Some urban problems and solutions are not often discussed

This past January London, Ontario, dumped more than 68 million litres of raw sewage into the Thames River. London's sewage treatment plants were overwhelmed when the runoff from heavy rain in January was too much for the system to handle.

Until I visited Europe and encountered dual-flush toilets, I never concerned my self with how much water I discharge with every flush or how the system handles the discharge. When I was a boy our toilets may have discharged as much as 30 litres of water per flush. In Europe I used toilets that didn't use two litres when discharging a deposit of only water. 

On getting home, I ordered a dual-flush toilet. I had to settle for a 3/6 litre per flush model. It replaced a toilet discharging almost 14 litres per water with every flush. My water bill showed an immediate improvement. That first dual flush model is the best performing toilet in our home.

When we redid our basement, we were unable to get the original dual-flush model. The one we did get is very poor. And it uses 3.5/6 litres and often requires more than one flush. When we redid our ensuite the plumber installed a straight 6 litre per flush unit. He told us all the dual-flush models his store carried often took two flushes when not flushing water and sometimes took even more. In actual use he assured us the model he was selling us was the best for our pocket book and the environment.

I'm disappointed in North American toilet technology. I know dual-flush toilets can work. I have one. And I know they can disappoint. I have one of those, too. Then today I came across the following article: Why America is Losing the Toilet Race and I started dreaming again. The North American john can be better.

Somethings don't photograph well

 

This is a large illuminated piece of active art composed of dozens of individual lights arranged in rows and controlled by a computer. The large screen changes colour and intensity in waves giving it the appearance of an electronic waterfall.

If this were video you might see the rippling waves of water effect. But this is not a video and you can't see the tumbling water effect.

I've shot the entire building and the art simply burns out--overexposed. The camera cannot get a good expose of both the mostly unlit apartment building and the brightly glowing light show.

Somethings are difficult to photograph. Sorry.

The story behind the Ontario Grown sticker

A lot of Londoners look for the Ontario Grown sticker before buying hothouse tomatoes. Why? Because Leamington, the Tomato Capital of Canada is but an hour southwest of London.

But those Londoners must look carefully before putting down their money. Some Canadian greenhouse growers have expanded into Mexico, Spain and the United States. The name of a local grower with a Southwest Ontario address is no longer enough. It must say Ontario Grown.

And, if one thinks buying Canadian means putting Canadians to work, think again. Often it is migrant workers from Mexico picking the Canadian crop.

The Mexican workers are so numerous that a satellite image of the Leamington farm country shows a clearly labeled Mexican Consulate, surrounded by greenhouses, right on the edge of town.

The CBC, the government owned and operated Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, looked into the migrant worker situation in the hothouse industry. I have linked to the posted story:

Mexican workers say they are victims of abuse on Canadian farms. 

Chris Ramsaroop, organizer of Justicia for Migrant Workers, was correct when he told CBC News that Canadians are not sufficiently aware that the Ontario fruits and vegetables they eat are often harvested by workers who come from thousands of kilometres away.

And if you thought greenhouse grown means few if any pesticides are used, you're wrong again. Apparently, pesticides are applied in many greenhouses two or three times a week. Three of the migrant workers interviewed by CBC News reported they are forced to handle vegetables covered with chemicals without being given protective equipment like those workers spraying the pesticides.

Now that I've read the CBC News report, I will not be shunning Mexican grown produce in the future as I have in the past.

Only in North America do asphalt shingles rule

The first time I visited Europe I immediately noticed that roofs were covered with a variety of materials but one was clearly missing: asphalt shingles. It is claimed that 80% of all residential roofs in North America are covered with asphalt shingles. Stats Canada reports some 40 million bundles  of asphalt shingles are produced in Canada annually.

Asphalt shingles were invented by an American, Henry Reynolds of Grand Rapids, Michigan. First used in 1901, asphalt shingles were in general use in many parts of the States by 1911. Cheap to buy and easy and quick to install, asphalt shingles grew quickly in popularity. The one drawback, a relatively short life, was easily overlooked by folk needing a new roof and needing it, as they say, yesterday.

A little over a century later, another drawback is being becoming evident; asphalt shingles consume a lot of space in a city dump. A typical roof can contain from 3-4 tons of roofing material. The Bob Vila site carries an article estimating U.S. landfills receive nearly 20 billion pounds of old asphalt shingles annually. Because of this, more and more asphalt shingles are being recycled into material for making blacktop for roads.

Durable, long-lasting clay tiles, so popular in Europe, are finding it a hard sell in North America. That said, another alternative roofing material, metal, is attracting quite the following with some 750,000 U.S. homeowners choosing metal for their homes in 2015.

In London, asphalt shingles are the clear leader when it comes to a roofing material but metal shingles are quickly gaining ground and solar panels have a lot of adherents.

A bogus facade is hardly heritage

When I moved to London back in the mid '70s, the Talbot Block was a wonderfully intact row of historic buildings. It was possibly the most historically important block in the city. At one point, more than a thousand Londoners held hands to circle the block and loudly protest its proposed destruction. It was to no avail. Essentially, everything was taken down. 

Only a poor imitation of the old hotel's facade remains as the exterior wall of the north-east corner of Budweiser Gardens, a sports and entertainment centre.

The City Hotel goes back to 1865. In 1886 it was extensively remodeled and enlarged. Later the name was changed to the Talbot Inn. 

At one point, one could get a good Mexican dinner there along with a cold draft. At night one could catch some of the best blues musicians on the bar circuit playing next door to the old hotel. 

The facade of the inn barely escaped demolition when the other buildings making up the Talbot Block fell.

Why did the historic streetscape disappear? Why, to make way for a new downtown mall and hotel complex which in the end failed to materialize despite the hasty demolition.

I always thought that more of the old hotel should have been saved and incorporated into the present sports complex. Possibly some rooms could have been retained for out-of-town visitors in London for a London Knights game. 

Retaining but a poor memory of the true facade, blue painted glass in the street-facing windows destroying even the slightest hint of heritage, what remains adds little to the character of downtown.

In Sweden sidewalks a gender equality issue

I have mixed feelings when it comes to sidewalks. Many of the argument in favour of sidewalks seem hard to refute. Then one encounters the huge dichotomy between the promise and the reality. This is a dichotomy that should not exist.

I've noticed that folk using wheelchairs in my suburb are as likely to be on a road as on a sidewalk. One some streets, like my court, the wheelchair user has no choice. There is no sidewalk. But on others streets, the sidewalk is impassable while the roadway is well plowed.

For this reason, I've been a promoter of the woonerf concept, at least for small courts and culs-de-sac. Today I discovered that there is another approach: the Swedish one. In Sweden they try to clear sidewalks first and they have added another argument as to why. Clearing sidewalks first is a move towards gender equality.

More women than men use sidewalks. This means the number of woment injured falling on sidewalks rendered treacherous by weather is far greater than the number of men injured. If you watch the first part of the following Swedish video, you will understand the Swedish position.

Teachers walking picket line; students hitting slopes

Ontario, the province in which London is located, is being hit by rotating teacher strikes. This coming Friday is another strike day for our granddaughters. I'm glad that two of the kids were keen to learn how to ski. Come Friday some friends are hitting the slopes for the day with their parents and Fiona and Isla have been invited to tag along.

I want to cheer. The girls will not be playing computer games. They will be out interacting with others and getting some exercise as well. Yeah!