Just Captivity

Squirrel Monkeys

Is it right to keep animals in captivity when it’s for the greater good? Are their specific circumstances that would make this acceptable? I came across a recent and interesting situation, Squirrel Monkeys that were originally taken from the wild and were illegally sold, then rescued. These monkeys have lost their ability to protect themselves and fend for themselves so they cannot survive alone in the forest. Currently these  Squirrel Monkeys are kept captive and protected in a large fenced in area of natural forest in the Dominican Republic. The monkeys are happy and healthy and are begin used for educational tours and to raise money for a free health and dental clinic. The clinic is accessed by local impoverished people that would otherwise have no access to health care of any kind. Without this unusual clinic many of these people would suffer and some might even die. This is a very good example of a situation where people are essentially meeting the needs of the captive Squirrel Monkeys as best they can, profiting and using the profits to help many impoverished local people. The clinic usually runs once a week, meeting the health needs of around 150 people.

It's all relative

We have all bean there, and probably multiple times a day, waiting for something to load. As computer speeds increase so do our expectations.  It seems, every time a new generation of computers and other devices come out we all seem to be just as amazed as we were initially with the last one. In turn we are eventually just as frustrated with this new device as we where with the old one. On the Internet now we have many bandwidths demanding sites with lots of flash, photos and even HD videos.  Is this rapid rise in speed good for humanity? If or when the speed peaks how well will we handle it? 

Our Dependence on Modern Technology

Recently I went through the experience of having my smart phone breakdown. Between delays and repairs I had to part with my android for close to six weeks. Initially it felt as though I had lost my thumbs.  After the first week  I stopped constantly reaching towards my pocket looking for an answer, or trying to communicate. I had begun to adjust to life without.  This experience made me realize just how dependent I and many others are on today's technology. Is it smart that we have become so dependent on something that can potentially disappear overnight?

Privatization of the City

Toronto's garbage strike of 2009.

This would not have happened with private business.

Canadian cities are run by the elected municipal government. It has been like this for a long time. Most of the services that are provided by the cities are also run by the cities.  These city run services can be expensive.  Cities usually run at a deficit.  Projects are often completed late and over budget.  What if cities were to hire a private business to run a project or department?  They would save money! Businesses tend to run more efficiently in order to survive. This would then lead to a more balanced budget and allow the city to provide better services to it's people.

Can we live without oil?

Car tires, fuel and asphalt - our reliance on oil.

There are millions of different things in our daily lives that are made from oil. Chances are you are holding something right now that is made from oil. It is a fact that eventually we will run out of the gooey gold, but the real immediate concern is production. When major natural disasters occur in areas rich in oil or in areas that consume large amounts of oil (such as Japan), almost everything stops in terms of oil production/refinement and consumption. We are so dependent on oil that if we were to have an immediate  and immense enough shortage it would be all round chaos. Almost everything in our day to day lives would be greatly effected. Most things that we use today come from oil, with a major shortage all of these things would become much more expensive. Should we be so reliant on just one substance for so much in our lives?

What are we eating?

When you pick a piece of fruit up in your local supermarket can you figure out where it comes from? Probibly not, I know I can't. In most cases it is almost impossible to figure this out because in just one batch of produce the sources can vary by hundreds of kilometers. This also makes it incredibley dificult to pinpoint the single yield of one crop should it be infected. This situation gets even worse when you are dealing with liquid products such as milk. If there is a problem with one cow then you have a problem with every ounce of milk that the problem milk comes into contact with. These problems are growing, especially with mass production. Yet the public concern appears minimal.  What can we do to better monitor our food supply?

Tax on green Electricity?

Image from www.debtclock.ca

If you started a solar or wind farm in Canada the government of Canada will pay you somewhere around 60 cents per kilowatt. If you live in Canada and look at your hydro bill you will find that you are paying around 8 cents per kilowatt. This means that the government is giving money away to promote alternative energies. This frankly is not the way to save money with Canada over $558,500,000,000.00 CDN in Federal debt. You might say that they are supporting the future of energy production, but 60 cents? That means that for every kilowatt of “clean” energy you use the government is losing about 52 cents. Although this makes a great opportunity for wind and solar farmers for everybody else it is more like a tax on electricity. This might not be the best use of our tax dollars at this time.