Bottled Water Debate
The bottled water debate has fired up in London Ontario, and there is talk of bottled water at Toronto City Hall as well. London voted to ban the sales of water bottles in all municipal buildings to reduce waste in local landfills and help the environment. I’ve been happily drinking tap water for over 6 ...
Survived my 107KM Solo kayak trip 3
At 3:30PM today I returned from my 2-day solo kayak trip from Toronto to Oshawa and back to raise money for Noah’s Ark children’s home in the Philippines. Every muscle in my upper body is aching right now, but it was a great trip and totally worth the effort. On the way there I had ...
Positive steps by big polluters 1
Some of you have noticed over the last year or two that the articles on the Urban Country have been perpetually negative. The reason is obvious: I’ve been gradually losing hope for the human inhabitants of this world and the damage we are blindly causing. But that’s not to say there aren’t positive things happening ...
California Dreaming 1
I’ve just returned from 6 amazing days deep in the wilderness on our annual Algonquin canoe and camping trip. We are truly blessed in North America to have these parks that have been conserved; for the developers would love to transform the entire park into luxury cottages if they were ever propositioned to do so. ...
Two-bit Congressman: Patrick McHenry 5
I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this video of this two-bit Congressman, Patrick McHenry. In this video he mocks the democrats for suggesting that encouraging Americans to ride their bicycles will help get through the current energy crisis. I have to give some credit to this guy for being the youngest congressman in ...
Measures productivity by how few people are working
I’m reading a really great book right now that my brother Tom thoughtfully gave me for my birthday. It’s called “Cradle to Cradle – Remaking the Way We Make Things“. Amazon has labelled it as a “Paperback”, but it’s not your typical “Paperback”. The book is printed on synthetic “paper” and it’s made from plastic ...
Majestic Garden 2
A few weeks ago Han, Tom and I went out to Wisconsin to visit my Dad and Step-Mom. It had been 2 years since I had made it out to visit my Dad’s place. We had a great time doing outdoor activities most of the weekend since he lives out in the countryside alongside the ...
Excessiveness and High Energy prices
With the rising prices of oil, you may have heard me say this before, but I don’t feel bad for people who are feeling crunched by the price of gasoline. Similarly, I don’t feel bad for the majority of people who were hit by sub-prime mortgages. Is it because I’m a hopeless cynic? Perhaps one ...
Trash Talk: Dixie Trash 2
While visiting my Dad in the U.S. this weekend, I saw one of the most disturbing commercials I’ve ever seen. The commercial was advertising Dixie plates, cups, cutlery, etc. The premise behind the commercial is that by using disposable paper plates and cups for your family dinners, you can free up more time for your ...
Ontario lifts Clothesline ban
Ontario has taken a great step forward by overriding a ban that prohibits many Ontarioians from hanging their clothes to dry outside. Most new home developments sign a contract with home buyers prohibiting them from hanging their clothes to dry outside on the grounds that it’s visually unappealing. According to the Star article, 20 to ...