It's funny the impression you can have of the world around you when you spend more time making assumptions than actually discovering that world. The phrase 'to assume makes an ass of you and me' couldn't be more true. Assuming things has definitely made an ass out of me. There, I admitted it, I'm an ass. Or at least I was. The assumption I used to make? That Calgary has a shriveled, sorry excuse for an environmentally minded community. Well, I'm happy to say that I'm wrong (another rare admittance I might add).
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Officially or unofficially, May is Bike Month! So what better way to kick off the month by participating in Calgary's Bike to Work Day on Friday May 1st. (And hopefully it stops snowing by then!)
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It seems that it's way easier to stick to the status quo instead of challenging it. But I don't like to trust people unwilling to challenge the status quo, the ones who frequently tell us to 'stay the course', because to stay the course would imply that the course we are on can't be improved. Now, that isn't to say I'm up for change just for the sake of change, but when someone presents an idea that's forward thinking and refreshing, with little to no down side, I'm in full support.
The city is proposing using a portion of Memorial Drive as a pedestrian area for a few Sundays in August. This idea has many critics and even more people confused about the potential benefit of the idea, but regardless, it is definitely the type of forward thinking Calgary needs if we want to improve as a city.
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Posted on April 14th, 2009 by Shannon
Death, my Buddhist teacher likes to remind me, is a natural part of life. This is true until you get buried or cremated. At that point the multi-billion dollar funeral industry takes over, providing the deceased with satin-lined wood coffins festooned with brass accents (for the discriminating loved one), cement gravestones, cement liners and a little eau de formaldehyde and other toxins to preserve the glow of the living.
Then the wasteland of hazardous chemicals and non-biodegradable materials that is the cemetery where you lay is mowed and watered, fertilized and sprayed with pesticides. Gravestones fall into disrepair and the cemetery fills up like a tin of sardines.
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With a name for this article like 'politicians let me down again' this may be an ongoing series, but yes, they have let me down again. Now, I know it's tough for politicians, because they're not typically scientists or environmentalists, they're bureaucrats, and yet their job is to legislate over science and the environment. That's exactly why I'm going to hold their feet to the fire, and why everyone else should too. And honestly, politicans get an easy ride. Sure, we all criticize them, but for every person like me attempting to hold them to a higher standard (in my case, by writing articles on a site they'll probably never read, sigh), there's about ten people who just don't care or follow what they do. So for the most part, they're far too free to make decisions that may or may not lack the common sense from which a decision should be made. The latest bone headed decision from Calgary's city council is seemingly minor, yet to me, that makes it all the more significant. The unnecessary dependency on bottled water has reared it's ugly head again.
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I think we've all said it before: Calgary has no culture. I've been guilty of this before and sometimes I'm still guilty of it, but consecutive snow storms on the very precious weekends we get can make even the best of us a little jaded. Sometimes it even feels good to say it, like it's a battle between you and the city and you're getting the upper hand. Somehow, somewhere, someway, I realized I didn't get the upperhand cursing at Calgary. Infact, I realized by saying Calgary has no culture, I was criticizing myself. It's all of us together that make up Calgary's culture. So what kind of culture do we have?
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There's probably two things you can talk to any Calgarian about to fit in. The first is the weather. You can fit in with any Calgarian talking about the weather because you can make statements and get an expected response back, like they were an old friend. "Man, this winter just never ends" usually yields a "No kidding". It feels good to know what a stranger in the elevator or at the checkout will most likely say... it's like you get them. You suddenly have confidence talking to members of the opposite sex that you never had before because you know they'll appreciate your anecdote about how the weather sucks here (getting to a new line of conversation after the weather is the tricky part, and I wish all CalgaryUrbanite readers good luck in your romantic endeavours).
The other sure fire line of conversation on which Calgarians relate is of course, our public transit.
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I'm Greener Than You Are: The Perils Of Feeling Not Good Enough Because You're Not Green Enough
Last fall I went on a trip to Hawaii. I’d always wanted to go there and it was pretty much everything I had hoped for: sun, ocean, beach, beautiful vistas, great food, great people and all around pure indulgence. When I got back I was chatting about the trip with a friend who is one of Calgary’s most active activists. Slowly my happiness with the trip turned a bit sour, and I realized I was feeling guilty for emitting all those CO2 molecules during my many flights (seven in total there, between islands and back). I wasn't there for business purposes, or to plant trees or save turtles; it was just a vacation for my own pleasure and benefit. Green guilt loomed large.
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Sometimes making the right decisions to help out the environment can be easy. Sometimes it's tough.
A couple weeks ago, I posted a review of the Beat Niq criticizing the practice of only providing bottled water. Gerry Hebert, artistic director at Beat Niq responded about why their hand is forced on the issue. I appreciate him being forth coming with explaining the concerns and challenges the Beat Niq faces in providing their entertainment while maintaining some level of profitability. It's easy to forget about the real challenges businesses face when we see practices that don't fit in with our ideal world.
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Despite the media attention, reading the books and the articles, learning about it in school and having a best friend who is truly an environmentalist at heart, I am guilty of being a consumption-holic. I am conscious of the fact that a) I already have a lot of stuff and b) I don’t need anything else but I still find myself buying a lot of items that I justify with these reasons:
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