Lloyd Alter
@lloydalter.bsky.social
Author of"The Story of Upfront Carbon," reformed architect and developer, teacher of sustainable design at Toronto Metropolitan University. https://lloydalter.substack.com
I have been working on a book about the home for almost a decade and have been stuck in the kitchen for a year, but I have decided that I am going to publish it online as a serial, starting today. lloydalter.substack.com/p/the-kitche...
The kitchen is a story of technological, economic, and, above all, social change
A serialization of my book, The New Manual of the Dwelling
lloydalter.substack.com
important piece for Ontario readers from @davidzipper.bsky.social about how removing speed cameras led ot increased speeding.
David Zipper@davidzipper.bsky.social · yesterdayA story of cause and effect: Last November, Ontario banned cities from using speed safety cameras to issue tickets. Reckless speeding immediately surged in Toronto, Ottawa, Guelph, and cities throughout the province. A 🧵 about my latest in Bloomberg (gift link)
The Gordie Howe Bridge story isn't over. It will never be over.
The Highwayman@hwy400n.bsky.social · 5d agoIt’s the last day of July, & a long weekend(ON)! This is a reminder to #BoycottUSA Which includes the Trump supporter owned Ambassador Bridge!! Here’s the latest reason! The GHIB won’t be blocked by broken down 🇺🇸 Chryslers!
Joe Colombo's total Furnishing Unit from 1971, from one of the greatest designers of the century. Imagine what he might have done had he not died at the age of 41 www.tumblr.com/rudygodinez/...
Post by @rudygodinez · 8 images
💬 0 🔁 68 ❤️ 127 · Joe Colombo, Total Furnishing Unit, (1971) Colombo also began working in plastic with self-contained units that provided all the services of a room. He believed that "all the o…
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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net · 2d agothevaultoftheatomicspaceage.tumblr.com/post/8239406...
Happy Simcoe Day, named after the Ontario Lieutenant Governor in the 1790s. He made a planning and design decision in 1795 that made the Province an industrial and agricultural powerhouse.
Happy Simcoe Day: How Good Planning Changed a Country (And Made Room for a Lot of Americans)
From the archives, a look at a legacy of John Graves Simcoe.
lloydalter.substack.com
Some say people aren’t willing to make the smallest changes in their lives, but Canadians have shown they are, and the effect was large enough to make Donald Trump really mad. Now, if we could only do the same thing with respect to the climate emergency. lloydalter.substack.com/p/the-canadi...
The Canadian boycott of the USA shows that individual actions do make a difference
Now let's apply that energy and determination to dealing with the climate emergency.
lloydalter.substack.com
People are talking about Saarinen's Dulles Airport now that Trump wants to rebuild it. He is going to get rid of the "people movers" or "hellbuses," which I quite enjoyed, mainly because the one I was on had the worst graphics I have seen anywhere, anytime.
I have said this since Mackinnon's letter came out- we have not heard the end of this. It is a pause. They are not making any more Q400 turboprops, and eventually it is either allow jets or close the airport. We should be looking forward to the latter.
Shawn Micallef@shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 4d ago🛩️ v 🏖️ People who aren’t used to winning, won. At the same time, people who often win lost for once. The losers are throwing tantrums. Winners should take the win to heart because it truly belongs to them & no one else. My column on this remarkable grassroots mobilization in @thestar.com
Designers are now promoting "longevity architecture" for the billionaire class with clean air, water, and healthy materials, but almost nobody talks about the main factor that reduces longevity: falls. Circadian lighting is wonderful until you trip over the beige sofa on the beige rug.
Jargon Watch: Longevity Architecture
It's the new term for healthy buildings, directed at boomer billionaires, but it is in for a fall.
lloydalter.substack.com
Minimalism is apparently trendy again (yay!), but it is important to know where it came from- the battle against tuberculosis. It was all about health. With an aging population, we have to think about prescribing it again. lloydalter.substack.com/p/minimalism...
Minimalism is not a style, it's a prescription
It fights disease with design and was a weapon in the battle against tuberculosis. It's time to get serious about making our homes safe, healthy, and minimalist again.
lloydalter.substack.com
So I am listening to old records, and here is the label on a Dinah Washington 1959 album. What is that building? I think it is Chicago because I recognize others, @katewagner.wehwalt.net ?
We should all dress like Pierre in fringe jackets and become one big proud fringe group.
John Michael McGrath@jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · last wk.re: "fringe group" — the vast majority of GTA residents do not, and likely never will, fly out of Billy Bishop, this was always special pleading from a narrow interest group, they just happen to be extremely wealthy
I love the simplicity of this study: 1) Find homes with gas stoves and asthmatic children 2) Replace the gas stoves with induction stoves. 3) Come back in three months. Results? "Missed days of work or school because of asthma dropped by about 80%."
An elegant study shows how bad gas stoves are for your kids' health
Researchers replaced gas stoves with induction in homes with asthmatic children, and they got better fast.
lloydalter.substack.com
In space, you don't schlip on your tea. But otherwise I think this is true.
The Spaceshipper 🚀@thespaceshipper.com · last wk.Now watching one of the best spaceship movies without a spaceship.
A Toonie says it doesn't open tomorrow, that there is some technical border issue or customs problem, that it all gets slow-rolled, and the trucks are lined up for many kilometres. Any taker?
Dr Gerald Kutney | Climate Politics@geraldkutney.bsky.social · last wk.America builds walls. Canada builds bridges. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... That says it all folks. #ClimateBrawl
Sounds so much like Toronto, where a parking lot wasn't just a parking lot: "This parking lot is the hub, it’s the heart of the community. It provides everybody an opportunity to partake in everything that’s here.” This attitude is evidently universal.
Jonn Elledge@jonnelledge.bsky.social · last wk.I feel like the way of dealing with such behaviour is to look these people right in the eye and say, very gently, "You think your right to park matters more than homes these children?" Then when they reply just repeat it with slightly different emphasis.
Dare I say it’s not dead yet? The bafflegab statement from the feds left an opening and it looks like the province will try and take it.
TheTrillium.ca@thetrillium.bsky.social · 2w agoCarney government comes out against Billy Bishop Airport expansion
its real, here is the minister's bafflegab statement
Lloyd Alter@lloydalter.bsky.social · 2w agoI m in shock, this is amazing
is there any confirmation other than the star article?
John Michael McGrath@jm-mcgrath.bsky.social · 2w agoPremier Ford goes from success to success
The fans are completely insane, no room at all for the riders!
On this day in 1959, there was a debate in Moscow (between men, of course) about politics, the role of women in society, and kitchen design. Nixon said the kitchen gave women freedom; Khrushchev said it was "trapping women in a gilded cage."
On its anniversary, a look back at the kitchen debate between Nixon and Khrushchev
I have come to believe that Khrushchev won the debate, and that the American kitchen was "a gilded cage."
lloydalter.substack.com
This is a US government spokesperson on removing bike lanes: "This is a common sense approach despite the Left's belief that everyone should ride a bike to their shoebox-sized apartment to eat crickets to achieve a phony climate agenda."
The War on Cars@thewaroncars.bsky.social · 2w agoNot great to see that USDOT is spouting debunked conspiracy theory language about 15-minute cities and the World Economic Forum. thewaroncars.org/2023/03/21/c...
This is a really important point. @evansolomon.bsky.social should be concentrating on the basics like Microsoft and John Deere instead of AI.
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C)@doctorow.pluralistic.net · 2w agoIf Trump orders Microsoft to shut off your country's access to Office 365 (as he did to the International Criminal Court and a Brazilian judge who pissed him off), your country would simply cease to function: pluralistic.net/2026/06/18/t... 47/
With “Captain Canada” Doug Ford you can ignore what he says and watch what he does- exactly this kind of thing, pure MAGA.
Peter Cheung@bostonaruban.bsky.social · 2w agoF.U.C.K. this administration! www.npr.org/2026/07/23/n...
So chuffed to have been interviewed by Fred Bernstein for the Wall Street Journal about killer bathtubs with slippery floors, too-high toilets, and the need for grab bars everywhere. Probably a killer paywall apple.news/AN7UAjlyjRZC...
It’s the Deadliest Room in the House—Especially for Seniors — The Wall Street Journal
Bathrooms seem to be designed to be as dangerous as possible. There are ways to lower the risk.
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@thebeaverton.com joked that Ontario Premier Doug Ford would build more spas to fight wildfires. It may well be that soon, the only place we can go in summer to beat the heat and the smoke, if we can afford it, is one of Doug Ford’s domed pleasure palaces. lloydalter.substack.com/p/when-parod...
When parody becomes prediction: Smog domes for the wealthy to avoid climate change and wildfire smoke
A Canadian humour site nails what could be a possible future, where we pay to have fresh air and cool water under glass domes.
lloydalter.substack.com
As Canadians and others try to wean themselves off USA products and services, we should also try to give up USA holidays like Pi Day. Only 3 countries in the world write dates with M-D-Y, which gives us 3.14. Everyone else should celebrate today- 22/7. Happy International Pi Day!
Bye, bye, American Pi: The world owns Pi Day on 22/7
Only three countries in the world, including the USA, write dates M-D-Y. Everyone else can party on the true International Pi Day on 22 July.
lloydalter.substack.com
I have been thinking about this as I watch the endless lines of BMWs and motorcycles that almost outnumber the bikes, The whole thing is an orgy of fossil fuel consumption and promotion.
Sara Sneath@sarasneath.bsky.social · 2w ago“I’d go further and say that, concerning the climate crisis, and professional cycling’s addiction to sponsorship from oil companies, airlines and car manufacturers, there is a rule of silence, as deeply rooted in cycling culture as the old omertá about doping.”
