Mike Thomas

Mike Thomas

32p

39 comments posted · 0 followers · following 0

14 years ago @ Macleans.ca - No way to run a recession · 2 replies · +1 points

Considering in most of the country the fall is time to button up construction projects for the winter, if it's not happening now, it's not happening this year! Imminent decisions - the municipalities will be lucky to come up with the matching funds! This is not the way to dig a country out of a recession, the creation of long lasting jobs is much more important than these shot in the arm boosts.

A global recession of this nature requires relocalization as a solution.

14 years ago @ Spark | CBC Radio - Your job before the in... · 0 replies · +1 points

I'm a city engineer, and finding reference material for pipeflows or other calculations would have been in 1000's of pages of textbooks, now with resources such as Google Books, websites or professional forums, the answer is just minutes away, even out in the field on a web-enabled smartphone. Communications and revisions of designs happens rapidly in real time, photos of technical issues can be sent to consultants or authorities from cell phones.

Overall things have sped up, which is generally productive, but it has it's downside with the need to make decisions without as much time to ponder and research. I think it makes it easier to make decisions, but these decisions happen more rapidly.

14 years ago @ UrbanWorkbench - Small City Airports · 0 replies · +1 points

Agreed, however, the locations mentioned probably have much higher population densities to support air travel. BC was still the \"wild west\" long after many other areas of the continent were tamed.

14 years ago @ UrbanWorkbench - Small City Airports · 0 replies · +1 points

Adam thanks for your comments - stranded assets is going to be the theme of the future in this heavily suburban landscape. Small airports are no exception. (I will get onto the questionnaire as well!)

14 years ago @ UrbanWorkbench - Feel Good and Save the... · 0 replies · +1 points

I think it means saving the planet despite our own stupidity.

14 years ago @ UrbanWorkbench - Disbelief · 0 replies · +1 points

@WC - Denial is rampant. Doing our best is just part of the equation - the whole structure of our society is so overwhelmingly energy dependent, and the government has itself tied in knots over the stimulus package, or in BC's case - the election.

Peak Oil and Climate Change are on a collision course with our corporate inaction, can we head it off with a last minute flurry of concern?

14 years ago @ UrbanWorkbench - Castlegar Planning for... · 0 replies · +1 points

From the City of Castlegar's Website. here are the details of tonight's meeting...

As the first step, the City will host a community workshop to establish a vision for sustainability and a series of goals. These meetings, the first in a series of consultation sessions over the next year, will provide the foundation for the Sustainable OCP and Infrastructure Strategy.

SUSTAINABLE OCP COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Community Forum - 445-13th Avenue,

The workshop will begin with a review of the 2006 Resident Survey and the 2007 Community Assessment, followed by a short presentation about the principles of community sustainability.

14 years ago @ UrbanWorkbench - Happy Easter · 0 replies · +1 points

Square foot gardening is a great idea for gardeners of all abilities, particularly those who have felt overwhelmed by the scale of things - it keeps it simple and manageable, and the rewards are fresh veggies, what could be better! And it is fun!

We held off planting in the beds that are ready cause the weather forecast looked like some cold nights - just a little too cold for the row covers to protect the germination process. However,, the weather seems to be heading on a warming trend now, so we may get the seeds in tomorrow or Monday. I still have some row cover hoops to make up too!

14 years ago @ UrbanWorkbench - Happy Easter · 0 replies · +1 points

The joys of living in Rossland!

14 years ago @ UrbanWorkbench - Are Green Buildings Wo... · 0 replies · +1 points

The NYT typically does pretty solid reporting, and they are quoting a building codes analyst for the National Association of Home Builders. Thanks for your comment though, it is definitely a matter of conjecture as to whether there are payoffs in carbon footprint, energy and dollar savings for these new and often fancy buildings.