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Chris Turner
Commenting (8)
Actually, the folks in Europe
Fri, Mar 30 2012 at 12:54 PM
Actually, the folks in Europe go to the nearest square and sit out at cafes on warm evenings. Together. In public. There are no drive-by shootings there because no one has guns.
I'll throw in my two cents on
Tue, Nov 01 2011 at 1:37 PM
I'll throw in my two cents on this, Jenn.
Very thoughtful response, and I recognize that half a century of car-centred urban planning (even at small-town scale) has turned walkable neighbourhoods into a certain kind of luxury. As with urban cycling, the safety of walkability comes in numbers, in what Jane Jacobs called "eyes on the street."
I certainly can't speak authoritatively to your situation, but one thing I always stress in these conversations is that sustainability shouldn't be a chore, especially for kids. It should be joyous, reinvigourating, exciting. If it isn't, maybe your town isn't ready for it on that particular front.
I gather the main reason your kids don't like it is because they're by themselves. Would there be a way to channel their energies into advocacy, maybe something like a one-day-a-month walk or ride to school day just to get some more kids engaged?
Just a thought. Like I said, sustainability's not one-size-fits-all and it shouldn't be a constant battle. If it is, I'd argue the energy's better spent on something else.
Consider the source indeed.
Mon, Oct 10 2011 at 11:53 AM
Consider the source indeed. In classical logic, this is known as an ad hominem argument and is not generally thought to be a strong tactic.
My credentials, for the record, are mostly as a journalist with 15 years' experience and nearly all of those on the climate/energy/tech beat. You think rocket scientists write their own press?
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Chris Turner
Green Tech Blogger
Member since March 2011
Chris Turner is an author, journalist and public speaker covering climate change and sustainability issues. His most recent book, the bestseller The Geography of Hope: A Tour of the World We Need (Random House Canada, 2007), was named one of The Globe & Mail's Best Books of the year and shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for Nonfiction and the National Business Book Award. His narrated visual tour of The Geography of Hope has captivated audiences ranging from Environmental Defence summits to Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers galas. He was a featured speaker at the 2008 Alfred Deakin Innovation Lectures in Melbourne, Australia.
Turner is also the author of the international bestseller Planet Simpson: How A Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation (2004). He writes a monthly feature on sustainability for The Globe & Mail. His magazine writing mostly for the late, great Shift Magazine has earned him four Canadian National Magazine Awards and six honourable mentions, including the 2001 President's Medal for General Excellence (the highest honour in Canadian magazine writing). His writing and reporting on culture, technology and the environment have also appeared in Fast Company, Time Magazine, The Independent (UK), Maclean's, Canadian Geographic, The Walrus, Azure and Utne Reader. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife, the photographer Ashley Bristowe, and their daughter, Sloane.
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