Take A Good Idea, Then Squash It

I've always been a fan of the idea of guerrilla gardening. For those of you who don't know, the concept is relatively straightforward: greenheads like myself essentially take over an abandoned piece of land not being used for any constructive purpose, and use it to grow crops and gardens and all sorts of other good stuff. I figure it's a great idea – I mean, it's certainly not hurting anybody; in fact, it kind of helps out the community. And it's pretty. But apparently not everybody shares my respect for this practice.

In February of this year, a British activist going by the name Nick Revolving took over Raven's Ait (a small island located in the Thames River) when he realized it was being totally neglected by the county as a result of the global economic recession. He and his friends built a treehouse, planted permaculture gardens, and have been squatting there in a totally self-sufficient commune. But they aren't doing this for selfish purposes – their goal is to turn the island into an “eco conference center” to raise awareness about sustainability and green alternatives. And since the government isn't doing anything with the land anyway, you'd assume they would be totally on board with that initiative, right?

Wrong.

The group is being evicted from the island, because apparently there are companies interested in doing something with the land – someday (the island has been vacant since November). The local council won't even bargain with the group unless they leave the island.

To me that rings of a small child who isn't playing with his toy train, but won't let any of the other children play with it in case he wants it at some indeterminate point in the future.

They say that ownership is 9/10 of the law; if that's the case, the law – and the concept of ownership itself – is terminally f*cked. Who made us in charge? Why is it that we get to decide who lives where, how, and in what capacity?

I am urging any and all readers to visit the group's website – read up on their plans and show your support. My good friend Lissa over at Living Lime notified me about this issue and is assisting in a project to raise £1.5 million in order to help save this piece of land and turn it into what Nick Revolving and his friends want it to be. I'm signing up – you should too.

Check out the original article here.

The Big Picture

Every so often I venture into the heart of this great city I love to call my home, and every time I do I find something new and wonderful about it. Sunday afternoon I took a very long walk through Queen's Park (hooray for inner-city greenery!) and took a trip down Queen Street West because it's been years since I delved into Toronto culture.

There used to be a ton of fun little shops along there that catered to green livers like myself: for example, I'm not into pot myself, but the Friendly Stranger sells a lot of hemp products outside smoking gear that I am really into – hemp clothes and all-natural soaps and the like. Lush is good for that too – I don't really dig a lot of chemicals in my soaps and moisturizers, not just because it's terrible for the environment but it's also terrible for my skin (being Scottish, I am very pale and my skin is extremely delicate).

I was sad to see so many of the cool old stores replaced with high-end haute couture boutiques, but I guess that's progress. Rode the streetcar for the first time in a long time (normally I bike everywhere) and all I can say is I can't wait for Toronto to institute their new light-rail system: it'll be more environmentally friendly and with any luck there will be a little more room!

There's good and bad about every city, I guess, but being somewhat well-traveled I think Toronto is one of the better ones out there. Sometimes I forget just how green this city actually is until I get up high enough to see the big picture. Sunday evening, just as the sun was setting, I was sitting on the patio of the Spoke Club on King Street (one of the best views in that area), enjoying a quiet beer and looking out over the downtown core, and it was genuinely beautiful. Sure, there are lots of urban developments going on in the area (there always are) but the city planners really work hard to ensure that a lot of trees and parks are threaded through the condos and block stores. It's heartening.

Okay, this was a little bit touchy-feely for an angry environmental blog; I think I'm just happy that spring has finally, finally arrived. In fact, I think I'm going to take another walk after work today, hit up the Spoke patio again, and take in the big picture.

Fail.

Normally I don't post these, but I couldn't pass this up. In the parlance of our times, Epic Fail: