BBC News Coverage of Israel-Palestine: David-Goliath?

Forget all this controversy about BBC's biased coverage of Israel-Palestine violence.  Let's just compare the damage. 

On the left:  Israeli home struck by Palestinian militant's rocket from Gaza. 
On the right: Gaza neighbourhood struck by Israeli bomb. 

Seems a bit much? Certainly not a measured response?  Perhaps not even a sane response? 

If there is such a huge David vs. Goliath contrast between the firepower of the two groups, I doubt if a balanced news channel would describe this as a "war" or "military response".  Sounds more like violent, barbaric slaughter. 



Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

World Cup fever masks Canadian Government's sickness

The timing of Harper's government's announcement of approving the Northern

Gateway pipeline could not have been more sneaky!  It was probably counting on World Cup fever to hide Canada's sick policies.  While ignorant Canadians blare the horns of their flag-draped cars to celebrate the soccer victory of some remote country in Europe and get high on that opium for the masses (TV), Canada moves to approve the Northern Gateway. 

In some parts of the world, this would result in militancy and armed resistance by civilian militias -- which one hopes is the path that ultimately the First Nations will consider if all else fails.  

But for now, apathetic Canadians will just order that 4th beer on the patio.  At least we have a government that we deserve - lacking complete transparency and integrity.  
Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Dirty Oil Spills: Coming soon to a neighbourhood in BC...

While Canadian citizens were busy posting cutesy pics of their cats and nauseating selfies from Boxing Day sales lineups, Stephen Harper's Joint Review Panel sneaked in the green light for the Northern Gateway tar sands pipeline project.  I guess a democracy is only as good as its citizens.

Ironically, in the same week, images of the North Dakota oil spill appeared.  Surprisingly, when you type in "North Dakota oil spill" in Google Image Search, the first 75 pictures that come up do not show you any of those scary images of mushrooming fireballs exploding in the air -- like the one below: 

Oil spill in North Dakota, Dec. 2013

For me, David Suzuki's comments are the perfect thought-provoking summary: 

"Coastal native communities are desperate for economic development. They need jobs, they tell us that every time...So the economy is very important to them.  That's why their unified opposition to Northern Gateway is all the more striking.

They're telling us some things are simply more important than money, and no one is getting that."

Ha!  Try telling that to a nation obsessed with consumption and Boxing day sales. 

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Genocide? A reminder of Canada's ugly past - and present

It is good to have humbling reminders of Canada's ugly past -- and present -- when the all-Canadian itch to fight other people's wars raises its head and we send our holier-than-thou jets to bomb other regions to help their populace.  Why not look at what we are our doing to aboriginal lands and people in our backyard first?  

Hence, I found this campaign asking UN to term Canada's treatment of its aboriginals as genocide, quite relevant.  This video helped me understand why this issue was important -- and former Prime Minister Paul Martin agrees. 

Even today, land-grab and forceful disruption of aboriginal people in Canada continues, with just one small example being the Fish Lake in BC.  

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Dear St. Mary's University, the correct word is RAPE

The news coverage around the 'froshing' at St. Mary's University is nauseatingly cute:  It is not "unconsensual sex".  It is called RAPE.  And Mr. Premier of Nova Scotia, they are not "kids".  They are ADULTS in their 20s.  And this is more than "disturbing".  It is unacceptable and ILLEGAL. 

For starters, the news media can start calling a spade a spade, and call rape what it is:  RAPE.  ADULTS not kids.  And let's end this stupid "froshing" by neanderthals.  It does not belong to an institution of learning (loosely speaking). 

And "Sensitivity seminar" is NOT a solution for these ADULTS.  They should be required to complete 60 days of full time community service with rape victims, for a start, so they never again consider RAPING of UNDERAGE women a joke. 

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Air Canada's score: Women 0, Cosmetics Industry 1

Air Canada's 360 magazine shows an image of women being trained in the "art of proper makeup application and grooming" to be flight attendants.  I found it ironic that 50 years later, the "art" has become so ubiquitous that Air Canada doesn't have to pay women to learn it.  Media conditioning by the cosmetic industry has ensured that everyone (including women) expects makeup and women to go together. 

Score: Women 0, Feminism -1, Cosmetics Industry 1.   #MediaConditioningWorks.

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Gun owners shoot themselves - self-eliminating problem?

Call me mean but this news made me smile: Gun-owners and gun dealers shooting themselves and their friends and family. At gun shows too.

It actually made me laugh!  I have heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy but this is more like a self-healing problem. If all the gun owners accidentally shot themselves, the debate over gun control laws would be over!

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Another smart CEO? Another B2C Social Media Disaster? Why 3 CEOs made the same mistake.

Behind every B2C social media disaster, there seems to be a smart, successful CEO who chose to stay oblivious and arrogant. 

Question 1: Imagine you are a rock star. (Or famous politician). You are waiting for a delayed flight at the airport. Someone comes running to you and tells you excitedly that there are 1,500 of your fans -- 3 plane loads full -- two gates down from where you are at, dying to talk to you. Would you not at least go shake some hands, sign some autographs and get some pictures taken?

Question 2: Imagine you are at a tradeshow and someone tells you that 10,000 of your most loyally engaged customers are packed in the hall 50 feet away from you. Would you not go and talk to some of them to hear what they have to say? Or even better, say something to them and get their instant feedback?

Question 3: Imagine your VP of Product Marketing comes running to you and tells you excitedly that there are TWO MILLION of your company's loyally engaged fans, waiting to hear from you on Twitter and to tell you in great detail about exactly how they experience your product, how you can improve it and how they want you to succeed. Would you not start some conversations, sharing your thoughts with them once a week (or month!), monitoring the feedback and spend at least 15 minutes daily on your Flipboard social news aggregation app to skim through your fans comments?

If you answered "NO" to the above, then your business deserves the disasters that come your way -- and they are coming, sooner than you think!

It is not just biblical punishment for arrogance. There was a time when product marketers would pay top dollar for focus groups, market research, consumer surveys and other such niceties to find out what their consumers were REALLY thinking, how they experienced their products, etc.

Then the world changed in 2011. But business schools could not change. How could they? Their faculty still guards their "proprietary" Powerpoint slides like an ironically ancient treasure in an open world where someone paid $120 million for a company called "SlideSHARE"! Marketing MBAs are still being taught the "cutting edge" ways that worked in 2002 -- just about as relevant as an e-book on surviving a dinosaur stampede.

So today, when social media tools offer powerful monitoring and feedback gathering capabilities, B2C high-tech companies (who are expected to be particularly savvy when it came to social media management) seem to be lost at sea.

Consider these case studies of 3 CEOs of high-tech companies, well poised to take advantage of the active social communities they are blessed with yet failing to do so resulting in a shrinkage of their customer base.

1. CEO raises pricing, makes a video, then apologizes and backtracks. 
Company:  Netflix 
Business:  Online movie and game rentals
Facebook:  3.6 million fans
Twitter:  250,000 followers
Mistake:  Did not consult customer base BEFORE unilaterally changing service offerings and pricing.
IMPACT: Customers started leaving in protest, hurting Netflix stocks and revenue. 
EVENTUALLY: Netflix reversed its changes after an apology.

2. CEO raises pricing, customers flee, makes a video, then apologizes and backtracks. 

Company:  SmugMug 
Business:  Photo-sharing and photography e-commerce
Facebook:  102,000 fans
Twitter:  35,000 followers
MISTAKE:  Did not consult customer base BEFORE unilaterally changing service offerings and pricing.
IMPACT: Customers packed up and left for other competitors, discovering along the alternative had better functionality anyways. 
EVENTUALLY:  SmugMug reversed its pricing strategy allowing subscribers with lower priced packages the ecommerce functionality as before. 

3. CEO supports a political initiative, customers flee, then apologizes and backtracks.   

Company:  GoDaddy 
Business:  Web domains and hosting services provider
Facebook:  173,000 fans
Twitter:  161,000 followers
MISTAKE:  Did not consult customer base BEFORE coming out in support of a troublesome online piracy act.
IMPACT: Customers picked up and left for the competitor who offered special pricing to facilitate the exodus. 

EVENTUALLY:  GoDaddy reversed its stance and came out against the piracy act.

4. CEO changes terms of use, customers get furious, then apologizes and backtracks.

Company: Instagram

Business:  Photo sharing social network

Facebook:  2.5 million+ fans

Twitter: 13 million+ followers

MISTAKE:  Did not consult user community BEFORE changing privacy terms...

.....

Sorry, I promised to limit myself to 3 cases.  But you are hopefully starting to see the pattern here?

The Solution - Change the "AFTER" to "BEFORE"

Companies are either oblivious to the room full of hundreds of thousands of loyal fans or just too terrified to engage this fan following in a meaningful way to shape their decisions and public stance on issues. Or perhaps just too lazy. Or arrogant. Whatever the cause, they are not communicating with their fans BEFORE making key decisions.  Instead, they prefer the embarrassment of eating humble pie AFTER the harm is done and issuing apologies and begging for forgiveness. 

These CEOs agree with my assertions. Instagram's CEO acknowledged "we failed to communicate".  The CEO of Netflix went a step further in saying "I slid into arrogance". 

Moral of the Story

Mr. CEO, go on your Twitter or Facebook page, shake hands with a few fans, sign a few autographs and listen to the hundreds of thousands of people who have something to tell you.  Just LISTEN.  There are tools available to help you with that.  

Listen not once or twice.  Listen for 30 minutes every day.  Remember what the doctor said about a tweet a day?

ARTICLE SPECIFIC

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

What Instagram and SmugMug don't get about "pro" photography - and GoPro does

It is ironic to see two businesses built on photography, demonstrating such a lack of understanding of what the democratization of photography means:  Everyone is a "Pro" photographer.  Doesn't matter if they are not. They THINK they are and that is enough.  Smart businesses like GoPro get it and capitalize on it.  SmugMug and Instagram are still struggling with it.

Back in August, photo-hosting ecommerce site SmugMug pulled off a Netflix in its unilateral price increase, as high as 60% while taking away the ability to sell photos online for the "non-Pros".  

In its explanation, SmugMug's CEO cited rising storage costs (which did not make sense as storage costs for everything are declining, not increasing).  More importantly, he cited "Pros" using more storage.  There were some snobbish "Pros" who jumped to SmugMug's defence saying any "Pro" who makes a living by selling photography would not mind paying $100 extra to do so. 

The problem is that everyone thinks they are a pro!  Not just those who carry 3 cameras to a wedding photography shoot to pay their rent.  Every consumer is a prosumer, every prosumer is a pro.  It doesn't matter if the snobs don't think so and if the "real" pros don't agree.  Every consumer sees themselves as a pro, their photography as art, their Friday night drunk shots in a cheap club as images worthy of celebrity worship in People magazine... and so on.  

Are you with me Instagram?  You are not stealing these drunk fools' photos.  Your privacy policy changes were perceived as stealing these pros' art!  You are not doing ad sales.  You are involved in an art museum heist!  Fire that dinosaur executive from the 1980s who just wants to "monetize" everything.  Connect to your customers over social media networks -- like yourself -- to understand what they want. 

Eventually there was an exodus of customers.  SmugMug reacted in November and gave back the "non-pros" the option to sell photos. And Instagram reversed its policy changes. 

Welcome to the democratization of "pro" photography.  The memo was sent 10 years ago. 

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Harpocracy: PM wants to stop bad business by doing it one more time

Stephen Harper acknowledges there is a bad trend of China taking over oil sands and that it has to stop -- except he will stop it by doing it one MORE time? Harpocracy, anyone?

At least he finally acknowledges what I pointed out in my first blog post earlier this year that the flow of foreign money in the tar sands is disturbing and cannot be in Canada's best interest. 

Yet all this "strict, tough-talk" can be ignored as just green-washing because he went ahead and authorized another $15 billion buyout of Canada's tar sands. 

Harpocracy - Yes, let's stop it, by doing it once more

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Mayan temples banned for Mayans, tourists still welcome

Mexico banned the Maya from holding their ceremonies and rites at the Mayan temples to preserve the cultural heritage (for tourists?).  Did that sound as ridiculous to you as it did to me?

Let me see.  A Mayan temple would be a place where the Mayans go to perform their rites.  Just because they were conquered does not mean the temple is not sacred to them any more?  Or that they should be BANNED from using it for its original purpose?

Preserving the Mayan heritage, presumably for tourists, by banning the Mayans. That makes my head spin. 

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Canadians are a funny people who deserve a Harpocracy.

Now only if all the Canadians rooting for Obama like crazy could take only about HALF as much interest in their OWN elections - and VOTE, our cities wont have to suffer Rob Ford and Stephen Harper won't be auctioning away Aboriginal & environmental rights to China, without subjecting China to litigation in Canadian courts.  How many Canadian Obamaphiles know what Harper signed on Oct. 31??

Yet, everyone knows why Obama is great for USA! Oh Canada! For how long would you fight other people's wars and take more interest in your neighbours' politics than your own Harpocracy?

It is cute to see you get all excited about some Prince getting married in UK and "no change" in government in USA.  But when you snap out of your euphoria, you may want to put out some fires in your backyard.

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Canada Customs asks useless questions, wastes time -- and my money

The transcript of the questions asked by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer provides much fodder for laughter once you are over the initial frustration. It is borderline insanity (I like the double pun) when you compare the interviews going to and coming back from USA on a recent business trip. 

Going to USA, as a foreign visitor: 

US Customs: Where you going? 
Soothsayer: San Francisco. 
US Customs: What for? 
Soothsayer: To attend a business conference. 
US Customs: For how long? 
Soothsayer: 5 days.
US Customs: *wave of the hand*.... Next?

Coming back "HOME" to Canada, as a Canadian citizen bearing a Canadian passport, with a 'business' trip indicated on my form, declaring $0 in purchases: 

CBSA: Where are you coming from? 
Soothsayer: San Francisco. 
CBSA: Do you have any alcohol or cigarettes on you? 
Soothsayer: No. (Read the form I just handed to you.  It is already indicated on that.)
CBSA: Did you go anywhere else from San Francisco? 
Soothsayer: No.  (Funny question? Do you normally ask people if they went somewhere else?  Just because I am wearing my Vibrams makes you think I am not coming back STRAIGHT from a business trip? Well, my line of work tolerates that!  Also, I am coming back on a 6 hours red-eye flight -- sorry for not looking my sharpest for you at 6am but as a rule of thumb, I don't usually dress up to impress people my taxes pay for.  There is a mugshot of me on the passport showing how I look like when I am dressed.  Oh, and by the way, I did go for a clothing optional personal retreat south of San Francisco, but that information is Not Your Fucking Business (NYFB). Next question?)
CBSA: Where did you stay when you were in San Francisco? 
Soothsayer: The Marriott.  (There are 23 Marriott properties in the San Francisco area but a useless idiotic question like that did not deserve further elaboration in the answer. NYFB.) 
CBSA: *Leafs through the passport pages, fishing for something else to hang on to... Oh you travel a lot to Mexico? 
Soothsayer:  *silence*. (I travel a lot, period, dumbass, period. NYFB.)
CBSA: 2 times this year?!
Soothsayer:  Three. (NYFB)
CBSA: Oh, 3 times this year?!!
Soothsayer:  *silence*.  (Actually in the last 12 months, it is 5 times.  Also visited Australia 2 times this year. How come your eyes didn't perk up on that? What about my trip to Indonesia and Hawaii?  Did that not set off any alarm?  I wonder if you will be able to hold your coffee if I tell you I am visiting Mexico again next month? NYFB)
CBSA: What do you do in Mexico? Do you go for business or pleasure? 
Soothsayer: Vacation. (NYFB)
CBSA: *continues leafing through the passport, starting to feel the awkwardness of my curt responses and sensing that he is running out of my courtesy*... Errm.. Where do you stay when you go to Mexico? 
Soothsayer: *silence*.  I counted to 5 on a special, slow count before giving him the most blank, stupid look I could muster at 7am as I slowly responded,
 "A resort?".  (Seriously?  What is your IQ?  Who hired you for this job?  Where else do you think 99.99% of Canadians traveling to Mexico for a vacation stay?  Your aunt's basement? What was the answer you were looking for?  I would have told you I stay at my drug baron friend's cabana overlooking the ocean? Why are you re-opening the file on that trip anyways? I already answered and satisfied one of your equally retarded colleagues when coming back from THAT trip!  You have asked me 9 questions, only 2 of which are directly relevant to this trip and only 1 of which serves any purpose for the Government of Canada!). 

Finally this ordeal ended silently.  I think CBSA boy sensed that one of us was going to explode either in comical laughter or in frustration.  

Hey CBSA boy, what happened to "Welcome back to Canada", "Welcome back home" or just a simple "Welcome back"? How about showing some courtesy to the business travelers who just went and generated some revenue for Canada, generated their own salary to pay their taxes which in turn pay for your salary to harass them when they come back?  Wow, the ridiculous viciousness of this cycle just blew my mind! 

Oh and by the way, I stay in a cabana overlooking the ocean in Mexico.  And you didn't ask but in case you were interested, when in Indonesia, I stay in a hut in the rice paddies. 

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

TD Bank treats Iranian borns like Japanese Canadians in 1941

TD Canada reminds me of the shameful treatment of Japanese Canadians in 1941 during World War II in its xenophobic treatment of Iranian Canadians. Disturbing news -- TD Canada bank cancelled bank accounts for several Canadian customers whose origin is from Iran.  To me, discriminating against a Canadian citizen merely on the basis of their ethnic origin is a racist and xenophobic measure.  Treating one bonafide Canadian citizen differently from another based on their country of birth is a mockery of the Canadian citizenship ceremony, the oath of allegiance and the Canadian passport.  It serves as a reminder that corporations and the Canadian government can shamelessly revert to treating some citizens as 2nd-class citizens for their own political interests. 


I don't care about what is happening in Iran -- it is immaterial.  The country has not attacked Canada in the last 70 years nor is Canada at war with Iran. But WAIT -- that is EXACTLY the point!  EVEN IF Canada was at war with Iran, discriminating against Canadian citizens based on their origin evokes this country's shameful tarnished legacy of abusing and discriminating against Canadians of Japanese origins 70 years ago during World War II. 


I am not of Iranian origin.  However I strongly believe that the country of birth should not be used as an excuse to discriminate against Canadian citizens.  Whose turn would it be NEXT? "Jamaican-Canadians"? "Israeli-Canadians"? "Ukrainian Canadians"?  "Polish-Canadians"? 


Tell TD Canada Trust on their Twitter and Facebook pages that "T-H-E-Y" ARE just "Canadians". 


I am cancelling my two accounts with TD Canada tomorrow. I encourage everyone to cancel and move their accounts away from TD Canada and send a strong message to the corporation to respect the oath of citizenship. **UPDATE**: Share your story about switching from TD Canada at this website: "Switch in Solidarity".

Please also join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/CondemnTDonIranians. 

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Harpocracy: Shell wants nuclear power in Canadian tar sands while Germany goes Nuclear free

Another example of how Harpocracy allows the Canadian energy sector to act ridiculously: while post-Fukushima Germany is shutting down nuclear plants to go nuclear-free and leveraging solar energy to consume less non-renewable energy resources, meeting 50% of national demand on a weekend from solar, Shell is suggesting using nuclear power in Canada -- keep reading, it gets better -- to extract tar sands oil.  This coming from Shell with a tarnished track record of massive oil leaks in Nigeria and in the North Sea in UK waters.

Using nuclear power to extract tar sands oil which is already taxing the environment with higher emissions -- can ethical oil get any dirtier?  Is this a breakdown of sensible Economics?  Spending dirty energy to find more dirty energy?  Sounds like a vicious cycle!!

In 50 years, would the world look back at Canada's short-sighted policies scornfully? 

Manulife Financial offers me a future but no e-statements (like 125 years ago)

Manulife has the nerve to offer me a "future" -- while acting like a company born in 1887.    

They do not offer e-statements via email or on their website, at least not for my group RRSP. I would not lose much sleep over this first world problem but it was still very surprising that a Canadian financial institution would not offer electronic statements in 2012!  That they would squander such an easy green-washing opportunity and not even pretend that they care a little bit about not chopping down trees while reducing their costs!  


Out of curiousity, I went to their website's CSR section.  The first paragraph reads: 

Manulife’s approach to corporate social responsibility around the world aligns with our focus on delivering strong, reliable, trustworthy and forward-thinking solutions for our clients and for the communities where we work. 

Forward-thinking solutions? In Manulife-speak, it means smoke flares.

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

WestJet, please don't ask silly, redundant questions!

Bad user interface is usually annoying to me.  It shows a lack of attention to detail and a lack of respect for the audience. 


Consider this example from WestJet's website which asks the same question two different ways when making a reservation.  I wonder what happens if you select "Master" for the title but then select "Female" as the gender.  Would the system accept it?  I did not try it -- was too busy completing my reservation.  That is the point WestJet. Don't ask me silly redundant questions when I am in a rush trying to finalize my reservation!

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Canadian government to declare First Nations terrorists?

Where is Canada headed? The government will declare the First Nations terrorists, if they resist Big Oil's attempts to put a pipeline through their homeland to export tar faster to China?  Notice the language in this article about how Ottawa has established a counter-terrorism unit to "protect the energy industry":


[Excerpts]

• "...to protect the energy industry from attacks by extremists". 
• "the terrorist threat could come more from people inside the country than outside the border"
• "We are looking at ANY individuals or groups that pose a threat... that is based on either religious, political or ideological goals."
• "...it is important that intelligence is collected against the activities of groups BEFORE they become violent.
• "the key...will be to gather intelligence to prevent attacks".

NUTSHELL:  The Canadian government will protect Big Oil by "looking at" (snooping and collecting intelligence on) ANY individuals or groups who are opposed to key projects (think "Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline") on political or ideological grounds, even BEFORE they have become violent. Oh Canada?!

The review process has already been hijacked so the consultation is already a futile exercise.  The laws of the land are lamely stacked against First Nations so going to the Supreme Court is futile for them.  So if they were to ever consider political or ideological resistance and expressing it in any way (even non-violent ways), they would be fair game for "counter-terrorism" activities treating them as terrorists. 

Canadians should object vehemently to the use of "counter-terrorism" language to deal with internal resistance by any groups on "political or ideological" grounds.  We have seen George Bush and his goons wielding this language south of the border.  We should all stand up and reject the use of this language in Canada, which is clearly aimed at crushing First Nations opposition.  

Stand up now!  Re-post, re-Tweet, share and educate people about this latest tactic from the Harpocracy propped by ethical oil!

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Go buy something from LUSH to say "Bravo"!

I don't really care for cosmetics (for myself or on others) but I will be buying SOMETHING from Lush this week, just to say "Bravo".  Thank you for speaking up and taking a strong, clear stance against Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline and the ethical oil farce, specially at a time when many others seem to stay spinelessly silent.  (I'm looking at you, BC Premier Christy Clark - at this point ANY opinion you express will be respected more than your nauseating spinelessness). 


Citizenship is about having a voice and getting it heard.  Corporations should not start talking about "corporate citizenship" if they are not willing to take a position, express their views and be vocal -- like good citizens -- instead of hiding behind the lame cover of keeping politics out of business.  Politics and business are joined together at the hip these days so stop pretending -- and start speaking out.  


Two ways we can support LUSH: 

1. Go buy something from LUSH, if not for yourself then a gift for a friend.  Make sure you educate the friend about Enbridge's Northern Gateway Pipeline disaster and encourage all your social networks to do the same. Let's make sure that other corporations take note that speaking out on a political issue did not hurt LUSH and in fact was "good business" for them as well. Give them a noticeable bump in their revenue!
2. Ask other corporate citizens to follow the LUSH example, and earn brownie points with their fans by demonstrating responsible corporate citizenship.  Names that come immediately to mind: Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), The Big Carrot, Moksha Yoga, LuluLemon, Bixi Bikes.

Add your suggestions for corporations who should speak up in the comments below.  Speak up, speak out! 

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch

Can Ride Clean reduce more emissions than Drive Clean in Ontario?

"97% of all cars clear emissions testing", said the man behind the Canadian Tyre counter, shaking his head wistfully.  "It is a waste of money and time.  The ones who fail are the ones who cannot even afford to get the repairs done.  Single moms, elderly, you know..."


This was at a recent emissions test for my car, as required by the Drive Clean Ontario initiative.  It highlighted the apparent futility of the exercise, making me wonder how many cars got tested every year and at $35 per test, what was the total bill?  The Program Statistics section on Drive Clean's website is "broken" but "Wonderful Wikipedia provided an estimate of $435 million fees collected as the last verifiable figure from 8 years ago.

10 bicycles replacing one polluting car

As a reluctant motorist, who is happier on a bicycle, I'd happily pay a $35 tax if it is invested in protected bike lanes on the streets of smoggy Toronto. A fraction of $435 million would go a long way towards that!   That way I don't have to drive a car.  Who needs Drive Clean when you can Ride Clean? 

Wouldn't that have a more substantial impact on reducing emissions than testing cars that keep passing?  Let's get some cars off the streets!  While we are at it, why not subsidize parking spots and infrastructure for emissions-reducing businesses like Bixi bike-sharing and car-sharing programs like AutoShare and Zip Cars? 


By the way, I love Bixi!

Tweet Follow @TheIdeasOfMarch