I am from a Place, but I have been around a lot, so maybe the truth is I am from lots of places. We all are. I am also not originally from a Place, in the way some people are from a Place. I am not from a Place in the same way my friend Jack, who is from New Jersey, is from a Place. I am not from a place in the same way my friend, Jan, who is from Europe, is from a place. Where I am from, are lots of places. If we are talking about childhood […]

My birthday falls on what is usually that part of the year where fall changes to winter, to bring out snowflakes, jackets and fur. Bright t-shirts would be long gone. It’s not a favorite time for most people. I am rubbing my eyes and gradually coming to the sad realization that it may not be June any more. The garden will be covered with a thin white layer, the grass would have long gone, and the trees are going to look bare. I can’t be outdoors as much as I would like to, in my favourite neighbourhood park, where my […]

This is our Neighbourhood Park and waterfront. I spend a lot of time here watching a flock of geese march up and down, from the water to land and back. You can find me sitting down amongst the park trees, typing on my laptop, writing the next lines on my science fiction book set in the year 2045. The goose acts like a muse to me, inspiring me to come up with strange tales of fiction, woven around space, metaphysics, unseen and unheard technologies. Goose is singular, geese is plural, and the collective noun is flock, very clear with no […]

Another Way to be Human is to embrace diversity as seen on Earth, everywhere. Not only are humans diverse, but so are the animals who live in our forests and oceans. For a long time, the significance of biological diversity in the world’s forests and oceans was unclear. It is now known to play a vital role in maintaining the functionality and productivity of our ecosystems. It also makes habitats more resilient to environmental change. But the well-balanced species communities are becoming increasingly unstable. This holds true for human diversity on earth. It is vital to understand human diversity in […]

The planet we live in is the third planet from the sun. Our planet is 5 billion years old; we have had three atmospheres during this time. The first atmosphere was helium and hydrogen. This did not last long, because the planet was too hot. Volcanic eruptions led to emissions of steam and carbon dioxide. This was our second atmosphere. Later the water vapor condensed to form the oceans that cover most of the planet we have now. About 3 billion years ago, two different types of bacteria started to form, releasing oxygen and nitrogen. This became our third atmosphere. […]