The interregnum begins...a strange time of year when it is still summer but human activity makes it seem like fall. The day after Labour Day is some kind of strange new year, more so than the first of January, especially as we move away from life based on the seasons. It's still good swimming weather.

With the fall season beginning, some transit news. Bowen lies within the Greater Vancouver Regional District and our island is served by community shuttles which drive around the island and make getting around pretty easy if you are on a route. Thanks to the fact that Bowen Fuels have recently just started selling a 5% biodiesal blend at the gas station, these shuttles are now the only transit buses in BC running on biodiesal. Our community is, I believe, the first community in the country to have exclusively biodiesal pumps. It's only 5% but it's coming along. And with entrepreneurs Doug Hooper and Ian Thomson of the Canadian Biofuels Technology Corporation on island, we are poised to get the blend even higher.

In other transit news, Translink, the regional authority made Bowen Island part of the same zone as the North Shore, meaning that it should only cost $2.25 to from Bowen to anywhere on the North Shore (plus ferry cost). Anything to get more people out of their cars works for me. This year, I have slashed my own use of the car, making only 8 work trips to town in my car and driving less than three times a month on island with only me in the vehicle. If I'm alone, I always look for hitchhikers, but usually I just ride my bike down to the Cove (and back up the 300 feet of elevation home - pant pant).

Sustainability starts right here, baby.