Mountains by my home in Germany

Deciding to come back to Nova Scotia had a lot to do with nature, and life style. Day to day, I would like to enjoy where I live and be happy with what I have. Rushing around and hating being surrounded by thousands of cars for hours while trying to get to work is just not something I could put up with for long. When I called it quits on my cycling life, I had no reason to live in a place like that, and decided it was time to think about the rest of my life and what I really needed to be happy. Not much, actually.

I had two choices: I could stay there and live in the rat race life style that I don’t agree with, or I could pack up and move back to the east coast to a small town on the water with lots of other challenges. As I sit and write this with the faint smell of salt in the air, it’s obvious which one I chose, but it occurred to me this morning that I never wrote about why I live here.

There’s something to be said for living within 30 seconds, by foot, from where you work. This has it’s downsides, clearly, but it sure is good on gas! Between two of us, we no longer need two vehicles and we barely need the one we have. Living close to work is really important to me environmentally, but I also value my time. This just makes sense.

I love that fact that I can walk everywhere. When you live in a small town, there’s nothing more enjoyable than walking around to all the stores and running in to almost everyone you know. It’s friendly, it’s beautiful, and I’d so much rather be able to enjoy this small town lifestyle daily, than to have to look forward to some crazy over the top vacation from my Toronto office tower. But that’s just me.

The thing I perhaps value the most about being here though, is that it’s actually quiet. When I was living in Switzerland I took note of the quiet for the first time in my life. I had previously spent a great deal of time in cities like Toronto, Seoul, Shang Hai and New York, so living in a small town of 500 people in Switzerland where everything shuts down at 5pm every day, was actually very nice. Most city people probably think I’ve lost my marbles right about now. But let me ask you this: When is the last time it was ever quiet? Don’t you miss it?

I had the great pleasure of experiencing my little town of Lunenburg in total peace last night. Walking through the streets late at night, with barely a sound except foot steps, and no lights except street lights, it occurred to me that the last time I was able to notice and appreciate this kind of silence I was in Switzerland. When I moved back to Toronto from there, I missed it a lot and wrote a lot about the feeling of experiencing silence so that I wouldn’t forget. It’s very grounding. Almost like nothing else is really that important. As long as you can hear nothing but yourself breathing, and maybe a wave crashing against the docks, the rest will fall into place.

The Swiss silence was an important part of my growth as a person and athlete. I often left the house that was making me miserable to go for long walks alone like I did as a teenager. It was an escape, a place to be alone (which I could not be in my house in Switzerland) and a place to think. I sometimes listened to music, especially if I was cycling instead of walking, and the songs from that time always take me back there if I hear them today. I remember exactly how I felt on the bike and what I was thinking about. Long after, if I thought I could benefit from a trip to Switzerland to the silence that brings me back to reality and out of the stress of daily life, I could use that music to bring me back. It was fascinating how powerful this experience was at times.

My life right now seems vastly different from the life I had back then as a Professional Athlete, but only on the surface. I haven’t changed much, I’ve just reapplied my focus to some other adventure, which in this case is a business. No matter how crazy it gets I can find my focus by turning it all off and finding the silence. It reminds me of what’s important and of how lucky I am that I get to experience it.

Ghost Town

Somewhat unexpectedly, I made the trip to Germany for my Opa’s 80th birthday, courtesy of my Aunt Anita. Not having any time to go, I was able to only plan for 5 full days there, but managed to make the most of it. During my stay, I spent a day working in the local butcher shop where my Aunt has now worked for 18 years. She’s a butcher by trade, and has spent 40 years in the field to date. With our new Restaurant adventure, and the drive to bring everything back home, I wanted nothing more than to learn how to make traditional Bavarian and otherwise German sausages and meats.

My Aunt Anita let me in the back to speak with the owner and his son who make everything the butcher shop has to offer. The owner, Hans Ampletzer, and I have been on a few bike rides in the past during my other stays in Germany and he was keen to have me come along. His son Dominik let me know that I must arrive at the shop at 5 am and that they would be making “Weisswurst” that day.

My Opa got his bike ready for me the night before, and I went tearing through the empty streets of Bruckmuehl at 4:50 in the morning. Living only a 5 minute ride from the butcher shop is pretty convenient. I guess you’re just about 5 minutes from everywhere when you live in this area.

I walked into the back of the shop to find Hans and Dominik looking a little more awake than I felt, already having a few things on the go. Nonetheless, I grabbed my notebook and started writing the key components of the many sausages and meats we discussed. Having a science background, and a Chef as a boyfriend, I was surprised how much of this already made sense to me. I supposed I could have tried to find some recipe online, but in my experience, it’s priceless to experience these things and learn from the people who are doing this type of work every day.

Hans and Dominik explained absolutely everything, showed me more than I expected and were extremely welcoming. When our batch of Weisswuerste was done we had to try them, of course, to make sure they were up to their usual standards! I also witnessed a batch of Stockwurst, which I had never had and was rather impressed with. I’m really looking forward to bringing some of these new tricks and recipes into the Restaurant in the future.

I sincerely enjoyed my brief experience in the back of a butcher shop and seeing what it’s really like behind the scenes. Butcher shops have always been a huge part of German culture and I’m saddened by the slow disappearance of several of them. With the intro of large box supermarkets to the smaller towns of Bavaria, small businesses, whether bakers or butchers, are slowly forced to close. This already happened in Canada but I feel like we’re on the other side of it and people do see the value that these small stores bring. No processing, supporting local businesses and farmers, and bringing a much healthier product to the consumer.

I wish them the best and appreciate the generous welcoming I received. Next time you see a butcher shop, please support them. It’s really worth it.

Being very energy conscious, this isn’t the first “green” move my Dad has made, and being inspired by the government rebate, he decided to use it as a reason to convert to solar heat. The Harper government had advertised a rebate of up to $5000 to anyone making the commitment to using renewable energy. He called them up, a rep came to inspect and said the project would rebate him $3000, and my Dad went ahead and installed the system. Now, outside the house is a giant array of solar collectors and even in the winter, he has hot water courtesy of the sun. Yippee!

The rep came back to reinspect after the installation, making sure the previous water heating system has been uninstalled. This is to ensure nobody is trying to screw the system and that you are in fact, very serious about saving your earth. During this inspection, the rep was surprised to see that when he checked his “list”, that the company that builds the type of solar heating system my Dad used, is no longer eligible for the rebate program. Say, what?

Turns out, the government has a list of manufacturers which they deem rebate eligible. Apparently, not just any solar system that lets you stop using oil or gas are good enough. It needs to have a government seal of approval. Interestingly, this list is shrunk significantly during the short time this program was in effect. So during the couple of months between application and finishing the installation of the system, my Dad’s company of choice didn’t stay on the list.

He tried to see if he could still get the rebate because they were on the list during the first inspection, since this was key in his selection of the company in the first place. After all, the company was chosen from a slightly earlier edition of this exact list, and had the company not been on it, he would have chosen a different one that was. The rep agreed that this seems rather fair. Apparently the government did not agree and my Dad never got the rebate. Rule changes in the middle of the game don’t sit well with me, whether that’s in sports or politics.

So here’s the thing: In the Platform of the last Federal Election, Mr. Harper promised to do something about Climate Change, and this Home Retrofit Program was a part of that. He promised $400 million in rebates to Canadians for renovating their already existing home to be more energy efficient. This goes for anything from installing new windows to installing solar heating systems.

Less than half of this money has been spent, but Canadians are being told that the max number of 25000 applicants has been reached. First, I don’t remember reading anything about a max number of applicants, but let me go through my platform PDF again and read the fine print. Second, “applicant” doesn’t mean that said individual will actually follow through on the renovation, and third, as was the case with my Dad, the renovation may not get approved anyway. So reaching a certain number of people who expressed some interest on a web form shouldn’t mean a thing.

I’ll let you read the rest of the internet for details, such as here, or here. Having been, through my Dad, on the receiving end of this, I’m thoroughly disappointed. We were looking forward to installing a few more of these hot water solar systems in our hotels, and hopefully we still can do so sooner than later. After all, we care about the planet whether the government does or not. In the end, this also saves money. The frustrating thing is that the initial investment is large enough that now, without the rebate, we have to wait to install another system, let alone the four that we would need.

Clearly the fallout of the recent early termination of this program is affecting many people. I hope this ends badly for the Conservatives. They really don’t deserve another shot.

Now again, I’m receiving notice in my P.O. Box about all the wonderful things the Conservatives are doing for seniors. Not that there’s anything wrong with helping seniors, but perhaps building a few less prisons and actually giving out the promised rebates for green initiatives would also be good. In our small town, it’s no secret the majority of the people are older, and this is a Conservative heaven. Making sure they get more votes, they distribute these flyers, targeted at seniors.

Where’s my flyer about Climate Change Policy? Noooo, people my age get recruited with big financial incentives to go work in the Oil Sands.

The big theme for us is using the whole product. If we get a Lobster, we use the meat for a dish, the shells to make stock. This goes for all seafood. Things get a little trickier with some of the land proteins, but we are creatively finding uses for absolutely everything to minimize any food waste.

Bisque and Main

Last week we bought three chickens. The bones made a stock and the breasts made a dinner. The rest was used to make chicken chips, chicken gelatin squares and confit legs in chicken fat. Absolutely no waste, and it all tasted fantastic.

Confit Chicken leg terrine served with Fennel, Radish and Lemon Salad.

For a video on how we could truly recycle plastics watch the following TED talk.

This move by our leaders doesn’t leave us in a positive place in the world. We are getting lots of criticism from other countries, and rightly so. The thing I really don’t understand is the lack of understanding too many Canadians still have about the science behind Global Warming. If you are someone who understands why we so desperately need to change our habits and reduce emissions, please explain it to someone who doesn’t.

Perhaps it’s not that they don’t understand, but that they wish it weren’t so. In order to make the difference we need to make to stop the warming process, most people fear that we would have to set our lives back to a stone age living situation. This isn’t the case. Governments need to implement more green energy projects which can also create lots of jobs. This is already being done in some provinces in Canada, although it’s still too small right now. But we are on the right track, at least in a small way.

Just because the Federal Government won’t cooperate with Kyoto, to make a profit in Oil in the short term, doesn’t necessarily mean that all government takes this stance. It seems that only the Conservative Party of Canada has this view point and many Liberal and Green Party Politicians are fighting for our planet, while the Conservatives are not. The NDP Government of Nova Scotia has implemented a thorough plan to reduce emissions, make the switch from fossil fuels to renewable and green energy sources, protect biodiversity and natural resources which started in 2010. Ontario currently has the second largest photovoltaic power station in Sarnia, producing 97MW.

As for you and me, that’s where we can make the biggest difference. Reduce your own emissions, whether the Government tells you to or not. We all need to do our part. Nobody’s asking you to go back to the stone age. Just make small changes at a time. Drive a little less and walk a little more, you’ll do your heart and your wallet both favours while helping reduce emissions. Aim to make your next car a hybrid. Make your home heating/cooling efficient by sealing leaky windows and doors, and set your thermometers on timers. Take advantage of natural light during the day whenever you can, and turn the lights off when you are not in a room. For scarcely used rooms, such as laundry and basements, consider installing motion sensored lights so they turn off automatically when you leave the room. It also helps not to have to find the switch when you’re lugging your laundry loads in there!

Start small and dream big. Lots of other countries have done it, and we can too. Write letters to your local MPs and ask them what they are doing. After all, if you and I can reduce our carbon footprint, they can too.

Have your say! Ask them to put our future ahead of the future of oil.

Email NOW.

The CCPI is a rank given to each country based on their emissions (80% composed of 50% actual emissions, 30% trend) and climate policy (20%). The countries are then ranked from best to worst.

The best three are Sweden, UK and Germany. The worst three are Kazakhstan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Near the bottom, in the “very poor” section is Canada, along with the USA and China to name a few. Canada specifically scored very poorly on the actual emissions and its policy. In fact, Canada is among the worst five climate policies of all countries.

The group is understandably worried about their findings because it appears that the trend toward burning coal and oil from tar sands has not been stopped. What’s worse is that emissions per GDP are increasing in many countries.

Interestingly they also report that the biggest increases in National Renewable Energy capacity have come from China, USA and Germany. Many people will be surprised to see China on that list.

Fact is, that across the board, there isn’t enough being done by any country, but especially most of the largest 10 emitters. They make up 60% of all global emissions and without a willingness to pursue a sustainable climate change policy, the necessary CO2 targets needed to avoid highly dangerous climate change simply cannot be met. It seems these countries have too close of a link between emissions and GDP and until they change this, we cannot expect much.

What shocks me time and time again are all the people, especially in my own country, that don’t believe climate change is real. I haven’t determined exactly why such a large group exists in Canada particularly, but the comments section on any CBC article about climate change is sickening. I really hoped the people would be able to distinguish between science we’ve heard since Kindergarten and political propaganda put forth by the conservatives. What we need now more than ever is education. If we don’t educate our public, this Harper-lead Conservative Government will drive us into a nice and toasty hell on earth.

Perhaps many of you have waited for our Government to lead the way, which at this point in the game is nothing more than wishful thinking. The Canadian Conservative Government have made their stance pretty clear, and they chose the Oil Sands in Alberta.

Perhaps this whole idea of Climate Change is simply overwhelming because there are too many people talking about too many different issues. My goal is to educate people about the severity of Climate Change and what can be done to limit humanities impact on our ecosystem. It is my hope that here you will find the inspiration to fight this battle with those that already are.