William van Geest

William van Geest

@wvangeest.bsky.social

Settler on unceded, unsurrendered Algonquin territory. Sustainable transportation, ecology, social justice, Ottawa. ED @ecologyottawa.bsky.social. Skeets my responsibility.

720 Followers 260 Following 349 Posts Joined Aug 2023
8 hours ago
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TODAY is the final day to submit your comments to the Environmental Registry of Ontario and demand that Dofasco, a large #Hamilton steel mill emitting high levels of air pollutants, be given stricter emission conditions, NOT rubber stamped approvals. 
ACT NOW 👇 https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/026-0039

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3 days ago

🤦‍♂️

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3 days ago

😳

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3 days ago

Ooh, didn’t know they had one. So maybe part of the problem?

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5 days ago

"—more accurately called artificial artificial intelligence, as it simulates or attempts to present the impression of having interacted with an artificial intelligence rather than being an artificial intelligence itself—"

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4 days ago
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a woman in a yellow bib says " i have to admit there 's a certain genius to it! " ALT: a woman in a yellow bib says " i have to admit there 's a certain genius to it! "
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4 days ago
Photo of every person café, closed and showing a few signs, one of which indicates it’s only open Monday to Friday :(

Sad to see #Centretown’s second-newest coffee shop succumb to the inertia of open only on weekdays. I was hopeful for a bit there…

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4 days ago

Unless there are separate dwellings in the back, I’m okay with nearby access by car being at the street-facing entrance only! Seems to me excessive to ensure car access to the back just in case someone falls or whatever closer to the back entrance than the front.

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4 days ago

IMO it’s more that the City didn’t do much (any?) major AT work because of Covid: there was unfortunately nothing to roll back, or you can be sure they would’ve. :/

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6 days ago

Yep, that’s also illustrative, and has consequences for the public realm too—although there’s something crazy about what’s essentially a mini-road on most properties. There has to be a way of preserving a ROW while not blowing all that valuable land.

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6 days ago

Presumably also an emissions/pollution buffer… 🤦‍♂️

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6 days ago
Photo of a driveway between two houses, and large pile of snow in front of each one—apparently cleared off the driveway.

Snow reveals so much about our cities.

In this case, how much space driveways take, and how much effort to maintain them.

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1 week ago
Screenshot of a text that reads, "As a result, development charge rates for residential development would decrease by an average of one per cent citywide. That includes an average decrease of one per cent for residential development inside the Greenbelt and two per cent outside the Greenbelt. In the rural area, residential development charge rates would remain relatively stable, increasing by an average of only 0.1 per cent. The rate for non-residential development would decrease by an average of three per cent citywide."

I'm sorry, why are we decreasing development charges more for development *outside* the Greenbelt, when we know that costs more to service?

Once again, @en.ottawa.ca is incentivizing sprawl. Make it make sense... #OttCity

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1 week ago
Screenshot of text message that reads, “William! It’s [redacted] from [redacted]. Alpha bomb looks like the way you like it right now thought you’d wanna know ;)

Local pubs are the freaking best.

Alternative reading: I’m a bit too frequent a flyer at my local pub. #Centretown

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1 week ago
Out of a melting snowbank along an arterial road, with fragments of asphalt appearing at the edge.

Missing the contents of your pothole in #Ottawa?

I may just know where they are…

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1 week ago

I basically think the @en.ottawa.ca podcast is a nice idea, but it’s so indicative how even here, any joy or whimsy or other emotion guests might genuinely feel is choked by an unnecessary caution and insistence on sticking to the—in this case literal—script. Could we be daring even once? #OttCity

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1 week ago

“We lack boldness, vision, and even commitment.”

Quick, before looking at the original post: which #OttCity project or issue is this about? Could be so many… #Ottawa

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1 week ago
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New Canadian trade deal with India only allows for 1 assassination per year OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have reportedly outlined a first draft of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which includes a sub-clause limi...

New Canadian trade deal with India only allows for 1 assassination per year

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1 week ago
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Tkt Smart GIF ALT: Tkt Smart GIF
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1 week ago

Yeah, we at @bikeottawa.bsky.social flagged that problem back during design: so many both driveways and roads on that side. Sigh…

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1 week ago

My thought exactly.

At the very least, it’s a complete indictment of our transportation system and its policies. That report is much closer to satire than I’m comfortable with.

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1 week ago

I knew someone would find an actual use for that gender reveal crap… 🤓

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1 week ago
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a man walking on a dirt road with the words i 'm sorry written below him ALT: a man walking on a dirt road with the words i 'm sorry written below him
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1 week ago

“Drivers may choose to ignore right turn on red restrictions.”

City: 🤷‍♂️

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1 week ago

You don’t know how fast I bike normally 😬

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1 week ago
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a man wearing glasses and a plaid shirt is sitting in front of a shelf and says brilliant . ALT: a man wearing glasses and a plaid shirt is sitting in front of a shelf and says brilliant .
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1 week ago

I’ve been saying this whole time… 🤷‍♂️ Just leave the snowbanks too: we’re gonna need ‘em.

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2 weeks ago

I recently was chatting with some folks who argued that people in a crosswalk have a responsibility to ensure drivers stop for them.

They certainly have an *interest*, but that’s different from responsibility. Responsibility—legal, moral—is 100% the drivers’.

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2 weeks ago

But there’s always a margin of ~10 km/h above the legal limit, right? 🤷‍♂️

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2 weeks ago

Let me tell ya, some of the corners are really tricky at those speeds!

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