It's time for a gripe. Usually I am fairly calm, laid back and agreeable. I hope that Hiawatha House is usually upbeat. So what has crossed me so that I will complain?
Here's an example. Our city has a bylaw which says that receational vehicles cannot be parked in a front driveway from Nov.1 to Mar.31. On my daily rambles through the neighborhood I see all kinds of recreational vehicles parked in the front drive way. They don't bother me, but if they were right next to me it would be a nuisance.
Here's my point . The city only enforces the bylaw when someone complains. So somebody has to be the bad guy and turn in his neighbor. How many people will do this? Not very many. The city will not make a patrol and request owners to move rec vehicles. Most other bylaws are treated the same way.
Now here's my point. If we have laws which are nor enforced it tends to give people the wrong idea. People will think that their chances of geting away with things will be pretty good.Yes, people will easily think that they can get away with many other violations because bylaws are not enforced. We are giving citizens the wrong idea. We would be better to not have bylaws if they are going to cause other problems. Are we bringing about a general disrespect of laws and bylaws?
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Chinook : Winter Break
We have been enjoying a week of mild weather after 40 days of worse than average winter weather.
Through December and early January we had winter temperatures which were lower than average. There was no break. Lots of wind. We had above average snowfall. So we had a streak of weather to complain about.
Fortunately in the Red Deer, Alberta area we get chinnooks. We've had this one for over a week. Some of our snow has melted. But mostly it's been a nice break. We do not get chinook temperatures as high as Calgary or the Crowsnest Pass, but we don't get the high winds either. For a site that keeps all kinds of great weather stats click on http://blog.boomerphoto.com/ . This site also has excellent weather pictures.
So we will take this chinook and enjoy it. There's lots more winter yet.
Through December and early January we had winter temperatures which were lower than average. There was no break. Lots of wind. We had above average snowfall. So we had a streak of weather to complain about.
Fortunately in the Red Deer, Alberta area we get chinnooks. We've had this one for over a week. Some of our snow has melted. But mostly it's been a nice break. We do not get chinook temperatures as high as Calgary or the Crowsnest Pass, but we don't get the high winds either. For a site that keeps all kinds of great weather stats click on http://blog.boomerphoto.com/ . This site also has excellent weather pictures.
So we will take this chinook and enjoy it. There's lots more winter yet.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Copenhagen Climate Disasters #3
For my last post on Hiawatha House I dealt with what individuals can do to help fight gobal warming and climate change. Individuals do have a very vital part in climate change.
For this post I will deal with the broader picture. The Copenhagen Conference was a group of nations who supposedly met to bring about some solutions to climate change. It is important for treaties to be made as governments set up rules, regulations and policies which hopefully would lead to a decrease in the productions of green house gases which contribute to global warming. The citizens and industries of each country would be forced to reduce their contributions to green house gases.
Industries produce most of our green house gases. One culprit which produces highly is the power industry and coal fired power plants. In Alberta, the oil sands contribute not only an enormous volume of green house gases, but also destroy natural areas and our water. For large industries the monetary implications are huge. Investment and competition complicates things. We as individuals want more power. So we're all in this together. As consumers we are going to have to pay more for energy and products we purchase so that costs to reduce green house gases can be covered.
So all people on this earth are going to have to be prepared to contribute more to reduce green house gas. The key word is reduce. Our Canadian government wants us and the world to think that they are doing wonderful things to reduce green house gases.Unfortunately for us, our Govt. is only spouting words and playing shell games. It's a complicated issue and for the ordinary citizen it's difficult to know what is going on.
All of us have to take global warming seeriously and work together to begin reducing it. We can't just look at the other guy and expect him to do the job while we do nothing.
Let me know what you think we could do to bring about some solutions to this issue.
For this post I will deal with the broader picture. The Copenhagen Conference was a group of nations who supposedly met to bring about some solutions to climate change. It is important for treaties to be made as governments set up rules, regulations and policies which hopefully would lead to a decrease in the productions of green house gases which contribute to global warming. The citizens and industries of each country would be forced to reduce their contributions to green house gases.
Industries produce most of our green house gases. One culprit which produces highly is the power industry and coal fired power plants. In Alberta, the oil sands contribute not only an enormous volume of green house gases, but also destroy natural areas and our water. For large industries the monetary implications are huge. Investment and competition complicates things. We as individuals want more power. So we're all in this together. As consumers we are going to have to pay more for energy and products we purchase so that costs to reduce green house gases can be covered.
So all people on this earth are going to have to be prepared to contribute more to reduce green house gas. The key word is reduce. Our Canadian government wants us and the world to think that they are doing wonderful things to reduce green house gases.Unfortunately for us, our Govt. is only spouting words and playing shell games. It's a complicated issue and for the ordinary citizen it's difficult to know what is going on.
All of us have to take global warming seeriously and work together to begin reducing it. We can't just look at the other guy and expect him to do the job while we do nothing.
Let me know what you think we could do to bring about some solutions to this issue.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
More Disasters Than Copenhagen
As a world conference the Copenhagen fiasco was a failure in a class of its own. There was much to be gained by success in this conference, and such an enormous loss if the conference failed. The governments of the world achieved both in this case. They lost out in achieving any gains and they lost by not finding any solutions.
Canada sent the wrong people to Copenhagen. We chose the wrong government and we didn't influence Prime Minister Harper and his government to take a positive, proactive stand. Absolutely nothing was achieved at the Copenhagen conference except to lose time - precious time, which we have already frittered away by intentional inaction.
As individuals we will have to do more than wring our hands in useless gestures. Although the big picture is where it's at to reduce the production of green house gases, there is much an individual can do. Each person can alter their lifestyle to do their part in the reduction of green house gases. We can all drive less, buy cars which produce fewer greenhouse gases, and buy products which take less energy to produce. As consumers we have the power to choose products which leave a smaller mark on the climate.
The biggest thing we can do is become proactive in as many ways as possible. We have to influence our politicians and leaders. We can all write to the authorities and express our support for climate change. One letter at a time on a constant basis mounts up, and will bring about change. We will have to inform and educate ourselves about the policies that political parties stand for . We must make political parties act upon what they say their policies are. Bums like we have in power now have to be voted out.
We must also become more informed and better educated about the science of climate change . It's not rocket science. It's looking at the evidence we have. Two years ago a very large ice shelf broke off in the Arctic . An ice shelf is ice which has become solidly attached and hasn't moved, like a land mass. The ice shelf in the Arctic warmed and detached. Some of this ice is hundreds, even thousands of years old . Now it's gone. Fortunately scientists took many core samples which can be used to study the earth's climate going many years back.
Start today, this year, and do something each week to make a difference in climate change. We will then push governments and businesses along to make changes.
Canada sent the wrong people to Copenhagen. We chose the wrong government and we didn't influence Prime Minister Harper and his government to take a positive, proactive stand. Absolutely nothing was achieved at the Copenhagen conference except to lose time - precious time, which we have already frittered away by intentional inaction.
As individuals we will have to do more than wring our hands in useless gestures. Although the big picture is where it's at to reduce the production of green house gases, there is much an individual can do. Each person can alter their lifestyle to do their part in the reduction of green house gases. We can all drive less, buy cars which produce fewer greenhouse gases, and buy products which take less energy to produce. As consumers we have the power to choose products which leave a smaller mark on the climate.
The biggest thing we can do is become proactive in as many ways as possible. We have to influence our politicians and leaders. We can all write to the authorities and express our support for climate change. One letter at a time on a constant basis mounts up, and will bring about change. We will have to inform and educate ourselves about the policies that political parties stand for . We must make political parties act upon what they say their policies are. Bums like we have in power now have to be voted out.
We must also become more informed and better educated about the science of climate change . It's not rocket science. It's looking at the evidence we have. Two years ago a very large ice shelf broke off in the Arctic . An ice shelf is ice which has become solidly attached and hasn't moved, like a land mass. The ice shelf in the Arctic warmed and detached. Some of this ice is hundreds, even thousands of years old . Now it's gone. Fortunately scientists took many core samples which can be used to study the earth's climate going many years back.
Start today, this year, and do something each week to make a difference in climate change. We will then push governments and businesses along to make changes.
Monday, January 4, 2010
514% Increase "Ain't" Bad!
I recently read a news item dealing with the increase in Face Book accounts for 2009. The part that caught my attention was that there was a 514% increase in accounts started by ages 50 and over! And I was one of the 514%!
I was certainly aware of Face Book . But I listened to CBC interviews and the scoop was that Face Book was for younger people ...possibly college or university age. I had no interest in Face Book . The rumor was that security was a problem.
However, a friend or two kept talking about Face Book. In fact, we were discussing using Face Book as a vehicle to increase membership in an organization we belonged to.
So one day I ended up looking at Face Book . Before very long I found people I knew and looked at their list of friends and saw more people I knew. Then I accidentally checked on relatives! I found most of my nieces and nephews on Face Book. That did it! I started a Face Book account and found out how to navigate through aspects of Face Book. I very cautiously invited 2 or 3 friends and then sat back. People invited me to be their friend and things just grew.
I happily reported to my brother that I had started a Face Book page. He very flatly said, "We won't be on Face Book!" Less than 6 months later his wife was on Face Book because my brother thought it would be a good idea! So there's two of us with the same idea who changed their minds quickly. We could see the advantages to be gained from Face Book.
From then on I followed what people were doing and reported my activities. Now I eagerly anticipate Face Book activities each day. So, since I joined Face Book in 2009 and am much over 50 , I fit into the 514% and am proud to be part of that crowd.
I was certainly aware of Face Book . But I listened to CBC interviews and the scoop was that Face Book was for younger people ...possibly college or university age. I had no interest in Face Book . The rumor was that security was a problem.
However, a friend or two kept talking about Face Book. In fact, we were discussing using Face Book as a vehicle to increase membership in an organization we belonged to.
So one day I ended up looking at Face Book . Before very long I found people I knew and looked at their list of friends and saw more people I knew. Then I accidentally checked on relatives! I found most of my nieces and nephews on Face Book. That did it! I started a Face Book account and found out how to navigate through aspects of Face Book. I very cautiously invited 2 or 3 friends and then sat back. People invited me to be their friend and things just grew.
I happily reported to my brother that I had started a Face Book page. He very flatly said, "We won't be on Face Book!" Less than 6 months later his wife was on Face Book because my brother thought it would be a good idea! So there's two of us with the same idea who changed their minds quickly. We could see the advantages to be gained from Face Book.
From then on I followed what people were doing and reported my activities. Now I eagerly anticipate Face Book activities each day. So, since I joined Face Book in 2009 and am much over 50 , I fit into the 514% and am proud to be part of that crowd.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Copenhagen Disaster
As you can see from some of my former posts I am somewhat passionate about the natural places on this planet. So I have written about birds, animals, plants and weather. The blogs I follow have a relationship to similar topics.
So it was to my great dismay and disgust that I observed the pathetic performance of the planet's governments at the Copenhagen conference. Governments from various blocs sought to snooker other blocs into a corner to squeeze out their own agendas. For example, countries which are less developed wanted more money out of wealthier groups of nations. Top economic countries wanted the others to make similar contributions to lessen green house gas production.
All countries at the Copenhagen conference completely forgot about the earth and any responsiblity they have to curb global warming. Our Canadian government was absolutely disgraceful in its performance and position. Our government made no effort to move forward on reducing green house gases. Since our government is rather secretive, one might suspect that they were not in any way working to reduce green house gases.
Much debate takes place on climate science. Extremely skillful manipulators attempt to distract the agenda and confuse issues so that doubt arises as to the validity of climate warming. We don't have to look very far to see monstrous examples of global warming. The Arctic shows some very obvious and extensive examples. I spent 5 years in the Arctic in the 1960's. We would fly from Inuvik to Sach's Harbor on Banks Island, which is a distance of about 450km. In July and August there was open water about 15 to 25 km from shore. The rest of the way was loose ice, and some years there would be large areas of solid ice. Today all of the ice in the Beaufort Sea melts in the summer. Small boats will cross from Cape Bathurst or Cape Parry. To me this is an appalling change. This is all the evidence I need to become alarmed about the dangers of climate change caused by man. Seals and polar bears use the ice as habitat and are in great peril as a result.
This year, Hiawatha House is going to run a number of posts on global warming. We have to push our governments to take action on reducing green house gases.
So it was to my great dismay and disgust that I observed the pathetic performance of the planet's governments at the Copenhagen conference. Governments from various blocs sought to snooker other blocs into a corner to squeeze out their own agendas. For example, countries which are less developed wanted more money out of wealthier groups of nations. Top economic countries wanted the others to make similar contributions to lessen green house gas production.
All countries at the Copenhagen conference completely forgot about the earth and any responsiblity they have to curb global warming. Our Canadian government was absolutely disgraceful in its performance and position. Our government made no effort to move forward on reducing green house gases. Since our government is rather secretive, one might suspect that they were not in any way working to reduce green house gases.
Much debate takes place on climate science. Extremely skillful manipulators attempt to distract the agenda and confuse issues so that doubt arises as to the validity of climate warming. We don't have to look very far to see monstrous examples of global warming. The Arctic shows some very obvious and extensive examples. I spent 5 years in the Arctic in the 1960's. We would fly from Inuvik to Sach's Harbor on Banks Island, which is a distance of about 450km. In July and August there was open water about 15 to 25 km from shore. The rest of the way was loose ice, and some years there would be large areas of solid ice. Today all of the ice in the Beaufort Sea melts in the summer. Small boats will cross from Cape Bathurst or Cape Parry. To me this is an appalling change. This is all the evidence I need to become alarmed about the dangers of climate change caused by man. Seals and polar bears use the ice as habitat and are in great peril as a result.
This year, Hiawatha House is going to run a number of posts on global warming. We have to push our governments to take action on reducing green house gases.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Eek! New Years Resolutions are Coming
It's the silly time of year when we fall all over ourselves to make "New Years Resolutions". What's wrong with a good old resolution you say? Well, nothing's wrong with a resolution. It just seems that with all the hype at the New Year something is lost in the resolution and that's a shame.
Call me a "sad sack" or whatever, but in order for resolutions to be of any value they have to be made with a few guidelines. Resolutions need to be reasonable and realistic. Can one possibly achieve the resolution? If I say I'm going to save $10 000.00 this year and I only make $20 000.00 that isn't possible and it isn't going to happen no matter how many guidelines we have. The end of a resolution has to be measureable. I'm going to lose 5 pounds in 6 months. That has two measureable aspects. A resolution chart should be kept so that we can check and update our resolutions evry 30 days or whatever time frame makes sense for the individual.
Resolutions are valuable for one to attempt to improve various aspects of his/her life. I believe that we should always be looking for personal improvement. This can bring about long term satisfaction, success and happiness. Life is a journey and it lasts all year so make resolutions throughout the year.
So resolutions only made at one special time of year and in a party atmosphere are not my style. I'd prefer to see something a little less flashy and a little more obtainable.
Am I making New Years resolutions? Not on a bet! Not that I don't need to make some resolutions. There's lots to improve on old Red.
Call me a "sad sack" or whatever, but in order for resolutions to be of any value they have to be made with a few guidelines. Resolutions need to be reasonable and realistic. Can one possibly achieve the resolution? If I say I'm going to save $10 000.00 this year and I only make $20 000.00 that isn't possible and it isn't going to happen no matter how many guidelines we have. The end of a resolution has to be measureable. I'm going to lose 5 pounds in 6 months. That has two measureable aspects. A resolution chart should be kept so that we can check and update our resolutions evry 30 days or whatever time frame makes sense for the individual.
Resolutions are valuable for one to attempt to improve various aspects of his/her life. I believe that we should always be looking for personal improvement. This can bring about long term satisfaction, success and happiness. Life is a journey and it lasts all year so make resolutions throughout the year.
So resolutions only made at one special time of year and in a party atmosphere are not my style. I'd prefer to see something a little less flashy and a little more obtainable.
Am I making New Years resolutions? Not on a bet! Not that I don't need to make some resolutions. There's lots to improve on old Red.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)