Alex Carrick’s Blog

The 19th century writers Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker were among the first great environmentalists. Their creations – Frankenstein’s “monster” and Count Dracula respectively ‒ blazed new trails in preserving scarce resources. In his research and during the operation that led to his triumph, Dr. Frankenstein was careful to use the purest form of electric […]

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Toronto City Council recently banned the use of plastic bags beginning January 1, 2013. It’s a tremendous source of comfort to me that our elected officials are always looking out for what’s in our best interests, whether we know it or not.   My family of five will no longer be able to tote home […]

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We’re experiencing a winter without snow in Toronto. Actually, it’s been a late 2011 and early 2012 without much of a winter. In technical terms, the days between December 21 and March 21 are marching by. But they’re scurrying along much quicker without my having to shovel snow and worry about skidding all over the road while […]

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How hot and humid is Toronto this summer? There’s no question it’s a scorcher. We’re setting new record highs daily.   It’s such a sizzler that…  (1) Out-0n-bail G20 protesters have declared a moratorium on burning cop cars. (2) Casual Friday has become sponge bath Friday; (3) All of the city’s mayoral candidates want to tax and license running […]

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I was driving in my car the other day when a news item came over the radio that made me really pause and think. Apparently there has been such a shopping spree for guns in the United States that there is now, not just a shortage of ammunition, but a “critical” shortage. That’s how the […]

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My nose knows and it is telling me that I need to write about Toronto’s garbage workers strike. We’re about to enter the fourth week. Negotiations between the mayor’s office and the union are getting overheated. Everyone is sweating over the details. The situation has become sticky. You see the problem? There is going to be a lingering […]

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Who are you, carbon, that everybody is chasing you? Why do they want to capture and store you? What have you done to deserve such approbation and disapproval? Don’t you have rights too? How did things come to this sorry pass?   You are such a renegade. I’m sure there is a background story. There […]

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I’ve taken up roller blading. The joke is that it’s to save on gasoline. But it’s actually because I’ve done a lot of ice skating and how much harder can it be to roller blade?   Turns out, it’s a lot harder. Ice is slippery, but it’s flat. The roads I’ve been going on with […]

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The “green movement” is everywhere these days. You find references to “green” in news stories, television ads and learned journals. It’s all about climate change and conserving scarce resources for the future.

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