walking

This morning I walked 5½km starting out at 7:50a.m. and returning home at 10:30.

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After walking to the market in the deep snow (30cm or 1ft.) I headed up thru Horner Park on our clockwise route over Mt. Tolmie.

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Walking in the deep snow was more enervating than had been expected and by the time I got back was just about exhausted.

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But what a wonderful experience! I've hiked Mount Tolmie since 1946 -- as a nine-year-old -- and have never seen it look so beautiful.

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The conditions were perfect: no sun, no wind, no snow and no rain. At a balmy zero-degrees (0°C) it was most pleasant for those of us dressed for it.

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Mt. Tolmie Walk in the Snow 30-seconds

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Labels: finnerty, tolmie, walked

The weather forecast for Friday, February 8th in Victoria was for heavy snowfall. That did not materialize but by late morning some snow did appear and by early afternoon some accumulations were apparent.

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Time to head out for a walk over the mountain. We just happen to have a mountian in our backyard so it was chosen for the hike.

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The weather was perfect for a winter walk. Minus one degree celsius (-1°C) with no wind. The snow was sticking to all the tree branches just begging to be photographed.

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This loop walk is 3800m in length and I was home at 1:50p.m.

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Labels: finnerty, tolmie, walked

 
Feltham Park Trail in Saanich makes a convenient walking or cycling connector between Cedar Hill Road (at Feltham) and McKenzie Avenue (at Andrews Avenue overpass).

At its western trailhead it's named: Bow Park Trail. Go figure. 

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The loop from Feltham Medical Centre via Livingstone Ave.N is only 2k but a pleasant enough walk (or cycle).

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The section through Bow Park on the Feltham Trail is heavily wooded and contains a small lake.

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Labels: feltham, walked

Walked Selkirk Trestle westbound from Glo to Harbour Road roundtrip.

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Pleasant, overcast, spring-like day with all manner of plants budding.

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Labels: selkirk, walked

I walked the mountain up through Horner, Gordon Head Road to the eastside trail head at Cedar Hill X Rd.

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This is not a usual route but got the heartrate up just the same

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Worked repainting the FSX ERSJOEYX BN2A Mk.III Trislander 2-2 G-JOEY (GNS) most of the morning.

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Labels: tolmie, walked

Walked Henderson with her

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Slow day

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Labels: henderson, walked

Walked to market and printer cartridge refill $38 for 4 items one-to-go-yellow

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Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems RPAS drones, quadcopters and hexacopters

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Labels: walked

Last Sunday Bob McMinn was tending the gate and offering tours at the Mary Lake. We hadn't been out to the lake since the initial offering in 2011 I find it interesting one photo I took on Sunday has garnered over 57,000 views in 24hrs from world-wide respondents.

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Hopefully this publicity will help lift the awareness of this marvelous, Vancouver Island gem to the level it deserves. We trust this photo will be of use to the Mary Lake Nature Sanctuary in their efforts to save Mary Lake.

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Thank you and your volunteers for your continuing efforts to save Mary Lake

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Labels: highlands, marylake, walked

Tuesday we walked Henderson chiptrail over to Alumni Trail and back via Haro Road path

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A most pleasant day at a balmy 9°C

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Labels: alumni, henderson, uvic

MERRY CHRISTMAS BEN, SHAR, M,L,A, & SHELDON

Labels: christmas

Everything You Wanted to Know About BC's Coal Exports . . . but were afraid to ask because someone may actually tell you the truth.

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Yes, anti-pipeline Vancouver really is North America’s largest exporter of coal

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A city dead set against expanding petroleum exports is decidedly less irked about another type of fossil fuel Ships are loaded with coal at Westshore Terminals in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday February 19, 2014. The terminal is North America's largest single coal export facility Lately, it’s one of the few things that oil boosters and environmental activists can agree upon: Calling Vancouver a hypocrite for opposing carbon emissions while also being the continent’s largest coal port.

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And both camps are correct. According to the data, Canada’s mecca of anti-pipeline sentiment does indeed rank as the largest single exporter of coal in North America. Much of Vancouver’s coal is handled by a single facility that ranks as the largest of its kind on the continent. Westshore Terminals loaded 29 million tonnes of coal in 2017, nearly triple the combined coal exports of the entire U.S. West Coast.

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It’s also right next to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, making it a familiar sight to any passenger aboard a ferry arriving from Vancouver Island. Currently, Westshore Terminals is in the midst of a $275 million upgrade to “replace aging equipment and modernize our office and shop complex,” according to the company “Coal production is a mainstay of the province’s economy, generating billions of dollars in annual revenue and supporting thousands of well-paid jobs,” reads the website for B.C.’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. Coal is the province’s number one export commodity, with $3.32 billion of coal mined in 2016. Much of this is metallurgical coal, which is exported to Asia for the making of steel.

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In recent years, however, Vancouver’s coal ports have also accommodated a massive increase in exports of thermal coal, which is used for the production of electricity. Coal is moved at Neptune terminals, North Vancouver, April 28 2017. Controversially, almost all of this thermal coal is coming from the United States. As lawmakers in Washington and Oregon have begun shutting down their own coal ports due to environmental concerns, thermal coal producers in Wyoming and Montana have simply diverted their product through Canada.

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In August, then-premier Christy Clark called for a ban on Vancouver exports of U.S. thermal coal in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber.

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“They are no longer good trading partners with Canada. So that means we’re free to ban filthy thermal coal from B.C. ports, and I hope the federal government will support us in doing that,” she said at the time.

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In the main, however, Metro Vancouver has benefited handsomely from the presence of the coal industry, according to numbers compiled by the B.C.-based Coal Alliance. Between 2012 to 2017, coal-related companies spent $2.29 billion in Metro Vancouver, including $470 million in the City of Vancouver proper

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One the most visible contributions of the coal sector has been as a key sponsor of the Vancouver Aquarium. In 2012 Teck Resources donated $12.5 million to the attraction, the aquarium’s largest-ever single donation.

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It’s difficult to precisely calculate the lifecycle carbon footprint of Vancouver’s coal exports, given that the city’s ports handle a variety of coal types, each with their own specific emissions profile. But according to emissions formulas used by the Sierra Club, Vancouver’s 2017 coal exports will produce 99.8 million tonnes of CO2 over their lifetime. For context, this is significantly higher than B.C.’s entire carbon footprint. In 2014, B.C. estimated that it produced 64.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent

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It also means that B.C.’s existing coal exports are roughly as bad for the climate as anything scheduled to come out of the Trans Mountain expansion. The completed Trans Mountain expansion would move 215 million extra barrels of diluted bitumen per year. Depending on the kind of Alberta bitumen the pipeline will be moving at any one time, this means that total product shipped through the expansion will emit between 129 million and 158 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over its life-cycle.

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written by Tristin Hopper Reference cited 

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Labels: anthropogenic, vancouver

"We Have Met the Carbon Enemy and He is Us"

Why writers who are supposedly putting forward our arguments still refer to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as the 'enemy' and something to reduce (hopefully not something to 'eliminate' as there would be no life of any kind on planet Earth) is beyond me.

Dr. Plimer has stated repeatedly (sorry, I can't find the reference right now) that if mankind burnt all the known resources of fossil fuel on Earth, the CO2 level -- under present world, atmospheric and celestial conditions -- could not and would not rise it above 800 ppm; still far short of the ideal living conditions for life on Earth (including humans) of 1000 ppm.

The real kicker in the argument that taking money out of our pockets and putting into governments' pockets is simply insanity if anyone believes it has anything to do with controlling Earth's climate. In Canada, it just means Trudeau can buy more clown suits for himself and his family when travelling abroad. LOL

Here's another dichotomy of this argument (all vying for first place): The climate-kooks form political parties to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere and name them -- Green.
We, hope to increase CO2 and are referred to as ' browns'  (for burning up the planet in some imaginary heat wave). The truth is in reality the reverse of these conditions.

We are the real 'greens' by increasing CO2 and thus stimulating more plant growth and making the planet greener and they do the opposite making it browner by depriving plant life of the nutrient they need most -- CO2.

Labels: anthropogenic

Concrete is the most widely used man-made material in existence. It is second only to water as the most-consumed resource on the planet.

But, while cement - the key ingredient in concrete - has shaped much of our built environment, it also has a massive carbon footprint.

Cement is the source of about 8% of the world's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to think tank Chatham House.

If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third largest CO2 emitter in the world - behind China and the US. It contributes more CO2 than aviation fuel (2.5%) and is not far behind the global agriculture business (12%).

 Reference cited:

N.B.  Remember: this is good. The more CO2 in the atmosphere the better. There would be no life on Earth without carbon dioxide. Plant production (food) has increased worldwide by over 20% during the past few decades. Just imagine how wonderful life will be on Earth if it increases to approximately 800 ppm.? Drill baby drill.

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If you are green to gardening you might not know that carbon dioxide, the gas we all exhale, is critical to plant growth and development. Photosynthesis, the process through which plants use light to create food, requires carbon dioxide. CO2 concentration in ambient air ranges from 300-500 parts per million (ppm), with a global atmospheric average of about 400 ppm.

If you are growing in a greenhouse or indoors, the CO2 levels will be reduced as the plants use it up during photosynthesis. Increasing the CO2 levels in these environments is essential for good results. Additionally, there are benefits to raising the CO2 level higher than the global average, up to 1500 ppm. With CO2 maintained at this level, yields can be increased by as much as 30%!
Reference cited:

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Labels: anthropogenic

Late afternoon walk over Mt. Tolmie.

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Suited up to walk over to the office and saw Annya before hitting out

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Not too many on the trail but more than expected at that time of the day

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Had to shorten my walk as supper was on the stove when I left

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Great lighting in late afternoon when the skies are clear

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Labels: tolmie, walked