It’s Mother’s Day, and coincidentally, it’s my mom’s yartzeit, the anniversary of her death. Last year I wrote this post about how dangerous design contributed to her death.
People have complained when I write "another cyclist killed by the construction industry," but it's true; so many of the deaths are caused by construction vehicles that are too big, going too fast, have shitty visibility, have no sideguards, and with insufficiently trained drivers. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/toronto-has-too-many-ghost-bikes
I did a Jane's Walk in Toronto's Oakwood Village; We looked at the mix of retail uses, the quality of the sidewalks, and even the overhead wires. But I noticed that more and more of the retail spaces now have sheets or drapes over the glass and are being used as apartments. This is a problem; we need more housing in Toronto, but you can't have a 15-minute city if you can't find a litre of milk. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/walkable-neighbourhoods-need-places
The new Carbon Majors report claims that just a few big companies are responsible for 80% of carbon emissions. Except they don't emit most of the CO2; they sell fossil fuels, and we buy them. It’s the choices we make, the way we live, the things we buy, and the politicians we elect. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/stop-blaming-57-companies-for-greenhouse
I have spent a lot of time in the bathroom lately, covering everything from the sink to the bidet, and today how we got our toilets. It's one of the greatest misallocation of resources in history, with vast quantities of expensively cleaned and pumped water being contaminated with human waste. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/we-should-rethink-the-toilet-from
I don't know who thought having a shower while standing on soapy wet curved metal was a good idea, but it isn't and causes thousands of injuries every year. I have previously discussed killer bathtubs; now it's killer showers with slippery floors, lousy controls, and no grab bars. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/how-careless-design-of-showers-is
@mbonsma daughter Emma rode her e-bike to the hospital. To be fair, she was going for an ultrasound and she didn’t know they were going to do a c-section that night, but I was still impressed.
I have long been a fan of Hannah Ritchie of Our World in Data, and I was eager to read her new book, "Not the End of the World." Sometimes, I think she is a bit too sunny and borderline Panglossian, but in times like these, we can use a little optimism. My review: https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/sorry-doomers-hannah-ritchie-says
A new study looks at the chemicals in our homes and their effect on DALYs, an important metric we should use more often that measures healthy years lost. Main takeaway: your gas stove is shortening your life. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/burning-stuff-is-depriving-us-of
It's time to rethink the sink. Le Corbusier famously put a sink in the hall, and so did I in our house. The difference is that Corb picked a nice big traditional pedestal sink, and I didn't. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/we-hate-our-bathroom-sink
Over the holidays, I have been posting articles I wrote over the years about the issues facing aging baby boomers. In this last one, I look at how bikes and e-bikes can be a great alternative for those who can't or don't want to drive cars. That's why "instead of demanding that cars go everywhere and park anywhere, perhaps it's time to demand good bike infrastructure that works for cyclists of all abilities." https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/from-the-archives-boomers-and-bikes
Yesterday, I saw two versions of the energy transition: A Canadian vision of abatement, carbon capture, hydrogen and small nuclear reactors, and OXFAM and Thomas Piketty's vision of taxing the richest 1% out of their multiple mansions, private jets and yachts. Pick one. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/tax-the-rich-before-they-kill-us
It’s hard to believe that in 2023 the Toronto Star and Canadian Press would be so scientifically illiterate as to put “the dark side of the moon” in print
The U.S. is investing millions in Direct Air Capture, but it is vastly cheaper, faster, and more effective to eliminate emissions at the source than it ever will be to try and suck them out of the air. They should just take the money and buy a lot of electric cars. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/does-carbon-capture-and-storage-with
Drive-through restaurants are getting so big that they look more like border crossings than restaurants. It seems that the world is turning into a place designed around the convenience and safety of drivers, where everyone else is screwed. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/in-the-future-everything-will-be
A guy crossing the street with the light is killed by the construction industry in the form of a driver of a dump truck making an illegal left turn, and the cop essentially blames the victim.
Why do electric pickup trucks look like they do? They are skeuomorphs, “a piece of design that’s based on an old-fashioned object. You’ve invented a newfangled technology, but you design it to look and act much like the old tech it’s replacing.” https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/death-to-skeuomorphism
Look at the front of the damn truck that killed this woman. Once again, the construction industry and the government have blood on their hands by driving these monsters that should not be allowed on city streets. It doesn't have to be this way; I wrote after the last murder: https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/another-cyclist-killed-by-the-construction
Over a thousand houses were lost in the Marshall Fire near Denver. 1.5% are being rebuilt to Passive House standards. Despite this being called a climate fire, I see endless concrete and endless garages for giant pickup trucks. We learned nothing. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/what-happens-when-you-get-a-clean
Globeandmail covers the shipping of 5000 bagels from St. Viateur to Vancouver. That's 3,693 km, 4,136 kg of CO2 for the flight, 827 grams CO2 per 100-gram bagel. At least they left the PM2.5 particulates back at the wood-fired bakery! I know I am being silly here, worrying about flying bagels, but this stuff adds up.
My photo doesn't do it justice, but it is hard walking down the brand new Somerset Ave sidewalk; it is a rollercoaster from all the curb cuts, or, really, sidewalk cuts. What do people with strollers or walkers do, or those in wheelchairs? Everyone on the street drives an SUV or pickup, so why give them a curb cut at all? It is going to be a total disaster come winter.
It just seems our priorities are all wrong when even the pedestrian infrastructure is designed around cars, not people.
Now that Ontario's Doug Ford has backtracked on his plan to pave the greenbelt, Ontario Place should be next. This giant concrete, glass and aluminum spa thing is a carbon bomb, and it is not like anyone needs this thing. A friend complained about the 800+ trees that are being cleared for it, but by my rough math, one would have to plant 75,775 trees to compensate for the upfront carbon emitted to build this stupid unwanted pig of a building. https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/the-therme-spa-at-ontario-place-in
