Chris Turner

MY MOST RECENT CONTENT

Bike trailers, child safety and the media's fear agenda

Mon, Aug 01 2011 at 11:09 AM

The media loves novelty and conflict. Together, they engender a fear of new ideas that can turn even the most gentle pastimes — such as biking with your kids — into a bogus hidden terror.

Heard the latest? Fast trains are way safer than cars

Thu, Jul 28 2011 at 4:57 PM

Because the everyday carnage on our highways isn't news, we fail to recognize driving as the riskiest thing we do on a regular basis. Our obsession with novelty clouds our ability to make wise decisions about transportation and everything else.

Memo to climate change pundits: Don't mention the weather

Wed, Jul 27 2011 at 11:47 AM

At the peak of a hot summer, commentators are making links between heat waves and global warming. The weather, though, is an irredeemably lousy frame for talking about climate change.

How bad pedestrian infrastructure can turn deadly

Mon, Jul 25 2011 at 11:46 AM

When indifference rules in the design of public transportation and pedestrian infrastructure, the result is often a nuisance. For Raquel Nelson's son, it was lethal — a tragedy born of an unconscionable oversight.

The 'contemptible indifference' of bad pedestrian infrastructure

Fri, Jul 22 2011 at 11:28 AM

Sometimes an afterthought is worse than no thought at all, especially when it comes to designing cities for people instead of cars. A rumination on thin sidewalks and the hidden meaning of the phrase 'some kind of vegetable.'

What Carmageddon taught us about behavioral economics

Wed, Jul 20 2011 at 10:51 AM

It was supposed to be Carmageddon in L.A., but instead the two-day closure of the busiest freeway in Los Angeles reiterated a timeless lesson about cars: We lose less than we think when we make them a lower priority in our cities.

Is Al Gore's Climate Reality Project a new direction or more of the same?

Fri, Jul 15 2011 at 1:50 PM

This week, Al Gore announced a new venture — the Climate Reality Project — which he claims will push public interest past the tipping point toward serious action. But what if the answer to indifference isn't more and better facts?

Germany's creative class turns sustainability's limits into innovation engine

Wed, Jul 13 2011 at 12:10 PM

From architecture to fashion design, Germany has become a sustainability pioneer in business sectors well beyond energy production. Along the way, its young innovators have discovered a wellspring of innovation in the design challenges of going green

Welcome to HafenCity -- Germany's crazy ambitious urban redesign project

Mon, Jul 11 2011 at 5:15 PM

The German port city of Hamburg had a fading harbor and a declining downtown population base. The solution to both problems? HafenCity — a massive, magnificent model of mixed-use, low-emissions urban living.

Germany stakes its cleantech future on stiff sea breezes

Thu, Jul 07 2011 at 1:18 PM

Germany has spent the last 5 years making solar power a mainstream business. It is poised to spend the next 10 years doing the same for offshore wind — and shuttering its nuclear industry forever in the process.

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 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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Chris Turner

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