The World’s Best Places to Live

Canadian Cities Are Among The Most Liveable on Earth

First Published Date: October 2, 2014

If you have been thinking cities like New York, Los Angeles, Florida, London, Tokyo, and Paris are some of the best places to live, think again. A recent report published by The Economist’s Intelligence Unit puts three Canadian cities in the top ten list of the most liveable cities on the world.

Here are the top ten most liveable cities among 140 cities on earth, based on 30 factors across categories such as stability, infrastructure, education, health care, and environment.

1. Melbourne, Australia

2. Vienna, Austria

3. Vancouver, Canada

4. Toronto, Canada

5. Adelaide, Australia

5. Calgary, Canada

7. Sydney, Australia

8. Helsinki, Finland

9. Perth, Australia

10. Auckland, New Zealand

On the top ten, three cities are in Canada and three cities are in Australia. Most liveable cities are often mid-sized cities in rich countries with lower population, as the report points out.

The liveability of the Canadian cities has improved compared to other cities. On the other hand, the conditions on the bottom cities on the list deteriorated, especially concerning human rights violation and conflict.

The least 10 liveable cities on earth are Abidjan (Cote d’Ivoire), Tripoli (Libya), Douala (Cameroon), Harare (Zimbabwe), Algiers (Algeria), Karachi (Pakistan), Lagos (Nigeria), Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea), Dhaka (Bangladesh), and Damascus (Syria). To view the full report, visit The Economist.

Next eBook: Money Hacks

My Next Book Will Be An EBook

First Published Date: October 9, 2014

I have decided to publish my next book as an eBook via Amazon Kindle. For those who are not reading A Dawn Journal for long, I would like to mention that my first book, Invest Now, was a paper book.

eBook sales will overtake print sales across the globe, if they haven’t already. eBooks offer various advantages over printed books, such as instant global distribution, instant access for readers (instant gratification), very short timeframe to publish (about 24-48 hours once uploaded on Amazon), affordability for readers, and more control for authors.

I have contemplated about 20-30 names for my next book. Initially I was thinking about naming it Save Now: A Universal Guide to Saving. However, I think I found a name that better fits the content and more attractive than the above name:

 Money Hacks: How Small Changes Save Big Money

But I might change the above name if I can come up with something better. The book will be filled with tips you can use daily to save money. Like Invest Now, I will keep Money Hacks simple and short. Expect it to be around 150 pages.

I have decided to set the price at $2.99. However, I will have some free days so A Dawn Journal readers can download it for free. The free download announcement will be published on A Dawn Journal.

I have finished writing in my notebook and am now typing it on MS Word. In between editing, formatting for Kindle, and finishing the cover, you probably are looking at another one to two months before it is available. Stay tuned for more, as I will keep you posted as work progresses.

Can One of The Worst Polluters On The Planet Become The Greenest Country in History?

China and the Green Energy Revolution

First Published Date: May 29, 2010

For the longest time, many considered China to be the place where green energy was doomed to failure. After all, this was a country that was building one coal factory every single week, in a slow week. Clouds of pollution would obscure entire cities and it was so bad that the country had to stop half the city from driving during the Olympics. Clouds of pollution from China could even be seen from space making their way over to the United States.

However, things have changed and China may become a world leader in green energy. As part of its economic stimulus package to restart the economy after the financial meltdown that swept the world, China created the largest green investment program in the entire world by giving out $336 billion in funds to green companies. That is well above the $80 billion put aside by the United States and the $45 billion by the European Union.

China has expressed that it wants to have energy security as part of its economic transformation and the country has pushed ahead with renewable energy development. Roughly 17 percent of the electricity in China currently comes from renewable sources and the country has the largest number of hydroelectric generators in the world. In 2007 the country had 145,000 megawatts of hydropower and by 2010 that had increased to 190,000 megawatts. Thanks to the heavy investment into green energy, China is expected to be able to supply all its power itself, through renewable resources, within the next 20 years.

Currently, China produces one-third of the solar photovoltaics in the world and the country has led the world with the manufacturing of these photovoltaics with its six biggest solar companies amounting to $15 billion in value. Nearly one gigawatt of energy is produced in China by solar energy, putting it second only to Japan. In 2007, there was 20 megawatts of installed solar capacity and that more than doubled in 2008 to 50 megawatts. By 2012, it is expected to be 232 megawatts and by 2020 most expect China to be producing 20 gigawatts of energy from solar resources.

In addition to solar energy, China has the largest wind resources on the planet, with 75 percent of those resources being found off-shore of the country. Currently, wind power in China accounts for 12.2 gigawatts of energy and the country is the fourth largest producer of wind power after the United States, Germany and Spain. This past year, China also became the largest maker of wind turbines in the entire world. While the country wanted to have 10 gigawatts of wind energy installed by 2010, it will most likely exceed 25.1 gigawatts within only a couple years. By 2020, the country plans to have 100 gigawatts of energy coming from wind energy.

Clearly, China is showing the world that when it does something, it does it on a large scale. With China pushing green energy, one of the worst polluters on the planet may become the greenest country in history.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Thegreenlivingblog.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on May 29, 2010.

Sorry, Google Nexus 6, I Will Stay With My OnePlus

OnePlus SmartPhone Gives Better Value For Your Money

First Published Date: October 25, 2014

After much anticipation and excitement, Google finally released its flagship 2014 long-awaited smartphone Nexus 6. All the rumoured features and specs of this gigantic phablet appear to be somewhat true, except its gigantic price.

Google’s Nexus branding has been known for its reasonable price, which is much less than other brands in general. For example, the Nexus 5 was priced at $350 and $400 – a $200 to $300 cheaper than other comparable models.

The same reduced price tag was expected for the Nexus 6. However, it broke everyone’s heart when it was released on Oct 15, 2014. CBC reports that Nexus 6 pricing for Canadians will be a hefty $749, much higher than the roughly $500 I was expecting it to be.

On the other hand, a new phone company called OnePlus was founded in China in December 2013, taking the smartphone market by storm. OnePlus makes elegantly high-end and high-performance smartphones at ridiculously low prices that were never heard of before. For example, their 64 GB 2014 Flagship Killer is only $349, which can be easily sold for more than $700 by other manufacturers.

However, OnePlus has its own drawback; you can’t just buy it if you want. Due to high demand, the manufacturer is unable to keep up with supply, and as a result it’s only available via invite. If you have an invite from OnePlus or someone who already bought one sends you an invite, you will be able to buy it.

As I have been contemplating buying a new Nexus 6 and eagerly waiting for an invite from OnePlus, I was leaning more towards Nexus 6, if the price tag stays within my expected range. Surprisingly enough, all of a sudden I got an invite from OnePlus just before the Nexus 6 release date. I did not hesitate to buy OnePlus, as the invite stays valid only for 24 hours. After purchasing OnePlus on Oct 14, the Nexus 6 price shock came the next day on October 15.

The choice became obvious once I found out the price of the Nexus 6. It is no longer an affordable brand like its predecessor models. As I am waiting to receive my OnePlus, at the same time I am feeling good about not buying Nexus 6 and saving about $400 – $500. Thanks, Google Nexus 6, but no thanks.

How To Green Back-To-School

Greening Up Your Back To School

First Published Date: June 25, 2010

When kids start going back to school, it can mean a lot of extra costs for the parents. Parents have to think about the cost of school supplies. School supplies can run up the pocketbook, but another concern is their environmental impact on the world. Every year, billions of pens and crayons are bought; millions of binders and hundreds of billions of sheets of paper are purchased. That is a lot to take away from the Earth, so it is important that parents look at green alternatives for school. What are some things that they can consider?

First of all, forget about buying new pens and pencils. There are plenty of recycled options out there. You can also look at getting refillable pens and pencils that can be used over and over, for many years to come. In addition, another alternative is to have biodegradable pens made from corn. These pens are cheap, and will degrade away when they are thrown out.

Second, instead of buying new paper, you should get recycled paper. Recycled paper is very affordable now and it looks almost like regular new paper. The great thing is that it does not take away from any forests to make, so you can never impact the planet by just buying recycled paper over and over again.

Third, binders made from recycled products are very popular these days. They carry a green message and many are made from diverse products including old plastic bags and plastic bottles. Since fashion is important for kids in school, these binders are made to look good so your child will be happy to use them.

Fourth, instead of buying new ink cartridges, you should look at just refilling ink cartridges. When you buy new ink cartridges, you are wasting the plastic and ink that was used to create those cartridges. There are many businesses all over the country these days that will provide you with a refill. You can use your old ink cartridge and you will spend a fraction of the price as a result.

Fifth, look at getting calculators that are made from recycled products and other calculators. Many manufacturers are reusing parts to save money and to help you save the environment as well.

Lastly, consider buying backpacks that do not contain any PVC. PVC-free backpacks and lunchboxes are important because when they are thrown away, the PVC leaches out into the environment and there are some studies that show PVC backpacks may be causing some chronic diseases in children. Speaking of lunchboxes, instead of buying new plastic bags every day to hold sandwiches, you can use a reusable sandwich container instead. That way, you prevent plastic bags from making their way out into the environment where they can do immense harm to animals that mistake them for food.

These are just a few of the things you can do to help the environment, help your children and help save some money, especially when you don’t have to keep buying new products over and over again.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Thegreenlivingblog.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on June 25, 2010.