Your World is About to Get Smaller

A couple months ago I finished reading Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller by Jeff Rubin. Which is undoubtedly is a worthwhile read and I think he has his visions of where our economy is going spot on, and aligns with a lot of the thoughts I've mentioned previously. (Also reminds me of the views of Yvon Chouinard touched on in his book Let My People go Surfing a great book on what corporations should focus on to be both social responsible and profitable.) However, I can't say I believe his delivery of the message was in the most effective manner. And unfortunately I believe it may sway some people away from siding with him due to being a little to aggressive and repetitive in some points to convince someone who isn't on side with him already to a certain degree. Here's a quote from the book I'd like to share.

"Despite the steady barrage of climate change news and a growing sense that our affluent lifestyles may have unpleasant consequences for the environment, few of us stop to consider how just about every facet of our lives is built around our energy consumption. Nearly everything we do is inextricably bound to our use of energy.

And by "energy" i mean oil. Yes we use natural gas and some coal to generate electricity; but the world's car and trucks and ships and planes run on oil. That means that the global economy runs on oil, because of the global economy is about moving things around the world. and the reason the global economy has put all its eggs in one basket is that there is no other basket. As of right now, everything - from salmon on your plate to the entire model of a global economy - depends on keeping the oil flowing.

Now what happens when the price of salmon goes up? You buy less of it. and when the price of gasoline goes up, you drive less. when he price of clothes or computers or anything else goes up, everybody buys less. And when everybody spends less we have a recession.

.... History keeps showing that the economy recovers, usually after a few quarters, and life goes on. Markets pick up, factories ramp up production, and eventually you're back to eating all the salmon you want.

But the history of the mordern global economy is not all that long, and it is worth asking whether the patterns we have seen in hte past decades are onse we can expect to go on repeating into the future. we have seen high oil prices trigger recessions before, and in each case the medicine to cure a sick economy has been ready at hand a cheap new supply. It's simple as long as you have a ready supply of that oil.

But if you don't, the whole idea of recovery from a recession has to be redefined - because it's not going to look like it used to. "

Human Impact - Are We Causing our Own Extinction

Our Inferences about life in the past are based on fossil remains suggesting that species expand in number and complexity and then are suddenly reduced through successive spams of extinction. Scientist have identified 5 major extinctions in the past 550 million years and each has taken approximately 10 million years of natural evolution to restore.

We are fortunate to have evolved when biological diversity has been at the greatest level ever achieved. Succeeding human generations will not be as fortunate: the current extinction crisis is without precedent - never before has a single species been responsible for such a massive loss of diversity. In essence, humans are the catalyst driving the earth's sixth major extinction event.

I find the following illustration a great example of the unprecedented rate and scale of human activity is graphically illustrated by Alan Thein Durning in his paper "Saving the Forests: What Will It Take?"

Imagine a time-lapse film of the Earth taken from space. Play back the last 10,000 years sped up so that a millennium passes every minute. For more then seven of the ten minutes, the screen displays what looks like a still photograph: the blue planet Earth, its lands swathed in a mantle of trees. Forests cover 34 percent of the land. Aside from the occasional flash of a wildfire, none of the natural changes in hte forest coat are perceptible. The Agricultural Revolution that transforms human existence in the film's first minute is invisible.

After seven and a half minutes, the lands around Athens and the tiny Islands of the Aegean Sea lose their froest. This is the flowering of Classical Greece. Little else changes. at nine minutes - 1,000 years ago - the mantle grows threadbare in scatered parts of Europ, Central America, China, and India. then 12 Seconds from the end, one century ago Eastern North America is deforested. This is the Industrial Revolution. Little else appears to have changed. Forest covers 32 percent of the land.

In the last three seconds - after 1950 - the change accelerates explosively. Vast tracts of forest vanish from Japan, the Philippines, and the mainland of Southeast Asia, from most of Central America and the horn of Africa, from Western North America and Eastern South America, fron the Indian subcontinent and sub-Saharan Africa. fires rage in the Amazon basin where they never did before, set by ranchers and peasants. Central Europe's forests die, posoned by the air and rain. Southeast Asia resembles a fod with mange. Malaysian Borneo appears shaved. In the final fractions of a second the clearing spreads to Siberia and the Canadian North. Forest disappear so suddenly from so many places that looks like a plague of locusts has descended on the planet.

The film on the last frame. Trees cover 26 percent of the land. Three-fourths of the original forest area still bears some tree cover. But just 12 percent of the Earth's surface - one third of the initial total - consists of intact forest ecosystems. the rest holds biologically impoverished stnad of commercial timber and fragmented regrowth. This is the present: a globe profoundly altered by the workings - or failings - of the human economy.

Yup We've Done Wonders for Our World?

The 15 most toxic places to live

Visit the following link to see the quick slideshow. I've attached few examples from it so you get a feel for what you are about to see. I'll leave it there as the slideshow is impacting enough I shouldn't have to expand.
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/the-15-most-toxic-places-to-live

The North Pacific Gyre

An island of trash twice the size of Texas floats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, circulated by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre. The trash, which is mostly made up of plastic debris, floats as deep as 30 feet below the surface.

Yamuna River, India

The Yamuna is the largest tributary of the Ganges River. Where it flows through Delhi, it's estimated that 58 percent of the city's waste gets dumped straight into the river. Millions of Indians still rely on these murky, sewage-filled waters for washing, waste disposal and drinking water.

La Oroya, Peru

La Oroya is a soot-covered mining town in the Peruvian Andes. Ninety-nine percent of the children who live here have blood levels that exceed acceptable limits for lead poisoning, which can be directly attributed to an American-owned smelter that has been polluting the city since 1922.

Resource Sustainability vs. our Population

Do we have any hopes at sustaining ourselves? As I'm about to start reading "Your World is About to Get a Whole lot Smaller" by Jeff Rubin it reminded me of some other stuff of read about our sustainability of resources vs. the economy. And since I haven't been doing much overly exciting to report back (with the exception of a great weekend ripping Silverstar resort.) I figured I'd share some quotes.

Now that we've became accustomed to living a certain standard of life that has tasked our resources how can we sustain these standards? Even if we wake up as a global society and start addressing our abuse of the environment we simply cannot sustain ourselves in this current environment. I'll outline David Pimentel suggestion of a North American economy based on the sustainable use of energy, land, water and biodiversity while achieving a relatively high standard of living, but steps on a heroic scale must be taken immediately with a view of reducing both use of fossil fuels and population. He estimates that 90 million hectares of land (equal to the combined areas of the states of Texas and Idaho) could be used to collect solar energy without disrupting agricultural and forest productivity. By conserving energy, per capita consumption of oil could be cut in half to 5000 liters of oil equivalents. By conserving soil and water, reducing air pollution and massively recycling, a conserver society could be achieved in the United States in which the optimum population would be targetted at about 200 million ... Then it would be possible for Americans to continue to enjoy their relatively high standard of living... Worldwide, resolving the population -resource equation will be more difficult than in the united states.

The global population level could reach 10 billion before the middle of this century. Pimentel's projections all suggest the need for a massive effort to conserve soil and to recover enough food for each person on .5 hectare of land. These measures will have to be accompanied by rapid stabilization and then reduction in population. If these goals are achieved, it would be possible to sustain a global population of approximately 3 billion humans. With self-sustaining renewable energy system... providing each person with 5,000 liters of oil quivalents per year (one half of America's current consumption/yr but an increase for most people in the world), a population of 1 to 2 billion could be supported living in relative prosperity.

Hhm so where does this leave our chances? What do we need to do? What will the outcome be 50 years from now? Previously throughout human history when a colony or tribe overused it's local resources they perished, mother nature would take over ,and another civilization would use the land afterwards. Today we are no longer isolated, the entire world is used to support us. There are many theories of what will happen and what needs to be done but the true consequences of our actions are yet to be seen.

Bounded by Our Own Skin?

A few Quotes for you to ponder:

If we continue to think of ourselves as separate from our surroundings, we will not be sensitive to the consequences of what we are doing, so we can't see that our path is potentially suicidal. If we do not see ourselves as part of the natural world and become further detached, we risk a greater sense of loneliness, a lack of meaning, purpose and sense of belonging. Without experiences in nature, we develop ignorance and apathy.
David Suzuki - The Sacred Balance

The Components of the natural world are a myriad but they constitute a single living system. There is no escape from our interdependence with nature: we are woven into the closest relationship with the Earth, the sea, the air, the seasons, the animals and ll the fruits of the Earth. What affects on affects all - we are part of a greater whole - the body of the planet. We must respect, preserve and love it's manifold expression if we hope to survive.

Bernard Campbell

It is only by a construct of the Western mind that we believe ourselves living in an "inside" bounded by our own skin, with everyone and everything else on the outside. The place where transitional phenomena occur... might be understood in this new paradigm of the self, to be the permeable membrane that suggests or delineates but does not divide us from the medium in which we exist.

Anita Barrows

Once Upon a time - but this is neither a fairy tale nor a bedtime story we - we knew less about the natural world than we do today. Much less! But we understood that world better, much better, for we lived ever so much closer to its rhythms.

Most of us have wandered far from our earlier understanding, from our long-ago intimacy. We take for granted what our ancestors could not, dared not, take for granted; we have set ourselves apart from the world of the seasons, the world of floods and rainbows and new moons. Nor, acknowledging our loss, can we simply reverse the course, pretend to innocence in order to rediscover intimacy. Too much has intervened.

Daniel Swartz

Endless Ocean of Air?

"We look into the sky it seems to us to be endless.... we think without consideration about the boundless ocean of air, and then you sit aboard a spacecraft, you tear away from the Earth and within ten minutes, you have been carried straight out of the layer of air, and beyond there is nothing! Beyond the air there is only emptiness, coldness, darkness. The "boundless" blue sky, the ocean which gives us breath and protects us from the endless black and death, is but an infinitesimally thin film. How dangerous it is to threaten even the smallest part of this gossamer covering, this conserver of life."

Vladimir Shatalov, The Home Planer

and on that note I'm off to Banff to Mountain Bike this weekend, if I remember to take pictures on the weekend I'll post some pictures.

A Couple Quotes About Our Balance with Nature

"We must convince each genereation that they are transient pasengers on this planet earth. It does not belong to them. They are not free to doom generations yet unborn. they are not at liberty to erase humanity's past nor dim its future."

Bernard Lown and Evjueni Chazov

We are at the beginning of the third millennium. With explosive speed, we have been transmogrified from a species like most others that live in a balance with with their surroundings into an unprecedented force. Like a species introduced into a new environment free of constraints, we have expanded beyond the capacity of our surroundings to support us. It is clear from the history of the past two centuries that the path we embarked on after the Industrial Revolution is leading us increasingly into conflict with life support systems of the natural world. Despite forty years of experience in the environmental movement we have not yet turned onto a different path.

David Suzuki

Could Photosynthesis Solve our Energy Woes

Currently the world consumes 15 Terrawatts annually; by 2050 however scientist estimate we will consume 30 Terrawatts annually.

So what would we currently have to do to meet that demand?

• Building a new 1 Billion Watt nuclear plant every 1.6 days till 2050 would yield 8 Terrawatts
• Consuming all the vegetation not used for food to make Biofuels would yield 7 Terrawatts
• Covering every inch of land on the earth with wind turbines would yield 2 Terrawatts

Hhm not much luck with today's Technologies. However MIT's Daniel Nocera believes the solution is the Sun. The Sun beams down approximately 800 Terrawatts on the earth daily. However, our current solar technologies have some issues.

For one the technology is still quite costly. But first and foremost is the storage of energy for evenings and periods of extended cloud cover. Currently it would take approximately 2000lbs of lead batteries to store enough solar energy to power a household for a whole evening. This is where Professor Norcera pulled from the theory of photosynthesis to essentially recreate the process of electrolysis you experimented with in high school which uses electric currents to break down H2O in to Hydrogen and Oxygen. Using this process you can then store the Hydrogen in a fuell cell. However, this process is also expensive and isn't the most efficient, which is where photosynthesis inspired them. By infusing Cobalt and Potassium Phosphate into the water the process can now be recreated using only a volt of power bringing the storage cost down from thousands of dollars to tens.

So how does it work. Essentially throughout the day Solar panels would power your house and the excess energy would be sent to a small container of water where it would split the oxygen and hydrogen. After the sun goes down the Hydrogen and Oxygen would be re-combined in a fuel cell to power your house, charge your car, etc. There's obviously still a lot of issues to be ironed out , but this sounds like the first truly promising process in while.

If this process proves to be successful this could

• Solve the storage issue as a gallon of water would replace 2000lbs of batteries.
  
• It could provide decentralize the solar power.
• Would lower the cost.
• Provide a clean form of energy

I'll definitely be watching Professor Norcera's developments closely.

Aging

Just a quote I thought I'd share

"Aging is not a scary thing if you spend the time you have on this earth making it count, packing it with meaningful interaction always learning and evolving"

Could We Ever See Positive Campaigning in Canada?

Rick Mercer hit my thoughts on Canada's current state of politics right on the head. I keep crossing my fingers that Canadian politics will soon see positive campaigns based on platforms and Merritt not bashing the other candidates.

"So here it is, inauguration day in America. And like everyone else I can't help but get caught up in the moment because honestly, as a Canadian, I did not believe in my lifetime I would see a man like Barack Obama become President of the United States. And not because he's black. No, no, no, no. Because he ran a positive campaign and he actually got elected.

And if recent history has taught us anything it's that that could never work up here. Because when it comes to politics, we haven't seen anything remotely positive in a very long time.

Think about it. In the last American election, the defining themes were "change is possible" and "hope," and they had the highest voter turnout in 40 years. In our last election, the defining themes were "stay the course" and "destroy the enemy," and we had the lowest voter turn out in our entire history. Clearly we are on two different tracks.

Which is fine; we are a sovereign nation, we are unique on the world stage. For example, we're now the last nation on earth that wants Guantanamo Bay prison to stay open and it's not even our prison. Yes, it's a brave new world and we're old school.

Now that doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate the new President. No, no, no. Everyone loves this guy. Cripes, when Obama announced that his first foreign visit was going to be to Canada Stephen Harper looked so excited I thought his head was gonna pop off.

And I don't blame him. I'd like to get my picture taken with Obama too. And clearly the fact that he's visiting Canada is very exciting; because, as of today, he is the 44th president of the United States – and eight hours in, he's doing a bang up job.

And the fact is he got that job by doing something that no Canadian political leader has done in a very long time: he appealed to the very best in his fellow citizens and gave them something to believe in. So when that visit finally happens, let's hope some of that rubs off."

T25 City Car Concept

Are Our Views on a Green Car All Wrong?

Currently all our efforts are being put into alternative fuels. But does this really make sense? Long term, yes we will need an alternative to oil based fuels. However, at the current rate a real alternative is at least 15 + years away probably another 10 after that point before the flow through of old vehicles start going off the road. Can we wait that long? Hydrogen sounds like a good option, but it will take years before we can build a distribution network across the continent (even a province) so you can take a trip. Plus safety is still a question mark. Bio Fuels sounded like the savior till we remembered a world food shortage is looming. There is some sort of Algea alternative but can we really power the 500 million cars on the road with it, oh don't forgot they estimate that number of cars on hte road will double in the next 20 years. Electric Cars, now there's the answer, right! I new it was simple. Wait a minute, how we going to create enough electricity to recharge these. Coal? Nope, no good. Nuclear is clean! Damn it all the nuclear waste we can't do anything with is an issue. A true solution seems like a tought find.

So this brings me to the T25 City Car designed by Gordon Murray for which he was awarded idea of the year by Autocar magazine. Who's Gordon Murray? Well the designer of the Mclarren F1, the worlds fastest naturally aspired car and now he has re-thought the process of a green car and it just seems to make so much sense.

First the environmental impact of automobiles involves so much more then CO2 Emissions at the exhaust. What about production, raw materials, transportation to dealers, noise pollution, congestion, etc. This is where Mr. Murray steps in looking at the vehicles impact on society throughout it's entire life cycle and came out with the T25 City Car concept he is about to release later this year. See the 14 pictures below touching on his concepts in comparison to a small hatchback like the mini and read through the following links if you are interested
http://jalopnik.com/5063312/gordon-murrays-t25-city-car-revealed-sort-of
http://www.gordonmurraydesign.com/T25.html.

Now I'm sure I'll here someone tell me you drive a truck (required for work) and work in the motorsports industry, suond a little hypocritical of you. However, these concepts could also be applied to larger vehicles and we would end up with a much more efficient Automotive Industry. Plus aknowledging what lies ahead, ultimately we will soon have to start rethinking our method's of transportation and infrastructures.

Revival of Canadian Politics?

Is the Coalition Government what the Canadian Political system needs as a revival?

First I want to say it’s great to see a revived interest in Canadian politics! Through the last two elections I was quite disappointed and said multiple times I can’t wait for the day that one or multiple of our parties leaders are charismatic, intelligent and trustworthy Candidates. At my age I can’t say I remember a candidate that fit that bill. Before I voice my opinion I want to state that I do not have any political "denomination". Since I’ve reached the age to vote I’ve voted for all 3 major parties at some point based on what the Canadian situation is and who/what I thought the country need at time based on their platforms. On that note let’s get into the thick of this post.

First lets thing about two facts that have nothing to do with actually policy or the economic situation alone I think this is a great event.
1) It’s infusing a much needed interest into Canadian politics which been dropping in the recent elections which I feel is a result of a lack of any real solid front runners for our two main parties.
2) More importantly is anyone else flabbergasted that theirs some real cooperation going on between parties. After Multiple terms in the Martin/Dion, Harper, Layton Era that have seen our politics result in what seems more like school yard banter then people out to run a country I think it’s impressive to see relationships formed with the intent of governing the country based on team work not my stick is big then yours or you need me to get this through but your going to give me X to get it.

Now I'm no political scince major but lets look at why this makes sense from a political side to me as well.
3) This coalition government would represent the majority of Canada’s vote.
4) Our current world economy needs some drastic measures to ensure we continue to stay ahead of this recession and the Conservatives missed this point apparently (anyone remember the Japanese’s oversight not to long ago.)
5) In a minority situation Harper is attempting to move a platform/budget that is strongly conservative by tradition when that doesn’t represent the majority of the Canadians beliefs. I’ve been baffled by Harpers arrogance and bullying in the past but I never expected he’d step it up to this level regardless of some speculation during his second term he was going to lean further towards his parties belief, but I didn’t think he’d follow through. Then trying to keep power by tearing Canada apart reviving an issue that barely existed anymore through the statement that this is just a Socialist and Seperatist power grab is a disgrace. I can’t believe he’s trying t to bully his way and not earn his way out instead of convincing us he is right.

I’m going to take a little side note here to state that I’m amazed I don’t here many people agree with me on the following. But I think a minority government is the political structure I want to see effectively running a country. It’s keeps the parties in Check. Ultimately from coast to coast Canada’s people and their needs are very diverse and I don’t expect to ever see one party equally addresses everyone’s desires. As a result a minority government where the Prime Minister has to convince one of the opposition parties which represents a significant % of Canadians views to get something through only seems to make sense to me. I think to only problem is our current party leaders can’t put aside their childhood banter, trying to win the next election by degrading the other parties instead of based on their own merit, to work together and run the country with a government that represents the divided views of our Canadian citizens. OK enough of that rant.

Regardless of the outcome this will lead to some interesting times indeed. I look forward to following how this all unfolds in the months to come. I’ll also be honest and say I look forward to what may be the end of Prime Minister Harpers leadership of the Conservative Party and hope to see a new leader that’s a less of an Arrogant Bully.

Summer Update

I know, I know I’ve been terrible at keeping on top of this with new and interesting stories ( Well I guess if they are interesting is up to you guys, but at least new stuff) Luckily I have a lot on my mind to write about so I should keep regular updates coming for a while. But first I’ll try and give a quick rundown on some of the exciting things that happened through the next couple short post.

So what’s happened? We’ll lets give you a little re-cap from where I left of to bring you to speed. First, Canada Day saw a quick little tour of BC with my parents, from Calgary across to Revelstoke and then down to Kelowna and back along the southern route. I must say I’ve fallen in love with the Nelson/Rossland area and could easily call that area home someday. The trip also allowed for some mountain biking at Kicking Horse and my first big mountain riding experience has me stoked to move closer to the area in the New Year. The trip was a little fast as there was business on the agenda but it definitely further opened my eyes to the fact that I’ll never call Southern Ontario Home

This brought me to ask myself even more about why I’m living in the GTA. The traffic, the commute, the stress and pace of live, and the distance from outdoors and I question why a lot of people choose to call this area home. To add to the negatives mentioned above that surround a lot of large cities, you can add to fact the cost of living keeps climbing and in among canada’s highest, however the median/avg. income continues to drop. Toronto’s average household income has now dropped below the national average which says something about where the economy is going. The staple of Toronto’s employment Bay street is even moving a significant number jobs to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Leading towards a larger division and increase in Toronto’s wealthy and poor, as the middle class slowly disappears in this city. Toronto seems to be going the way of many US cities such as Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia in this respect.

Thankfully our social system and lower tolerance for Racism will ensure we never hit the extremes some of these cities see. However, I definitely do not see Toronto as one of the prosperous city and Canadian economic hub it once was. The city of Toronto is going to have to make some quick changes to keep it’s international reputation of a clean, green, with strong values, and being a melting pot of people, cultures and social status that all work together.

I returned to a weekend of leisurely racing with a fun team at Chico’s 24hrs of Summer Solstice (yes you can read fun as drinking team). This event should be added to as a must do for any mountain biker in Ontario. It’s a great event that really encompasses the mountain bike scene or vibe, with a mix of Pros and weekend warriors competing in categories from Solo (i.e. ride your bike in a 15 – 20KM loop for 24 hrs straight and see how many times you can get around, yes these guys are crazy), and then a variety of competitive and non-competitive teams in the 2, 4, 5, and 10 man team taking turns doing laps. There really is no reason to be intimidated by these events as 99.9% of the riders are courteous and just there for a good time. After racing multiple 24hr events on Competitive team aiming for the podium, this year we entered a 5 man team with no expectations other then to have fun. We did well considering we where a couple DH Riders, and guys who had not put in many KM’s this summer, with the exception Josh who ripped it up all weekend, we finished 15th out of 45ish team in our category and where short of a top ten by 2 mechanicals that weren’t fixed trailside. So not to shabby and ultimately we had a lot laughs, beers and fun.

Check back soon for a mountain bike season re-cap and a the results of my Nfld. adventure.

User Groups and Sustainability?

The topic of trail users damaging the ecosystem seems to keep coming up in discussions around me lately. Some discussions positive and some negative. Groups like Sirbikealot Racing, Kelso, the Ontario Fereration of Snowmobile Clubs, and IMBA - Internation Mountain Bike Association (I'm still not convinced that all their re-routes are necessary but they are doing the right thing as a whole) etc. have been putting in a lot of effort into sustainable low impact trails over recent years. However, our public image isn’t necessary improving by leaps and bounds. After being asked the other day how can you call yourself environmentally responsible while participating in hobbies such as Motorcycling, Snowmobiling, Quading and Mountain Biking without feeling guilty? I figured I should say something. ?????? How do you address this question! Lets look at it through two points.

Firstly I'd ask what is the true impact of these groups. Our core environmental problem do not result from the recreational users. I’d be surprised if recreational activities even make up 1% of the overall environmental problem/impact after you take into consideration the footprint left by corporations miss-use of our resources such as non-sustainable logging practices, oil extraction and processing, mining, steel production, etc., then add the environmental impacts of transporting goods in our current global economy by boat, planes and trucks, wait now don’t forget all the commuters. I think you’ll find the recreational impact becomes a minute point. Ultimately I think their interest in protecting these areas benifit the protection of the environement which is where I'll go with point#2.

Most recreational users implement practices such as bring out what you bring in (many bring out more then they bring in, and sustainable trail usage i.e. not to mountain bike in a sensitive area after rain for example). Many also argue that simply using the land damages the natural habitats and vegetation. I also think this is often blown out of proportion. Find a mountain bike trail that has seen 10 years of traffic but has been closed for about 2 or 3 seasons and you will most likely see that the vegitation has taken over the trail in most cases. However, we do realize that sensitive ares need to be protected and the trends in trail building are towards building “sustainable” trails that minimize the environmental impacts. Involvement from Environental Scientist or Biologist in reviewing plans and evaluating areas for new trails is quickly becoming the norm. Many leaders in trail building now even come from an environmental background. I believe both of Ontario’s principle race promoter come with educational backgrounds in environmental science for example. The majority of those large beaten paths through the woods you find unsightly and damaging are generally from old logging operations, farming and back roads traveled by heavy vehicles. Also agruments are often heard that motorized recreational products simply cause polution with no real need. However, this is being minimized with motor sports users making purchases based on cleaner product with this trend being reflected in the sales of Yamaha Canada’s nearly exclusive use of cleaner running 4 Strokes and BRP/Envinrudes Ecotec 2 Strokes engines running cleaner, quiter and more efficiently.

Secondly I actually think recreational users may be part of the solution. We have a vested interested in protecting green areas and the environment because without them our hobbies would no longer be accessible. Quite often you will find that the majority of people who participate in these types of activities are the primary advocate groups for environmental protection and are often leading the clean up initiatives, protection and lobying. I don't think many will argue that the majority of the spring cleanup in Toronto’s Don Valley due to the garbage from the surrounding apartments are done by the mountain bikers who use the area. To expand on being a primary advocate group when it comes to protecting these areas. We have a strong interest in protecting the areas we use as escapes into mother natures heart because we’d all mostly be admit into insane asylums if we where all left living in the hustle and bustles of North America’s cities without our escapes.

That's all for my thinking aloud (I'll have to re-read this later, I doubt this article will stand on its on two feet with the little thought or research I put in, but hopefully it may make you think a little). However, next time you think of trying to ban a user group or attack them because of your perception that they are the cause of our environmental problems, or deterioration of your favourite park or conservation area why not try working with them and hopefully you will find 1) they are on the same side you are and 2) the extra impact you have due to the increased number of supporters will fast track your efforts to stop the true villains.

Oh and a quick thanks Dave Stone as I stole the pictures from him (sshhh don't tell him)

Kiss the Flag

Bellow you'll find the lyrics to Kiss the Flag by Evans Blue which I think does a great job at capturing the situation many soldiers and their families are going through. I thought I'd share them with you after reading an article in the Toronto Sun about approximately 200 US Iraq war registers who have fled to Canada to avoid being sent to the War in Iraq. I generally keep my thoughts on the war fairly quiet because I'm slightly embarrassed to say I feel that I'm not educated enough on the subject to really make an informed decisions on what's necessarily right or wrong, true or false. I definitely have a lot of respect for our troops in Afghanistan who are oversees trying to help rebuild and provide stability to an area that most of them had never been too, did not know anyone from, and ultimately addressing problems that did not directly affect them, their friends or their families. On the other hand of the Iraq war, I can say I did not approve of Saddam Hussein and his regime. I'll ultimately admit they scared me a little. However I don't think any of us can argue the against the fact the US had some ulterior motives to go into Iraq that they weren’t up front about, and should have waited for a mission approved by the United Nations if their weren't any other motives.

The article in the Sun definitely brings an interesting topic for debate. They use the example of Phil McDowell who after 9/11 enrolled in the military to defend his country. However, after serving in Iraq from March 2004 to March 2005 says "I trusted my government that we were going to enter a justified war". ... "I felt betrayed". After being ordered back for a second tour of Duty he sought asylum in Canada, similar to nearly 50,000 US citizens during the vietnam war. Now with a motion in parliament which has the support of the three opposition parties’ to stop the removal orders of those who have refused or left military service related to a war not sanctioned by the United Nations a decision will be made if they have to return to the US or not. I think this definitely puts Canada in an interesting position as a country who’s citizens on average do not support the war in Iraq would lend to the majority of Canadians supporting their residency in Canada. However, from an international relations point of view it is difficult for us as a nation to not support the US. (http://www.resisters.ca/inthenews.html for some more info on the issue)

Anyways enough of that finally I'll mention the other reason I chose to post this, which is to support a great Canadian group that has a lot of talent with a vocalist who does an amazing job at capturing emotion in his lyrics and singing. I highlighted a few of the lines I think are more powerful. You can listen to the song here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6W7runJ8qU (a video the singer put together.)

Don't shoot, until you see
The red and white
And blue in my eyes
They say were straddling fences
And it's not so comfortable

He thinks he grew up to be boring
And so he goes to change his life
I saw you get up on your toes
But don't step back too fast
Or you'll cut yourself in half

I wanted,
All I wanted was to find
Something here inside of me they couldn't keep
They woke up to hear me screaming

Just shoot until you see

The red on white
And blue in my sky
The proof is in the pictures
And it's not so comforting

He knows that one day they'll ignore him

And push him to the side
He said he kissed the flag before he died
He took one for his country
She said i'd do anything to have him back

I wanted,

All I wanted was to find
Something here inside of me they couldn't keep
They woke up to hear me screaming

God help us Can we really win this fight
Cause no one knows which side you're on
Anymore, anymore
I'm lost and by myself

When this ends

Will freedom be the casualty
Or will it only
Will it be, only me
Will it be, only me
Will it be, only me

I wanted,

All I wanted was to find
Something here inside of me they couldn't keep
They woke up to hear me screaming

God help us

Can we really win this fight
Cause no one knows which side you're on
Anymore, anymore
You're not lost or by yourself

If you like this song a couple more you can check out

Beg - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82k6n1EjOf8
Pin Up - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBi2lsFDnDQ&feature=related
Quote - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9AgYM5urZQ

Reversal of Globalization?

For my birthday a couple of weeks ago I received, Let My People go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard that I look forward to reading. Yvon is the founder of Patagonia (an outdoor clothing and gear company) and has strong views on corporate/social responsibility and protecting the environment and ethical business practices. His book should prove to be quite interesting as he essentially covers three topics, creating a successful company you are passionate about, being environmentally and socially responsible and it is also kind of an autobiography about an interesting life following his passions. Skimming through the book (I still have to finish my book on Marco Polo before I can sit down and read it) he brought up a point that got me thinking a little and could generate a lot of discussion about the future of our economies.

In the reprinted version from 2006 he added an intro discussing what could essentially be a reversal of globalization to a certain extent, with a localization of our economy. His reasoning brings up some interesting thoughts.

"A dozen books have come out about oil, all pretty much saying the same thing: the end of the petroleum era will come sooner then later and we should prepare for a lifestyle that will be far different then what we have been enjoying for the last 150 years"

With the increased cost of energy comes an increased cost of transportation. The primary cause is the cost of oil, resulting in the cost of fuel going up, but also with the increases in energy costs results in the cost of building and maintaining trucks, boat, planes, etc. When you take the example of the clothing manufacturers they tend to follow a process similar to the following; Purchase cotton from Turkey, ship it in bales to Thailand to be processed to fabric, then shipped to Texas to be cut, next off to Mexico to be sown and finally back to a warehouse in the States before being redistributed across North America. As transportation cost are going up, they may soon outweigh the cost of manufacturing and materials in certain cases ultimately making a global economy based on cheap transportation unsustainable.

What effects would this have on our economies? Canada Exports nearly $500,000,000,000 in merchandise goods each year. Would the effects of localisation and curbed international purchase by Canadians be enough to counter these losses. How about a country like Australia that does not have the natural resources needed for food or to obtain lumber for construction? Will their economy be able to swallow the increased transportation cost? Crude oil cost have increased nearly 400% since 2003 and nearly 160% in the last 2 year! It's more than safe to say that outweighs inflation rates by an exuberant amount. Last time crude oil cost where rising this quickly it resulted in the recession in the early 80's. Now consider that many scientist estimate that our current access to oil supplies will last about 20 to 25 years before the extraction will become much more costly to get to the oil reserves that are more isolated. Will we be able to bounce back from a recession in the same way if the oil isn't as accessible anymore?

Needless to say the research into new forms of energy, hydrogen, solar, wind, Biofuels, etc. may eventually curve these increasing cost meaning business as usual but with the continuous reports how quickly our situation is decaying it leaves you to wonder, how much things will change in the next couple decades.

That's enough about the economy for now, contiue on and read something a little lighter like last weekends race stories or something.

The Art of Living

“A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labour and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always appears to be doing both.” – Francois Auguste Rene Chateaubriand

I thought I'd share this quote because I feel it really resonates my view on how we should be evaluating our careers and lives. Ask yourself does your current job or direction in life reflect who you really are? Does it reflect what drives you and what you enjoy? Don't get me wrong and read this thinking that I'm suggesting you all go out, quit your jobs, and just play. You need to find a balance of rewards between self-fulfilling and financial. Personally I think I've put myself on the right path with my career move to Yamaha Canada, providing me the opportunity spending everyday around an industry I'm passionate about. Hopefully while working my way through the ranks I also manage to find a position that reflects my personality quite well. However, for the guy who plays Sudoku on his lunch break a career as a financial analysist may the right choice, if they couldn't pull you away from the building blocks as a kid maybe a career in structural engineering would be a fit, or if you are as compassionate with animals as you are with people, you should end up being a Vet, or maybe an animal trainer. I could go on and on with examples.

The other questions I would ask is why do so many people accept a career that doesn't reflect who they are and the really don't enjoy? Social status, expectations put on you by others, to make the big money? Why would I want an exuberant salary? To afford trips, cars, toys, a big house and hobbies, makes sense. However, would someone like myself be better off to give up a big house and new car if you could do what you wanted every day? Maybe being mountain guide in the winter, and a bike/kayak guide in the summer? I wouldn't need as many holidays if I lived the life I wanted day to day and then would the material things really make me any happier? There's definitely a line somewhere between the two extremes that is the perfect fit.

Ultimately as the quote above mentions, the focus is to blur the lines between work and play. How much the line is blurred, and what side you stand on will be different for everyone you.

Collapse - Jared Diamond

“With Collapse, Jared Diamond has written a fascinating account of the collape of civilizations around the world. … A reader cannot help but leave the book wondering whether we are following the track of these other civilizations that failed. Any reader of Collapse will leave the book convinced that we must take steps now to save our plant.”
- The Boston Globe

To all of you who haven't read this book yet, I strongly recommend you do. The authors research makes it hard not to wonder if we are on the same path as the many societies who didn’t survive. Combine this with our global economy and the scenario is even scarier. The key reason this book had a bigger impact on me then a lot of the other info I’ve read about the state of our environment is it wasn't written from a one sided point of view, the worlds coming to end, over-exaggerated perspective that many of the environmental books seem to be. Instead the author uses scientific/archeological examples of societies that have succeeded and have failed, building a strong case all the while being an extremely interesting read as he walks you through the history and cultures of multiple civilizations current and past.

Through this book the author analyzes civilizations/settlements such as; Easter Island and what seemed like a plentiful land when first settled, also exploring its many mysteries; The Polynesians and how the majority of their small and large settlements survived but the medium sized ones such as the Pitcairn Islands didn’t; The Anasazi’s in North America failing to survive in the South Western States with some of the most advance agricultural and political structures of the time; The Maya's collapse; The Norse Vikings settling in Greenlans and their inability to survive there while the Inuit did; Papa New Guinea and how they’ve succeed to survive for almost 3200yrs as a society, however the current involvement of western cultures will make it’s development interesting to follow over the next 10 to 20yrs; The Genocides in Rawanda and why it happened; A comparison of why the Dominican Republics environment, political structure, international trade and history of civil war are much more favorable then Haiti's while being on the same small island; China’s significance and its consequence leaving the largest environmental footprint on earth and what will happen if the reach current first world standards of living; The Australians and their current dependence on trade partners as their population is currently above a self sustainable level. Ultimately he tires to answer the questions of why and how these disastrous decisions are made and how we can avoid making the same mistakes repeated so many times in the past.

So do yourself a favor pick up a copy of this book to educate yourselves on some of the risks and challenges that face our society in 21st century which is bound to influence your views on our current situation.

Where to start: THE ROAD TO NOWHERE

So I've been looking back at my life and looking forward to where I want to go and find things are often a blur. So I thought why not do as every other person who seems to have access to the Internet and start a blog so I can one day look back and at everything that happened, and if want to, share with others the fun things I've done, allow those who are far away to see what's happened and if I feel insightful one day maybe even share some thoughts with you.

Why Dustin's Road to Nowhere - Many of you will see this title and immediatly expect this to be sad, dark, or negative but I don't see the analogy Road to Nowhere as negative, actually it's quite the opposite. I believe the Road to Nowhere is where I want to be. It's that place or state of mind you reach when you are exactly where you want to be and you are traveling forward in time but you aren't trying to go anywhere. OK for those you that are going what hell is he talking about here's an example:

It's late January or early February, it's been a stressful week (I can't remember why?) and I'm out Nordic skiing at Duntroon Highlands, it's about -5, fresh fluffy snowflakes are falling, I haven't seen anyone in over a half hour. I'm seemingly alone in the wilderness, I've skied about 7 or 8 Km's nonstop, I have a smile, the stress from the week is a distant memory, my thoughts are void (Similar to the state of mediation that the Buddhist monks try and achieve through mediation and stay in that state for hours, days, months or longer.). All that can be heard are my deep breaths border lining on breathless and the gliding sound of my skis, I still have another 7 or 8 Km's till I get back to the chalet But I'm not trying to get anywhere, I'm exactly where I want to be and would carry on like this forever. I may be moving forward, covering distance, you could say I'm travelling, but I've already reached my destination, my goal. At this point I'm travelling A Road to Nowhere.

These moments can be found anywhere and are found in different places and at different times for different people, it can be when you are surrounded with laughter and the people you love, holding that special someone in the middle of the night, beeing isolated in the wilderness away from reality, tying together curves on a motorcycle down a deserted twisty highway, or scaring the shit out of yourself riding off an unexpected rock drop on a gnarly mountain bike trail. However, I think there's a lucky a few that follow their dreams, whatever they maybe and reach a point where every moment of their life they are travelling that Road to Nowhere.