lloydalter.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

Two studies: One, very local, counts the bikes and cars on Bloor Street in Toronto and finds there are more bikes than cars. The other, very international, finds that bike lanes improve health, reduce pollution and fight climate change. Why would anyone would rip them out?

submitted 2 days ago • 8 comments

They paved paradise and put up a 5 storey 3000 space parking lot. An absolute stain on the waterfront and city but so symbolic of this disaster of a project and our province's priorities. www.blogto.com/real-estate-...

submitted 2 days ago • 19 comments

On this day in 1868, the typewriter as we know it was patented by Christopher Latham Sholes. But nobody wanted it or needed it; the world had to catch up to it with the Second Industrial Revolution. Here's an excerpt my book where I describe it: lloydalter.substack.com/p/happy-birt...

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

The US president is trying to "Make Asbestos Great Again" and roll back the Biden Administration's 2024 Chrysotile Asbestos Rule. Trump promoted asbestos in his first term; I wrote this in 2018, but really, nothing has changed. lloydalter.substack.com/p/asbestos-t...

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

35 or so years ago when Toronto Hydro upgraded the entire system from 4kv to 22 kv councillor Howard Levine said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to underground the wires “too expensive!” Said everyone and we have been paying in money security and ugliness ever since.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

As it gets really hot in much of North America, let's look at window shading, and keeping the heat out of our homes. I really like this UK shading for housing design guide... lloydalter.substack.com/p/nice-shade...

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

There is no transition to renewable energy happening because the world demands growth at all costs. It's not enough to talk about efficiency and renewables alone; we need sufficiency. lloydalter.substack.com/p/why-we-kee...

submitted 9 days ago • 3 comments

I have been complaining about the design of plumbing fixtures forever and they just keep getting worse. Finally, a dribble of good news: science and design bring us a splashless urinal. lloydalter.substack.com/p/urine-for-...

submitted 11 days ago • 5 comments

A friend thinks I have lots of ebike followers and asked me to help him sell his Stromer ST1 e-bike. it's a tank, very solid, very low mileage, low price. If you are in Toronto area message me for more info. Review:

submitted 12 days ago • 1 comment

Despite all the great work @lanrickbennett.bsky.social is doing, this city is going backward, even when Dug Ford is on the other side of town.

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

Yesterday @stranraerobserver.bsky.social‬ questioned my posting of an image comparing the impact of going vegan, car-free or getting a heat pump, so I dug deeper into the study behind the slide. It could use a refresh. lloydalter.substack.com/p/forget-hea...

submitted 14 days ago • 2 comments

Bingo!

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

I was in a workshop with Christy Love of RDH Building Science yesterday looking at the complexities of deep retrofits in apartment buildings. I was dismayed at how much there is to think about, how much it costs, and how many we have to do. I was also encouraged by the effort going into fixing it.

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

I think my favourite slide from the whole #retrofitcanada25 conference today was this one from Jay Olson, showing how just giving up the fucking car is almost three times as good as going vegan or buying a heat pump

submitted 16 days ago • 2 comments

The Avtomotive Bvilding has changed a lot (boring beige and businesslike inside) but I’m glad the spelling hasn’t.

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

I don’t think so. #retrofitcanada25

submitted 16 days ago • 1 comment

Nobody paid much attention to apple’s updates today but they just turned my iPad into a real useable computer, it’s fantastic.

submitted 17 days ago • 3 comments

Mariusz Hermansdorfer of Henning Larsen wrote a little LinkedIn post that I think makes some important points. I go on about sufficiency and using less of everything, but when it comes to floor-to-floor heights and window sizes, perhaps we need a little bit more.

submitted 18 days ago • 1 comment

I go on about how silly the term "embodied carbon" is because it is not embodied, it's in the atmosphere. But Paul Astle points out that the term is misleading because it sometimes is embodied, such as with timber. I pick up on this with an excerpt from my book, "The Story of Upfront Carbon."

submitted 21 days ago • 5 comments

US and Canada in secret trade negotiations. "Pete Hoekstra told The Globe and Mail that talks between the leaders and top cabinet ministers are being held under a cone of silence to ensure a positive outcome." That inspires confidence...

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments

I would say “Only in Toronto” but this happens everywhere… I am hitting this stand on Saturday.

submitted 22 days ago • 2 comments

Mark Carney is evidently making a “grand bargain” including support for the Pathways pals that want to “decarbonize oil.” I wrote last year about what a fantasy this was. Is Carney serious, or is he ragging the puck, knowing that these projects will never happen. open.substack.com/pub/lloydalt...

submitted 22 days ago • 2 comments

Just yesterday, a new study was released showing that protected bike lanes attract 4.3 times as many riders, improve health and safety, and reduce fuel consumption. But no, we can't slow down drivers! lloydalter.substack.com/p/protected-...

submitted 23 days ago • 4 comments

Design mag Canadian House and Home shows 4 luxe bathrooms with killer bathtubs, shiny marble floors, not a grab bar in sight, is this malpractice? apple.news/ADnIcwU1VQb-...

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

à propos of my post this morning discussing the abundance gang's call for less regulation and my call for more...

submitted 25 days ago • 1 comment

I have been complaining about the so-called abundance agenda for a while, calling instead for a sufficiency agenda. Where Klein and Thompson call for more of everything, I call for less. lloydalter.substack.com/p/abundance-...

submitted 25 days ago • 4 comments