At Home: Go Out on the Green
Earth Day has come and gone, but there’s still plenty of work to do?and not just on the recycling front. A recent international study shows that fewer Canadians than ever are making time with nature a priority, even though they’re quick to acknowledge its importance.
As The Toronto Star reports, more than 90 per cent of the study’s respondents?from nine countries, including Canada, the US, and Russia?believe that ?forests, parks and gardens have a positive effect on quality of life, with 89 per cent going so far as to call them a human right.?
And yet Canadian respondents are spending less time outdoors in green spaces, with ?36 per cent [saying] the time they spend in forests has decreased during the last five years? (29 per cent have spent less time in urban parks).
Additionally, a shocking 79 per cent of Canadian parents surveyed admit that their children are spending less time in forests, green spaces, and local parks ?than they did as youngsters.?
The reason? Most respondents cited ?distance from a park or forest? and ?limited time due to workload? as the reason for the drop. Some observers, though, are suggesting It’s today’s entertainment culture That’s led Canadians to value city amusements over time spent outdoors.
Around the World: No Way, Cousin
That hot guy at the club might just be a close relative?if You’re in Iceland, that is. The small country’s population of 320,000 means that everyone shares some kind of familial connection, but some are further removed than others. Now, though, Icelanders don’t need to worry about accidentally getting cozy with their cousins?there’s (actually) an app for that.
As News of Iceland reports, the new app ?prevents Icelanders from sleeping with their relatives.?
The app, whose tagline is ?Bump the app before you bump in bed,? draws on Iceland’s online registry, which ?holds information about the families of about 720,000 individuals who were born in Iceland at some point in time.?
Although the registry is freely available online to all registered persons, the app makes the information available at the touch of the finger?or the bump of a phone. Users can bump phones together when they meet, and the app will ?instantly? show them ?if they are too related to take things any further.?
As one user commented on the app’s website, ?If I would have had this app last year I probably wouldn’t have gone home with my cousin.?
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