I’ve been struggling with a problem that many older cottage owners are facing.

Cottages used to be family heritage items passed from one generation to the next. Passing them on has become difficult – perhaps impossible – for many families.

Anyone inheriting a cottage in Ontario must pay estate administration tax (1.5 per cent of its value) and federal capital gains tax on 50 per cent of the dollar difference between the original cottage cost and its current value.

Cottage prices, like other types of real estate, have gone berserk so anyone inheriting a family cottage might be looking at paying tens of thousands – even hundreds of thousands – of dollars in fees and taxes. Families without that kind of big money are forced to sell the places.

I have considered this an isolated problem affecting the tiny portion of the population fortunate enough to own a cottage.

This week while reading Yuval Harari, the Israeli historian and intellectual, I realized that my problem is not an isolated one. Yes, it is small, and isolated to cottage country, but it is a reflection of a huge problem affecting all humanity. That problem is our demand for constant economic growth.

Harari, author of the bestselling books Sapiens and Homo Deus, writes that economic growth exploits natural resources, seriously changing the environment and human life. Climate change is bringing us flooding, droughts and wildfires, zoonotic diseases, mutating viruses, extinctions, and distress migrations. 

Our leaders jabber away at conferences, like the recent COP26, about needed restraint but little will change. Unchecked growth will continue because there are hundreds of millions of people around the world who don’t have what we have, and they want it.

India has 1.38 billion people, China 1.44 billion. Combined, that’s three billion people, most of whom do not have the lifestyles that we do – autos, nice houses, appliances, the Internet – all things that involve degrading the environment.

We’ve been working to limit the damage caused by growth but often we create new problems while trying to solve the old.

The battery revolution is an example. Power everything with batteries and you eliminate the huge environmental damage caused by burning fossil fuels. Batteries, however, cause other environmental damage.

Battery operated devices require lithium and cobalt, two elements that are mined. Dust from cobalt mining contains particles believed to cause a variety of serious health problems. Mining waste often pollutes rivers, lakes and drinking water.

Lithium also is mined and like any mining has a toll on the environment, creating many tonnes of waste rock and industrial debris. Mining lithium also requires water – as much as 500,000 gallons per tonne of lithium, according to reports from South America.

Looking at a map it appears the world has an abundance of water, however, only three per cent of it is fresh and is being reduced quickly. 
The United Nations says that four billion people – roughly two-thirds of the world population – experience severe water shortage at least one month of every year. It also says that 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by severe water shortages in the next eight years.

All this makes the problem of passing along a cottage appear pretty insignificant.

Humanity always has worked to find solutions to problems and will continue trying to solve major ones like climate change, or lesser ones like unrealistic real estate prices created by the unquenchable thirst of economic growth.

Our history is filled with examples of brilliant solutions to seemingly impossible problems. Medicines eradicated devastating diseases. Artificial devices allowed millions of people with lost limbs to enjoy normal lives. Electricity freed us from living much of our lives in darkness. The printing press helped us build the ability to deal with new and difficult situations.

But we still must answer the big questions about growth. How long are we willing to continue the production and consumption of stuff that that is destroying our planet? Can we find ways to produce only what we really need and still dramatically reduce the damage we create?

Whether we find brilliant solutions to deal with the problems of growth, I guess will be found in – as author Harari puts it in Homo Deus – the history of tomorrow.

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We live in a world of negotiations. When you need a new auto, house or a better TV service you negotiate an agreement.

The purpose of negotiations is to reach an agreement that benefits both parties. In the case of an auto, the buyer wants the best product at the best price. The dealer seeks a sale that will sustain his or her business.

Then there are negotiations in which two parties negotiate for agreements that can help or hurt third parties who are not even part of the negotiations.

That’s what’s happening in Ontario between the Ford government and the province’s optometrists. Except there are no negotiations and thousands of third parties are hurting.

Optometrists withdrew services Sept. 1 for patients covered under the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan (OHIP). OHIP funds eye exams of people 65 and older, children and teens and people with special conditions such as glaucoma and macular degeneration.

The Ontario government has underfunded eye exams for OHIP patients for decades. In 1989 it paid $39.15 for an OHIP eye exam. Today, 32 years later, it pays $44, an increase of less than $5 over three decades.

The Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO) says that an independent accounting study found that the average cost of providing an eye exam now is $75.51 because of increases in rent, real estate, support staff salaries and more advanced and expensive diagnostic equipment.

The Ford government readily admits there has been underfunding and has offered a one-time $39-million payment to help alleviate the underfunding. It also has proposed a funding increase of 8.49 per cent, which according to my math would provide just under $48 for an eye exam.

As is the case in many difficult negotiations, each side is accusing the other of not wanting to negotiate in good faith.

I don’t know who is doing what or not doing what in this fight. I do know that the health of thousands of seniors, children, teens and people with special conditions is at risk because they cannot see an optometrist. (They can’t even pay out of pocket because optometrists are not allowed to take money from OHIP patients).

Eye exams are important because they detect serious diseases. They are especially important for children and seniors.

A child might be struggling in school without realizing she cannot read the blackboard, computer screen or paperwork because she needs glasses. A senior notices vision is not as sharp as it once was and attributes it to old age. The lack of sharpness might be caused by eye disease such as glaucoma or macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness.

More than one million Canadians now live with vision loss, according to new research commissioned by optometrist, ophthalmological and vision care groups. That number is expected to double within the next 10 years.

Also, eight million Canadians are living with an eye disease that could make them blind. These are diseases in which regular eye examinations provide early diagnoses and treatments. 

Gila Martow, Progressive Conservative MPP for Thornhill riding, criticizes her own government’s proposed fee increase as “heavy-handed” and delivered with a “take it or leave it” attitude. 

She says she is uncomfortable breaking ranks because she is an optometrist, but did so to draw attention to the dispute that has left tens of thousands without eye care. 

Bravo to her for declaring her conflict of interest. Because I am reporting on this subject, I should declare my own.

I have sight in only one eye and three months ago was diagnosed with macular degeneration and glaucoma in the good eye. I haven’t been able to see an optometrist since then because of the funding dispute.

My personal situation and Ms. Martow’s conflict are of little consequence to anyone. The main focus in all this must be the children who need eye care to ensure they have all the advantages needed for a solid education.

This eye care funding dispute has gone on far too long without the public attention needed to push the parties into negotiating an agreement. We all need to start talking about this – among ourselves, to our politicians and to the media.

Only public pressure will get this resolved.

If you managed to find regular snowploughing for the coming winter, it likely wasn’t easy and you likely are paying more for it.

Snowplough operators big and small have been hit hard in recent years with skyrocketing liability insurance premiums. The increases have forced some to quit the business.

Some operators report that annual insurance premiums of $5,000 have soared as high as $30,000 to $50,000 a year. One North Bay operator reported his premiums increased 200 per cent, while an Orillia contractor said his went up 250 per cent.

The insurance industry says premiums are rising because of increasing injury lawsuits filed by people claiming to have slipped and fallen on uncleared snow and ice. Payouts for slip and fall claims can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says that commercial liability coverage claims, which include snow and ice slipping incidents, increased 108 per cent in Canada between 2013 and 2020, going from $2.4 billion to $5.1 billion.

Some insurers now refuse to provide coverage to snow removal contractors, at any price.

Part of the problem has been the lengthy time limit for making liability claims against winter maintenance contractors. Anyone saying they suffered injury or property damage resulting from inadequate ploughing or sanding of private property has had two years to file a claim against the contractor’s insurer.

Property owners and winter maintenance operators have complained that they often face slip and fall lawsuits without ever having been informed that someone slipped and fell on the property.

One cited example is the notice of lawsuit filed against a business owner 23 months after the alleged incident. It was difficult to defend the suit because too much time had passed to look for witnesses, or ask staff to remember what had happened.

Municipalities, however, are given a 10-day statute of limitations for slip and fall claims. So, if you slip and fall on a town street or parking lot, you must tell the municipality within the 10-day period.

Muskoka-Parry Sound MPP Norm Miller found the 10-day versus two-year time limit difference between municipalities and private individuals and businesses so unfair that late last year he introduced a private member’s bill in the Ontario legislature. The bill, which was adopted, reduces the risk of liability by reducing the two-year period for making a claim to 60 days.

There is little evidence that the new law has reduced snowploughing liability premiums for this winter. However, it is expected to discourage frivolous and fraudulent claims, which might help to reduce premiums in coming years.

Meanwhile, there are fewer winter maintenance operators to do the ploughing and sanding this winter, which is forecast to be an especially snowy and icy one. One road association made 30 calls earlier this fall before finding a contractor available to plough and sand its road this winter.

Forecasters are predicting a snowy winter ahead because of unusual warming of the Great Lakes. They say that cold winter air passing over the warmer lakes will create much lake effect snow until the lakes begin freezing over in January or February, or perhaps not at all.

Air temperatures in the Great Lakes region have increased 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 60 years, resulting in declining ice coverage. And, the incredibly warm fall we are experiencing is adding to the prospect of little Great Lakes ice this winter.

Also, this is another La Niña year in which above-normal temperatures and significant snowfalls both are possible. Thaws and above average rainfall are forecast for January and February, interspersed with blasts of cold Arctic air, resulting in more icy surfaces.

Some folks will recall the 2007-2008 La Niña winter that brought a record number of snow events. That year the Great Lakes region recorded its third wettest winter in 61 years, with most of the precipitation being snow.  Muskoka reported 558 centimetres (that’s 18 feet!) of snow.

Also, current forecasts show no signs of an early spring. March is expected to be colder than usually, with above average snowfalls.

All in all, it’s not looking to be a winter in which anyone wants to be without snow clearing and ice sanding.

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Now that the gas-powered lawn mowers, grass trimmers and leaf blowers are being tucked away for winter, I’m wondering how many will be back out next spring.

A revolution in lawn and garden care is about to happen. Battery-operated lawn and garden tools are becoming increasingly practical and popular, creating major change in how we tend to our properties.

The shift to battery-powered tools already is well underway. 

Toolmaker Stanley Black and Decker estimates the volume of electric-powered lawn equipment shipped by North American manufacturers increased 75 per cent between 2015 and 2020. During that time electric went from 32 per cent to 44 percent of the overall lawn equipment market.

Market research shows that cordless, battery-operated lawnmower sales will grow by at least five per cent, and likely more, over the next few years. Worldwide sales of $1,067 million in 2019 are forecast to hit $1,311 million by 2025.

A division of MarketResearch.com says that the battery-powered lawn equipment sector is growing three times faster than gas.

That’s happy news for anyone who has tried to sit out in the October sun while a neighbour attacks fallen leaves with a gas-powered back-pack leaf blower that sounds like a jumbo jet.

Hearing loss campaigns say gasoline leaf blower noise from a distance of 15 metres (50 feet) ranges from 64 to 78 decibels. The blower operator hears 95 to 115 decibels. Noises 85 decibels and above can harm hearing.

Battery-powered leaf blowers are gaining popularity not just because they are quieter.

They are easy to start and stop and do not emit the pollution of gasoline blowers.

There’s no fussy mess of mixing oil and gas.

The California Air Resources Board estimates that operating a gas leaf blower for one hour creates as much pollution as driving a Toyota Camry 1,770 kilometres. And, the U.S. transportation department says that in 2018, Americans burned nearly three billion gallons of gasoline running lawn and garden equipment.

California, home to 14.4 million small engines used mainly in landscaping, has passed a law requiring them to be zero-emission by 2024.

The decline of gasoline blowers and mowers will eliminate some air pollution, but battery-operated tools bring other forms of environmental damage. These batteries require heavy metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel and extracting these from the earth can be damaging to land, water, wildlife and people.

Much of the world’s lithium is found roughly 10 metres beneath the briny lakes of high-altitude salt flats. It is mined by drilling and pumping the brine to surface evaporation ponds where it becomes a salty mud containing lithium salts and other minerals. 

Pumping the brine requires water – as much as 500,000 gallons to produce each tonne of lithium. There also are concerns that the mining process can contaminate streams and farming areas.

One lithium extraction operation in Tibet poisoned a river killing fish and livestock, leading villagers to protest in the streets.

Another problem with recyclable batteries is how to recycle them after they are spent. Most now are simply thrown into garbage dumps.

In Australia, for example, only two to three present of lithium-ion batteries are collected for recycling. The North American and European rates are not much higher. 

This is a looming serious issue because many of the lithium batteries now in use are not near the end of their service lives. Eleven million metric tonnes of lithium-ion batteries are expected to expire by 2030, creating a huge issue of what to do with them.

Various companies are working on ways to recycle recyclable batteries but more money and brain power must be put to that effort or we will be simply replacing one pollution problem with another.

Solving the problem becomes more urgent when you consider that tools are not the only things now using batteries. The electric car market is surging with 2.6 million units sold in the first half of this year, representing 26 per cent of all global auto sales.

That growth will continue, creating millions of more battery cells requiring recycling instead of disposal in dumps. Forecasters say world electric vehicle sales are on track to surpass five million vehicles this year.

The clock ‘falls back’ one hour Sunday Nov. 7 when Daylight Saving Time (DST) is suspended for the winter months.

I’m not unhappy about that, but some people are. They hate the idea of changing their clocks every spring and every fall.

There is some evidence that the time changes that come with DST create some individual health concerns. Several clinical studies have reported increased risk of heart attacks and strokes with DST time shifts.

It is believed that time changes can upset circadian rhythms, which are physical, mental, and behavioural changes that follow a 24-hour cycle. These rhythms are natural processes that respond to light and dark and affect most organisms, including plants and animals.

Just one hour of time shift can make it harder to wake up in the morning and fall asleep at night on a set schedule. This can lead to loss of sleep and a decline in alertness, which have been linked to auto accidents and workplace injuries.

Ontario has voted to eliminate the semi-annual time changes but has not done so, saying that neighbouring Quebec and New York must do likewise to avoid confusion and complications.

Nine of 10 provinces and two of the three territories observe daylight time, which has been around in Canada for 113 years. It was first introduced in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay and my hometown) after businessman John Hewitson campaigned for it, saying people wanted to enjoy an extra hour of summer sun.

The idea of DST was attractive back then because candles and gas lamps were still used for lightning in many places. That extra hour of daylight gave workers more daylight for working and saved employers some money on lighting.

Those aren’t important factors nowadays but still one-quarter of the world observes daylight time. Some areas have gone to permanent daylight time, following it 12 months of the year and avoiding biannual time changes.

I like the idea of daylight time in the spring, when we get more daylight at the end of the day. However, I’m not so keen at this time of year when DST brings darkness about 5 p.m.

The darkness of November and December can be depressing, but it also can be uplifting.

The fall time change gives me a warm feeling of change. With the dark days comes the satisfaction of accomplishment. The docks are pulled for winter, the boat is serviced and stored, leaves are raked, summer furniture put away and the house and its surroundings are buttoned down for the first snowfalls.

Switching from summer to winter footing is hard work, but when done right it pays you back with that good feeling. And, when everything is put away and you are prepared for winter there is more time to do things that you were too busy to get to during summer.

There are books you wanted to read, movies you hoped to watch and calls to friends you had put off because summer is such a busy time.

The really uplifting part of autumn DST change and its early darkness is the down time it provides for reflection. Time to think about what’s been happening over the past year, and what might lie ahead.

There is so much happening in the world – and our individual lives – that it is good to have more time for reflection. Life moves quickly nowadays and having less time for thinking can lead to bad decisions.

This time of year also brings the excitement of knowing that after this period of shorter days another change is not far away. Come Dec. 21 – only 44 days after the start of autumn DST, Mother Nature starts the sun moving north again, creating increasingly longer days.

Longer and brighter days will bring more time for winter sports and other activities. As the sun gets warmer and stays up longer, we know that March and the time to ‘spring forward’ are not far off. 

Daylight time has been a controversial subject for an entire century. It has both benefits and disadvantages, but I have no interest in trying to figure out whether it’s a good or bad thing.

All I know is that we borrow an hour one night in spring and pay it back in the fall. 

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