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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 5h

It was spur of the moment.

Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 5h

No I am now in Belfast for a conference

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 6h

I saw my first Mercedes Econic garbage truck in Newcastle the other day and was so excited! This is the kind of vehicle we should be demanding in Canada to stop the killing of pedestrians and cyclists. Canada has hewed to the USA safety standards, but now is the time to go our own way.

Canada should make side guards on trucks mandatory; the usual excuse no longer works

Now that we are plotting an independent course from the USA, it’s time to develop our own safety strategies and standards.

lloydalter.substack.com

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 1d

It also has the world’s coolest (hottest?) radiators

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 1d

Mine too. I came back to say Hello, Dolly

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 1d

We used to have a science museum in Toronto in a spectacular building albeit not quite up to Edinburgh. Doug Ford starved and then killed it. For me, this is his most unforgivable crime.

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 2d

It was!

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 2d

In which I revisit Ove Arup ‘s 1963 Kingsgate Bridge in Durham, the most elegant and minimalist concrete structure I have ever seen. It is actually two delicate and balanced structures which were pivoted to meet in the middle.
lloydalter.substack.com/p/ove-arups-...

Ove Arup’s Kingsgate Bridge in Durham shows how concrete can be simple and sufficient

Also how a modern structure can fit into a traditional environment.

lloydalter.substack.com

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 2d

Toronto could learn something from police cars in Durham, UK. Many are small and economical instead of big SUVs. Toronto police tell pedestrians to dress up like Durham police dress up their cars- bright and easy to see. Oh, and the yellow stripe? It designates a parking area labelled ”police.”

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 3d

Sorry, I should always explain.

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 4d

Six years ago I wrote about John Kinsley ‘s house in Portobello Edinburgh and was thrilled to visit it on this trip. It is a remarkable project, mass timber, multifamily, flexible, baugruppen, knitted into the existing fabric, and a model for other architects.

Six years ago, I called this the future of housing. It still is.

Here's what happens when a talented architect builds a home for four families, no developer needed.

open.substack.com

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 7d

Poor NPR. First, the President goes after them; now it's pedestrians and cyclists complaining about a silly article promoting "defensive walking" when there is a growing cohort of aging people who can't swivel their heads or jump out of the way of SUVs.

Sorry, NPR: Walking while old kills more pedestrians than walking while distracted

NPR gets it wrong; "Defensive walking" is not a solution for an aging population

lloydalter.substack.com

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 7d

He wants it to fail. He is destroying the recycling system because single-use cans are more profitable. Soon, bottles will be back in the blue box since there is no market for them anyway, they just get ground up and stuck in concrete.

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 9d

My talk for the SEDA conference in Edinburgh next week looks at how sufficiency, or "a life of frugal abundance," is key to matching demand to the supply of usable energy. A sneak preview: lloydalter.substack.com/p/sufficienc...

Sufficiency and the primary energy fallacy

What happens when you use less stuff and go all electric at the same time

lloydalter.substack.com

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 9d

I have been trying to move away from Microsoft and Google, but kept using PowerPoint because Designer was really good at resizing images. Now "Designer is now part of Copilot" and it is completely useless. Goodbye Microsoft!

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 12d

I am flying to Edinburgh next week to talk about sufficiency, which I acknowledge is a contradiction in terms. However, preparing the talk has taken my thinking in some new directions, and I think it will be worthwhile. lloydalter.substack.com/p/seda-confe...

SEDA conference in Edinburgh is all about sufficiency

I will be using the opportunity to diss the Abundance agenda and push the sufficiency economy.

lloydalter.substack.com

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Reposted by Lloyd Alter

Jordan Roberts @corruptario.bsky.social · 12d

Today, Mayor of Mob Town and the mob's best fluffer, DelDuca, stood with Ford in Mob Town to rail against speed cameras.

Speed cameras he brought in, as Minister of Transportation, where he also oversaw the wholesale transfer of Metrolinx to the mob.

Screen grab of Bill 65, tabled by Stephen DelDuca.

Opening paragraphs of the act, talking about speed cameras.

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 12d

How about “While drivers are responsible for driving safely, road safety is everyone's responsibility. "We have decades of data to show that expecting people to always act the right way [on the road] does not work.”

Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 12d

Let’s put those flashing lights outside of his house. Most speed cameras are in residential areas, would you like this?

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 13d

Another benefit of #passivehouse #passsivhaus

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 13d

I previously asked why Doug Ford is trying to kill us with five examples; now I have to add banning speed cameras. I suppose they slow down the drive to the Therme spa. lloydalter.substack.com/p/why-is-dou...

Why is Doug Ford trying to kill us?

The Premier of Ontario isn't just going after people on bikes; he is hurting everyone in the province.

lloydalter.substack.com

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 13d

Ban cameras. Increase speed limits. Remove Bike lanes. Close emergency departments. Put beer in corner stores. Let's count the ways Doug Ford is trying to kill us.

Alex Bozikovic @alexbozikovic.bsky.social · 14d

This will kill people. Doug Ford is going to kill people. So we’re clear. www.thestar.com/politics/pro...

Doug Ford will outlaw municipal speed cameras this fall: Sources

Sources say Ford's Progressive Conservatives will table legislation later this fall to outlaw the "automated speed enforcement" devices.

www.thestar.com

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 14d

For about 15 years, we have been talking about the possible problem of pedestrians walking in front of self-driving cars or robotaxis, and now that Waymo robotaxis are here, the problem is real rather than hypothetical. The last 100 years show that the cars always win.

Will self-driving cars and robotaxis bring us Jaywalking 2.0?

I can't believe we are still talking about this

lloydalter.substack.com

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Reposted by Lloyd Alter

Ran Boydell @ranboydell.bsky.social · 14d

Big shout out for @scotecodesign.bsky.social whose annual conference is on next weekend in Edinburgh. The theme this year is #Sufficiency with fantastic speakers including @katherinetrebeck.bsky.social + @lloydalter.bsky.social

> tickets available for in-person + online

Seda Conference 2025 — Scottish Ecological Design Association

seda.scot

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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 16d

I was disturbed by a recent @theglobeandmail.com article about giant "dream homes." We have to begin to think about what is a socially acceptable level of carbon emissions, and to try to close what Thomas Piketty called the “carbon inequality gap.” lloydalter.substack.com/p/how-much-h...

How much house is enough?

In a world where we worry about upfront carbon emissions, we have to ask what is a big enough home, what is sufficient, and what is too much.

lloydalter.substack.com

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