Direct Action

Workers Who Bike to Work Get Sick Less

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Of course biking and other physical activity is a healthy thing, and that’s obviously good. What’s really good now is that there are now economic reasons for employers to encourage their employees to commute on a bicycle. The Dutch (no surprise there) love their bikes so much they did an economic study on how much money can be saved by companies that have employees bike to work: 27 million Euros (PDF link).

Main conclusions
• Employees who cycle regularly to work have less sickness-related
absenteeism than non-cyclists.
• The higher the frequency and longer the distance cycled, the lower the
rate of absenteeism.
• The potential benefit of cycling to work is considerable. It could mean
annual savings of around 27 million euros.

Recommendations
• More government measures to promote cycling and cooperation with
organizations that currently promote cycling can help convince employers
to begin or increase investments in a cycling policy.
• To develop successful programmes that promote cycling to work, more
understanding is needed of what actually convinces employees to use a
bicycle in their daily travel to work.

How To Reuse Plastic Bags

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

Plastic bags aren’t good news, after all they are very wasteful. Well, if you do have to use plastic bags make sure you use them more than once. eHow has a list of creative ways to reuse plastic bags.

Here’s a humorous one — use your plastic shopping bags to make an instant tie-down rope for your car. Now, do not use it with extra heavy items, but it is durable enough to keep things in place. How?

Take 2 bags and take one handle of the first bag and put it through a handle of the second bag. Loop the first bag over the handle of the second bag and pull it through it’s own handle. This makes a strong tie.

Next, gather the rest of one bag and loop it into a knot just below the other, unused handle.

Continue to loop bags and tie them up until you have the length that you need. Do this to make two ropes, and then twist the two “ropes” together. If it needs to be stronger, then make it three ropes.

Tie a knot at each end of your doubled or tripled rope. Use it to secure your items on the go!

DIY Sustainability by from Earth Punks

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

Eco Localizer has a cool post on the Earth Punk Chronicles.

IllegalSigns.ca Helps Toronto Win Right to Remove Billboards

- Adam Clare

We’ve followed the hard work of IllegaSigns.ca before and now they’ve helped Toronto city council win a case in court against billboards companies. The Ontario Supreme Court ruled that Toronto has the right to take down illegal billboards primarily because there is a large public outcry. This is a far cry from banning billboards (like in Sao Paulo), but this a huge step for Toronto.

From IllegalSigns.ca:

Because Strategic Media’s case against the City was brought for the purpose of delay — so they can earn revenue from their illegal billboards while their frivolous case drags through the courts — this represents a complete victory for Toronto.

Here are some highlights of the decision, which basically proves that being a pest really pays off:

  • “The City has been inundated with complaints since 2006 from a public interest group regarding the proliferation of signs in Toronto’s downtown core. Moreover, in the process of harmonizing the various sign by-laws, the City received public input to the effect that there are too many signs and regulation of the City’s streetscape is inadequate. Thus, the City argues, there is evidence of actual public interest in this issue and harm to that interest if the injunction is granted.” Paragraph 33
  • “While I can assume that the public interest favours compliance with the existing sign by-laws, there is also evidence of specific public interest in this case in the form of the complaints by a public interest group and the comments obtained by the City in the process of harmonizing its sign by-laws.” Paragraph 40

Dinner With a Stranger

- Adam Clare

Frankie James had dinner with a stranger, and the results were more than awesome.
stangerdinner

Scroll To Top