing earthy aroma and an unparalleled taste. Tasting is believing. Tip: try to find an Indian restaurant in your city that has an authentic Tandoor oven in their kitchen. You won't regret it!

Read more »

Middle-Aged Men Powering Through Midlife Crisis

 

Last Wednesday I returned from a 6-day canoe/portage trip in the interior of the 7,653 square kilometre Algonquin Park. Like most years, my trip to Algonquin Park contrasts that of other summer travel destinations.

Last year I camped at Algonquin Park shortly after taking a vacation in California. Living with only the bare necessities at Algonquin Park contrasted the radical consumerism, wealth, and appearance of wealth that dominates the Los Angeles lifestyle.

This year it was the excessive lifestyles of summer cottage dwellers that was at the forefront of my thoughts. On my 11-day kayak trip a few weeks ago, I witnessed countless “2-seater” speed boats racing along the water with their twin 400+ horsepower engines.

Read more »

Eco-Living Tip: Dog Poop Bags

Eco-Living Tips is a special section on The Urban Country where we provide tips for our readers on how we can live a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

If you’re at all like myself, you become irked when people dispose of non bio-degradable materials into our trash bins. Plastic bags are one such item that frequently end up in landfills.

Plastic bags have only been around for 50 or so years, so it’s uncertain how long they will take to biodegrade - though scientists have estimated that it could take 500-1000 years for our plastic bags to biodegrade.

Read more »

Greenpeace Kleercut Campaign - 2004-2009

Photo courtesy of stopkleenex / Flickr

Greenpeace has announced it is suspending its (almost) 5-year-long “Kleercut” campaign against Kimberly-Clark for its destruction of Canada’s Boreal forest to produce its tissue products.

In a joint news conference, the two foes announced that they have finally come to terms with one another with Kimberly-Clark committing to help protect Canada’s Boreal forest.

In exchange for Greenpeace ending its “Kleercut” campaign, Kimberly-Clark has set a goal to obtain 100% of its wood fiber for tissue products from environmentally responsible sources, and by 2012, Kimberly-Clark will ensure 40% of its North American tissue fiber is either recycled or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified – representing a 71% increase from its 2007 levels.

Read more »

Back to the Mothership: Punjab (Part I)

Photo courtesy of voobie / Flickr

Two weeks ago my parents, brother and I visited Punjab, the state to which our family belongs. My parents were both born in New Delhi. However, my paternal and maternal grandparents were born in the undivided Punjab, that was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947 when both countries got their independence from the British Raj. Today the state of Punjab is the country’s largest wheat producer and enjoys the best infrastructure and the lowest poverty rates in India.

I have been to Punjab many times and my parents tend to make it a point to go, especially to visit the Golden Temple, whenever they are in India. The Golden Temple (real name: Harmandir Sahib) is the Sikh’s holiest shrine. For the first time in almost a decade, our nuclear family (mom, dad, bro, me) have visited India at the same time. So it was my parents wish that we visit the Golden Temple and a few other significant Sikh temples during our visit to Punjab. I love visiting Punjab, always have. I love the endless fields of wheat and rice that disappear into the horizon. I love the language, the culture and the people. Most importantly, I love the food. Punjabi food has made it’s mark internationally. I think we all know what Tandoori Chicken and Butter Chicken are :) In fact, there are several jokes in our culture about the importance of the Tandoori Chicken. It has been called Punjab’s state bird. A popular suggestion for the state airline name is Tandoor Air.

Read more »