Cob-building – from start to finish – August 30th to September 4th

From August 30th to September 4th, I’ll be hosting another cob workshop on Lasqueti Island. The cost of $600 covers all meals (3 hot, fully organic vegan/vegetarian meals per day, plus a welcoming dinner and a good-bye breakfast), on-site camping with running water, and hands-on instruction.
Women and families are especially encouraged to apply.  Barters [...]

Learn to build – naturally – with Cob!

Want to learn how to build your own house with human-power!?
Want to build with cheap, reusable, natural materials that are earthquake proof, fire proof, pest proof, and proven to last for centuries?
Cob is the term for an earthen building technique that mixes sand, clay and straw and is sculpted on a wall. No forms [...]

More Transit Fares for More People

TransLink has done it again: they’ve raised fares for the fourth time in less than 8 years. This time across the board (passes and tickets, too). Oh joy.
That’s a 40% increase at the farebox; the ever-helpful Bank of Canada tells me that inflation over this period has been less than 16%, meaning fares [...]

Fare-Free Transit: is it finally time?

I’ve had the pleasure to research and write a series of articles about Fare-Free Transit around the world and how these systems compare to what exists in Vancouver and Nanaimo.
You can find these articles on the daily on-line newspaper, theTyee.ca. The folks at the Tyee were so supportive and helpful from start to finish [...]

The Ultimate Commuting Machine

Yes, I think I’ve stumbled upon it…the ultimate commuting machine!
Why such a bold statement? Let me list the ways…it’s
Clean: when the battery is charged via solar panels, there are virtually no emissions (the manufacture of the solar panels created some emissions, as does the flatulence of food digestion…oops, pardon me). The reduction in CO2 [...]

BC Ferries misses the boat…again!

British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. (a.k.a. BC Ferries) recently announced a $28 million dollar “upgrade” to four loading bays at Horseshoe Bay (near West Vancouver) and Departure Bay (near Nanaimo). This followed an announcement that they were having three new giant car- and truck-carrying ferries made in [...]

A highway built for 2…

 
Imagine a highway built for 2 cars…that’s right, a road where only 2 cars can reach the destination every 2 hours.
It certainly would solve traffic congestion and it would cost a lot less than the Gateway boondogle the provincial government is trying to shove down our throats.
Of course, no car owner would stand [...]

This is a Truly Terrible Twin!

No one likes to sit in traffic. That’s one reason why I ride a bike. Unfortunately for those who didn’t look at the big picture when deciding where to live, this isn’t much help. Thousands of folks bought homes in the ‘burbs to try to save money while continuing [...]