Planning Sustainable and Green Communities

Posted on May 10, 2012 by gibsonjs

Planning sustainable and green communities is vital with a large percentage of the world’s population living in cities: If we want these burgeoning urban areas to add value to their residents now and in the future their city plans need to incorporate green and sustainable principles and this usually means change. In my community, Steve Green of Windsor Essex Community Supported Agriculture (WECSA) is inviting people to sign a petition for presentation to Windsor’s city council. He wants his community, Windsor, to be a Gateway to a sustainable and green community. Continue reading →

Measuring Your Personal Ecological Footprint

Posted on April 28, 2012 by gibsonjs

The concept of an ecological footprint has been around for some time. However, I believe our personal use of nature merits periodic checking.

In case you are wondering, an ecological footprint represents the bio-productive area necessary to both produce the resources (goods, services, energy, food) consumed by a population and to absorb the waste it produces. Continue reading →

Pigeons: Can We Coexist with Nature’s Creatures?

Posted on April 17, 2012 by gibsonjs

As reported in the New York Sun, November 12, 2007, when New York City councilman Simcha Felder had the audacity to put forward a proposal to rid the city of its pigeons by putting a ban on people feeding them, there was a public outcry. It seems that despite Woody Allen’s proclamation in the play ‘Stardust Memories’ that pigeons are ‘rats with wings’, there is a love-hate relationship with the winged ‘homers’ that seldom stray more than a few blocks from their roosts. But why is this? Continue reading →

Disaster Preparedness: Advocates for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

Posted on April 3, 2012 by gibsonjs

We need to care for the earth and live wisely as part of it. That includes respecting its forces and developing disaster preparedness.

At a St. Patrick’s Day party of all places, I happened to strike up a conversation with an adjustor for State Farm Insurance. It turned out he was in charge of managing disaster claims, and that his territory was North America. Since the world had been experiencing a rash of disasters I idly asked: “So, which areas of North America are the worst… produce the largest number of insurance claims? Flooding… The Mississippi… St Louis area…?” Continue reading →

The Climate Change Debate: Have We Forgotten About the Ice Ages?

Posted on March 25, 2012 by gibsonjs

My introduction to the climate change debate began during my elementary school days when I discovered that back in the fifteenth century, explorers like John Cabot began searching for the NW Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the twentieth century while I was putting myself through university by working as a summer bellhop in Banff, the nearby tongue of the Columbia Ice Fields, the Athabasca glacier was touching the edge of the highway running between Banff and Jasper. Back at university, in my geography courses I was learning that the ice ages that preceded both these events could return. Continue reading →

Practice Skin Protection While Respecting the Environment

Posted on March 14, 2012 by gibsonjs

Practice skin protection. Skin cancer can form anywhere on your body so it is very important that you perform a very thorough self-examination. Use a wall mirror to give yourself a better view of your skin. You should also have a hand-held mirror and, if possible, a spouse or close friend to help you check out areas like your lower back or the backs of your thighs. If you find anything that appears to be skin cancer seek medical attention immediately.

It also helps to know your skin type, including its reaction to the sun. Continue reading →

Healthy Living Tips: A Father’s Message

Posted on March 13, 2012 by gibsonjs

I was raised on vegetables plucked from our family garden. I also played hockey in winter and baseball in summer. I was fit, and well nourished. But by the time of my impending retirement some forty years later, I was overweight and my wife thin. Continue reading →

Should You Consider Vegetable Container Gardening?

Posted on March 7, 2012 by gibsonjs

I’ve learned, from over forty years of working in my garden that it’s all about trial and error; nothing is impossible, just try something else somewhere else. Want to plant a vegetable garden but want room for a lawn and a patio within a small backyard? Don’t even have an area with good soil? The squirrels dig everything up? Consider vegetable container gardening. My containers line one side of the wooden steps to my back porch. Continue reading →

Tree Identification Pictures: A GPS Field Trip for the Family

Posted on February 27, 2012 by gibsonjs

On Earth Day or Arbor Day get outside and identify trees, sketch and photograph, create GPS waypoints, and assess the health of forests. Oh… and have fun.

I would suppose that anyone can sketch or take a picture of a tree. Then why not mix these skills with a fun outdoor activity that’s good for the planet. Small groups or individuals can conduct tree identification and assess related conditions in an accessible forest environment. The steps are simple: Continue reading →

Living Wisely: What Does It Mean?

Posted on February 26, 2012 by gibsonjs

What does the phrase ‘Living Wisely’ mean? Does it refer to cutting costs? Is it in reference to the concept of planning for the future? Or does it simply mean becoming self-sufficient?

Bryan Welch, writing in the magazine Mother Earth News points out that “in recent decades, the status quo has relied on cheap fossil fuels, exhausting resources we cannot replace.” In promoting the need for new ideas he referred back to 1977 when the founders of the magazine offered the following: Continue reading →

Geography and All Things Gaia

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has. (Margaret Mead)