Links a la Lofty

No diatribes today, just Lofty’s latest and greatest gleanings from the internets.

The environment will be making big news over the next few days as Montreal hosts the UN Convention on Climate Change Conference. Did you know that we are the 8^th worst Greenhouse Gas polluter in the world and the 2^nd worst per capita –next in line only to the United States? Rick Mercer’s One Tonne Challenge doesn’t seem to be doing its job.

Lofty’s vote for coolest campaign of the week: environmental awareness through hockey. The premise: because of climate change we have seen a marked decrease in the days during which Canadians can play outdoor hockey. On December 1^st around the country outdoor hockey games are being held on ice and asphalt in order to raise awareness about climate change. Though this all suggests that the best way to grab Canadians’ attention is by appealing to the inner Hoser within each of us, Lofty thinks it’s not a bad angle. What’s the next campaign – melting polar ice caps threaten to water down Canadian beer?

In a strange New York/Canadian crossover, this Toronto Subway station has been made over to look be the spitting image of a New York station at a cost of $150,000 (fake NYC soot and sludge don’t come cheap). Apparently, Toronto considered leaving it that way.

The intellectuals out there should check out this interesting research project which maps the amount of money spent by the prison system, by neighborhood in Brooklyn. Unsurprisingly there is a direct correlation between demographics and the level of incarceration showing that “incarceration impacts certain disadvantaged communities much more severely than other communities”.

Note how many “million dollar neighborhoods” there are! Lofty thinks it would be interesting to see this mapping done in Canada with urban aboriginal communities.

And finally, if you haven’t wasted hours playing with this yet: The Baby Name Voyager, - have fun!