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Device Helps Paralyzed Regain Hand Control

- Adam Clare

People who have been paralyzed (from a stroke or spinal injury) now have a new tool to help them regain control over their hands and arms thanks to a Canadian researcher. A wand that stimulates muscles using electricity combined with a video game has produced impressive results.

“We can now offer people with spinal cord injury and stroke continued therapy for many weeks in their homes,” said the device’s designer, Arthur Prochazka.

Physiotherapist Su Ling Chong works with patients for an hour each day. Using a videoconferencing link, she sees and talks to them and is able to gauge their progress accurately.

“We get the user to go through the range [of movement], and it actually records how strong their grip is, how much their range is, and then from there we can modify the games to challenge them even more.”

People with serious injuries, like paralysis, should speak with Neinstein and Associates, the best personal injury lawyers in Toronto.

Earth Day Idea for Canadians

- Adam Clare 1 Comment

First of all, happy Earth Day!

Here’s a neat idea for Canadians: have manufactures pay for waste management of their products. To our European (and some other) readers, this is not a new or crazy idea, but here in Canada this concept is revolutionary. For Earth day The Toronto Star has examined how Ontario can get manufactures to make more environmentally friendly products through legislation – and things are looking good.

One of the most obvious steps is Extended Producer Responsibility, the European concept that the manufacturer must cover the full cost of properly recycling or disposing of a product at the end of its life cycle.

The merits of EPR are simple: It entices companies strictly for cost reasons to redesign their products so they are easier and cheaper to recycle.

European rules, for example, forced Apple to create a computer without lead – leading to lower costs at the end of its life.

In its purest sense, EPR challenges companies to make product lines that lead to zero waste, because no waste would mean no charges at the end of the day.

The requirement may sound radical in Canada, but elsewhere, especially throughout the European Union, EPR is a familiar feature on the regulatory landscape.

Taxes Are Good

- Adam Clare 3 Comments

I don’t know anybody enjoys paying taxes but I know of a lot people who enjoy using what our taxes pay for. Roads, drinkable water, and many other things we use everyday are provided to us from the government (at least in Canada) and these services cost money. A recent Canadian study has done the math and found that in 2006 the average per capita benefit from public services was about $16,952!

Believe it or not taxes are good for you.

The majority of Canadian households enjoy a higher quality of life because of the public services their taxes fund, the study argues.

According to the report, Canada’s Quiet Bargain: The Benefits of Public Spending, the cost of the public services that a typical Canadian household uses annually is the equivalent of about 50 per cent of its annual income.

Urbanites Pollute Less

- Adam Clare 2 Comments

A Canadian study has looked at how much carbon per capita a person living in Canada produces and the conclusion is that if you live in a city you produce less carbon. Once more it’s proven that living in an urban centre with high density is better for the environment than urban sprawl.

When it comes to climate change pollutants, Toronto residents are among the greenest in Canada, says a new study.

The report, published in the April issue of the journal Environment and Urbanization, says metropolises, commonly denigrated as big, dirty places, are in fact spewing fewer greenhouse gases per capita than the rest of their countries.

“Blaming cities for climate change is far too simplistic,” said author David Dodman, a researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, England. “There are a lot of economies of scale associated with energy use in cities. If you’re an urban dweller, particularly in an affluent country like Canada or the U.K., you’re likely to be more efficient in your use of heating fuel and in your use of energy for transportation.”

Dodman found that the average Canadian is responsible for 24 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year, while Torontonians just 8.2 tonnes.

World’s Friendliest Countries

- Adam Clare

Forbes has the result of an international survey that set out to find the friendliest countries. From the full article:

Canada is the most welcoming; almost 95% of respondents to HSBC Bank International’s Expat Exploreer Survey, released today, said they have made friends with locals. In Germany, 92% were so lucky and in Australia 91% befriended those living there. The United Arab Emirates was found to be the most difficult for expats; only 54% of those surveyed said they’d made friends with locals.

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