kar0ling

“We know we need to cut emissions,” he said Monday at an outdoor news conference at Royal Roads University in the suburban Victoria-area community of Colwood. “We know we need to reduce pollution and one of the best ways of doing that is to get more clean cars on the road.” Last week's federal budget placed an emphasis on transitioning to the green economy, which included expanding the availability of zero-emission vehicles and charging stations, Trudeau said. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/greenpage/trudeau-expected-to-make-announcement-on-electric-vehicle-infrastructure-576385262.html Dear PM Trudeau Yes, we need to cut emissions, but no, one of the best ways to do that is NOT to get more clean cars on the road; it is to REDUCE the number of cars on the road and get those drivers into buses, trains, trams, and onto bicycles or just using their feet. Please do invest in electric vehicles but put that priority BELOW investing in public transportation an...

May 2 has got to be one of the latest dates I’ve switched bikes. Took the Skyline out for a whirl tonight. The potholes are ridiculous this year, there’s a lot of sand and debris after an awfully snowy winter, and there was so much precipitation this spring too that puddles were pervasive, so I’ve been hanging on to the fatgirl to handle the treacherous streets. The first thing I notice about switching bikes is the different weight. The fatgirl has a really light frame — all the weight is in the massive tires. On the Skyline, the narrow wheels are fairly light — it’s the old steel frame (and the plastic milk crate reinforced with a heavy piece of wood) that gives this vehicle its weight. The next impression is the handlebars. The fatgirl’s are extra wide. I think the skyline’s are a tad on the narrower side than average. The first few rotations feel really wobbly. But first, the seat height! This was actually a new one. My seat had started peeling and I tried to fix it with tape, ...

 Re Winnipeg Free Press Apr 2 “Get charged this summer: What to consider when shopping for a battery powered mower” by Laura Daily Here’s a two alternative suggestions to Laura’s advice. Don’t buy a new lawn mower.  How much time do you actually spend mowing your lawn? How frequently does that overlap with when your neighbours mow theirs? Instead of buying your own mower, work out a strategy with a neighbour(s) to share use of one machine. You might want to invest collectively in a new machine to simplify the ownership and expenses math, but unless the lawnmower spews out an extra special amount of toxic fumes, chances are the “greener” choice is to use up an existing machine before buying a new one.  Get rid of your grass.  Lawns create insect deserts. There are a great number of species of bugs, birds and beetles that exist unnoticed to us until they are gone, unable to perform their vital functions of pollinating and nutrient recycling. An expanse of one non-n...

The City of Winnipeg is offering a workshop by a Living Prairie Museum expert on putting native plants in your yard. I took that as my inspiration to finally write to Great West Life (now Canada Life Co) about all the grass on their property.  It’s only a Facebook comment, so it likely won’t go anywhere, but a letter or email would be totally ignored, whereas this comment is available to the whole wide world and might just inspire a few random “likes” to show I’m not the only human who thinks this.  We all have a responsibility to do what we can  to mitigate the coming climate change crisis.  As an insurance company, Canada Life Co., you are aware of how this will affect your bottom line as people suffer more ailments due to heat waves and polluted air due to increased forest fires.  The vast swaths of grass around your buildings in Winnipeg, particularly the north lawn along Broadway which no one ever walks on, offer Canada Life Co the opportunity to be a res...

Re “Ev Sales supercharged”, Saturday, 12 March 2022   In the face of the climate crisis, it’s both encouraging and discouraging that it took high gas prices to get people to finally consider electric vehicles. But, let’s really make this a transportation revolution by shifting to electric-assist bicycles instead.  An EV is still a monstrous, high speed weapon that takes up a large amount of public space everywhere it goes. Although they don’t poison us with their tailpipe fumes, EVs pose a greater the threat to human-powered road users because their greater weight is more deadly at the same speeds as gas vehicles.  As a mode of transportation, even a cargo e-bike costs less than a new car, and that’s before factoring in lower maintenance costs, lower or no insurance costs and zero gas costs. It has almost no emissions beyond its manufacture, and brings the user into communion with the landscapes they ride through (for better or worse!)  E-bikes have changed the ...

 The past twelve months have been extraordinary in so many ways. One of the good ways, at least for active commuting, was mild weather. An early snow storm in October had me rushing to get the fatgirl tuned up for winter, then it warmed up again and barely called for the fat tires before Christmas.  Now it's barely mid-March, yet after several days of mostly bone dry pavement, I started to feel sheepish pushing Bullwinkle around the city, so I switched back to the Skyline today.  It is still mid-March though, so I'm anticipating the fatgirl will probably come back again for a few days before spring is here to stay.

I did not want to make multiple trips, nor have to cover the same ground twice. Additionally, it was later in the afternoon, so looming closing times meant I only had so much time to fit in all my errands. They all had to happen in one trip, carrying capacity be hanged. The just-in-time stop at the thrift store provided things I was looking for (curtains) and unexpected treasures I wasn’t (glass spice jars with hinged lids). Geography dictated it was grocery shopping next. It being coronatide, we’re all trying to keep out of each other’s way. A woman accidentally cuts me off by the yogurt, but we both smile and laugh good naturedly at each other. Later, outside, I back into her with my bike having failed to notice her behind me while I fiddled and grumbled with my lock. Again we smile and laugh with each other as I try to disavow that it was payback. My bike was heavy laden by the time I locked it to a flimsy bus sign pole in front of the German meat shop. I decided to take a risk: m...