Please Remain Calm

I just heard that housing has never been as unaffordable in British Columbia as it is today. It now takes, the radio announced, 73% of the average household income to pay for the house. And if you're a renter that worrisome news is also for you. The trouble and doubt is enough to make a person panic.

The European Union is in as deep of trouble as North America, and the Canadian dollar is dropping like teeth at a hockey game. Unemployment continues to mount. The "jobless recovery" makes one wonder who is recovering, and what they are ripping off to achieve it. Who are the people that are buying all these expensive houses? Getting a job? As The Cars sang in the 1980's, "It's all messed up."

The mess that BP and Haliburton have made of the Gulf of Mexico continues unabated. The last thousand year old trees are helicopter-lifted out of our forests while the wildlife that used to live there sits at the side of the logging road with a guitar case open singing the Homeless Blues. I can feel the hysteria rising in me like the mercury rising in a thermometer in the arctic.

"When in trouble, when in doubt - run in circles, scream and shout," was a little ditty that my Mom liked to say when when we were kids. "What! Meatloaf and peas again!" we would cry and protest. But, of course, she was being sarcastic. She did not want us to panic, nor should we have.

Panic leads to worse problems and is not helpful in providing solutions. It is the mob's modus operandi. I do feel like screaming and shouting, and gathering a pitch-fork carrying mob complete with burning torches and catchy slogans - "Capitalism is wrecking the planet, when are we gonna ban it?" But I will remain calm, and so should you.

At the very least, we should not all panic and get hysterical at the same time. Now is the time to stick together, those of us in the bottom 90% of world wealth, and look after each other. It is the time for action, not hysteria. Time for cooperation, kindness, and creative thinking.

Together we are strong, and regardless of how much the top 10% has, there are more of us. Way more.

We have the power. Let's use it. Don't panic - problem solve.

Breaking My Addiction To Oil With My Bicycle

Photo: Despairwear

Nothing deflates a cycle adventure quite like a flat tire. Especially at the beginning, before the adventure has really started. This morning I went to the bike shed and noticed that the rear tire of my bike had pancaked sometime over the last couple of days. I was on my way to go in to town to do some things, then explore some trails on the way home. Now what?

I glanced at my truck and realized that lately I have been considering driving the less attractive alternative. It has its advantages for longer voyages, but for short trips I find driving is much less efficient and fun than cycling. I felt like moving and breathing and feeling the wind and sun. I took the tire pump out of my pack.

The tire was holding a good amount of air, but didn't know how long it would last. I stashed the pump and launched myself across the pavement, on to my bike, and left my fate to the laws of pneumatics. It felt great to be traveling lightly and under my own steam.

This is what it has come to, especially after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. I would rather take my chances on my bike with a leaky tire, than sit passively in 1.5 tons of truck that is dependent on all that oil that is leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.

The leak in my tire turned out to be fairly fast. I had to re-pump every couple of kilometers, amounting to four maintenance stops for air.

But I got my business done, enjoyed the freedom of cycling, and got a good workout, both riding and pumping. I enjoyed cruising past the gas stations and refusing to satisfy my addiction to oil and convenience.

Now, time to fix that tire.

Ride on!