"Cleverness, pure intellect, is just not intellegent enough. It's final destination is maddness"
- David Orr

Deep ecology isn't an academic philosophy, nor is it institutionalized as an ideology. What happens in deep ecology is people coming together in direct actions, organized efforts to improve the ecosystem. It is a lifestyle, of sorts, a social movement.

There is no separation between the self and nature for proponents of deep ecology. The self is expanded into nature, and overcomes the narrow concerns of industrial life, devalues the particular, and emotional based attachments. Human life is one with the ecosphere. Deep ecology believes in equal rights of the human and the environment. We have the same right to flourish.

It makes sense then, that Arne Naess, the philosopher who coined this phrase, believed the most influential participants to be artists and writers, who express their insights not in academic tones, but through the arts. Unlike other anthropocentric (human intersted) views of the environment, this ethic embracing plants and animals as well as people is required for HARMONY! Such an ethic is effective if people actually believe in its validity, rather than just its usefulness - conservation strategies are implemented by people who love what they conserve. Lovers feel no need to hide their attitudes, they embrace their passions and wish to impart them to others. (Maybe this is really emo and girly, but I'm down, ok?)

Deep ecology is about questioning the fundamental beliefs of the impacts of human life on the earth, rather than considering the relationship simply as a branch of biology. Deep ecology is a more holistic view of the world. The parts of the ecosystem we consider to be separate function as a whole for the deep ecologist, who believes that all life forms have instrinsic value, and have a right to life that can't be quantified.

Akin to Arne Naess's deep ecology, Aldo Leopold believed humans to be "plain members of the biotic community" - (knocking us down to size a little) which is a general scheme I find pretty nifty. Leopold's idea of land ethic states that "a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise". This supports deep ecology at its most fundamental level.

I'm a dude, your a dude, we're all dudes, some of us just trying not to destory everything in our path ... I don't care HOW emo it sounds, deep ecology starts with LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.

There is nothing inspiring about reading Jane Eyre.

I keep waiting for Jane to do something cool, like punch someone in the face or set something on fire, but all this book is is a 10 year old orphans speculations about the weather and raisin biscuits.

Rasin biscuits are pretty good, but nothing to write a 422 page book about.

The Divine Miss M

Look at this face! It's like a distinguished Molly Ringwald!
But I maintain that Better Midler looks way better at 64 then Molly ever has at 41.

I really like Better Midler, and so does my mom. But for different reasons.
Born unto a seamstress in Honolulu, she was raised in one of the few Jewish families in a neighborhood of Asians. (Bette, not my mom.)

Top 5 best Bette Midler roles:

- The First Wives Club. "Now, I ask you, Duarto, who's supposed to wear that? Some anorexic teenager? Some fetus? It's a conspiracy! I've had enough. I'm leading a protest. I'm not buying another article of clothing until these designers come to their senses!" Her rivalry with Sarah Jessica Parker in this movie really makes me want to be a more vicious woman.

- The Women. Divorced women eating sticks of butter and deciding they are, in fact, the men they want to marry. She gives an amazing soliloquy on how selfishness is the secret to life. The best part of the entire movie is when her character busts in on a divorced womens yoga circle in the wilderness and is all outraged that the class starts so early. The instructor goes "We always canoe at dawn" and Bette's like "I always fake my orgasms. That doesnt make it right" IN A YOGA CIRCLE OF DIVORCED WOMEN IN THE WILDERNESS!!

- The Rose. A movie based on the life of Janis Joplin, starring Bette Midler. Need I say more!

- Hocus Pocus. I don't understand how both her and Sarah Jessica Parker can be made to look like tranny warlocks but still be fucking hot.

- The Stepford Wives. Her house is a fucking pig stye in this and its pretty funny. Other than her, this movie is kind of lame.

I think my generation really hasn't appreciated Bette Midler for all she has to offer. She's also a Vegas show girl and rad singer. They say she is going to play Carrie's mom in the Sex and the City sequel. (Miley Cyrus is also going to be in that shit. Which may actually have an effect on my viewing the movie.)

(Of course I will view it, but I will look on with disdain at the parts with non human Miley Cyrus.)

Some bboy cocksucker in a dance club actually booed me the other night. Those of you who have felt self conscious on the floor haven't felt ANYTHING until someone actually confirms your suspicions that you totally suck.

I died, but I am reborn.

Oh hai.

So it’s been roughly four thousand years since I’ve posted anything on this blog. I’d like to take this time to apologize to my fans. I know it’s probably been really hard without my really relevant and amazing words.

(sarcasm.)

But regardless of how we haven’t been speaking, I want you to know that I still really care about you a lot. Here is a list of things that I’ve been doing with my absurd and meaningless life since we lost touch:

- Listening to a lot of kid sister – rapper from Chicago. I have a total hard on for her. Myspace.com/kidsister. She is like, lil mama meets salt n peppa. (ie – my dream woman.)

- Jazzing my pants in anticipation for ye ole saint Nick’s arrival. I get unintelligibly excited for Christmas, it’s rather embarrassing. My mom got me, Macey and TK advent calendars (she gave my two room-mates away though, before she reached the city – but it’s the thought that counts I reckon). I never miss a fucking day on those things.


- Studying for / writing exams. That was a biggie.

- Painting things. And callaging. And I did some iron on transfers on a pair of jeans. (characters from the rhyme hey diddle diddle, to be precise) Macey and I have plunged pretty hard into the craft world – one I never really appreciated before. There is this book sitting on my kitchen table called "The big ass book of crafts" by Mark Montano - the guy who hosted that show While You Were Out. It's full of crafts beyond my wildest dreams. Metallic baby statues, cable tie door beads ...two litre cola bottle sea creature lamps ... this book has opened my life to a world of possibilities.

- Developing an unhealthy obsession with slasher films. I really wish Alfred Hitchcock was my dad. I hope my Dad doesn’t read that. I find it especially drole how many horror films are oriented around helpless female protagonists. With huge breasts, that get unnecessarily exposed during their deaths. Not that I’m complaining, or anything. One of my all time favourite deaths, remains Drew Barrymore and her boyfriends in the opening part of Scream. Tk made fun of me to no end for my liking the Scream trilogy. Fuck him, and everything he stands for. KIDDING !

This essay I read by Noel Caroll for a class stated how horror films scare us to the degree of realistic hazards they show. Like, when someone falls off a cliff or something it scares us because it’s a believable way to die. But we wouldn’t buy it if someone suddenly flew upward into the air and repeatedly hit their head on the ceiling. When I read this, I actually thought my life was coming to a close because I started laughing so hard. In fact I’m fucking laughing now as I relive that text. Maybe you don’t find it funny. (but if you don’t, you suck.)

- Watching Lady Gaga’s bad romance video. I was utterly and unexplainably fascinated by that shit.

- Spending some quality time with the fam in Brantford, since I finished my exams. They're fun. I'm mucho looking forward to chilling with some old friends and lovers.

- rekindling my love for dancing like a maniac. This is a recent phenomena.
- wearing long johns :(

- Being really poor and sucking at it.

What I'm trying to tell you is that I’ve been drunk since Thursday at 5 when I finished my last exam. Somebody give me some structure so I don’t fall off the face of this earth.

You know you're stressed out when someone sneezes in the cubicle next to you and you fucking jump out of your skin.

"A woman without a body can't possible be a good fighter"
- Helene Cixous.

Robert Pattinson is sOoOoOoOo interesting

Edvard Munch - The Vampire.

This painting is pretty sexy, non ?

Freud reckons we are so down with vampires because they satisfy our desire for an incestuous encounter with dead relatives, the fearful act of blood sucking that is connected to seduction, and our desire to be a passive and innocent victim.

Well, it wasn't Freud who said this, it was his homeboy Ernest Jones. He also said that we cover up our desire with the repulsive imagery surrounding the objects of our nightmares ... the dreamer can't be blamed for these images by her subconscious because she too finds them repulsive, but deep down ... totally! gets! off! on them.

I guess a lot of this explains the Twilight obsession.

I know things.

Toronto the grassy knoll.

This book rocked my world when I read it in the summer, and yesterday I stumbled upon the editors booth at Broken Pencil's Canzine fair. (I told the intern I wanted her to have my soul. Either that or have her job.) They are coming out with a new book in the middle of the month called The Edible City - Toronto Food from Farm to Fork. It's supposed to range from issues on third world poverty to bad restaurant service. Toronto is a city with a wacky cornicopia of cuisines, and they are testament to our awesomely varied population. Here is a scant review of whats to come: http://www.chbooks.com/catalogue/edible-city. I'll write a better one once I read it. LOLZ. Until then, though ... check out GreenTOpia and you will fall in if you dig Toronto in any shape or form.

Nothing tells of culture and environment quite like the fruits of its people.

We ARE what we eat, non ?

"Details, the goddamn details could alway break your heart"
- Julia Alvarez

Hungry.

So I moved and don't have internet yet. I've been using this as an excuse for pretty much everything I haven't been doing.

But theres a bakery from heaven about 10 meters from our apartment with free internet, mountains of custard tarts and adorable old men playing chess, so I guess I don't have too much to complain about for the time being.

I'm really happy to be back in school because it really inspires me to make something of my (filthy and pathetic) existence. I've been writing a bunch of stories, and been working on a sonnet since I've been back in school. (sonnets, by the way, are the bane of my existence, but I can't seem to stop trying)

Anyway, I havent finished anything.
Better than not starting altogether, I guess.

My classes really inspire me but at the same time discourage me because they show me how far I have to go, how much I still have to learn. How long will I be satisfied with my artistic persuits before I grow out of them again? Will I ever be able to write a book without tiring of it after the first few pages, chapter, draft? HOW WILL I EVER DOCUMENT MY LIFE IF I GROW SO RESTLESS IN THE PROCESS THAT BY THE TIME I AM 80 I HAVE NOTHING TO SHOW FOR MYSELF!

In ACS 500, that celestial academic god Andrew Hunter divulged one of his favourite philosophy quotes :
"The sole cause of man's unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his room."
- Pascal (a French child prodigy, mathematician and philosopher, 1623 - 1662)

This really resonated with me. I often wonder if other people can't read a page without their mind wandering or jotting totally irrelevant notes on the page or pacing, drinking tea, checking e-mail, (going on facebook - I'm so ashamed). I am a focused person, but the concept of concentration kind of baffles me.

When I was a kid I believed that to be concentrated was to sink into a meditative, unearthly state that was entirely separate from a regular state of being. To be so completely unaware of your surroundings, fully absorbed in your thoughts to the point that hours should pass before you emerge to discover you have created an entire masterpeice, or something. Sometimes studying intimidates me. (I feel like I might slip into a parallel universe if the library is too quiet.)

(The last part is an exaggeration, but it's not such a far cry from the truth)

Anyway, while class sometimes makes me feel bad about my ability to 'concentrate' at the drop of a hat (ie - my ability to slip in and out of a parallel universe), working with the Continuist makes me feel super awesome. We started a blog this year,to make it a more ongoing, interactive project. This years theme is 'The Hunger' - to encourage contributors to think about the issues they feel passionately about (or what they are 'hungry for').

This excites me. There are so many things I'm hungry for this year. English, sonnets, custard tarts ...

Check it out here ! http://thecontinuist.wordpress.com/

I like October.

" Literature and art have never been capable of explosions and revolutions and never will be. But they can harbour and cultivate the germs of subversion and offer people hope in thier resistance to all forms of oppression and in their persuit of more meaningful modes of life and communication."

Jack Zipes

New York street art is rad.

Greenpeace vs Tar sands = Jennifer Aniston vs. Angelina Jolie

The oil sands are widely thought to have colossal environmental consequences. The Boreal forests of Northern Alberta are being destroyed in order to reach the oil beneath, the Athabasca river is being increasingly exhausted, and wildlife is suffering. The damage caused by the oil sands project will have a lasting legacy on the earth.

The complicated and demanding process of extracting oil sands – a mixture of clay, minerals, water and bitumen, requires more energy than conventional oil. It produces 3 – 5 times more greenhouse gas emissions per barrel of oil produced - not including the emissions released through the destruction of the Boreal forest under the development. Protecting these forests is crucial in protecting the earth from climate change.

The oil sands project currently uses 370 million cubic meters of fresh water each year from the Athabasca river, free of charge. Most of the water used for the project is never returned to the river, but diverted into lakes called tailing ponds. The tailing ponds cover over 130 kilometers along the Athabasca River. (They are so large they can be seen from space!) The waste in these ponds are severely toxic to aquatic life, birds and humans that come in contact with it. Similar to DDT, the contaminated water permeates its surrounding soil, effecting life cycles of wildlife and plants. Worse, it is estimated that the tailing ponds are leaking more than 11 million liters back into the Athabasca River.

If oil sands production increases as planned, annual emissions are expected to swell from 27 to 126 million tonnes by 2015. The persistent development of the tar sands is pushing us closer and closer to ruin. Unfortunately, fossil fuels remain the most convenient, popular and affordable source of energy we have, and as our current energy situation makes evident, fossil fuels will likely continue to satisfy the majority of the world’s growing need for energy in decades to come. The oil sands are evidence that our days of cheap and easy oil are over. To be sure, the oil sands present an environmental controversy, but who do we have to blame?

25 Greenpeace activists though they had the answer. On September 15th, the eve of the meeting between Harper and Obama, 25 Greenpeace activists injected themselves into Shell’s Albian Sands mine with the goal of expressing protest of the heavy footed oil sands. After 31 hours of barricading some of the projects giant machinery to the point of temporarily shutting down the grounds, and revealing giant banners depicting the words “Climate Crime”, the activists finally released their chains and left peacefully.

Updates direct from the oil sands were recorded onto the Greenpeace activist blog throughout the event. Climate campaigner Mike Hudema wrote a few hours before entering the tar sands: “Today we are going in to say stop. We are going to stand in the way of the world's largest dumptrucks – over three stories tall and say no further. I am going because the tar sands represent the toxic future in store for all of us if our politicians continue to choose the health of big oil profits, over the health of our planet and the people on it. I am tired of sitting on the sidelines while our world is pushed to the brink of climate chaos. Tired of political stalling while millions are displaced or will die due to global warming. Today I will make a stand, like thousands before me and hopefully millions after to push for a better, greener world. Wish me luck!”

The blockade attempted to protest the symbol of the oil sands, but did this uprising really do anything?

Perhaps the daily work of the oil sands employees wasn’t the right place to interject. After all, it isn’t their fault that the world uses oil at a frightening rate. There are about 3,000 petroleum products in use today including gasoline, ink, crayons, dishwashing liquids, deodorant, eyeglasses, records, tires, amonia, and many others. The human race depends heavily on crude oil, and the question remains, as put forth by many sceptics of the Greenpeace activist - where did the activists get the fuel for the trucks they drove in on? The activists may have shut down the mine briefly, but in the grand scheme of things, this was a small inconvenience to the $67 billion energy project.

By breaking into the oil sands, activists out their lives and others at risk. Their actions could have had serious, needless consequences to many innocent people. Many people hope for a fossil fuel – free future, but such acts of disruption of many people’s everyday lives are no way to work toward such a goal.

I am not a real vegetarian. There, I said it.

Seafood is an integral part of my ancestral make up. I managed to can the lamb, (and all other forms of meat save fish) but my family still loves those furry little whippersnappers - to cuddle and to eat - as contradictory as that may seem.

Don't judge me.

“You have written a little, but in secret. And it wasn’t good, because it was in secret, and because you punished yourself for writing, because you didn’t go all the way; or because you wrote, irresistibly, as when we would masturbate in secret, not to go further, but to attenuate the tension a bit, just enough to take the edge off. And then as soon as we come we go and make ourselves feel guilty – so as to be forgiven; or to forget, to bury it until next time. Write. Let no one hold you back.”

- Helene Cixous, The Laugh of the Medusa

I like ACS 500.

'All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives lies a mystery. Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. For all one knows that demon is simply the same instinct that makes a baby squall for attention. And yet it is also true that one can write nothing readable unless one constantly struggles to efface one's own personality.'

- George Orwell, Why I Write.

Dent May and his Magnificent Ukulele. A god among men.

I’m currently reading Julie and Julia.

At first I thought the whole blog cooking project was unoriginal and lame. Who cares about what a 29 year old secretary in New York cooks every day?

On the other hand, I must give snaps to a woman who carved the marrow out of the inside of a bone with a paring knife. (My girl-power side says Yeah girl! My vegetarian side says Shame!) At any rate, I really identify with Julie Powell. (I think this is the point – if she weren’t a universally relatable character, being a 29 year old secretary with a blog and all, she wouldn’t have had a movie made after her blog) Her task of completing Julia Child’s entire French cooking cookbook of 524 recipes in 365 days is a rather brave adventure in the context of a domestic; some might even say mundane, life.

Isn’t it the small, daily parts of life that we treasure the most? (A day off? A cigarette on the balcony? Sneaky Dees nachos?)

The excruciating task of extracting bone fluid from a carcass was apparently well worth it, as Julie describes the marrow sauce as like eating good sex.

This makes my stomach turn a little. But it goes to show that even the most ordinary tasks can have awesome rewards.

This blog I recently checked out had a poll to see how many times per week Torontonians eat out. The majority said 1-3 times per week. But I think they’re lying. I have a hunch that eating out kicks cooking’s ass in Toronto. And it’s a shame.

That said, you can count on me NOT making Coq au Vin or Beef Bourguignon anytime soon. But I sure do admire those who do take on such ventures.

Friday, August. 28th

There are currently 7 people residing in my 4 bedroom apartment. This morning at 7 I woke up to my room mates phone alarm as it was charging in the hall. Our toilet broke this morning. Today was one of those days that seem to exemplify your whole life in its current state.

Macey and Kate just returned from 6 weeks in Europe, and seeing them again has been so good. I pretty much ran home last night to find Jen and laurel smoking on the balcony and urged them into getting ready so we could go to Nirvana to meet Macey. After some cookie eating, teeth brushing and a lot of excited yelling on my part, we managed to leave the house and make it to Nirvana for 10:30.

I was like a child, about to vomit from excitement.

Lately I’ve been feeling like things have been coming full circle. The end of the summer is getting close, and I can feel fall in the air. I love fall. As my hours at the Ultimate Cafe dwindle, and my trip to New York with Laurel and Jen (and Macey, if we can convince her) approaches, I can’t help but feel sort of introspective about the summer that is passing before my eyes like scenery outside a window from a train. At the start of the summer I was green with jealousy of Macey and Kate and their trips to Amsterdam and Berlin. I wanted to relive the previous summers trip we took together. I wanted to escape the city. That’s the point of summer, right?

Now, on August 28th, I can say I’m glad I stuck around. I got a lot done here. I read a lot, wrote a lot, painted, paid off some debt, and spent time with some radical souls. Sometimes staying in one place is just as enriching, challenging, and eye opening as the adventure. At the same time, I'm still really proud of my friends.

I had many “this city is so fucking beautiful!” moments this summer, particularly when I finished work at night and walked to King and Spadina, the streetcar stop at which has the best view of the skyline. It reminds me of my few trips to the city when I was really young. I was so riveted by the city, at once overwhelmed and impressed. And here I am now, a few years later, still overwhelmed an impressed. But now I have a better grasp of how to handle homeless people. And can drink in bars. But I still feel small in the city.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Tribe Called Quest lately. Particularly the song Excursions. I've been listening to it over and over again, which usually I am against. But this one I can’t help. There’s a line in it about how things go in cycles. That’s how I feel about this summer. Here I am, going back to school, getting ready to be focused and work toward a goal again.

I can't believe the summer is almost over. It seemed so long and looming to me in May, when I had a prospective 4 school-free months ahead of me. We see our future selves as entirely different people. I'm not so sure that we ever change though. Our toilets been fucked up this whole time at 322 Shaw st, people are generally in and out, come home and leave again, but I still feel the same through it all.

Teenage Mutants.

As we press on into a world of advancing synthetics, it is simply not enough to be diligent about reading labels, or searching Google for answers. While a scam may not be consciously carried out by food industry leaders, an entire economy has been built on the existence of invisible territory, and we are entirely subject to it. The only truth in the marketing of food is the fact that secrecy exists in abundance, and it is detrimental to public health. Being a conscious consumer might not be enough to avoid the synthetic chemicals that permeate so much of our food.

Processed food companies have fostered a belief that we have come to accept without question. This belief promotes synthetics as harmless, even superior to the products of nature that we once relied on to nourish and heal us. The food industry is operated no differently than any other competitive market - economic principles are the basis of action, not the health of consumers.

Synthetics have become an all encompassing part of our world to the point that a visitor from the past might liken it to some sort of chemistry experiment in which we humans are the guinea pigs. As a result of our dependence on the food industry, some of us might develop mutations, (cancer, reproductive issues, diabetes, the list goes on) as a result of the infinite combinations of chemicals in our food, water and drugs. It is clear that we aren’t getting any healthier. But we are getting smarter - our innovations are becoming more and more advanced daily. Our innovations in food may end up killing us.

On the surface, food labels don’t go into much detail about the “natural flavours” in our cereal, or the “sweeteners” in our soda. What is made evident to the label reading consumer is the fact that the drink only has one calorie, is sugar free, and tastes awesome. On the surface, what the label says might look appealing to someone who has never heard of aspartame. Those who have, however, have probably heard how the popularity of this calorie-free sweetener increased alongside a 10% increase of brain cancer among U.S. citizens. So it won’t make you fat, but it could give you cancer, Parkinson’s disease, or a brain tumour. It is also warned that this additive could trigger birth defects, depression, chronic fatigue, brain tumours, epilepsy ... the list goes on.

How can we be educated when information about our food is so elusive? Any curious consumer knows it can be like pulling teeth to get answers.

The pharmaceutical industry also benefits from synthetics. The conditions that make life so profitable for both the food and pharmaceutical industries revolve around the weakening of the human immune system from inadequate nutrition and the employment of synthetic chemicals to remedy the problem for a little while. This vicious cycle works for the drug and medical industries, while depleting our own resources. The technological advancements of our culture are pretty good at helping us feel better in the short term, but we generally fail when it comes to getting to the root cause of illness.

Prescription drugs are an enormous part of western life. Elderly people take as many as one dozen different prescription medications per day. Yet, there are complications that result from our drugs that land us in hospitals, even kill us. We are never told that the root cause of our illness if our medication, we always need another prescription.

How can a species that is so intellegent, continue to fail? The system is set up in such a way that the path of least resistance is often the way that involved chemical induced foods and endless drug prescriptions. We would have to go seriously against the grain to get out of this cycle. Until these industry leaders genuinely care about our health - or when people start dying, (whichever happens first),we need to demonstrate to chaos and lawlessness about our oatmeal, chicken wings and Tylenol!

Health should be made easy for us, but it’s not. Not yet, at least. Not until I become prime minister. We can trust only ourselves, and must take matters into our own hands if we wish to avoid mutating into teenage ninja turtles.

We place so much trust in labels. We generally accept that the food we buy hasn’t been dragged along the road on the back of a truck, pumped full of rocket fuel, or otherwise contaminated. Recently, I have concluded that the government doesn’t give a shit about our health. Food is just a commercial product, the industry no different than any other competitive market.

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)certifies food for safety. The organization lists the ingredients and nutritional information on food packaging. Their work effects virtually every American citizen, everyday. While the USDA is responsible for the inspection of meat, poultry, eggs and dairy, they also promote the sale of them. They manage the Milk campaign ads,for instance. Milk is a 19 billion dollar industry, using figures like Bill Clinton and Donna Shalala (the Secretary of Health and Human Services)in their ads.

Science, marketing, and trade conservation are all significant aspects of the USDA’s work. But their primary goal is to keep American agriculture "strong and competitive". (ie - they want to take over the world and force feed us all animal products.)

In 1998, someone called the USDA out on some hardcore bias. The physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed a lawsuit against them because the USDA selected 6 out of 11 people with “financial ties” to various food industries to serve on their board. The affiliated industries include the American Meat Institute, the National Livestock and Beef Board, National Dairy promotion and research program. So, basically they want to take over the world AND force feed us all meat and dairy. Or at least brainwash us into thinking we need it to be healthy.

The USDA feeds a lot of people and has a lot of influence. It has 15 food assistance programs, including ones that feed the elderly, homeless, and poor. Like Monsanto, the USDA permeates all our food and controls our seeds so that we are completely dependent. We have no choice but to be. There are approximately 300 foods on the market right now that aren't even required to list all their ingredients on their packages. How can we be educated when huge companies like the USDA goes to incredible measures to keep us in the dark about what we are putting in our bodies?

Is USDA is the mafia? Are they so loaded that virtually EVERY food company in America is giving them blowjobs?

So are we to trust no one? In 1999, a ground beef plant in Texas failed a bunch of salmonella tests - 47% of their products were contaminated. Despite this, the USDA still continued to use this particular company as one of the largest meat providers for their school programs. It is estimated that 1 in 5 Americans will take part in this mutli billion dollar program - which is being supported by our tax doll-hairs !

Put your doll-hairs where your mouth is, biatch, and pay no attention to the stupid ass milk moustache ads. Their super lame. Really this is the biggest problem I have with the United States Department of Agriculture.

I don't do organic.

I got talking to this woman who came into my restaurant on a slow day. We were talking about restaurants, and I mentioned one of my favourites, Fresh. “Is it organic?” she inquired. “Yeah” I replied. She was unimpressed. “Oh, I don’t do organic”.

How can you not "do" organic? Is there anyone out there who especially wishes for their plants to be sprayed with toxic chemicals? Organic has become such a foreign concept, a sort of inaccessible fad that only few hold the key to. In reality, it’s what our food should effortlessly be. We should be able to go to the grocery store and buy a rutabaga and not risk consuming a dozen synthetic chemicals. Pesticide free food is the simplest form of life, and we have strayed so far from it after all these years of chemical experimentation. Health is naturally occurring, believe it or not.

A study at the Mount Sanai school of Medicine in New York found an average of 91 chemicals in the blood and urine of its nine volunteers. The volunteers had no occupational or geographical connection to the chemicals inside them, including some chemicals that were banned in the 1970's. Is there any way to flee the chemicals Have we become entirely toxic species? The synthetic revolution stems from the fact that money permeates into our food sector, the pharmaceutical industry – our lives. From start to finish, we are exposed to a myriad of chemicals, regardless of if we know it or not. The funny thing is, we have to exert effort to avoid these toxic chemicals.

The Food and Drug Administration (US) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (Canada) whom we place a lot of trust in, rely on safety information from the food manufacturers to make its approval decisions. These manufacturers would never let it slide that there could be something hazardous in their ingredients, so how can we make an objective decision if we can’t rely on the powers that be?

Having chemicals inside our bodies may not be a death wish, necessarily. But how do we know when a chemical is truly toxic? When animals in the wild start dying, seems to be a good indication. Only then do things start to change. But things should never come to that point.

Competitive markets dictate what we eat. We are the only ones truly looking out for ourselves, and in order to live past your 50’s, this requires you to be a god damn anarchist, apparently. With everything I read regarding chemicals in the food or drugs we ingest regularly, I am becoming increasingly aware that I shouldn’t really have faith in anything. I don’t think it’s good to be cynical, but it’s good to be sceptical.

Down with SUV's.

I recently went home to Brantford for a couple nights to hang out with the fam. We always have a good time together, and this visit was no exception. There was only one problem. My mother told me that my father was contemplating replacing their Toyota Matrix with an SUV.

I was utterly horrified. I tried everything in my power to convince her to convince him otherwise. I can’t think of anything more frivolous. What on earth does a 55 year old male with a grown up family and no pressing career, really need an enormous gas guzzling SUV for? Hauling mulch? Flagstones? I’m not trying to undermine my beloved father, or any retired lifestyle. He’s 55. He should be able to do whatever the hell he wants. But there is one thing I can’t deny. To exist is to be an activist. We make choices on a daily basis that support or deject environmentally friendly initiatives, directly or indirectly, and we do it with every item we buy. Our decisions affect other people and the greater world whether we know it or not.

What comes to mind when we hear activist? A raving protestor, drunk on passion for a cause? A persistent douche bag who scrutinizes your every piece of garbage? People who cause detours on roads because of protest rallies?

The negative stereotype around activists exists because no one makes it easy for the public to be environmentally friendly. Our governments and our food manufacturers take path of least resistance – it’s cheaper and easier to buy food from No Frills as opposed to grow your own, organic food and renewable energy are both more expensive and hard to come across than conventional food / energy. We often have to hunt to find information on animal testing and nutrients. As a result, we allow ourselves to be poisoned. We are unhealthy and uninformed. (Revlon Moondrops lipstick, Lysol All Purpose cleaner contain mystery phthalates – substances added to plastics to retain their flexibility and durability - that act as neurotoxins and reproductive toxins ... two in a long list of products.)

We have to go against the grain to achieve a healthy, green lifestyle. Since when should it be so unconventional to eat real food, trust a doctor, or have the desire to bring my children into a risk free world? Since when does living green have to mean anarchy?

My parents were obviously irritated by my hassling to make them turn off the lights and the TV when they left the room. My badgering in the electricity department made my disproval in the SUV department all the more expected.

“But we’re so not SUV people” I pleaded to my mother. Being a woman of aesthetic, (a hairdresser) I tried to persuade her against the idea in terms of the surface qualities.

"It's not me, it's your father who wants it!" she said. Perhaps her intentions were good, (and I don’t doubt my fathers are good, too) but his decision will still effect her, and me, and every other earth dwelling creature. It is everyone`s problem, everyone`s responsibility. We`ve all heard how harmful SUV`s are, and what a state the earth is in. People turn their ears off when someone starts ranting. My parents love that I am passionate about the environment, but sometimes I think that's really all they see – a raving kid who wants the world to be a better place.

Broke as a joke? Pat yourself on the back !

I think it’s safe to say that the student lifestyle imparts a pretty small footprint on the earth. Many of my friends in the city cycle, take the ttc, co-habitate with others in small-ish apartments, buy used books, used clothing, local food, and some are even vegetarian. Our modest lifestyles are quite eco-friendly. This is mostly because most of my student friends are broke as a joke.

A sign of social status lies in material things, cars, gym memberships, imported food from Thailand, big screen tv’s, condos. It seems like the richer you are, the more energy you use. Maintaining such a social status requires that you stay on the cutting edge of consumerism. How could one not partake in a weekend wine tasting tour in Niagra on the Lake? Or deny oneself of a shopping trip to New York?

Travel is one of the most significant signs of social status, vital for being a cultured and well travelled individual. Air travel in particular poses an unmitigated catastrophe for the environment. As well as carbon dioxide, jet engines produce oxides of nitrogen and water vapour, both powerful warming agents.

Those who have the money to travel and buy things obviously have a larger footprint than those who don’t. But there are different implications in flying than don’t exist in choosing which car to buy, for example. There is not much I can do about the fact that my entire mothers side resides in New Zealand. I can’t try and prevent her from visiting her brothers once a year (that would be most insensitive.) Nor can I deny that I myself would like to retain ties to my family down under. Choosing to buy an SUV over a Corolla doesn’t pose such a personal dilemma.

Cheap airfares and infinite destination possibilities make it hard for a traveller to resist. How can one truly experience another culture without it? Unfortunately, this also means treading pretty hard on the earth. The technologies for reducing fuel consumption are improving efficiency by 1 or 2 % per year, while air travel numbers are rising over 5% per year. Bus travel, where possible, is a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative. But sometimes, it is just not possible.

In an interview with the Guardian, Chris Martin talked about his song Twisted Logic. He called it “an intense, angry track encouraging people to make the right decisions about how they live their lives and how they treat the planet” A little futher into the interview, he states that “the band could now afford to fly wherever possible, and the increased privacy and speed mean that Apple will be able to join her father on tour more often.” Hmm …

Obviously, no one is perfect. Chris Martin is hardly a monster for wanting to take his daughter on tour with him. If anything, it makes him a better father. But the fact remains: stepping into an airplane pretty much makes up for any other green things we do.

Even as I continue to write about the environment on this blog, I have participated in air travel almost more times than I can count. Maybe this is utter hypocrisy. I do take the ttc, and I recently bought a rad bike. This is how I get around Toronto. I don’t fly all the time, but it is a necessary part of my family life. Conflicted as I feel about it, staying in touch with my aunt and uncle, cousins, and family friends involves hopping on a plane - unfortunate for many reasons, but awesome for many reasons. Until I get a hovercraft, or find a friendly wale who could give me a ride, I remain unsure of the best way to go about air travel.

There are a lot of fossil fuels involved in turning a cow into a steak. They eat a shit load of corn, which requires cultivation, harvesting, and transport. 284 gallons of oil are used for chemical fertilizer and machinery. When the cows riveting life of eating corn is over, the cow is 'processed' with fossil fuel demanding machinery, chemicals and labour. Then meat is shipped all over the place.

The average American consumes 114 lbs of red meat per year. That's a lot of energy production for something that we could live without.

Does being vegetarian help? Probably not much, by itself. Consumption of dairy products like milk and cheese still contribute to the emissions used in raising cattle for food. Cutting out animal products altogether would make a substantial difference. Dairy cows produce over twice as much methane as beef cows !

A few things I have read this summer.

Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen. There comes a time in every womans life that she must read Jane Austen and find out what all the fucking hype is about. I have always had the suspicion that her novels were merely chick lit from the 1800’s. Alas, I figured I owed it to my gender, particularly my mother, to giver her a whirl. I checked out Northanger Abbey from the library only to have my expectations confirmed. Jane Austen is B-O-R-I-N-G. Now, I have nothing against chick lit. And I do admit that I have only read the one book by Jane Austen, so maybe I can’t jump to conclusions like this. But my first Jane Austen experience will likely be my last, sorry to say.

George Monbiot: Heat. A crazy informative / slightly depressing account of climate change. Monbiot is a fierce environmentalist, who I was first introduced to in my environmental philosophy class in PEI. I fell in love, and have stayed faithful ever since. Anyone who is even remotely interested in the environment should read this. A notable excerpt:

“If in the year 2030, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere remain as high as they are today, the likely result is two degrees centigrade of warming. Two degrees is the point beyond which certain major ecosystems begin collapsing ... in other words, climate change (will be) out of our hands: it will accelerate without our help”

Read this book and help me save the world.

Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck. I read a bunch of short classics at the start of the summer, and this one really rocked my world. I shed a tear at the ending, to be honest.

The Godfather, Mario Puzo. This book took over my life for a little while. It also took over Macey and Laurels. Macey found it during a wild goose chase to a bike sale that never really existed in the end, but brought her to this tattered book on the street somewhere. It has been safe and sounds at 322 Shaw st. ever since.

GreenTOpia: Towards a Sustainable Toronto, various authors. This is a compilation of short essays with the goal of promoting good ideas to ensure that Toronto doesnt wither away with climate change. It has a bunch of creative ideas, including green hydrogen powered cabs, art projects like 'the painted line' between the city and the countryside, and composting toilets in parks like Dufferin Grove. So many more. The uTOpia series are devoted to the improvement of the city, written by and for, people who love Toronto.

Global Warming for Dummies. Its actually written by Elizabeth May, among others. the Dummies Series are fucking awesome.

Today, Marie Claire. I was in need of some mindless entertainment (where is Jane Austen when you need her?) and I saw Ashley Olson on the cover of the most recent issue and I am not ashamed to say that I grabbed it immediately. It did not disappoint my desire for big colourful font and fashion tips. Let it be known: strappy stilettos in charcoal menswear fabric put the POW in power dressing.

rad blog.

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Book ADD

Andrew mocks me for my book ADD.

I, on the other hand, have no qualms with the fact that I read 5 books at a time, lamenting that I don’t have more hands to hold them with. But I finish always finish them. For the most part anyway. Perhaps my multiple book habit is due to a short attention span, a nurture complex that has forced me to desire much more than I need, (or simply the fact that I can’t read). Who knows? I just know I have always been like this.

I can see only one negative aspect to the inability to focus exclusively on one text. It translates to my other pursuits. I fear that I rarely get so involved in something that I lose all track of time and civilization and emerge to find I have created a masterpiece. My personal triumphs often involve the use of ambient music, tea drinking, and pacing, a lot of pacing. For example, I have never sat down at a computer and finished an essay in one intense fell / fowlie swoop. Or painted a large canvas without taking numerous breaks to gain perspective, inspiration, eat dry ribs, sip on a 40 ...

I think I speak for a lot of other young urban adults when I say all this. Look at the internet, look at the increasing presence of blog culture – short, captivating articles with fun pictures and captions. This is our world. This is our literacy. Our contemporary hieroglyphics are entirely ephemeral, floating in cyberspace for the lifespan of our computers. Do we have any substance? Maybe our substance was lost a long time ago with the birth of the computer, the looming death of the written word, our ever shortening attention spans.

I can be sure about one thing, though. The constant interests in my life that comprise my personality, influenced by Toronto, university, friends, travel ... every one of them points me back to the earth. I write about the environment because it calls me. I don’t know a lot about it yet, in fact, the more I read the more mystifying it becomes (perhaps this is because I can never focus on just one book at a time). But I want to learn everything. I want to know how to resolve the gap between the people we once were, and the people we have become – products of a civilization that have no concept of true value. Everything in my life points me back to this.

My kitchen is a metaphor for the world.

The number of mice outnumbers the people in my apartment. My room mates perpetually taunt each other about the rat king who inhabits our walls and lives off our filth. It’s not like we try to be unsanitary - we clean up, but the dishes always seem to accumulate regardless of the measures me take to reduce them. Sometimes I feel like it takes on a life of its own at times.

It seems to be a question of responsibility. “Those dishes aren’t mine, I’m not doing them” some room mates say. But the fact is, we all live here. It doesn’t matter whose dishes they are in the sink, they affect everyone, and if nothing is done about them then our apartment will continue to be filthy, attract mice and fruit flies, and smell rank.

I think the same can be said of the world at large.

Globally, temperatures are increasing rapidly and greenhouse gases are accumulating. Our human activities - primarily the burning of fossil fuels - is the main reason for this. But who exactly, is responsible? Who can we point a finger at? The U.S., whose frivolous consumptive habits and SUV driving have reached epic proportions? Or China, who depends on 75% of its total energy from coal? The list of possible offenders is infinite. But the truth is, there is no single culprit behind climate change.

The well known figures attempt to provide the hard facts. Developing countries like India, China and Brazil made up 22.2% of the global carbon emissions in 2004, and the rate is increasing as they develop. Canada, U.S., and Australia made up 24.5% of global emissions in 2004 – but these three industrialized countries comprise just 6% of the world’s population, which breaks down to about 21 tons of carbon dioxide per person. The aforementioned three developing countries make up 40% of the world’s population, which breaks down to 7 metric tons per person.

As industrialized nations are realizing the dangers of global warming, they are starting to make some changes. But the same standards are being imposed on developing countries, who face the same environmental challenges, but without the financial resources. How can we expect to force a required change on the countries that already suffer?

Impoverished countries don’t currently have any legal obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but their governments acknowledge that the need for sustainability exists. China, (the top polluter in the world by 2007,) is taking measures to clean up. It is predicted that by 2020, emissions will be 7% lower than they originally would be. Some remote villages that are off the grid are utilizing wind and solar power to provide electricity. Independence is key to sustainability. But China isn’t the sole cause of its own ecological demise. Countless goods for the Western world are manufactured here - clothing, plates and bowls, bookshelves and bed frames. The mass manufacturing of these items contributes enormously to their emissions.

The effects of climate change are felt most severely in these developing countries, where small islands could be swallowed by rising water, storms hit, and intense heat waves could destroy livelihoods. The carbon emissions of the rich will ruin the lives of the poor. The Western world has the influence and power to make changes that would have effects everywhere.

The Kyoto Protocol, in its goal to reach %15 reductions in global emissions, imparted the largest reductions to the biggest emitters. Political will and popular support also played a role. For the Protocol to become active, 55 countries had to ratify it, and those 55 had to be responsible for at least 55% of the world greenhouse gas emissions. As of 2009, 183 countries have ratified the protocol. Virtually every industrialized country except the U.S., and Australia are included in that number. The omission of the U.S. sends out the strong message that climate change isn’t being taken seriously by one of the most influential global powers.
During his presidency, American president George Bush argued that the Kyoto Protocol would hurt the economy, as business emissions would be limited and their competitors in developing nations wouldn’t be. Prioritizing economic prosperity over climate change is a dangerous precedence, and a dead end.

Similarly, current Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has refused to implement any aggressive cuts to pollution. He has spent $1.5 billion on renewable energy, but continues to subsidize the tar sands, a massive energy consuming oil enterprise in Fort McMurray, Alberta. This fact alone is enough to question his green intentions. Harpers Clean Air Act, an attempt to combat air pollution and greenhouse gases, focuses on reducing emissions relative to the size of the economy. The size of each economy makes no difference to the concentration of greenhouse gases in the environment. Harper has no immediate targets, and no legal obligation to reduce. The money he is spending on renewable energy is wasted – developing low carbon technology without cutting emissions is futile.

We need to reach a global agreement in order to coordinate efforts, create a unified target, and facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology. It starts with the Western world, which sets an example for everyone. Right now, the global average is only %3.5 renewable energy. While no single renewable energy source can replace fossil fuels entirely, collectively, it is possible. For a secure and sustainable future though, humanity must rely on a range of energy sources.

Solar energy provides over 7500 times civilizations current demand. Some companies even tell us that it can compete with coal. A popular way to use this renewable energy involves panels usually placed on roofs, shingles, tiles, or glazing on windows. The main downside is the cost. Solar power is the most expensive form of renewable energy. The wider its use, however, the cheaper it becomes. Until this resource is made easily accessible, it will remain expensive.

We can’t wait around for higher authorities to make it easy to be green. Nor can we afford to waste time deciding who is responsible for the increasing temperatures. Individual action can be taken to reduce our personal carbon footprints. The example we set will have a resounding effect on those around, and the world at large. The problem of climate change belongs to everyone. It is everyone’s responsibility to reduce emissions. Just like the dishes in my 4 bedroom apartment, we all suffer from the collective filth and pointing fingers doesn’t solve the problem. If we don’t take action now, we’ll be pointing fingers at one another until it’s too late.

“our freedoms, our comforts, our prosperity are all products of fossil carbon, whose combustion creates the gas carbon dioxide, which is primarily responsible for global warming. Ours are the most fortunate generations that have ever lived. Ours might also be the most fortunate generations that ever will. We inhabit the brief historical interlude between ecological constraint and ecological catastrophe”

- George Monbiot, Heat - How to stop the Planet from Burning, 2006


(This book is presenting the meaning of my life to me.)

Since we all need another reason to be more like Europeans.

Switzerland is the pinnacle of environmental leadership.

SwissEnergy, Switzerlands energy program, lies in close co-operation between the federal government, the municipalities, trade and industry partners, environmental and consumer organizations, and public and private agencies to sets efficient standards for buildings, appliances, and transportation.

Freight trucks have cut thier annual road milage by 6%, while freight volumes have increased, an action that saves 1 trillion dollars per year. Since they are saving all that, money, more funding is allowed for rail infrastructure. Thanks to the funding boost, rail travel will see a 40% growth by 2030. They even have classes called EcoDrive to show people how to drive more efficiently.

I bet road rage doesn't even exist there. The Swiss Godfather is cleary at work behind all this.

The Last Inherently Green Market in the World.

The global economy relies mostly on the burning of fossil fuels in order to remain cheap and competitive. Consumers may like the idea of a green economy, but most simply aren’t willing to shell out the extra cash to those companies who are truly sustainable in their manufacturing and distributing habits. Independent arts are a subculture outside of this dilemma. Relying on human labour, elbow grease, and creativity, indie arts are an inherently sustainable market. The modern economy makes climate change difficult to fight. Sustainability starts with individual independence in all areas of human life.

It simply isn’t the nature of independent arts to be profit driven. The point being more about making a statement, expressing oneself, achieving a sense of purpose in this crazy world. Monetary profit plays a small part. This is why there is not much of a competitive market for indie arts. What the consumer of the independent craft seeks cannot be found anywhere else. Commercial options present no competition because they lack the authenticity, time, effort, and love that goes into the indie options.

The stainable qualities of the independent arts lie in the following aspects:
- Independent retail shops are less spread out (usually not part of a chain), smaller, require less heat and light, and involve little or no shipping, usually involving transport means such as the artists room mates / boyfriend / whoever they can swindle into helping them. 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the country come from the mass movement of goods, often by truck or airplane. There are virtually no emissions from the shipping of local, independent crafts. Not to mention that sweatshop labour is eliminated from the process and foreign trade issues don’t apply.

- Supporting local contributes to the local economy. In these tough times, we need it.

- Minimally packaged items mean less energy goes into the manufacturing, and less methane produced after use as it hangs out in a landfill for years.

- Independent arts utilize more eco friendly alternative forms of energy, as human labour, not fossil fuels, is the primary source. A strong human working at peak efficiency can sustain an output of about .8 kilowatts for a few hours a day. To employ this human as a labourer at minimum wage would be $8.75 per hour. This means that human labour is 60x as expensive as electricity, and 200x the price of gas. Carbon fuels are extremely cheap in relation to human labour. Unfortunately, the path of least resistance is the path full of gaping carbon footprints.

- Similar to retrofitting an old building to make it more sustainable, arts initiatives that repair or modify old clothes provide a creative way of reusing old materials rather than tossing it into a landfill. The repairs utilize little to no energy (save the emotional turmoil and toil of the creative labourer. But that will make him / her better, in the end). The art form of silkscreen, an increasingly popular medium in Toronto, can be done very efficiently, using the light of the sun, hand- made wooden screen frames, and recycled t-shirts. The tools for which can be re-used hundreds of times over.

- Indie arts raise awareness for other independent, sustainable initiatives. The local band may inadvertently promote the local bar, the hand - made clothing, etc.

Design and sustainability go hand in hand, and independent arts are no exception. Art mirrors life. The need to decrease our dependence on wasteful, large scale enterprises for food, energy, and shelter is increasingly evident in the rising climate. True independence starts with indie initiatives like arts and crafts. They teach resourcefulness, creativity, and self reliance.

"I find myself despairing when I see four men in suits engaging in a debate where nothing important is said … if the voters get to hear a whole bunch of really exciting new ideas, they might like them … instead of trying to do a calculation of who they hate the least."

- Elizabeth May.

Throwing fridges off cliffs is sOoOoOo fun !

The food industry produces over 5 times the volume of the most energy intensive manufacturing industry – iron and steel. The problem isn’t just limited to ‘food miles’ or pesticides. It starts with the manufacturing of the fertilizer for soil to the drive home from the grocery store. The energy used to get food on the table is often exponentially greater than the caloric value of the food itself. Now, we don’t necessarily need to drive SUV’s, throw refrigerators off cliffs for entertainment, or wear gold chains. But we need to eat. It is possible to reduce the appalling carbon footprint caused by the food industry. We just have to not be douche bags about it, is all.

We can’t rely on the supermarkets and industrial farms to do the work for us. In order to remain competitive and prosperous, large companies will always take the path of least resistance, which means the path of destructive carbon footprints. Burning fossil fuels and using pesticides is infinitely cheaper and convenient than using human labour. Modern economy makes climate change difficult to fight – convenience is often no match for sustainability.

Here are some ways to reduce your environmental douche baggery !

- Buy local food and save the emissions from transport. Food produced for commerical grocery stores is shipped long, and increasing distances. Our incredible dependancy when it comes to food means huge amounts of emissions from transport. Think of the transport of frozen goods. Trucks have to keep frozen food frozen for huge amounts of time on the road. Locally grown food has more nutrients and tastes a lot better than a garbanzo bean that has been rolling around the bottom of a truck or airplane for days on end.

- Buy organic food. (I understand the nauseating fact that organic food is just so fucking trendy. But I can’t deny that the agricultural use of pesticides has a toxic effect on all life systems around it - the soil, the animals it comes in contact with, and the people who eat it.) In terms of the environment, the manufacturing of synthetic fertilizer uses natural gas as a raw material, resulting in carbon dioxide emissions in the process. Of course, its application in the field releases green house gases as well.

- Eat less animal products. Since the decline in coal mining, agricultural animals are the main source of methane production, a greenhouse gas emission that contributes to global warming. Not to mention that the lives of these creatures will be spared, and you will be healthier without consuming rotting carcases. You are what you eat.

- Avoid processed food. It is usually super packaged to the max in attempts to make it look appealing and advertise how low in fat and full of omega 3 fatty acids it is. Well guess what - chances are if you are buying food that is using pink and yellow bold sparkly font to advertise how full of awesome nutrients it is, it really isn’t so. Why? Because Bill Nye has pumped it full of radioactive goo to satisfy the eternally ‘health conscious’ consumer, fucking with the natural balance of nutrients. Sufficient nutrients are in real food. The lowly banana usually doesn’t grow on a tree with stickers to publicize its potassium- filled righteousness. Western demise! Don’t be a fool ! You can’t drink vitamin coca cola all day and not expect to get scurvy if you don’t drink your pine needle tea. Duh.

- Avoid supermarkets. They use ridiculous amounts of energy to chill / freeze food in open display coolers to make it look pretty so you’ll buy it. Buy into that? Maybe they are just trying to get high on hydrofluorocarbons as you walk by the produce. Use your noggin, fool. Not to mention the energy used to heat and light the supermarkets themselves, some of which are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

- Compost. Give back food waste to the earth from which it came. It’s good to be alive.

These are just some suggestions that I read places. They are in no way vindictive of my personal opinions. I regularly catch racoons with my bare hands for my own personal consumption. But if you are at all interested in adopting an eco friendly lifestyle then for all means, follow these guidelines. You can just call me Maury Povich and give me a call if you need a mentor, tutor, or yogi of any persuasion. One love !

The carbon sink is clogged.

In his goal to reduce green house gas emissions by 30% by 2020, David Miller introduced the specific aim to double the tree canopy over the city. His goals are “aggressive, but workable” according to Councillor Paula Fletcher, chair of the parks and environment committee. At present, Toronto’s canopy covers 17% of the city. This might seem a trifling percentage in comparison to Washington, which has 40% canopy coverage and Ottawa, 27%.

Miller's plan may require some painstaking effort to succeed, but could have enormous benefit if it does. Incorporating trees into the urban environment would serve to reduce the amount of fossil fuels we burn and ease the damage of deforestation – the two main roots of climate change. Right now, homes and other buildings account for 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the country. Design and sustainability, both significant objectives in Toronto, can’t be sacrificed for one another. They must work together.

The city doesn’t “breathe” as well as a forest, contributing large quantities of carbon to the atmosphere with few sources of absorption. The earth, in order to give warmth to support life, needs a reasonable amount of greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide appears naturally in the atmosphere, exhaled by humans and involved in the photosynthesis of plants. Carbon is kept in check by a natural carbon cycle, a system which creates a balance between the carbon emitters (humans), and the carbon absorbers (plants). Oceans, land and air are all involved in the process.

After the industrial revolution, when humans began messing with the carbon levels in the atmosphere, the earth began to see increasing quantities of carbon being pumped into the system. And it’s been rising steadily since, resulting in a 1.4 degree increase in global average temperature. This might not seem like a lot, but consider the fact that the global average temperature during the last ice age was only 4 – 7 degrees colder than it is today, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The increase refers to the average temperature, not explicitly presenting the extremes on either side.

The city has taken a lot less time to grow than the forests, and we can't undo what has been built. But by adding trees into the urban landscape, we can contribute to the solution of the unbalanced carbon cycle. Placed around a house or on a rooftop, trees can cool a building by 40%. Cutting back on air conditioner reliance means a decrease in the human- made greenhouse gas hydrofluorocarbons. An appropriate mix of trees can filter 88% of air pollution in a park, or 70% in a street setting. The benefit isn’t just limited to homes and buildings. On the streets, trees slow rain fall and absorb water, reducing rain flow into our sewers. More trees on the street means less overflow from sewers into the lake.

More trees would attract wildlife, make the city more aesthetically pleasing, and create more jobs. The benefits are numerous. Trees and urban design are a winning team, combining to reconcile urban culture and nature, a gap that must be bridged in order to achieve a truly sustainable city. Restoring an eco system is slow and demanding process. And unlike simply building a condo, it is unpredictable. But adding these lasting structures to the city’s infrastructure would have a greatly advantageous impact on our environment, our resources, and our money.

The potential difficulties of Miller's plan lie in the nature of plant life. Will the slow growth of trees be frustrating enough for us to scrap the plan and come up with yet another quick and easy solution? Most of the trees that make up the canopy in Toronto were planted over a century ago, meaning that the skinny ones planted in addition will take equally as long to reach full growth. Cultivation in the urban environment won’t be easy, either. City trees die quickly in the drought of the hot summer months, as they bake against the concrete buildings and roads. If trees are to survive in the city, they would need to be planted in large groups and carefully tended.

Cities are built primarily with humans needs in mind. They create the illusion of a world solely for us. The goals of Mayor Miller provide promising step to a sustainable Toronto. So far, we have 8 LEED certified buildings in the city. The green building rating system commends the utilization of conditions like natural light, plants, local building materials, bike storage etc. It is a country wide initiative, taking into account the Canadian climate, construction regulations and practices. Ryerson’s 105 Bond St. was recently certified Gold by LEED, making it the first University building certified in Ontario. The building has a negative ecological footprint, diverting most waste materials from the landfill.

Toronto can and should set an example for other Canadian cities. Doubling the tree canopy is within our reach, and the cultivation of these entities will force us to recognize the true value of trees. The greater the esteem we assign them, the greater the benefit they will provide. Urban design and sustainability can no longer afford to clash. A green infrastructure starts with a return to the architecture of the natural world.

' there is no city that does not dream from its foundations '

- Anne Michaels, Fugitive Peices, 1996

styrofoam is the debbil.

We all know that the world is full of carcenogens left right and center, but here are some numbers that will make you feel even worse about your coffee shop addiction.

Styrofoam cups take 50 fucking years to biodegrade. And 'biodegradable' paper cups take 5 - 15 years. 57 chemicals are found in styrofoam, polluting the air and the coffee they contain. Paper cups are often lined with polythylene, which makes them virtually unrecyclable. The average second cup goes through 5000 paper cups per week (just for hot drinks) and there are some 400 locations in Canada. Plus lids and stir sticks. WACK ! B.Y.O.M(mug). and save the world a little bit.

check this out ... http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-styrofoam.html

Toronto Mafia ?

There is something about Toronto that gives me the feeling that underground ventures have a bigger part in our lives than we realize. This notion was triggered by my finishing The Godfather by Mario Puzo. I promptly decided that Toronto, similar to New York with its many districts, must be propelled by at least some shady deals. There is so much more to this city than what appears on the surface.

What truly runs the city? When I think about it, my personal daily activities are dictated by a series of external factors, mostly institutions. We are slaves to our institutions. We need education, we need to eat, we need to party, we need 49 cent wings on Wednesdays. We rely on the hands that feed us to the point that we are no longer skeptical of any of it. We just need to look at the mountains of garbage building up on the street to realize just how painfully reliant we are on the city services. The city strike has forced us civilians to live in our own filth for the past month. We are entirely subject to the powers behind these institutions. “They” allow us to get a side of fries with our sandwich. “They” like us to print clearly on our tax return forms. “They” don’t approve of drinking in the park. Who are they, who posses such authority over our meagre city dwelling lives ?

There are just some people you can’t say no to. In the business world, ‘connections’ are building blocks to the top. It seems like every restaurant owner has infinite connections to other restaurant owners, event planners, salami dealers ... the list goes on. Where is the line between networking for the benefit of one’s business and hustling, plain and simple? Like the mafia, everyone running a business respects one another’s territory, sometimes borrowing a bag of milk here and there, asking a few small favours, but when it really comes down to it, deny the wrong man a request and you’ll fucking wake up with a horse head in your bed.

Overtly provocative companies like the Hot Box Cafe make me wonder - how can an organization that is based on entirely illegal activities thrive in the public sphere? That place has been raking in cash by the pile for nearly 10 years. I can only assume that operating such businesses is a matter of forming ‘friendships’ – a cycle of debts and favours owed and given. Everyone has a different idea of friendship, particularly when it comes to business. Illegal activities happen in broad daylight all the time. The dark figure of crime goes unnoticed; it’s always lost somewhere in the day to day shuffle.

But is it really just lost? I’m not sure yet. The Godfather taught me that those truly in power never show it to the world. So in the meantime, I remain highly sceptical of my Italian neighbours at College and Shaw, whose cooking smells like a dream, but whose wrath could be nothing less than nightmarish. Think twice before accepting the pizza that bubbles with the hot cheese of a con.

A sweet quote I found in Broken Pencil Zine ...

“The funny thing about the economic crisis is that a lot of artists and writers don’t notice it. Their life is always the same – they’re really poor. They either have welfare or a job or some under the table way of getting money. You do your music, your writing, your art, the years go by. […] Until their own cafes lay them off, they’ll think [this recession is] full of shit. […]I’m writing a new book right now and trying to decide on a publisher who will make it through the recession. There’s a damn good chance many won’t be around in a year or two.[…] If there’s one thing we learned in the ’90s recession, it’s that there’s certainly no less underground publishing, writing, music or film. No one had money to buy magazines off the newsstands, but everyone would come to the local zine launch and buy the zine for a dollar or two. When times get that tough that fast, that’s when people have the time and motive to sit down and make something themselves. DIY gets a big boost. There’s nothing wrong with having a lot of time.”

-Louis Rastelli, author of 'A Fine Ending', a book about Montreals recession in the 90's, and its affect on artists.

Money Aint a Thing.

A few summers ago, I lived in Calgary and worked on as a cook on a golf course called Wintergreen. It was an enjoyable summer. I only had one major qualm with my stay in Calgary, and perhaps it was born from a strange complex of my own. My qualm was this: the minute anyone found out that I was from Toronto, they seemed to have something questionable to say about it. Being a proud (recent) Torontonian, I have noticed that those who like Toronto seem to like it a lot. And those who hate it, despise it with every cell in their being. And in my few years of travel, I find that the latter type generally possess the same reasons for loathing - too fast paced, too many douche-bags, too big, too unfriendly, too intimidating ... the typical ‘big city’ complaints.

(I say fuck that, with all due respect.)

One golf club member in particular felt compelled to tell me that:
“People from Toronto want things to move too quickly, they miss out on things”

(Obviously, this is an enormous generalization and this man was an idiot.)

I told him “If you move too slowly things will miss out on you”
As you could imagine, I was so self satisfied after this that I never forgot it to this day.)

I really dug Calgary, (with the exception of the stampede, which was like being stuck in an all encompassing Gretchen Wilson video and furthermore, a vegetarian nightmare), and I also dig many other small towns in the world where things move slowly. But Toronto is truly one of my favourite cities in the world, and I feel completely at home in the busy streets. To be fair though, maybe this man did have a grain of truth in his statement. After all, my (enduring) defence wasn’t an attempt to thwart it, just to justify it. And I only have myself to blame.

In the city, the reason we move so fast is because we are such a success oriented society. This is what I meant by “things will miss out on you”. We attempt to please everyone, to achieve the unattainable idea of success that we end up spreading ourselves thin. To be successful in the urban world involves business suits, elevators, late hours and back pain. And when it comes down to it, harms our families, our health, and the people around us. Success is killing us.
Cowboy hats and country music aside, Canada suffers from the Western syndrome of unfeasible standards. Endless goals ‘pathways to success’ are promoted in schools, etched into our minds at a young and tender age. Are we meant to constantly feel like we aren’t enough?

Let us take a moment to notice the differences between Italian and North American ways of life. Perhaps the most significant difference is the pace. Fast food is basically a metaphor for North American culture. (George Ritzer called it the McDonalization of society – the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate American life, and gradually affecting the rest of the world.)Even Europe is being affected. It pains me to think that one day, the entire world will have a McDonalds on every corner.

The laissez faire lifestyle of European countries is, to me, the most opposing aspect of our two cultures. The term laissez faire means to let events take their own course. For one thing, its an exotic and appealing notion and the North American admires it for a second before mowing down on cheese cappelletti at the neighborhood east side Marios. Italians live longer, have healthier diets, and a hell of a lot less stress in their lives. Sure, the traditional Italian meal is riddled with saturated fat and wine, but the simple fact that they linger over a meal for like, 3 hours longer than any hamburger – scoffing American is telling. It’s a pleasure principle.

We North Americans have a completely different conception of pleasure. Quantity is quality for us. And that can be seen in our excessive use of condiments alone. Ketchup, salt, pepper, HP sauce, hot sauce. Does a hamburger even exist anymore under all those toppings? Why do we feel the need to cover shit in sugary tomato paste? You would never see that going down at an Italian family dinner. We’re not even eating food. We’re eating xantham gum, corn syrup, hemlock, arsenic... you get the point.

(I have an unhealthy addiction to hot sauce.)

On that note, I came across a quote by Thomas Merton one day that really resonated with me. He said “the plain fact is that the world does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, storytellers, restorers, lovers of every kind. So be anything you like, be madmen, be drunks, be bastards of every shape and form, but at all costs avoid one thing: success.”

This quote makes so much sense, and yet, the ideal is so persistent and carved into our minds that who knows how long it will take for the world to actually benefit from peacemakers and healers? But I do believe that things flow in cycles.
As a (very successful) rap star once said, “Bling bling, money aint a thing.” The truest words are the fewest words.