The Urban Country

India's Golden Triangle: Part Duos

2009-07-15T04:46:00.006-04:00

After one day in Gwalior, our next stop was Fatehpur Sikri...

Fatehpur Sikri
This one of India's most historical cities constructed by the great Mughal Emperor Akbar. He had 3 wives, one from each major religion in India: Islam, Hinduism and Christianity. In fact, he tried to create his own religion called Din-i-illahi that intended to combine the best elements of the religions of his empire (primarily Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism ; elements were also taken from Christianity, Jainism and Zoroastrianism). If only we could do that now and live in peace eh? :)

When we got to the city our car was hauled down at a check point where a guy who claimed to be a government approved tourist guide offered to show us around. We checked his ID which looked legit (always check ID!). We decided to hire him, hoping to learn a lot more about this city from him than being left to our own devices. His fee was Rs /- 350 that would apparently cover the entry fee of Rs /- 20/ person (which is 140 for 7 of us) and the Rs /- 50 parking fee. Sweet deal! (or so we thought). He did pay for our parking as we entered. No one asked for a per person entry fee. We'll come back to this in a sec...let's move on to the historic city itself...

As we entered the city one of the first things I noticed was the fact that there was a LOT of people living within the old walls of Fatehpur Sikri. There was a whole city inside walls of this historic monument. Make shift house and slums were all around us. We took an auto-rickshaw to the fort which is about 2k the parking lot and walked up to the old fort. Akbar constructed this fort for the religious Sufi Saint Salim Chishti. As the legend goes, Akbar did not have any kids and needed an heir. It was due to some special prayers and consultation of Salim Chisti that Akbar's Hindu wife bore him a son. So Akbar built this city as his capital and this fort with space for Chishti's family in Fatehpur Sikri. The fort is breathtaking. It is what you imagine when you think of a mughal fort. This specific fort has been the site for endless number of bollywood movies set in the mughal period. However, what really disappointed all of us was the amount of garbage inside of a monument that is a national treasure and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Everyone there was trying to make a quick buck. The fort was bursting with vendors, beggars and hustlers. We even saw a ton of people sleeping in the corridors which lends me to believe that they might actually *live* there. [Check out the video my brother and I took when we were ticked off about this]

Speaking of people trying to make a quick buck. Our "official guide" told us about Sufi Saint Salim Chishti's tomb being part of the fort. He mentioned that if you make a wish and tie a piece of string inside the tomb, your wish will come true. As he was telling us about the significance of the tomb and its power to grant wishes, we arrived on the back side of the tomb where there was a number of vendors selling "chaadars" or sheets of cloth as an offering on top of the tomb. The vendors and guides then launched a full fledged effort to sell us a chaadar. They mentioned that all the money goes to charity, the cloth is donated to the local village down below the fort etc etc. They insisted that it was necessary to purchase a chaadar otherwise we would be forsaking the poor and spending money meaninglessly on things that do not actually matter. Their approach and pressure tactics made all of us extremely uncomfortable to the point that my mom and I wanted to leave the premises immediately. However, the emotional blackmail worked and the guilt of not helping the poor was stronger so we gave into their demands. There were cloths of 3 different sizes and prices. We agreed to buy the smallest one. Instead they just said that we had to buy the medium sized one and asked for Rs /- 2100. We were shocked and it knew right away that our "official guide" was going to get a commission for duping us. At this point we just wanted to get it over and done with. So we walked through the tomb, paid our homage, made our wishes and exited as soon as possible. What hurt and disgusted me the most was that on our way out a priest sitting in front of the tomb took a stick and stopped me and my mom in our tracks and asked for us to put money in a basket. At this point our disbelief was at an all time high! I looked around and made eye contact with our guide and gave him the "what in the world is going on?" look. Fortunately, he informed the priest that we had already paid and we were able to leave the tomb.

It saddens me to no end that local and foreign tourists come to this amazing city of such historical significance to appreciate it, capture it on film and walk away with good memories. They come with high hopes and in major anticipation of the history that they are going to be awestruck by. Instead they get duped in the name of religion, culture and charity. Not one cent of the money that we "donated" is going to help the poor. No wonder the guide's fee was only Rs /- 350 and he covered our parking and the non-existent entry fee. It is also disappointing to see such a monument being reduced to a dumping ground and a souvenir market. Can we not do better? If we can give the tourists a good experience when they visit, they will tell 5 more friends. If this is the experience they are all getting, I can guarantee that they will never venture to Fatehpur Sikri ever again (I know I won't) and neither will any of their friends that have heard this horror story.

This seem a bit biased and negative towards India. I do not mean to shine a negative light on my Motherland. India has made a lot of great changes and had really done some amazing things in terms of infrastructure and public services. However, there are still areas that require attention. Citizens need to have a sense of pride in their own motherland and its historic sights. India has so much to offer in terms of history and natural beauty. Corruption is the evil holding it back from further progress. I hope that with more stable and honest governments at the top, the corruption at the lower levels will also slowly disappear.

Agra
Since I have already gone on at length about Fatehpur Sikri, I will offer a short summary of the Taj Mahal. It is undoubtedly one of the world's most famous monuments and definitely the world's most romantic piece of architecture. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Walking through the main doors and seeing the Taj appear in the distance was a magical experience for me. My heart literally skipped a beat and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I was speechless. I had to turn the camera off and just stand there, in awe, to drink in the moment. The scale of the structure is unexpected. It is much larger than it seems in photographs. People are mere specs on its steps and front foyer. It is also a whole lot cleaner than I remember as a child. The Indian government has worked to completely restore the outside by removing decades of dirt and pollutants from the white marble. The city of Agra has (just like New Delhi) made an effort reduce air pollution and preserve this exquisite monument that has become a symbol of love and romance around the world.

The Taj was a complete contrast from Fatehpur Sikri. Being one of the world's wonders, it has excellent security around the perimeter. It is clean and well-maintained. There were hardly any people in my face trying to sell me stuff (with the exception of a few at the front gate selling photos). Visiting Taj Mahal was a pleasurable and relaxing experience from time we parked the car to the time we got back to the parking lot and drove back to New Delhi. India's culture and its history is what makes it one of the most unique areas of the world. I just hope that we can do justice to all of our historical monuments in maintaining them and not just the ones that are deemed important or of interest to international tourists.

Next stop: The Golden Temple

India's Golden Triangle: Part Uno

2009-07-12T18:18:00.008-04:00

Jim has asked me to be a guest contributor on TheUrbanCountry.com for the travel section. This goes to show that sucking up to people DOES in fact work! Thanks Jimmy! I am honored to share my silly travel stories with the Urban Country audience. After my previous update, some of you commented on my brother’s excellent dress sense. You referred specifically to his ‘iPood t-shirt’ and wondered where that can be purchased . I picked up that t-shirt from Thailand in 2007 (among many others such as ‘Know Your Shrooms’ with the Mario Bros mushrooms almanac). Gaurav (my brother) is flattered by the way, and has gone ahead and purchased a few more t-shirts with controversial and funny slogans.

The past few days have been completely jam-packed with local traveling and historical monuments. Delhi-Agra-Jaipur are the three cities in Northern India that comprise the Golden Triangle. I have not been to Agra or Jaipur since a school trip when I was 7 years old. So the memories are pretty vague. Gaurav and other visiting family from Mumbai have never been to either. Both cities are a reasonable driving distance from Delhi so we decided this year to make an effort see these historical cities. We tackled just Agra for now and made a stop in Gwalior (more on this city in a sec). Hopefully we can make it to Jaipur next week.

Traveling by car in India
We headed out to Gwalior two days ago at 6:30 am (which involved getting up at 4:30 am since there are 10 people in the house and only 2 washrooms). It was supposed to be a 6-6.5 hour drive but it took us a bit longer due to traveling in the wrong direction one point. Traveling by car in India is quite different from anywhere else that I have experienced. No one even thinks of printing a map ahead of time or planning a route. Maps are for schmucks! There are decent highways that connect these cities and are usually preferred over country roads. All people know are the highways they need to take and that’s it. The rest is trial and error. And yes, there is a LOT of asking for directions. Once we stopped seeing signs for Gwalior and realized that maybe at some point we missed the turn off, we must have asked directions from any and every remotely available person on the side of the highway. Why this insistent need to ask for directions 10 times on the same street to find the next turn-off you ask? Well the answer is two-fold. Firstly, the answers are often extremely brief. Such as “Just go straight and then turn right after about 5-7 Km” or “Just keep going straight for a 'while' and you will just see the Taj Mahal”. Yeh..um…ok thanks! Secondly, each person you ask will give you an answer contradictory to the last one. You see Indian people really love to help and hate to admit that they (god forbid!) don’t know the answer to any question that is asked of them. Everyone has answer for you and finding out whose directions are the right ones is all part of the fun! After a while you start to size up the person’s possible navigational skills at first glance. You also get more picky with who you ask. “Ask the auto-rickshaw driver”, “Don’t ask the woman, she won’t know a thing (this one came from our sexist driver who regretfully was right about that judgment)”. At one point my brother and cousin asked directions from a guy who was taking a whiz on the side of the road. Classy.

Gwalior
Our main reason for visiting Gwalior was to see my cousin Maneet’s boarding school, Scindia School, from which is graduated a few years ago. It one of India’s most exclusive boarding schools that is known for its historical setting and deep-rooted traditions. Scindia School is an all-boys residential school located inside of a fort that was once home for one of India’s regional ruling families, the Scindia Family. The family is still one of India’s most prominent families. After Independence most of the individual city-states agreed to join the Republic of India and give up their land and subjects. They were allowed to keep certain estates and still enjoy some privileges. We visited the Scindia home, 25% of which has been converted into a museum. The 'home' boasts an impressive collection of ancient Indian artifacts dating all the way back to the Indus Valley Civilization, antique Indian and French furniture. Chinese ceramics, crystals, vintage cars and so on. One of the highlights was to see the heaviest chandeliers in Asia. They weigh an impressive 3 tonnes each.

Next we visited the school inside the historic Gwalior fort. The fort is on top of a hill with the city of Gwalior surrounding it below. There are ancient carvings in the mountain rock that surround the school. The Scindia School has 600 students with a 8:1 student to teacher ratio, which is pretty darn good since most Indian schools have 55-60 students in one classroom. We spent time with Maneet’s house master who showed us around this amazing school. The facilities for the kids are basic at best. They get a bed and a cupboard in a dormitory with shared bathrooms. This is not a luxury resort for rich kids but a place where kids build character and make friendships that will last them a lifetime. The alumi ‘old boys’ network for the Scindia school is very strong. These boys will help a fellow alumni in a heartbeat, even if they don’t him personally. The sense of loyalty, connection and school spirit is truly inspiring.

The Gwalior Fort is also the sight of an important Sikh Gurdwara (Temple) called Gurdwara Bandi Chor where our sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Singh (along with a number of Hindu Rajas) was imprisoned by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. On the Hindu festival of Diwali, he was released by the Emperor and also got 52 other kings released. This is the reason that Diwali is of importance to Sikhs in India. The Gurdwara was very beautiful and picturesque. It is visible on top of the mountain from anywhere in the city of Gwalior.

I am really glad we got the opportunity to see Gwalior. It is a city with so much history and culture that I can't quite package it in one email. I am grateful to Maneet who was able to show us around the city since it was his second home while he was at school. We ate some delicious north Indian food at his favorite restaurant in Gwalior called Kwality (with a 'K' people!). There is nothing better than seeing a place with someone who has lived there :)

Check out the pictures here. They continue on from where we left off in Delhi last time and include pics of our visit to Qutub Minar as well. Also check out the video about driving in India.

Next up: Agra and Fatehpur Sikri.

Toronto to Montreal Solo Kayak Journey

2009-07-11T21:59:00.006-04:00

Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country – Lake Ontario – 4 July 2009

In about 9 hours, I’ll be departing on a solo kayak journey from Toronto to Montreal to raise money for Noah’s Ark home for children in the Philippines. Noah’s Ark provides a temporary home for malnourished children; providing food, shelter and education until the children can be returned to their families or adopted.

The kayak journey also provides me an opportunity for an adventure and a challenge that I’m very much looking forward to. I’ll be setting up camp along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River while I progress to my end goal: Montreal.

I’ll be updating this article on a daily basis from my Blackberry to let everyone know how I’m progressing. I’m expecting to arrive in Montreal in 10-12 days – depending on weather.

If you’d like to support this cause, please e-mail your pledge amount to jim_schwartz9@yahoo.com or show your support by joining my Facebook group. I’ll also be providing updates on Twitter.

Photo of my camping gear ready to go

Day 1 – July 12

Location: Darlington Provincial Park
Distance: approx. 65KM
Food: - 1 Nature Valley breakfast bar, 4 cheese strings, 2 Dole fruit jellos, 2 Quaker smores granola bars, 2 hard-boiled eggs, grapes, 2 pepperoni sticks, walnuts, swedish berries, carrots, 1 vitamin C pill
Notes: Strong winds created large waves - was a bit nervous at times while surfing waves but didn't roll the kayak thankfully. A provincial parks employee took my photo with my kayak because he thought it would look good in the Ontario Parks guidebook.Was unable to bring my kayak to my campsite, and had to walk 30+ minutes just to get a campsite because Darlington Provincial Park was made for cars - not for crazy kayakers. Next stop will be somewhere past Cobourg

Day 2 – July 13

Location: Between Port Hope and Cobourg
Distance: Approx. 50KM
Food: 2 eggs, 6 cheese strings (they were starting to go bad), 2 pepporni sticks, 1 vector bar, grapes, 1 fruit cup, walnuts, carrots, smores granola bar
Notes: Today was pretty scary. The day started out calm but most of the day included extreme wind gusts. The wind was strong enough to tip my boat if I was unlucky enough. To be as safe as possible, I stuck very close to the shore. Some of the waves I saw today could have been surfing waves on the Pacific Ocean.I setup camp along the lake near the train tracks a few KMs from Cobourg. My plan was to go past Cobourg and my body felt good for another 2-3 hours but the waves and wind were extremely dangerous so I called it in short of Cobourg. As I was ready to pull up on land, a huge wave broke on top of my kayak and filled the entire boat full of water (my skirt was off because I was about to jump out). I setup my tent so I'm only a few meters from the water. I can hear the waves crashing as I lay in my tent. The plan for tomorrow is to camp somewhere near Trenton - I haven't decided exactly where yet.Until next time!

Day 3 – July 14

Location: Murray Canal - near Trenton Ontario
Distance: approx 70KM
Food: - 2 eggs, 2 cheese strings, 2 pepperoni sticks, carrots, 1 vector energy bar, 2 nature valley bars, swedish berries, can of brown beans, 2 fruit cups.
Notes: I set out this morning at 6:45AM. As expected, the morning was relatively calm, but the wind picked up again in the afternoon. Although the wind gusts weren't as strong as yesterday, there were some very difficult waves to navigate. The waves would be going in one direction and then the wind would blow perpendicular to the waves, creating waves that collided with waves. You can imagine the outcome. I passed through Presqu'ile point and found my way to the Trent-Severn waterway - also known as the historic Murray canal. After almost 12 hours of paddling, I found a flat spot right on the canal to pitch my tent. Although I'm starting to feel aches and pains all over my body, I feel like I'm in great shape now and I'm ready to keep moving. The plan tomorrow is to pass through Bellville and setup camp somewhere near Hay Bay.

Day 4 – July 15

Location: Prince Edward County, near Hay Bay
Distance: approx 55KM
Notes: Today was pretty tough. Now that I'm away from the wavy waters of Lake Ontario, things just aren't as exciting. I passed through Trenton and Belleville and crossed through the Bay of Quinte. While in Belleville I picked up some food and water. The water is warmer in the Bay of Quinte so it was much hotter and more painful to paddle - Lake Ontario always managed to cool me down because the water is so cold. After about 8 hours of paddling I started looking for somewhere to camp but everything around me is cottages. It's tempting to setup camp on some vacant cottage property, but you never know who you might piss off. So I luckily stumbled across a rental cottage property and they let me setup camp here. The person running the place isn't here however, so I don't have access to the shower or bathroom yet. I'm really hoping I can get a shower in before leaving tomorrow since I haven't showered since Sunday. I might bathe in the bay if I have to. Shortly after arriving here a very thoughtful man named Art from Elmira Ontario brought me some fried fish and an ice cold coke. His son does similar adventures so he wanted to show hospitality that he would hope someone would give to his son. My wrist is really swelled up right now - I think something happened to it a few days ago while carrying my boat or my gear. It's still not preventing me from paddling so I'm still trucking along. Tomorrow I'll be back on the open water as I approach Kingston. The nice thing about being on Lake Ontario is that you don't have time to worry about body pain, time just flies by because you're constantly battling the waves and the wind.

Day 5 – July 16

Day 6 – July 17

Day 7 – July 18

Day 8 – July 19

Day 9 – July 20

Day 10 – July 21

Day 11 – July 22

Day 12 – July 23

I heart India

2009-07-09T22:33:00.001-04:00

Editor’s Note: Kimi Sokhi is a Toronto resident and IT Consultant who is currently on a 3-month work leave living with family in Dubai. She’s currently traveling in India and shared her thoughts with the Urban Country via e-mail about her visit to New Delhi, India.

We landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 4 am on July 7th. My first impression was "Wow! I haven't been hit in the face and overcome by 'The Smell' as we walk off the plane". You see in the past I have always been hit by 'The Smell' (particularly in the summer) which is at the heart of the Indian Experience. 'The Smell' is a combination of dust, pollution, dirt, garbage and human excretions.

Moving on; we walked into the terminal (sans 'The Smell') and we were surprised to see how clean it was. No garbage, white walls, clean floors. My mom chimed in "they renovated the airport a few years ago and now they are adding a brand new terminal". Cool! Leaving aside the mass chaos that ensued due to the Swine Flu screening, the experience at the airport was a welcome and pleasant surprise.

Infrastructure and the Environment

As we drove home at the crack of dawn, we were in for our second surprise: The sky was blue. There was no smog. Five years ago New Delhi was second only to Cairo for the worst air quality in the world. Between 2000-2005, the pollution due to automotive emissions was at an all time high. There was a massive increase in cases of lung disease and face masks had become part of the Delhi-ite's everyday garb. In the past few years the government has put in place more stringent emissions standards for all vehicles.

All public transit vehicles are being converted to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Many privately owned cars also run on CNG. ALL three-wheeler auto rickshaws and taxis run on natural gas. Around 50% of the old buses have been phased out and replaced by the new buses. In fact, Delhi already has the world's largest fleet of CNG vehicles. Don't get me wrong, I am sure Delhi is still one of the worst cities in terms of air quality but the difference we felt was plainly obvious. There is no visible smog. None of us are coughing like we normally do when we get here. Check out the local government's efforts to make the city pollution-free by the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Delhi has also built a new Metro system that connects this massive city of 18 million residents and its satellite towns. I have been on the Metro a few times and I can attest to the fact that it is one of the cleanest and most organized public transit systems around. It beats the (Toronto) TTC hollow. It is shocking that it is as clean as it is. India does not have the best track record of maintaining public property. However, the citizens of Delhi take such pride in this transit system that they are committed to keeping it clean and functional. Makes me proud to be an Indian :)

East meets West

After my first day of shopping and bargain hunting, it has become plainly obvious that India is experiencing a growth spurt like never before. The hoards of young professionals dressed in the latest western fashions, packed into hip coffee joints confirms the fact that India is a growing economy. It is one of the handful of countries that has not been affected by the recent worldwide recession. What warms my heart is that even though India is moving forward and embracing modernization, it has not forgotten its roots and culture. It is still a place where the young respect their elders, where guests are considered a gift from God (and treated as such!) and where Cricket and Bollywood are the two favorite national pastimes (obsessions!).

India has managed to maintain its cottage industries and also put up malls that have designer stores. In fact, close to my uncle's house are two malls that have only the most exclusive designer brands. With such a huge population, there is a market for everything. Louis Vutton and the export surplus stores are available in the same strip mall. Street food vendors and Pizza Hut are both doing roaring business.

How to Bargain in India:

Last night I saw my mom in full-blown bargaining action: The storekeeper was asking for 450 Rupees for one shirt and 480 for the other (that's $22 CAD). So he was willing to give both the shirts for R/- 900.

My mom: 'no way, R/- 500 is my last offer'. They argued back and forth for about 40 seconds stating how ridiculous and unrealistic the other one was being. '

The man screamed: 'what do you think my margin is lady? I also have to make a living' etc etc.

Super mom: 'R/- 600 is my last and final offer' and we both walk away. (I know when to walk away instinctively since I have grown up seeing this happen on almost a daily basis when we lived in India).

About 3.8 seconds later we hear “alright give me R/- 600 for both”. Victory!!!!

That's how you do it people. Here are some quick tips in case you happen to be in a bargaining war with a stubborn shopkeeper in India:

Remember: it is a war of persistence. You have to bargain the other party into submission until they can't take it anymore and they will give you the item at any price that gets rid of you :)
Always start your first offer at 50% of the asking price. If the price is $1000, offer $500 and then work you way up *very* slowly
In a delicate game of offers and counter-offers, work up to a compromise. However, never pay a dime over 75% of the asking price or else be assured that you are getting ripped off
If this method of "suggestive pricing" does not work, give your best offer (no more than 75% of asking price!) and simply walk away. Now wait. 99% of the time you will see the shopkeeper chase after you and agree to your price
Once you have purchased the item at a price much lower than the ticket price, revel in your victory but not for too long. Close the deal ASAP by making your payment and getting your purchases packed up
Extras: it is common in India for a clothing store to provide free alterations and most of them also home deliver your purchases so that you can continue shopping without the hassle of carrying bags around. However, do not take the home delivery option unless it is reputable and established store (not a street vendor or such)
Good luck, God speed and happy bargaining!

Photo by Kimi Sokhi - The Le Meridian lobby in New Delhi, India

With Glowing Hearts, We See Thee (temperature) Rise

2009-07-06T23:40:00.001-04:00

Last Wednesday, Canada celebrated her 142nd birthday. A recent poll suggested that only 21% of Canadians knew how old their country was turning. If it isn’t bad enough that reportedly 4 percent of Canadians think that Canada is younger than 100-years-old, another recent study takes an even bigger dump on our beloved country.

A 51-page World Wildlife Fund (WWF) study released on Canada Day now ranks Canada dead-last in its G8 Climate Scorecard. Yup, no kidding here; Canada has become the lowest-of-the-low for climate performance - falling behind the United States into last position - while Germany picks up first place, up from 3rd position in last year’s ranking.

The study assesses each country against the following measures:

Improvements since 1990
- Past emission trend from 1990 to 2007
- Current distance to the Kyoto target
- Increase of the share of renewable energy sources
Current Status
- Emissions per capita
- Emissions per GDP
- CO2 per kWh electricity
- Energy efficiency in industry
Policies for the Future
- Leadership in climate negotiations
- Electricity/nuclear
- Industry
- Households and services
- Transport
- Renewables

With its ever-rising emissions, Canada fails in every single category with the notable exception of the “CO2 per kWh electricity” category, given Canada’s extensive hydro-power generation.

The United States can thank the Obama administration for its improvement in the WWF ranking, “Overall, there has been more action in the US on climate change in the last four months than in the last three decades – a trend that will hopefully continue in the coming years.”

But don’t get too excited my Americano friends; the G8’s highest absolute emitter received a failing grade in all but 3 categories, scoring “yellow” in “Leadership in climate negotiations”, “Renewables”, and “Emissions per GDP”.

Given the number of environmental initiatives I witness firsthand every day in Toronto, it’s particularly frustrating for me that a handful of selfish, spoiled over-consumers and politicians have to ruin it for those of us who actually give a shit.

But the environmental movement is not in vain; I strongly feel that we’re at the beginning of a long process of change that will continue to evolve to overcome the challenges that are presented in a country with such a large land-mass and a commodity exporter like Canada.

Canada desperately needs a leader who is willing to take the initiative to tackle today’s tough environmental challenges. Far from being a tree hugger, Barack Obama has managed to put the United States back on a more positive path than any of the previous administrations with his environmental initiatives. Let’s hope he keeps the United States on the right path because it can only set an example for other lagging countries to adopt similar environmental policies.

Meanwhile, if Canada doesn’t change its course, we can sit back with our glowing (nuclear) hearts and see thee (temperature) rise.

And for those ignorant Canadians who can’t recall Canada’s year of birth, all you need to do is recall the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup, then add 100 years. It’s as simple as that.

To download the full WWF report, click here.

Photo courtesy of wisforworlddomination on Flickr

Living Off the Grid

2009-07-01T22:14:00.001-04:00

Image ‘Wired-II’ courtesy of Buck Lewis on Flickr

What do a solar backpack, a wind up lantern, a pedal-pump generator, and a rollable water-proof solar panel have in common? Firstly, they all provide sustainable energy “off the grid”, and secondly, they can all be purchased from a really neat website called Modern Outpost that I recently stumbled across. Modern Outpost “specializes in self-reliant power technology for people who live, work & play in the great outdoors”. They are based out of Courtenay, BC and they have been in business for over 10 years, with a very focused line of products that relate to sustainable energy.

I’ve been fascinated with self-reliant energy for as long as I can remember, but I became truly passionate about it last year when recent technological advancements made self-reliant energy a more viable option in the future. In an Urban Country article last December I profiled a Freeplay LED wind-up lantern that I purchased from Mountain Equipment Co-op and I discussed a rock band called the Ginger Ninjas that was touring completely “off the grid” by generating electricity on their bicycles while they rode from city-to-city.

So when I stumbled upon Modern Outpost, a website that deals almost exclusively with sustainable energy creation, I was naturally excited and giddy. But what really makes the Modern Outpost stand out is that they test all of the products that they sell and they provide their own words to explain how the product works, how you should use it, and what sort of actual performance you should expect from that product.

A perfect example is an article where Modern Outpost describes how to choose a solar panel for your canoe or kayak. They walk you through all of the decisions you need to make, how to estimate your power needs, what sort of wattage output to expect from the solar panels, and which battery pack you should purchase to store the power generated by the solar panel.

I’ve recently been toying around with a future business idea / eco-social experiment where I would purchase a piece of land in a remote area on a lake and I would build sustainable cabins on the property that are completely off the grid, but still provide some of the basic luxuries that most people expect as the “norm” in today’s society. These cabins would be rented out for eco-conscious people who are looking to escape the city but want to minimize their energy usage. Each cabin would have access to a canoe and/or kayak to take out on the lake that would (hopefully) be free of gas-powered boats.

If this plan comes to fruition some day I would profile the progress in a series of articles to showcase the benefits and hurdles in building a sustainable home. In an article in March 2008 I profiled a house in Toronto that was built in 1996 by inventor Rolph Paloheimo to be self-sustaining home with a 2,700 watt solar panel system built on the roof.

Paloheimo was ahead of his time when he built his home in 1996, but a trend is beginning as we speak with people becoming more aware and conscious about the harm we’re causing to the earth. I wouldn’t be surprised if more people build “off-the-grid” homes in the next 5-10 years as the environmental movement unfolds.

I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point where he talks about how a product gains traction before “tipping” and becoming successful. Earlier today I pondered when the environmental movement would “tip”. It’s only a matter of time before it happens, and the prospect of an environmental “tipping point” is what keeps me driven every single day.

Check back in to the Urban Country for a review of the 7 watt solar panel I purchased to charge my GPS, phone, camera and MP3 player during my Toronto to Montreal kayak trip this summer.

Kayak Trip: T-Minus 14 days

2009-06-28T22:18:00.001-04:00

It’s now official. During the wee hours of 13 July 2009, I will set forth on a solo 560KM kayak journey from Toronto to Montreal to raise money for Noah’s Ark home for children in the Philippines. If you would like to support this cause, please pledge an amount of your choosing by either e-mailing me or commenting on this article (you’ll receive an income tax receipt for your donation amount). After I successfully complete the trip I will either collect the money from you or you can choose to send it directly to Noah’s Ark.

My training has been in full effect over the last couple weeks including running every 2-3 days and kayaking each weekend. My final preparation is under way and the last item I need to procure is a waterproof solar panel to charge my camera, MP3 player, GPS and cellular phone. I have my sights on PowerFilm rollable solar panels which range in price from $179.99 to $439.99 CAD depending on how many Watts you need to store.

For those of you who haven’t yet considered taking up kayaking or canoeing as a hobby, here are 10 reasons you should consider paddling as a hobby:

The following photos were taken this weekend while kayaking in Algonquin Park

Adventures of the Past, Present and Future

2009-06-23T01:43:00.001-04:00

It’s 30 degrees Celsius – the wind is blowing in my face, and bugs are splattered across my goggles as I cruise along the Trans Canada Highway. It’s September 2004 and I’m on a solo motorcycle epic adventure that took me 4,712.5KM on my Yamaha XT 225cc enduro motorcycle to explore 5 provinces in just 9 days.

Walking home from work tonight reminded me of the 24-year-old explorer of my previous self. Little has changed in the ensuing 5 years – I still yearn for an adventure and a challenge – and most of my adventures involve the open air.

Last summer I was looking to pick up a new summer hobby. It had been 3 years since I sold my motorcycle – if it can be considered a motorcycle – and I had always dreamed about owning a KTM 990R or a BMW F650 enduro motorcycle and riding it across the continent.

But burning more oil and emitting pollution and carbon into the air was something I was trying to avoid altogether. Bicycling is a great sustainable hobby that I truly enjoy, but I’ve never been a fan of sharing the highway with cars doing 100KMH+ on long bike trips.

Then one day I was biking across the white pedestrian bridge that crosses the Humber River where the river meets Lake Ontario in Toronto when I noticed a beautiful and peaceful yellow sea kayak exploring about the river. It was at that moment that I experienced an epiphany that would forever change the way I view the world. Within 2 weeks I had purchased my first ever kayak and by the end of the summer I had completed a 107KM 2-day kayak adventure.

Being out on the water on a kayak is a feeling like no other. You’re free from exhaust fumes, free from traffic, free from dependence on oil, and it allows you to experience a side of nature that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to experience. Kayaking is also a fun way to travel – albeit much slower than cycling. If only I had known about this great sustainable hobby when I was a teenager – I would have saved the thousands of dollars I spent on my pollution-spewing toys – snowmobiles, dirt bikes, and four wheelers.

I spent the better part of the two days over the weekend kayaking at a cottage that my sister had rented in Bobcaygeon. I couldn’t help but resent the big motor boats and Sea Doo’s on the lake disturbing my sacred bonding with nature. There was once a day when all I wanted to do is ride on Sea Doos and power boats, but I now feel that these luxuries are only a product of an unnatural and harmful existence.

The great Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) - who died before the Wright brothers were born - said it best - “Thank God men can not as yet fly and lay waste the sky as well as the earth”.

Now the year is 2009 and I have begun preparing for my next great adventure, a 560KM solo kayak trip from Toronto to Montreal. Being on the water and sleeping alongside nature for 2 weeks will be an unforgettable experience – much like riding my small motorcycle alongside the countless trucks on the 401 on my way out East, or running out of gas in New Brunswick and hitchhiking to a gas station or almost being blown off the 12.9KM Confederation bridge from New Brunswick to PEI.

We can all learn something from Thoreau’s philosophy on life. One of my favourite Thoreau quotes is “That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest”.

NASCAR’s Environment

2009-06-16T22:58:00.001-04:00

Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country – Jeff Gordon’s long-lost brother

If rush-hour traffic levels are an indicator of economic prosperity, then Detroit is in very poor shape. I traveled through the Motor City on Friday at 5:30PM expecting a flood of cars leaving the city at the end of the work day - but instead there were very few cars traveling – compared to what I’m accustomed to here in Toronto.

Of those few cars that I did see, nearly all were North American brands. I’ve always been amused by Americans expressing their patriotism by exclusively purchasing “American-made” automobiles. But I wonder if they know that more than 1.2 million Toyota automobiles were manufactured in the United States in 2005. That’s almost as many automobiles as Chrysler manufactured in the US in the same time period.

I arrived at Michigan International Speedway on that Friday evening to spend the weekend with my brother, father and his longtime friends to attend Sunday’s NASCAR race – a tradition for my father for some 31 years.

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) was founded in 1948 by William France Sr. and operates as a family-owned business venture. It boasts 75 million fans and broadcasts in over 150 different countries.

You can imagine how difficult it must be for an environmentalist to support a sport that inherently emits a massive amount of greenhouse gases and pollution into our atmosphere. Other people have already calculated the footprint of NASCAR race cars - but for me the impact on the environment goes well beyond the cars themselves. From the thousands of massive bonfires at the track campgrounds, to the constantly running gas-powered generators that provide electricity for the tens of thousands of luxurious motor homes, to the 4 x USAF fighter jets doing a fly-by, to finally - the 5 MPG - 850-horsepower engines on each of the 43 race cars. Not to mention the fact that they brought in 43 x US Army Humvees to drive each race driver around the track for a ceremonial pre-race wave to the audience.

My goal this weekend was to highlight the environmental initiatives that I stumbled across at the NASCAR race (if any). The first encouraging sign came on Saturday at about noon. We purchased a hot dog from a vending booth at the track and it was served in what appeared to be a regular clear plastic container. As it turns out, the plastic container was made from corn and is fully compostable and biodegradable. In disbelief, I looked up the manufacturer of the container and found that the “Monogram Sustain” line of products was launched by U.S. Foodservice in late 2008 and appears to be a leading edge, sustainable method of packaging food.

Another encouraging sign that didn’t exist 3 years ago when I last attended a NASCAR race was a “Green” sponsor. You see, each car has its own corporate sponsor that pay for the day-to-day costs of operating the race car in exchange for exposure to millions of American consumers. This year a NASCAR Camping Series truck driven by Steve Park is sponsored by Waste Management and I even witnessed race fans with shirts reading “My white is green”. It’s encouraging to see a sponsor that departs from your typical cigarette brand, liquor brand, or Hooters restaurant and actually contributes to the environmental movement.

Here’s a fun video of NASCAR fans walking down the ramps to exit the track:

The most bothersome aspect of the race for me personally – from an environmental perspective - was the large trucks, giant motor homes, gas-powered generators and other luxuries that NASCAR fans enjoy. At one point in the weekend I could hardly breathe because of the thick cloud of smoke resulting from the thousands of campfires. Coming back to the congested city yesterday made me feel like I was wearing an oxygen mask because the air is so clean relative to the track campgrounds. I do however concede that the smell of racing fuel from the cars at the track is extremely addictive.

For the first time in decades, my father decided to rent a motor home this weekend - instead of our usual tradition of sleeping in a tent. It was very large and luxurious – I joked that it was bigger than my downtown Toronto loft. I couldn’t personally justify such a large carbon footprint in exchange for these luxuries for any reason whatsoever. Out of principle I wanted to sleep in my tent, but I didn’t want to offend my father whom I love dearly.

With green initiatives slowly absorbing into NASCAR culture, the future can only be more promising. NASCAR has in the past been slow to embrace environmental initiatives – its cars were using leaded gasoline until 2007 – but there are small environmental initiatives that are beginning to take shape. Formula One is actively working on green initiatives for its cars and Indy cars run purely on corn-based ethanol. NASCAR will eventually catch up in future years and The Urban Country will continue to keep NASCAR in check.

But when it comes to the majority of the fans - I have to agree with the sticker on the back of the truck in the photo above – wasted wages indeed.

Google’s Commitment to Sustainability

2009-06-08T23:28:00.001-04:00

Photo “The Googleplex” courtesy of jpstanley on Flickr

What do the David Suzuki Foundation and Google Inc. have in common? Not much at first glance, but when you look beyond the surface you’ll see many similarities.

Since 1990, the David Suzuki Foundation has been using “science and education to promote solutions that conserve nature and help achieve sustainability”. Google Inc. on the other hand is the high tech firm that strives to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. Google started out as a Stanford research project in 1996 by two really smart men - Larry Page and Sergey Brin - and now employs over 20,000 full-time employees at its Mountain View, California “Googleplex” campus.

Like the David Suzuki Foundation, Google Inc. is also dedicated to sustainability, and unlike many other corporations, Google doesn’t simply write fancy words about its social responsibility; it is actually taking tangible steps to substantiate its commitment to sustainability.

For starters, at its “Googleplex” corporate headquarters, Google has installed 9,212 photovoltaic panels to supply 1.6 megawatts of electricity, or about 30% of the electricity required to operate the 20+ buildings on its campus at peak times.

Google’s commitment to sustainability manifests from the values espoused by its co-founders. Page and Brin are seriously committed to making renewable energy a reality by investing in sustainability projects - such as Tesla motors electric car initiative, as well as allocating over $1 billion worth of Google shares to fund Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google Inc. which focuses on environmental and global health issues.

In November 2007, Google.org announced its “RE<C” (Renewable energy for less than coal) project with the aim of (as the name states) producing renewable energy from solar, wind, geothermal and other renewable energy sources at a cost cheaper than burning coal. The goal of the RE<C concept is to generate 1 gigawatts of renewable energy – enough to power the entire city of San Francisco from these renewable sources. This isn’t a “pie in the sky” project either; Google plans to achieve their goal in years – not decades.

Back at the Google campus, hundreds of community bicycles are placed everywhere so that employees can quickly and easily travel between buildings. They also provide a fleet of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that are used in its free car-sharing program and Google.org’s RechargeIT initiative invests in technology to accelerate the adoption of plug-in vehicles. In a pilot program, Google.org has been able to achieve an amazing 115MPG in a Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid.

Photo “Hometime at Google” courtesy of yoz on Flickr

When it comes to food sustainability, Google’s campus cafe is partially-supplied by its on-site organic garden and Google’s Cafe 150 provides food grown within 150 miles of the Google campus.

On May 1st, 2009, Google announced it was renting 200 goats from California Grazing as a low-emission approach to mowing the fields on its campus. California Grazing is an environmentally-friendly company that boasts a fleet of 800+ cute goats that provide “holistic land management and brush & weed control through grazing.” According to Google, “It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers”.

Inside the Google buildings, Google purchases its furniture and materials that meet the stringent LEED certification as well as the Cradle-to-Cradle certification – an innovative and sustainable method of creating products that we discussed last July. Google also exclusively uses sustainably-harvested wood for construction in its campus buildings.

Photo “G-succulents” courtesy of mrjorgen on Flickr

Ten years ago, Google Inc. changed the world with its effective search algorithm. Now its founders are changing how energy is produced and consumed. Google’s environmental initiatives are a reflection of the core ideology found in its young founders and it represents a new level of corporate social responsibility that was virtually nonexistent in most corporations just ten years ago.

I’m excited about what Google’s brilliant minds will be able to accomplish to help the environment; and if I ever need to mow the lawn, I just might consider renting a bunch of cute sheep for a week.

Sustainitiatives is a section on The Urban Country where we highlight companies or individuals who are taking initiatives to help reduce our harm on the environment.

Sustainable Commuting: the Bicycle

2009-05-29T20:47:00.001-04:00

Here’s my latest contribution to blogTO entitled Sustainable Commuting: the Bicycle, excerpt:

“The bicycle is the most efficient means of human-powered transportation, meaning it can travel the most distance with the least amount of energy exerted. Invented in the 19th century, bikes take up very little space, they're quiet, and they don't pollute. In Toronto, there are few faster ways to get around the city. Safety, however, has always been an impediment to potential cyclists with our lack of bike lanes and the "door prizes" that Toronto drivers periodically hand out.”

Photo “Bicycle Race” courtesy of Tony the Misfit on Flickr

Clean Energy – Circa 1970

2009-05-28T00:02:00.001-04:00

Sketch it! is a fun section on The Urban Country where we feature random napkin sketches from our resident sketch artist and writer, George Pechtol (Against his will).

Today’s sketch features what we thought was clean energy in 1970.

Finding Mecca in the Toronto Islands

2009-05-23T19:24:00.001-04:00

Birds are chirping and the water splashes as I look at the horizon to see the Toronto city skyline contrasting the nature that surrounds me. In the heart of the city, a mere harbour away from the CN Tower, the Toronto Islands provide a Mecca that feels a world away from the automobiles, pollution and the noises of the city.

Instead of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for a cottage that requires you to sit in your polluting automobile for 3 hours each way, I can walk to the harbour, jump in my kayak and arrive at this summer getaway in 20 minutes or less. Did you know that the Toronto islands comprise the largest urban car-free community in North America?

Watch this not-so-dramatic video played in double-speed of me “escaping” the wilderness of the Toronto islands to reveal the Toronto skyline:

The Toronto Islands consist of Centre Island, Algonquin Island, Olympic Island, Forestry Island, Snake Island and Ward’s Island (depending on which map you look at). Ward’s Island is actually connected to Centre Island, but we can just pretend it’s its own island.

In the video below, you can enjoy the silence with me:

There are 262 homes on the island. Homeowners own the structures but the city owns the properties which are leased to the homeowners on a 99-year lease. In an effort to prevent bidding on homes that would result in only the wealthy living on the island, Toronto Island Community was setup in 1993 to oversee sales of homes on the island. They use a lottery system to provide an equal opportunity for everyone to own a home on the island. When a home goes up for sale, if your name is pulled, you can purchase the home for the value of the structure (typically $100,000 to $150,000) plus the value of the 99-year lease (approximately $40,000 to $57,000).

If you purchase a home on the island, you’re obligated to live in the home for the majority of the year and you can’t rent it out. That would be fine with me; take a look at how beautiful this house is:

These pictures remind me of Algonquin Park:

If your name doesn’t get pulled for the island homeowner lottery, you could always buy a houseboat and dock it at Centre Island like this family:

This picture could have been taken on a Muskoka lake, but in reality it’s a home on Ward’s Island:

Beautiful sailboats docked at the Queen City Yacht Club:

Heading back to the big smoke:

Next time you’re thinking about driving hundreds of kilometers to find your natural Mecca, consider renting a canoe or kayak and exploring the Toronto islands. Nothing relieves stress better than being out on the water in a human-powered-boat and few things are more rewarding than finding nature without stepping foot in an automobile.

Check back in for more details on my 2-week Toronto to Montreal kayak adventure later this summer.

The Future of Online Advertising

2009-05-22T00:13:00.001-04:00

Dictionary.com's new homepage layout captures what online advertisers have been struggling with since the beginning of the Internet: to advertise effectively without impeding users.

Newspapers have been coping for years with the decline of print circulation. Most people get their news online and newspapers haven’t been able to generate the same level of revenue with their online readers.

Some newspapers (such as the New York Times) use a “paging” system in their articles, forcing the reader to browse through multiple pages to read an article. This generates more ad impressions, which in turn generates more revenue. Nonetheless, the New York Times still faces tough times ahead, mounting tens of millions in losses and hundreds of millions owed in loans. The Huffington Post asks the question “What Will We Do If the New York Times Tanks”.

It’s not as if the New York Times is losing readers. In 2000 the Times’ circulation was around 1 million, while they now enjoy approximately 15 million unique visitors each month. The issue with online advertising is that advertisers aren’t willing to dish out the big cash. Google AdSense for example pays when a user clicks on an ad, but actual ad impressions without clicks generate very little ad revenue.

My friend Nariman brings up a great point when he says “My eyes are trained to ignore ads; I don’t even see them anymore”. How often do you actually read the little Google “AdWords” advertisements? I know I rarely notice them.

Does anyone actually look at those ugly horizontal banner ads that some sites still use on the top of the page? Not likely.

That’s why websites are trying to seamlessly integrate ads directly into the layout of the page instead of using polarized ad “sections”. The new Dictionary.com layout is a brilliant example of how an advertisement can be integrated into the site and still be unimposing to the user.

Recall the early days of Flash when advertisers would pop up an ad in your face that forces you to click “close” before you can see the content on the page. If a website does this now, I’ll immediately leave the site because I feel violated.

The new Dictionary.com is next to impossible to ignore, but it’s actually visually appealing and it integrates nicely into the layout and overall design of the page. Could this type of advertising solve the problem newspapers are having with generating revenue?

If a newspaper can figure out how to integrate an ad into the page layout of a newspaper without imposing on the user, then advertisers would be willing to pay much more for ad impressions and it just might solve the cash crunch that newspapers are currently facing.

Fallen Leaves as Sustainable Food Packaging

2009-05-17T11:47:00.001-04:00

McDonalds could learn a thing or two from the Chinese about sustainable food packaging.

This delicious dim sum dish consists of steamed glutinous rice filled with chicken, mushrooms, sausage, scallions and shrimp. It’s called “Nuo mi ji” in Chinese (Mandarin) or “Lo mai gai” in Cantonese and it’s nicely packaged inside a lotus leaf wrapping. Although the Chinese have been serving this dish for a very long time, in modern times it illustrates an interesting opportunity for sustainable food packaging. I can’t think of a better way to package food than to wrap it inside a fallen leaf. Where I live at least, leaves aren’t going away anytime soon and nothing is worse than seeing 16 bags of full of fallen leaves inside those big orange plastic garbage bags headed for the landfill.

When it comes to fast food, there is absolutely no reason that a visit to a fast food chain should result in any waste whatsoever. In McDonalds’ 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility report, it claims that it has “been thinking and acting green for more than thirty years”, boasting that in the 1990’s, it “eliminated 300 million pounds of product packaging by redesigning items and reducing materials used.” Although this may be true, this is more of a testament to its wastefulness and poor packaging prior to the 1990’s than anything else.

It’s 2009 right now and when you walk into a McDonalds and order a single hamburger, you’re given by default a large bag containing the fully-wrapped burger and a pile of napkins, even if you’re eating in. You actually have to specify that you don’t want a giant brown bag (albeit one with interesting quotes from Olympics athletes scribed on it) and that you don’t need any napkins. After your meal, you’re presented with a single trash bin where you’re obliged to throw away the bag that was used for all of 30 seconds to transport your food from the counter to your seat, 20 feet away. And what do you do with the perfectly recyclable cardboard container that your burger was served inside? You have 3 choices: You can throw it in the trash bin, the garbage bin or the waste bin. Even to this day, there is no recycling container in McDonalds (in Toronto locations I’ve visited anyway).

Again from the Corporate responsibility report: “Our approach considers a product’s entire lifecycle. It starts with where we source our materials and the design of the food packaging. Finally, we look at “end of life” options such as recycling and composting. Why not make it sustainable from the outset? That’s the goal with our packaging.”

Wouldn’t it be great if that sentence wasn’t just a load of fluff? Wouldn’t it make you feel good if the pimple-faced McDonalds employee handed you a hamburger wrapped inside a lotus leaf or even at minimum some form of recyclable wrapping?

A friend attended a conference recently and was introduced to a company called Verterra who uses fallen leaves that would have otherwise been burned to create party-ready dinnerware (a fancy name for disposable plates/utensils). They use a process of applying steam, heat and pressure to create the dinnerware, and their products decompose after only 2 months. Here’s a fancy diagram that shows their process:

For some odd reason (wink wink) they fail to mention that their products are produced in India and shipped overseas so that we can enjoy our wasteful lifestyle. I suppose it’s a forgivable omission since a picture of a dirty ship in their fancy green diagram traveling halfway around the world probably wouldn’t sit well with prospective customers. I’m not one to support any kind of disposable dinnerware regardless of its composition, so this company wouldn’t earn my business anyway. But putting Verterra’s imperfections aside, the very fact that they’re using a natural, sustainable resource to create products that were historically unnatural and unsustainable is a step forward and opens all sorts of opportunities for other companies to follow suit.

The day that I see an influential fast-food chain like McDonalds using truly sustainable packaging is the day that I will start attending church, because if this were to happen, then there must be a God.

All Photos by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country (With the exception of the Verterra diagram)

Urban Motor Home

2009-05-15T07:05:00.001-04:00

The Urban Motor Home challenges the conventional SUV to a duel

Life in the city is easy without an automobile; it’s healthy and refreshing to commute to work by foot, and I can travel most places I need to on a daily basis fuelled on peanut butter and jelly. There are however special occasions when having a car can be both convenient and advantageous.

Meet my Urban Motor Home: This 1998 Acura 1.6 litre has very low emissions and fuel efficiency comparable to a typical hybrid vehicle. It took a fair amount of time to pack everything aboard for this year’s first Algonquin Park camping trip, but I was finally able to strap on our 2 bicycles and kayak successfully without compromising one another. Although the weather isn’t as favourable as I’d hoped (high of 8 degrees Celsius on Sunday), we’re still planning to make the most out of this trip and welcome the summer in style.

Who needs an SUV when you can squeeze everything you need to into a low-emission compact automobile? Making the most out of small spaces makes life more interesting and you learn to appreciate things more when you have less.

Carpooling with Twitter

2009-05-11T07:41:00.001-04:00

While driving on the highway yesterday I had a thought. Wouldn’t it be nice if there weren’t so many cars on the road with so many empty seats?

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could easily find someone heading to the same destination as you to carpool with? Well Twitter could be the tool that makes this a reality. Who would have guessed that twitter could help us reduce our impact on the environment?

Several friends have asked me what the point of twitter is and why should they care. I typically respond by telling them that twitter is a good tool to share little tidbits of information with people with common interests.

“But Facebook already does all that”, they respond.

Facebook is useful for sharing information with people you already know, but Twitter makes it easy to share information with people you don’t know and you don’t need to expose personal information about yourself to your “followers”.

I find that twitter is currently good for exposing something interesting you’re doing, sharing details about a conference you’re attending, sharing an interesting article you just read, or sharing something interesting that you witnessed.

There are more useful applications of twitter that will surely surface in the future, and I think twitter would be a good candidate to coordinate carpooling.

Sure there are sites out there already dedicated to carpooling, such as carpool.ca or carpooltool.com or ride-share.com. But it would be much more convenient if for example, you tweet:

jamesschwartz Driving from Toronto to Montreal May 15th for the weekend #carpooling

Somebody else could do a search for “Toronto + Montreal + #carpooling” and they would see that I’m driving to Montreal (Don’t get too excited, I’m not actually driving to Montreal; this is just hypothetical).

It doesn’t get any more convenient than this; especially with twitter’s compatibility across hundreds of devices.

I did a quick search on twitter and at least one person has used twitter for this purpose:

“quin_tessential: . out of town friend needs ride to SF from Hollywood this Sunday. Anyone down for a #carpooling with a cute Swede?”

There’s of course some risk involved in using twitter to find carpool partners, but you could use twitter to leave feedback on your carpooling partner in the form of a “tweet” so that other people can see your feedback. They would simply search for “@jamesschwartz #carpool” to see what others are saying about their experience carpooling with me.

There are many possible uses for twitter, and we’re sure to see its usefulness expand in the future as it evolves to become a more mature method of communication in today’s high tech world.

Photo courtesy of jerryjohn on Flickr

Medical Marijuana: Rights over Reason?

2009-05-06T23:13:00.001-04:00

In May 2005, legal pot smoker Steve Gibson was asked to leave the premises of Gator Ted’s restaurant in Burlington Ontario.

Since then, Gator Ted’s owner Ted Kindos has been battling Gibson; mounting tens of thousands of dollars in court legal bills with his business on the line.

Gibson received a medical certificate to smoke marijuana in 2004 to help ease the neck pain he experiences as a result of a 1989 accident that occurred at his job in Mississauga. Gibson has been living off a disability pension since.

After the confrontation in 2005, Gibson went to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, claiming he was discriminated against because of his disability. Gibson won against bar owner Kindos, who was only acting on complaints from his patrons.

Kindos was prepared to settle the dispute and pay Gibson for “pain and suffering”. In the agreement, he was also obligated to train his staff on human rights code and post signs in his restaurant to show his customers that legal marijuana users are welcome.

It wasn’t until the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario warned Kindos that serving a patron who possesses a “controlled substance” is a violation of the liquor license act that Kindos decided to fight back.

As stipulated in the Ontario Liquor License Act as a condition of liquor sale licenses in section 45:

“The licence holder shall not permit a person to hold, offer for sale, sell, distribute or consume a controlled substance as defined in the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Canada) on the premises or in the adjacent washrooms, liquor and food preparation areas and storage areas under the exclusive control of the licence holder. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 719, s. 45 (2); O. Reg. 247/02, s. 17; O. Reg. 24/04, s. 1.”

Kindos and Gibson are now scheduled to go back to the Ontario Human Rights Commission in a series of hearings that start on June 8th.

Kindos is looking to settle the dispute without being forced to violate the liquor license act and Gibson just wants to be treated like a regular cigarette smoker.

Did common sense just go up in smoke?

Is this really a violation of Gibson’s rights? Don’t regular patrons who pass through the front door have a right to not be exposed to marijuana smoke as well?

Doesn’t Kindos have a right to decide what’s best for 99% of his patrons?

At the end of the day, Gibson just wants to be treated like any other smoker. That’s why he’s fighting this, right?

We can only take his word that this is the case and that he’s not fighting Kindos for the $20,000 settlement that he was originally asking for.

Surely this can’t be about money, can it?

Couldn’t Kindos move the “regular” smoker section further away from the door and then allow Gibson to join the regular smokers?

When I asked Kindos whether he considered this option, the Gator Ted’s “Webmaster” (who has intimate knowledge about the case) told me that this wasn’t a feasible option given there’s a grocery store to the left, another restaurant to the right, and a parking lot out front.

In a complicated world where drivers are battling cyclists for the roadways and Hollywood stars are battling news agencies for twitter followers, this marijuana story seems so trivial.

But one man’s neck pain is another man’s pain in the neck, and this one will be settled in the courts.

Photo courtesy of Kesneme on Flickr

Cherry Blossoms & Unexpectedly Friendly Geese

2009-05-02T22:54:00.001-04:00

Spring is in full swing, summer is nigh, and the cherry blossoms in Toronto’s beautiful High Park are a sight to see. We cycled to the 398 acre park along the Martin Goodman trail to see the beautiful Japanese trees blossoming.

The sun came out periodically, though there was overcast most of the day.

A family of Canada Geese were crossing the path when we arrived:

The baby Geese were adorable. This little one was having trouble opening his eyes:

He let me get within 2 feet of him without any concern:

This goose was taking a nap and didn’t mind that I was mere inches away:

When the sun was hiding behind the clouds it became chilly, so the 6 little goslings tucked themselves under their Mom’s wing to keep warm:

Sustainability and Loblaw’s Keiser Soze

2009-04-30T21:50:00.001-04:00

Sustainitiatives is a section on The Urban Country where we highlight companies or individuals who are taking initiatives to help reduce our harm on the environment.

Corporate Environmental Sustainability is something we hear a lot about recently; however it’s not something we should take at face value. Many companies are more pre-occupied with “greenwashing” or are simply moving at a snail’s pace when it comes to sustainability.

In the late 1980’s, long before most companies were on the environmental bandwagon, Loblaw inc. learned that a forest the size of P.E.I. was being destroyed each year to produce pulp and paper products in Canada.

This was an eye opener for the company which prompted them to release their first line of PC G.R.E.E.N. products in 1989; paper towels and bathroom tissue made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Since then, Loblaw has introduced an additional 41 PC G.R.E.E.N. products and have solidified themselves as leaders in the industry.

I interviewed Loblaw Independent Scientist and Environmentalist Colin F.W. Isaacs. Isaacs is President of CIAL Group, “Canada’s leading experts in design and implementation of advanced environmental and Sustainable Development strategies.”

Isaacs is well-known in the industry for more than twenty five years of environmental work. He appears regularly on CH Television’s CH Live at 5:30pm program, and he was a regular environment commentator on TV Ontario’s popular Studio Two program in addition to being an environmental columnist in the Financial Post from 1990 to 1994.

He has been conducting an independent review of PC G.R.E.E.N. products since its inception in 1989.

I wanted to know more about the illustrious man whom Loblaw has confided in for 20 years of reviewing its environmentally-friendly products.

Educated in Chemistry, Isaacs first became involved in the environmental movement via Politics when he was a Councillor for the town of Stoney Creek in 1975. In 1979 he was elected into the provincial legislature as an NDP Critic, being defeated in 1981 by only 150 votes; partially for his refusal to support the construction of the Red Hill Valley Parkway in Hamilton, which was delayed for close to 30 years before being officially opened November 17th, 2007.

In his 25-year environmental career, Isaacs notes that the industry has went from “Silent Spring” to a situation where a growing number of companies and governments are adopting environmental practices. Isaacs is very excited about the enthusiasm he’s seen; especially in recent years.

When it comes to sustainability, Isaacs says “we have a huge long way to go. We’re hardly on the scale yet. For 10 years, the Liberal Government talked a good line but didn’t do much. Now the government doesn’t talk a line and doesn’t do anything.”

He believes that the only way we’ll overcome environmental issues is for cooperation between government, corporations and individuals. He says it’s difficult for individuals to have a great impact in our current market without the services and products that encourage sustainability. “If people don’t have recycling programs, they can’t recycle.”

He believes that in the future, more individuals will participate in encouraging corporations to be environmentally competitive and by differentiating environmentally-friendly corporations from non-friendly corporations. More people will participate and “green industry” will perform better.

To Isaacs, the biggest environmental concern of the day is by far Climate Change which “poses a huge threat to our economy and society”. “We have got to start dramatically reducing our Greenhouse Gas emissions. We’ve hardly started yet.”

When asked about Canada’s role as leaders to developing nations, Isaacs believes that it’s unfair for us to criticize a developing nation with our lifestyles and footprint. Isaacs says that we need to adapt to the way we live before we can expect a developing nation to reduce its emissions since we have access to the technology, capital and the wealth; the three pillars that he claims a developing nation needs in order to reduce its environmental impact.

“In North America, we’ve grown our economy and society beyond what the land mass can support. We’ve recognized it, but it will be a long long time before we will fully address it”.

And what’s the biggest faux pas with respect to the environmental movement that Isaacs has witnessed lately? Isaacs attended the Green Living Show this past weekend, and made an observation:

“Companies are pushing their products, but nobody is taking the time to ask people if they really need those products. If you don’t need the product don’t buy it. If you need it, buy green. Don’t just buy green for the sake of buying in addition to your regular consumption.”

Amen.

2009 Adventure: 560K for Kids

2009-04-26T22:45:00.001-04:00

For approximately $270, you could purchase a return flight from Toronto to Montreal, arriving in 1 hour and 14 minutes. Alternatively, for $140 you could take a VIA train and arrive in about 5 hours, while driving takes about the same.

Rather than using these “typical” methods of transportation, I’m planning to paddle the entire 560KM in my kayak for this year’s fundraiser adventure.

Each year I try to organize a fundraiser to raise money for my Aunt Linda who runs a foster home / education centre in the Philippines called Noah’s Ark. My adventures fall somewhere between mildly challenging to borderline crazy. Last year I solo-kayaked 107KM in two days on Lake Ontario, raising close to $6,000 and in 2006 I biked 260KM to Niagara and back, raising $1,845.

This year’s trip allows me to raise some money for a good cause while providing me an adventure I’ve been itching for. It’s also a great way to do some traveling on a small budget given the current state of the economy.

I’m normally reluctant to donate money to charities because I’ve always believed the charity system in the U.S. and Canada to be ridden with loopholes and corruption. Even charities that seem altruistic on the outside aren’t always fiscally prudent, with overpaid executives and lavish headquarters.

My opinion on charities was confirmed in a timely news article about a Toronto man who runs a charity that provides bogus tax receipts to its donors. The subject of the article, James Arion, a twice-bankrupt con-man runs the charity “The Orion Foundation” which received 200 million dollars in donations over the past 2 years.

Arion provides tax receipts to donors in the sum of 5 times the value that was actually donated, allowing donors to actually make profit on their donations. Although Arion’s foundation does do some actual charity work, there is no evidence to prove how much of that money actually gets to those who need it and with 83,000 charities registered in Canada and only 40 auditors, it’s very difficult to weed out the “bad apples”.

Arion also runs a shady computer business that provides fake credit card charges for escort services as a cover for curious wives whose husbands are paying for sex with credit cards.

By donating to a foster home like my Aunts, your money goes directly to those who need it, bypassing the middle man and the financial books are open and transparent. Ninety percent of your donation goes directly to the foster home, while 10% is charged as an admin fee for processing tax receipts.

The children of Noah’s Ark are housed, nurtured and educated temporarily until they are healthy enough to return to their families or be adopted. In addition to the dozens of children who live at Noah’s Ark, they also provide milk for 15 babies in the area and they are educating 120 elementary and high-school children in the area through the Child Care Plus Sponsorship Program in Canada.

2009 marks the 20th anniversary of Noah’s Ark and since its inception 123 children have lived at Noah’s Ark Home, 18 children have graduated from college or university, 343 students have received educational scholarships through Child Care Plus and 27 babies have received milk and vitamins.

My kayak trip will take place in either late July or late August over a 2-week period (pending my work schedule), and I’ll be camping along the shores of Lake Ontario each night before my anticipated arrival in Montreal where I’ll be meeting some friends and family to spend a few days in the city before strapping the kayak on the roof of my car to head home.

If you’d like to support this cause or if you’d like more information about Noah’s Ark, please feel free to e-mail me; my contact information is available on the About Us section of this site.

Photo by James D. Schwartz – Kayaking Lake Ontario, Summer 2008

Sketch It: Recession Lounge

2009-04-23T00:20:00.001-04:00

Sketch it! is a fun new section on The Urban Country where we feature random napkin sketches from our resident sketch artist and writer, George Pechtol (Against his will).

Today’s sketch features a downtown Toronto lounge during the current economic recession.

Sustainable Living: Celebrating Earth Day 2009

2009-04-22T02:17:00.001-04:00

Earth Day was officially born in 1970 after a proclamation by its founder, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson in September 1969 that stated a “nationwide grassroots demonstration on the environment” would take place in Spring of 1970.

Thirty-nine years later, Earth Day is alive and well and nothing gets me more excited than knowing that billions (yes billions) of people around the world are thinking about the earth and reflecting upon the harm we are causing.

On the other hand, there will always be a fringe group of people who spend Earth Day burning plastic bags, idling their SUVs, and dumping solid waste into lakes and ponds. That may sound like fun and all, but I’d rather spend my earth day doing something more constructive.

Earth Day’s founder Gaylord Nelson was a revolutionary in his day. Like myself, I can imagine that every day was an “Earth Day” for Nelson. Nelson didn’t pass a legislation to celebrate Earth Day so that only he himself could reflect on the earth; he wanted the world to reflect on the earth.

Nelson summarizes his view on the economy versus the environment in this wonderful phrase:

“The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment, not the other way around.”

You see, Nelson believed that the economy wouldn’t exist without a healthy environment, and placing economic development before the environment can only leave us to regret what we have left our children to deal with.

Nelson also believed that overpopulation was a major cause of the environmental issues of that day. Given the post-war baby boom, this was a common position to take in those days.

Many people still have this same concern about overpopulation, but I strongly believe that the earth can thrive even at its current level of population; we just need to address the overconsumption nature of our current lifestyles in addition to embracing initiatives that address sustainability.

The most important environmental issues of today (in my opinion) are:

Climate Change
Air and Water pollution
Sustainable energy solutions
Solid waste diversion / Consumer packaging
Urban Sprawl / spread / low-density housing
Loss of cultivatable farm-land
Lack of Water Conservation

Earth Day 1990 led to an increased awareness about recycling which ultimately planted the seed for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 1992 summit was a wake-up call that resulted in the creation of the Kyoto Protocol.

I wanted to share some of the things that I practice on a day-to-day basis to help reduce my personal impact on the environment:

Responsible energy consumption: Never use a dryer, hang-dry clothes, use less hot water, shorter showers, turn off lights, environmentally-friendly bulbs, unplug electronics.
Reduction in air pollution: Walk first, bike second, public transit third, drive last.
Reduction in waste: Plastic reusable lunch containers, reusable shopping bags, biodegradable trash bags, re-use muffin bags for dog poop.
Reduction in Carbon emissions: Eat less meat, purchase carbon offsets when you absolutely need to travel, drive less.

… and some other options that are becoming available in some cities:

Bullfrog power – purchase energy exclusively from sustainable, renewable sources.
Green-bin organic recycling – Currently only available to house dwellings in Toronto, but should become available to condominium complexes in the near future.

Sustainable living is an attainable pursuit that starts at home. There is nothing more frustrating than someone telling you that they have no concern about their personal impact on the earth because it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. When everybody does their part, it adds up and it really does matter.

If we all contribute in our own way, we will leave the earth a better place for our children to live in.

Photo by James D. Schwartz / The Urban Country, Algonquin Park, 2008

Recession Ready? Relief for some, Anxiety for others

2009-04-16T20:15:00.001-04:00

In a series of articles entitled “Recession Ready?”, The Urban Country is interviewing people around the world who are affected by the recession to understand how different people are coping.

On the morning of March 26th, AutoCAD Operator Megan Howlett arrived at work at a downtown Toronto Architecture firm as if it was any other day. As the day wore on, her colleagues were called into the boardroom, one-by-one. Nobody knew what was happening. It wasn’t until it was her turn to be called into the boardroom when it became apparent: she and 7 others were being laid off from the 35-person firm.

How did Megan handle the news?

“I felt relieved! I didn’t like the work I was doing. I saw this as an opportunity to find employment elsewhere in my field”

Megan is one of the thousands of people in Ontario who have been hit by the economic downturn that has devastated the manufacturing industry in this province.

For the first time in history, Ontario will be receiving equalization payments from wealthier provinces; $357 million to be exact. The equalization program was first introduced in 1957 and prior to this year, Ontario was the only province that had never qualified to received payments. Until now.

Fortunately Megan has a positive attitude about her future employment, given her specialization in the Architecture/Design field. She plans to look for employment in the same industry, though she hopes to have more interaction with clients rather than sitting at a computer all day.

Most people who have suffered her fate however are not as optimistic. Factories in rural towns have been closing, leaving very little hope for finding work. Some have even decided to take up Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s offer for employment. Earlier this month Premier Wall was visiting Toronto in a recruitment drive to fill 6,200 vacation positions in his booming province.

When asked how Megan’s colleagues handled the news:

“Initially they were shocked. Since the New Year we could all tell work was slowing down, but never thought layoffs would happen so quickly. Working in a small firm, you become close like a family and it's hard to see anyone leave the team. Talking to others who survived the layoffs, who currently still work at the firm, say it's like there were multiple deaths. It takes time to adjust to the missing personalities.”

Fortunately for Megan, she doesn’t have a family to support or a mortgage to pay. But the layoff that Megan has faced has become the reality for many others in Canada as the economic crash in the United States has begun to be felt North of the 49th parallel.

To me, the recession is a great opportunity for all of us to begin to assess our needs versus our wants and determine what’s important in our lives. Knowing that we could be next can help us appreciate what we have and help put us on a path toward sustainable lifestyles.

Photo courtesy of zncjmom on Flickr

Armstrong: April Turn, Goldman Conspiracies, and Life Behind Prison

2009-04-15T21:06:00.019-04:00

Martin Armstrong has somewhat of a cult-like status in internet forums, likely fanned by the fact that he has spent more years in prison for contempt of court than he would have had he actually been convicted of the securities crime he was originally charged with.

Some consider him to be one of the greatest economic minds of our time. His Economic Confidence Model has been used to predict market turns, in some cases, to the day; but, rather than receiving a Nobel prize for it, he is relegated to recording his thoughts on a type writer and releasing weekly newsletters from prison.

His latest newsletters, “Behind The Curtain” (April 9th) and “Destroying Capital Formation” (March 23), are provided for those interested in his unique take on the unfolding drama; mind you, some dismiss his work as "hand-typed booklets with crude illustrations and Unnecessarily Capitalized Letters that float around in conspiracy theorist circles" - needless to say, buyer beware.

Nonetheless, his dates are watched by many: even if the outcomes are miss-forecasted, the dates do typically represent an inflection point. The latest turn from The Forecaster You Cannot Ignore is fast approaching this Sunday and would coincide with the top that others are forecasting for the recent market rally:

The earliest turning point appears to be April 2009. Yes, we have the half-cycle turning point for April 19th, 2009. Usually the half-cycle targets do not produce major events. There have been some exceptions such as 19878 produced the precise low for the crash on October 19, 1987. If that were to produce a reaction high, then we may see the market turn south for a low in July 2009 on an intra-day perspective. The key weekly target seems to be the week of July 5th, 2009. A simple Breakline on the monthly chart places the ideal technical support at around 4200 for July.

As a point of reference, the DOW closed today at 8029.62.

On a somewhat lighter note, one of the changes he has consistently pushed for is abolishing personal income tax (while the excerpt below is from an older letter, the principle is echoed again in his recent pieces as well):

Stop the Marxism! We need to return to basics. End the income tax & replace it with a 10% National Sales Tax (excluding raw food & basic clothing) that also include real estate. China has boomed because it had no income tax! This is what the men who established this nation established until Marxism began with the passage of the income tax only for the rich in 1909, that now applies to everyone. Stop borrowing money from the poorest with no interest masking it as a "refund" check confusing them to make it appear as a gift. Do this, and we will re-establish jobs in America and it will matter not if someone is an illegal alien or not for they will still pay their fair share. We are losing jobs because of high taxes and high heathcare costs that just make it cheaper to set up service oriented jobs in India, Philippines, or Mexico. It is time the BOO pound gorilla lost a little weight. This will create a offsetting economic boom that will save the nation.

Criminal or genius, one thing is certain: the almost violent upward swing of late remains nothing more than a bear-market rally. Headlines quick to hang the Mission Accompolished banner need to be approached very cautiously.