soapbox

. . . . . . . BOLD BEAUTIFUL BIKES . . . . . . . . . THE MOST EFFICIENT MODE OF HUMAN TRANSPORT EVER INVENTED . . . . . . . . .BEJING,CHINA . . . .USED TO BE THE BIKE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD .. . .. BUT AT A WRONG TIME IN WORLD HISTORY A WORRISOME TREND IS DEVELOPING IN THAT CITY.MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE ABANDONING THE BIKE IN FAVOUR OF THAT MOTORISED MONSTER WE CALL THE AUTOMOBILE . . . . . . I SINCERELY HOPE FOR THE SAKE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND SURVIVAL OF THIS PLANET EARTH,THAT PEOPLE IN BEJING AND OTHER CITIES OF THE WORLD WILL LET SANITY PREVAIL AND RETURN THE BIKE TO ITS PROPER PLACE ON OUR STREETS...........

. . . . . . HOW WELL I REMEMBER THE SUMMER OF 2005.IT WAS REALLY A HOT ONE HERE IN TORONTO.AS A PASTIME I NORMALLY DO A LOT OF RUNNING 2 OR 3 TIMES A WEEK,HOWEVER IN THAT YEAR I WAS FORCED TO STAY INDOORS. . . . . . . .THE REASON ? . . . . SMOG . . . . .AND PLENTY OF IT .IT WAS A RECORD YEAR FOR SMOG.THERE WERE OVER 40 DAYS WHEN PEOPLE IN THE CITY WERE WARNED BY THE HEALTH AND WEATHER DEPT'S THROUGH THE MEDIA NOT TO DO ANY STRENOUS WORK OR EXERCISE OUTDOORS.IN MY OPINION THAT SUMMER WAS LOST TO THE FORCES OF POLLUTION. ITS JUST ONE MORE REASON TO TRY AND PREVENT THIS TYPE OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

. . . . . . PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR OVER-SIMPLIFYING THE TITLE OF THIS POST- BUT I AM TRYING TO GIVE OUT SOME OF THE INGREDIENTS FOR A BETTER ENVIRONMENTAL WORLD.I HAVE MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH TREES IN CANADA AND FIND THAT THEY ARE A PERFECT SOLUTION TO THE MYRIAD PROBLEMS OF POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE AND IS LOW TECH AS WELL.FOR INSTANCE AS A WATER ABSORBER THE DEEP ROOTS OF A LARGE MAPLE TREE IS IDEAL.IF THE TREES ARE WELL PLACED AND PROPERLY PRUNED FOR SAFETY.IN ADDITION THEY ENRICH THE SOIL WITH THE FALLING LEAVES.MANY OTHER BENEFITS FROM TREES ARE MUCH TOO MUCH TO MENTION IN THIS SHORT POST,BUT STAY TUNED FOR FUTURE POSTS..

. . . . . . If every Calgary household put in one compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), which can last for seven years, each bulb would eliminate 60 kg of greenhouse gases (GHG) per year. Mid-sized cars produce approx. 4 tonnes of GHG a year, SUVs 6 tonnes. So, if 300,000 Calgary houses put in one bulb, it would be equivalent to taking 15,750 mid-sized cars or 10,500 SUV's off the road for one year + + + + + +The above information courtesy of a church in Calgary,Alberta.

. . . . . . TWO PLACES IN THE WORLD WHERE CRIMES AGAINST NATURE HAVE BEEN COMMITTED ON A GRAND SCALE IN THIS POST #1 IS THE ARAL SEA IN RUSSIA ^ ^ ^ ^WHERE CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES HAVE CAUSED THIS ONCE GREAT INLAND SEA TO DRY UP AND BECOME TOXIC # 2 IN THE GREAT GREEN COUNTRY KNOWN AS CANADA ^ ^ ^ ^ ^THOUSANDS OF SQUARE MILES OF LUSH GREEN FORESTS HAVE BEEN RIPPED OUT OF THEIR ROOTS ^ ^ ^ ^ ^AND REPLACED WITH A DESOLATE, ARID MOONLIKE LANDSCAPE DEVOID OF LIFE ^ ^ ^ ^THE PLACE ? ? ?THE ATHABASKA OIL SANDS---ALBERTA - - - -MANY MORE SUCH CRIMES ARE COMMITTED EVERY DAY IN CANADA IN MY NAME ^ ^ ^SUCH IS OUR (?) WAY OF LIFE.

. . . . . . IS . . CLIMATE CHANGE ^ ^ ^ ^(WMD=WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION)^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE WHOLE WORLD UNITES IN COMBATING THE MAN MADE CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE,PLANET EARTH WILL NOT SURVIVE.(MY HUMBLE OPINION)

. . . A LOT OF PEOPLE INCLUDING SOME OF MY FRIENDS WHOM I WOULD CONSIDER VERY INTELLIGENT HAVE HOPPED ON THE HYBRID CAR BANDWAGON ^ ^ ^ ^IN MY OPINION THATS A MISTAKE, SINCE THE DAMAGE DONE TO THE EARTH BY MOTOR VEHICLES IS NOT ONLY DONE BY THE EXHAUST PIPE EMISSIONS BUT FROM THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE DONE BY ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS,CLEARING OF FORESTS OR AGRICULTURAL LANDS AND STILL THESE HYBRIDS NEED FUEL AND VERY TOXIC BATTERY SYSTEMS ^ ^ ^ ^SOO ITS FOOLHARDY TO LOOK UPON THE HYBRID AS THE SOLUTION TO POLLUTION ON THIS PLANET.

. . . . . . . . IF . .AIR . .PLANES . .ARE A MAJOR POLLUTER OF THE PLANET THEN WHY ARE PEOPLE SO KEEN ON TRAVELLING TO DISTANT COUNTRIES ^ ^ ^DO THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING? ? ?? ? I PERSONALLY KNOW MANY FRIENDS WHO TRAVEL REGULARLY AND OFTEN ^ ^ ^THEY SEEM OBLIVIOUS TO THE HARM THEY ARE DOING TO THE ENVIRONMENT ^ ^ ^ALSO I MUST CONFESS THAT I MYSELF AM TEMPTED TO TRAVEL,AFTER LOOKING AT ALL THE TRAVEL BROCHURES (BUSINESS TAX DEDUCTABLE COURTESY OF CANADIAN TAX PAYER) ^ ^ ^ ^SO . . . .IS THIS MOUNTAIN TOO HIGH ?AM I TILTING AT WINDMILLS ? ?ONLY TIME WILL TELL.

. . . . . . CANADIAN-PM-HARPER ASKS OPPOSITION LEADERS IN PARLIAMENT FOR SUGGESTIONS TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE ^ ^ ^ I HAVE ONE OR TWO ^ ^ ^WARNING LABELS ON CARS "WARNING-THIS CAR CAUSES SMOG" OR"WARNING-THIS CAR EMITS-CARBON-DIOXIDE"OR "WARNING-THIS CAR -IS DANGEROUS TO THE HEALTH OF PLANET EARTH"-YOU GET THE PICTURE-I HOPE THE P.M. READS BLOGS OR AT LEAST THE OPPOSITION LEADERS GET THE PICTURE- - - -THIS IDEA WOULD OPERATE SIMILAR TO THE WARNING LABELS ON CIGARETTES.ITS AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME,AND WOULD COST VERY LITTLE TO IMPLEMENT - - - - SO- - -WHAT ABOUT IT ! - - - -IS- -ANYBODY- - LISTENING ? ?

Chrysler was dogged by inventory management problems in 2006, including its disclosure that it had been holding large numbers of vehicles in a "sales bank" before they had been ordered for showrooms. At one point last year, the No. 4 U.S. automaker had about 100,000 vehicles sitting in the sales bank of unassigned inventory that were not being disclosed in its monthly sales calls for analysts. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ABOVE NEWS ITEM- -FEBRUARY 5-2007 ^ ^ ^ ^

. . . . . . . ITS FREEZING COLD OUTSIDE IN TORONTO NOW(--18 DEGREES) .. . . . . SO-O-O-WHERE IS GLOBAL WARMING ??HOW SOON WE FORGET^ ^ ^LAST WINTER IN MY BACKYARD I USED TO DIG INTO THE SOIL TO BURY KITCHEN COMPOST.EVERY WEEK WITHOUT FAIL,I COULD DO THIS ALL THROUGH THE WINTER ,EVEN IN JANUARY ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ SO WHAT YOU MAY SAY ^ ^ ^WELL IN A NORMAL WINTER PREVIOUSLY FOR MANY YEARS ^ ^ ^I WOULD STORE THE COMPOST IN THE GARAGE UNTIL SPRING THAW,AND WHEN THE SOIL BECAME UNFROZEN - -USUALLY IN APRIL,I WOULD BURY THE COMPOST.ALSO WE SHOULD'NT FORGET THIS WINTER.IN TORONTO ALL THROUGH NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER AND^ ^ ^ ^HALF OF JANUARY WE HAD BASICALLY NO FROST ^ ^ ^ ^ ^SO BEFORE WE CRITICIZE THE CLIMATE CHANGE PEOPLE,LETS NOT FORGET.

LONDON (AFP) - A right-wing American think tank is offering 10,000 dollars (7,700 euros) to scientists and economists to dispute a climate change report set to be released by the UN's top scientific panel, media reported. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which receives funding from oil giant ExxonMobil according to the Guardian, sent letters to scientists in the United States, Britain and elsewhere offering the payments in exchange for articles emphasising the shortcoming of the UN's report. AEI also reportedly offered additional payments, and to reimburse travel expenses. The report, due to be released Friday in Paris by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), is likely to give a bleak assessment of the damage to the future of the environment. It is the culmination of four days of debate between more then 500 scientists at a closed-door meeting in Paris, who have been poring over the first review of the scientific evidence for global warm