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Lloyd Alter

@lloydalter.bsky.social
15K followers 1.6K following 2.3K posts

Author of"The Story of Upfront Carbon," reformed architect and developer, teacher of sustainable design at Toronto Metropolitan University. lloydalter.substack.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 10h
I will be there!
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 17h
I write often about how our homes are lifeboats, but Jessica shows us how to stock the lifeboat with necessary supplies. She writes a useful and thorough survival guide for people in cities and apartments. It’s not for preppers; it has bicycles, not pickup trucks.
lloydalter.substack.com
I hope I never need to use this free survival guide
Actually, Jessica Wildfire has written a guide we should all think about now before we need to use it.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Doctors prescribe blackout curtains, warm-coloured bedside lighting, and covering the small standby LEDs on household electronics to protect the heart.
lloydalter.substack.com
If you’re serious about sleep, learn from Marcel Proust
A new study finds that light in the bedroom at night could be as dangerous as “smoking, hypertension, and physical inactivity.” Proust knew how to deal with that.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
@dieworkwear.bsky.social what do you think of the Mao suit look on Xi? He wears suits all day, but to dress up he reverts to form? (I like it)
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I hate it when charities send a huge package of shit, even with my name printed on the pen and cards, hoping I will be guilted into a donation. Supposedly if 5% of the people who get these donate then it covers their costs, but how much of this stuff ends in the trash. It should be banned.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is great. I love seeing the falsework holding up the arch
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Honestly I am often so embarrassed by my generation of sociopaths
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Paging @norton.bsky.social our future under AI: giving up 75% of everything and putting humans in their place, regulated and on the fringes. @thewaroncars.bsky.social time for thewaronAI
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The Economist does an exposé on standing desks, claiming that they are no healthier than sitting desks. This is old news; what matters isn't standing or sitting, it's moving. We have known this for a decade. lloydalter.substack.com/p/are-standi...
lloydalter.substack.com
Are standing desks better than sitting?
An Economist article questions their usefulness. In fact, what matters isn’t standing or sitting; it’s moving.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
My late mom had a mantra for living in Toronto: "Never breathe the air north of St. Clair." She was right; I had a meeting that was supposed to be a 13-minute walk from the subway, but I spent that much time just trying to get out of the station and ended up on the wrong side of Steeles.
pioneer village station
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hostile design at Black Creek Station on TtC
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It sure looks like @thestar.com is in the tank for BradBrad, running bullshit headlines and a push poll with loaded negative questions about traffic and safety, two of his favourite hot buttons. All manufactured outrage.
star front pagestar push poll with loaded questions
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A new initiative in the UK tries to change the way we look at the built environment: “Housing, planning, transport, infrastructure, energy and regeneration aren't separate problems — they're one industry, hiding in plain sight.” Yet we are in separate silos, often working at cross-purposes.
lloydalter.substack.com
“One Built Environment” unites all strands of construction, transportation, and infrastructure
This British report proposes breaking down silos and recognizing that everything is connected. We should be doing this everywhere.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I concur, not a good look
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I don’t know how anyone can pitch I Texas with the distraction of the people drinking and partying behind home plate. It’s impossible to watch!
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Jan Gehl wrote: “A good city is like a good party — people stay longer than really necessary because they are enjoying themselves." That's why I love PARK(ing) Day- get outside, take back the streets, and party. lloydalter.substack.com/p/its-parkin...
lloydalter.substack.com
It’s PARK(ing) Day because streets are for people
At least in Toronto, this icon of tactical urbanism is still going strong.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Don't forget, Canada, that Danielle Smith is on the chemtrail case, checking them out. thetyee.ca/News/2024/10...
thetyee.ca
Good News! Smith Doesn’t Blame the US Military for Edmonton Chemtrails | The Tyee
The premier’s meetings with the UCP base are pandering to some very odd views.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
In the Chiaroscuro episode of Star Trek: SNW, Una looks at some building plans on a screen and says, "those are blueprints!" Does anyone in the 21st century still use that term, let alone the 23rd? Would that be a blooper?
blueprints
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
YES! I have written, "Many lives would be saved if Canada were to decouple its safety standards from those of the USA. We could have safer cars if we followed Euro-NCAP standards for car design." Safer trucks too lloydalter.substack.com/p/canada-sho...
lloydalter.substack.com
Canada should make side guards on trucks mandatory; the usual excuse no longer works
Now that we are plotting an independent course from the USA, it’s time to develop our own safety strategies and standards.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Toronto in a nutshell. The Minister of Transportation takes a "a leap of faith that I’ll be able to get to the office on time." People on bikes wonder if they will get there alive.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
What happens to our monster kitchens when everyone is on Ozympic and loses interest in eating? We used to gather around the hearth, then the kitchen island; is it now the pharmaceutical fridge? lloydalter.substack.com/p/will-glp-1...
lloydalter.substack.com
Will GLP-1 drugs change home design?
Nobody is going to want to look at that big kitchen island anymore.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
In Toronto, “no one should lose their life just trying to get around” would have the caveat: unless it slows down cars or removes parking or means the minister of transport takes longer to get home to Brampton.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
There is an election on in Toronto, I will vote for the candidate who promises this and actually delivers. If only it were an option.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Diana Lind of the New Urban Order and I discuss green roofs, which I believe are often “green wrapping.” I believe their future is food. In the Second World War, parks and yards were turned into victory gardens; in the climate war, we could build victory roofs.
lloydalter.substack.com
Are green roofs over?
An epistolary discussion between Diana Lind and Lloyd Alter over their past and their future.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Daughter and I have new matching T-shirts from Secret Planet. She takes Bloor Street to work every day at 6 in the morning, and Doug Ford is putting her life at risk.
fight for your right to cycle safely!
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Everyone can enjoy a nice place to sit in the city. For older people, it’s no longer a luxury; it is a necessity. lloydalter.substack.com/p/why-cities...
lloydalter.substack.com
Why cities need more decent seating
For cities to work for everyone, they need places to walk, sit and pee. This isn’t rocket science.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I hung out in the labs at the back of the Science Centre when I was in high school and the scientists were all brilliant and supportive while Doug Ford spent his high school years selling hash, so this makes perfect sense.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Because of Trump’s tariffs, stainless steel costs 40% more than it did a year ago, but that seems like a feature, not a bug, in this market. A designer says this only adds to its allure. “It used to be economical. When things are harder to acquire, it becomes more exciting for people to use.”
lloydalter.substack.com
How Trump tariffs turned stainless steel into a Veblen Good
For some, the fact that it costs 40% more is a feature, not a bug.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Doug Ford will keep winning forever in this system where the Anti-Doug vote is spit. It's time for a Liberal Democratic Party in the province to merge the opposition. It's the only way to get rid of Doug.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Never forget this as he wraps himself in the flag.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I admire Mamdani tremendously, but he is not correct here; it was not the first-ever. Peter McGuire held the New York parade after being invited to speak at one earlier in the year in Toronto, which had been holding them for a decade. lloydalter.substack.com/p/stop-the-p...
lloydalter.substack.com
Stop the Presses for Labor Day (or Labour Day, which is how you should spell it)
Put down your keyboards! It’s a holiday that started with a newspaper strike in Toronto, Canada.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Trump can’t tariff this Canadian export: Labour Day. It started in Canada after a media/labour dispute over long hours and toxic working conditions at The Globe newspaper, and it was imported to the USA ten years later. So hands off that keyboard, and get outside!
lloydalter.substack.com
Stop the Presses for Labor Day (or Labour Day, which is how you should spell it)
Put down your keyboards! It’s a holiday that started with a newspaper strike in Toronto, Canada.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I thought we were past the point where we illustrate heat waves with happy beach photos @ketanjoshi.co thoughts?
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
SUVs disproportionately kill people who they hit and older people disproportionately die when hit. It’s time to abandon integration with US safety standards and adopt European ones, reduce speed limits, bring back speed cameras, and stop this carnage.
Woman killed after being hit by SUB
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
But this happens everywhere; the double standard for right wing protests. Canada, the leader of the opposition delivered doughnuts to the F*ck Trudeau gangs blocking roads in Ottawa.
Pierre Poilieve delivering doughnuts
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
5 years ago I wrote about climate activists in UK being dragged off the roads and getting long sentences for obstructing traffic. But they wore orange instead of black. www.treehugger.com/british-acti...
treehugger.com
British Activists Block Roads, Get Arrested and Jailed, Fighting for ... Insulation?
Leaky homes are responsible for carbon emissions, and thousands live in energy poverty.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Remember Insulate Britain, when older climate activists got dragged off the roads and sent to jail for years?
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
@tamarhaspel.bsky.social pointed to an article questioning whether landfill was better than recycling. I have spent the summer arguing with our local garbage police about this issue, and conclude, It is not about being anti-recycling or anti-landfill; it’s about being anti-extractivism.
lloydalter.substack.com
Should we forget recycling and just bury our trash?
An article claims that recycling is broken (I agree), so we should go back to landfilling. There are other options.
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Reposted by Lloyd Alter
Double El Oh Wye Dee @lloyddavis.ca · 02/09/2026
“We’re pandering to the car brains by subsidizing their driving. Please clap.”
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Ignore Doug Ford's grandstanding about Trump; this is who he really is:
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The Wall Street Journal covers a new trend: upsizing. "Boomers think about aging differently compared with their parents. They hope to live active lives into their 90s." This is a fantasy.  lloydalter.substack.com/p/for-boomer...
lloydalter.substack.com
For boomers, upsizing is the new downsizing
It’s like we all have Dorian Gray Syndrome, including “difficulties coping with the aging process and with the requirements of maturation.”
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Anyone who believes Doug Ford is any different from Trump (who just defunded and is removing bike lanes) is blind.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I put "Lake Ontario" into Apple Maps to see if they had changed the name and was shocked to find that it has been moved to a tiny lake just outside of Algonquin Park, which doesn't even have road access! Why is there not more news about this?!!!
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Jane Jacobs wrote in “Cities and the Wealth of Nations” that “Economic life develops by grace of innovating; it expands by grace of import-replacement.” With the challenge of the American trade war, It’s time for some serious import-replacement in every part of our lives. Buy local!
lloydalter.substack.com
Reading Jane Jacobs on import replacement in a time of tariffs
Her thesis has been ignored by economists, but her time has come.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Given the state of our negotiations with the US right now, this liberal ad from 1988 just blows my mind youtu.be/jKQPw9vmG04?...
youtu.be
Liberal Party of Canada: "Border" (1988)
YouTube video by greyfedora
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
It will never happen because trump lite Doug Ford hates them as much as Trump and pulled them down at a cost of millions. For all his captain Canada talk don’t forget who he is.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Trump and Duffy want to launch a thousand rockets a year, and remove almost all environmental protections and oversight. Between launches of thousands of satellites and building of thousands of data centres, these tech advances the Abundance gang say will help mankind are contributing to killing it.
lloydalter.substack.com
Trump's plans for space could trash the environment, the climate, and the ozone layer
He wants to launch a thousand rockets a year after removing environmental reviews and restraints.
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Reposted by Lloyd Alter
Rodger Sherman @rodger.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Just dawned on me that we lost two officers of the Red October in a month
Tim Curry saying “you’ll receive the order of Lenin for this, Captain!Sam Neill saying “I would have liked to have seen Montana”
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
well put
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
With all the obits for Tim Curry, none mention his great role as Dr. Petrov in The Hunt for Red October. “Well if you like borsch perhaps, but I've eaten better in an oily GALLEY. My wife said to the waiter, "where did this man learn to cook? AFGHANISTAN?”
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