tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252675322024-03-07T02:45:20.391-05:00Thoughts on Climate Changea Canadian perspectiveLNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-24058585013532110072009-10-17T00:56:00.004-04:002009-10-17T01:11:51.007-04:00Doing Just Two Things Is Enough to Prevent Climate ChangeFor <a href="http://www.blogactionday.org/">Blog Action Day</a> 2009, Treehugger.com wrote that <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/if-we-all-just-do-two-things-we-can-prevent-climate-change.php">"If We All Just Do Two Things We Can Prevent Climate Change"</a> -- and what are those two amazing things?<br /><strong></strong><blockquote><strong>"1) Sign Up For Green Power With Your Utility"</strong><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"</span><strong>2) Stop Eating Meat"</strong></blockquote><strong style="font-weight: normal;">Sounds familiar to me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- We're on </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2007/01/were-finally-on-bullfrogpower.html">green power from BullfrogPower since January 2007</a><br /></strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- We've been </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/search/label/vegetarianism">vegetarian</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> for the last 20 years.<br /><br /></span></strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">Both changes have been easier than many people think. Among many other benefits, vegetarianism saves you money (beans and whole grains are cheap - meat is expensive). Green power may cost more per kWh -- but if you <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2006/06/slowing-electricity-leak-or-how-to.html">conserve electricity throughout your house</a>, you could <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2007/02/halving-our-electricity-use-from-2005.html">cut your consumption in half</a>, and pay the same in the end as you did for conventional power, with no major impact on your lifestyle.<br /><br />But why stop there? We've done lots of other things too:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Transportation - driving as little and as efficiently as possible by:</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></strong><blockquote><strong style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Walking</span><span> - </span>healthy, community-friendly and cheap!<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Biking </span><span>- folding bikes, child bike seats and bike trailers work great, too!</span><br /></strong><strong style="font-weight: bold;">- Taking a train </strong><strong style="font-weight: normal;">- GO Transit or VIA Rail - train schedule permitting</strong><strong style="font-weight: bold;"><br />- W</strong><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">orking from home (telecommuting)</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - one of us does it each working day</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Driving very fuel-efficient conventional and hybrid cars</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - we buy the most fuel-efficient used cars that we can find - they also tend to be the most reliable and therefore cheapest to maintain</span></strong></blockquote><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">Home Energy</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Insulating our basement and crawl space</span><br />- Upgrading to very energy-efficient basement windows<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Using a programmable thermostat to save natural gas</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Installing super-efficient, dual-flush toilet </span>- less water used = less energy wasted on pumping and treating it!<br />- (We're also looking into installing a solar water heater - stay tuned!)</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">Reuse & Recycling</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></strong><blockquote><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Bringing our own mugs/plates/utensils or asking for reusable ones<br />- Packing litter-free lunches for school</span><br />- </strong><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">Avoiding bottled water by filling up water bottles</span></strong> <span style="font-weight: bold;">tap or fountain</span><br /><strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Using recycled paper in the office, kitchen, living room and bathroom<br />- Composting or using the municipal Green Bin program for kitchen scraps<br />- Recycling everything we can using the municipal Blue Bins<br />- Scrapping and recycling old cars (over 10-12 years old and not worth repairing) via <a href="http://www.carheaven.ca/">Car Heaven</a><br />- Bringing old, unfixable electronic and computer equipment to a municipal recycling depot<br /></span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></strong></blockquote><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">Passing it On</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Educating our children on why we do all of this</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">- Writing this blog</span></blockquote><span style="font-weight: normal;">And yes, we live a comfortable, happy life in a typical Canadian city. <span style="font-weight: bold;">S</span></span>elf-preservation means moderation, not self-deprivation.<br /><br /></strong><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">[<a href="http://www2.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070">Important Notice</a>]</span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>ydzabelishenskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-628014246118906432009-05-13T00:10:00.001-04:002009-05-13T00:15:27.044-04:00Belgian city plans 'veggie' days to cut carbon emissions<blockquote>"The Belgian city of Ghent is about to become the first in the world to go vegetarian at least once a week."<br />[...]<br />"The UN says livestock is responsible for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, hence Ghent's declaration of a weekly 'veggie day'."<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8046970.stm">BBC NEWS | Europe | Belgian city plans 'veggie' days</a><br /></blockquote>Not an entirely new idea -- various religions have had days of fasting or food restrictions (often, curiously enough, meaning no meat) for centuries. Still, nice to see the city of Ghent making an official connection between meat-eating and climate hazards.<br /><br />But why stop at just one day a week? (Also not a new idea of course -- various religions and non-theistic philosophies had also advocated vegetarianism for centuries.) Anyway, climate change concerns provide a new, free-standing reason to go meatless, and this notion may be finally starting to go mainstream in Western countries.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">[<a href="http://www2.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070">Important Notice</a>]</span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>ydzabelishenskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-89314721084801086062009-05-02T23:17:00.006-04:002009-07-07T14:12:33.325-04:00Electric Cars? Cycling's Better and More Popular Than EverGreat opinion piece by Leah McLaren in the Globe & Mail today:<br /><blockquote> <h2>Pedal power to the people - ride on!</h2> The British government recently launched a £250-million strategy to introduce the electric car to mainstream London. The initiative, which includes citywide charging points, battery-swapping stations and hefty consumer incentives, is well-intentioned, but you won't see me signing up for an electromobile any time soon.<br /><br />As it stands, there is only one convenient way of getting around the modern urban landscape, and that is the almighty bicycle.<br /><br />Hopping on a bike is cheaper, faster, healthier, more pleasant and more environmentally sound than any other mode of transportation known to humankind. Old-fashioned as it might seem, cycling is the way of the future.<br /><br />No need for initiatives or incentives here. People are way ahead of their governments on this one. The recent numbers are astonishing. Last year, the New York City department of transportation reported that, in 2007-08, bicycle commuting went up by 35 per cent. London is reporting a similar increase in the wake of the inner-city traffic congestion charge that was introduced a couple of years ago. Today, an estimated quarter of a million Londoners travel to and from work by bike.<br /><br />Toronto - a city without the benefit of a year-round bike-friendly climate - is also on the upswing. Statistics Canada reported a 32-per-cent increase in pedal-pushers on the roads from 2001 to 2006 - and that was before the downturn.<br /><br />As a committed lifelong cyclist, it's heartening to see so many people finally coming around to the same obvious conclusion. If you care about your health, the environment and your bank account and are physically able, biking just makes sense, full stop.<br /><br />And yet in spite of its increased popularity, there are still a puzzling number of people who are resistant to cycling on the grounds that it's dangerous or impractical. In fact, though, London statistics show that the number of biking accidents actually goes down as the number of cyclists goes up.<br /><br />In Germany, where bike riding is part of the normal culture, people are 10 times more likely to ride a bike than Americans and three times less likely to get hurt while doing so.<br /></blockquote>More here: <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090502.wstleah02art1349/BNStory/lifeStyle/home">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090502.wstleah02art1349/BNStory/lifeStyle/home</a><br /><br />As Roger Gagne from Calgary, Canada has noted, though, pitting bikes against electric cars misses an important half-way technology. Electric-assisted bikes may be an excellent way forward for many people. (See <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090502.wstleah02art1349/CommentStory/lifeStyle/home#comment3498696">http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090502.wstleah02art1349/CommentStory/lifeStyle/home#comment3498696</a> )<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">[<a href="http://www2.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070">Important Notice</a>]</span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>ydzabelishenskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-19235342393738971592009-04-06T13:23:00.004-04:002009-04-06T13:38:34.242-04:00Good summary of energy-saving incentives in Ontario<span style="font-size:100%;">Tyler Hamilton nicely <a href="http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/614163">summarizes the available incentives</a> for installing tankless water heaters, </span><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;font-size:100%;" >drain-water heat recovery systems (here are <a href="http://www.retherm.com/HomeIntro.htm">two</a> <a href="http://www.gfxstar.ca/englishindex.html">examples</a>), and solar hot water heaters.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">Many of the rebates and incentives are time-limited, so it's worth considering for this year. (</span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">If you are an Enbridge customer, here's a<a href="https://portal-plumprod.cgc.enbridge.com/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&control=SetCommunity&cached=true&CommunityID=875&PageID=0"> link to their rebate page</a>.) </span></strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">However, he also notes that the Ontario government is musing about low- or no-interest loans for solar hot water. So, if you need to borrow to pay for your system you might want to keep that in mind.<br /><br />I also received a flyer from Sears that says they now <a href="http://www.sears.ca/gp/node/n/979200011/">rent tankless water heaters</a>, as well as drain-water heat recovery systems. We plan to call to get a quote, so when we get more info on that we'll pass it along.<br /></span></strong><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-64177250047795840432009-01-28T23:41:00.005-05:002009-01-31T00:34:34.074-05:00Can't Afford a Hybrid?: Reduce Your Carbon Emissions with these Cheaper, Better Investments<a href="http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/reduce-carbon-emissions-investments.html">A great article</a> for those who wish they could afford a Prius: there are many things you can do that cost less, but have as much or more impact on reducing your Greenhouse Gas emissions, including eating Vegetarian and local food and buying green energy. Having implemented many of these actions, I can tell you that they work.<br /><br />h/t to <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192">LNeumann</a> for spotting this article.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">[<a href="http://www2.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070">Important Notice</a>]<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>ydzabelishenskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-73004034460103611612008-12-01T00:16:00.005-05:002008-12-01T01:50:26.347-05:00Coalition, Stimulus and a "Green New Deal" - Open Letter to Liberal and NDP LeadersHere is the email that I sent to the Liberal and NDP leaders via <a href="http://www.smartvote2008.ca/coalition/">http://www.smartvote2008.ca/coalition/</a> (h/t Dave for this link). As you will see, I modified the suggested email text to include the need to integrate economics and ecology in the coalition's stimulus package. I also pared down some of the political verbiage to focus on the critical need for a "Green New Deal".<br /><br />-----------<br /><blockquote>Français suit<br /><br />An Urgent Message to Stéphane Dion and Jack Layton: Only a Coalition Government Can Provide the Leadership Canada Needs<br /><br />Dear Leaders,<br /><br />At this critical moment, a coalition government would be the most capable of delivering the kind of stewardship the economy AND ECOLOGY needs, and the least likely to put partisan interests ahead of responsible government.<br /><br />The stimulus package must be the start of a New Green Deal, as recommended by the U.N. Environment Program: see <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/11/06/f-savory-unep.html">http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/11/06/f-savory-unep.html</a> and http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=548&ArticleID=5957&l=en<br /><br />In the medium and long term, not making Canada's economy sustainable can lead to results that are at least as devastating as the current crisis.<br /> <br />Thank You<br /><br />+++<br /><br />Message urgent à Stéphane Dion et Jack Layton : seul un gouvernement de coalition peut offrir le leadership dont le Canada a besoin<br /><br />Chers dirigeants,<br /><br /><br />En ce moment critique, le mieux placé pour offrir le genre d’intendance dont a besoin l’économie ET L'ÉCOLOGIE, et pour faire passer la responsabilité gouvernementale avant les intérêts partisans… serait un gouvernement de coalition.<br /><br />La stimulation doit être le début d'un « new deal écologique mondial », tel que recommandé par le Programme des Nations Unies pour l’environnement: voir <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/11/06/f-savory-unep.html">http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/11/06/f-savory-unep.html</a> et <a href="http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=548&ArticleID=5957&l=fr">http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=548&ArticleID=5957&l=fr</a><br /><br />À moyen et à long terme, ne pas construire l'économie durable au Canada peut conduire à des résultats qui sont au moins dévastateurs que la crise actuelle.<br /></blockquote>-----------<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">[<a href="http://www2.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070">Important Notice</a>]<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>ydzabelishenskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-2681338427239198112008-10-21T12:39:00.002-04:002008-10-21T12:43:58.932-04:00ONE MILLION ACTS OF GREEN -- debuts on CBC TV's The Hour<a href="http://www.planetfriendly.net/calendar/events.php?id=9665">Green / Environmental Event: ONE MILLION ACTS OF GREEN -- debuts on CBC TV's The Hour</a>: <br /><br /><blockquote>"The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, Canada’s late-night talk show, and Cisco are partnering to spearhead a massive, nationwide environmental movement. This fall, CBC and The Hour will mobilize Canadians to commit One Million Acts of Green. In partnership with Cisco, and the power of their ‘Human Network Effect’, the collective goal is to change how we live and how we treat the planet, one act at a time.<br /><br />It’s not about overhauling your life; it’s about one act from each individual amassing to a million. Maybe it’s switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs, making the decision to walk or bike to work, or to buy locally-grown organic food. It can be as simple as recycling your<br />cell phone or as ambitious as building a green roof space. One small thing can have a huge impact. Young and old, parents and kids, small towns and big cities, The Hour wants Canadians to take action for the sake of the environment.<br /><br />All Canadians have to do is commit one act of “green” (or more), then register the act. There will be a highly interactive One Million Acts of Green (OMAoG) website (<a href="http://www.onemillionactsofgreen.com">www.onemillionactsofgreen.com</a>) where anyone can log their acts and see an immediate impact via an extensive green calculator designed by GreenNexxus. The site will also be a hub<br />of information about OMAoG, and will serve as an educational resource of “green” content. Registrants will be able to learn more, inspire and challenge others to act."</blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-70239111557199720162008-09-21T21:03:00.006-04:002008-09-22T00:34:32.058-04:00Ninety-Nine Months Left To Take Action<blockquote>"We have one hundred months to save the planet. When the clock stops ticking, we could be beyond the climate's 'tipping point', the point of no return."</blockquote><br /><br />This is according to the <a href="http://www.onehundredmonths.org/">onehundredmonths.org</a> site, supported by Andrew Simms of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Guardian</span>, and numerous organizations (scroll through the list at the bottom - it's pretty impressive).<br /><br />The reasoning behind one hundred months (they started counting in August - therefore there are 99 months left) is explained in this <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/01/climatechange.carbonemissions">Guardian article</a>, and is also nicely summarized at <a href="http://http//www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/tipping-point-100-months.php">Treehugger</a>.<br /><br />If you accept this timeline, preventing a Harper majority government becomes even more urgent! Four more years of going in the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/09/21/climate-panel.html">wrong direction</a> is 48 months too long.<br /><br />Here in Canada, this month's action must be to <a href="http://www.voteforclimate.ca/">support your local candidate</a> with the best shot at defeating the Harper Conservatives (with money, time, and your vote). Then, we can all work together on our own version of the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/19/creditcrunch.marketturmoil?gusrc=rss&feed=environment">New Green Deal</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-21063935146764837482008-04-20T23:51:00.010-04:002008-09-25T22:19:34.872-04:00"Food miles don't feed climate change - meat does"<!-- BlogThis! TOP of Post Code Begins (enter body of blog post below this code) --><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;" href="javascript:popw='';Q='';x=document;y=window;if(x.selection)%20{Q=x.selection.createRange().text;}%20else%20if%20(y.getSelection)%20{Q=y.getSelection();}%20else%20if%20(x.getSelection)%20{Q=x.getSelection();}popw%20=%20y.open('http://www.blogger.com/blog_this.pyra?t='%20+%20escape(Q)%20+%20'&u='%20+%20escape(location.href)%20+%20'&n='%20+%20escape(document.title),'bloggerForm','scrollbars=no,width=475,height=300,top=175,left=75,status=yes,resizable=yes');if%20(!document.all)%20T%20=%20setTimeout('popw.focus()',50);void(0);">BlogThis!</a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > </span><br /></div><br /><!-- BlogThis! TOP of Post Code Ends (enter body of blog post below this line) -->We've <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/search/label/vegetarianism">blogged</a> about vegetarianism as a great way to reduce your climate impact. But would eating imported fruits and vegetables negate the carbon benefits of avoiding meat? According to a recent <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/esthag/asap/abs/es702969f.html">study</a>, the answer is a resounding "<span style="font-weight: bold;">No</span>". In fact, it's quite the opposite! Being vegetarian more than offsets the carbon emissions from imported plant-based foods. <a href="http://gdi.ce.cmu.edu/research/lca.html" target="ns">Christopher Weber</a> and <a href="http://www.ce.cmu.edu/%7Ehsm/" target="ns">Scott Matthews</a> of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have done the math. NewScientist.com <a href="http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn13741-food-miles-dont-feed-climate-change--meat-does.html">reports</a>:<br /><blockquote>"Weber's team combined statistics on greenhouse gas emissions for different foods with estimated greenhouse footprints for transport for each step in a food's production and final delivery. <p>"Food travelled an average of 1640 km in its final trip to the grocery store, out of total of 6760 km on the road for the raw ingredients. But some foods log more kilometres than others. Red meat averaged 20,400 km – just 1800 of those from final delivery.</p> <p>"Accounting for greenhouse gas emissions made those contrasts even starker. Final delivery 'food-miles' make up just 1% of the greenhouse emissions of red meat, and 11% for fruits and vegetables.</p> <p>"To drive his point home, Weber calculated that a completely local diet would reduce a household's greenhouse emissions by an amount equivalent to driving a car 1600 km fewer per year. He assumed the car travels 10.6 km per litre of petrol (25 mpg). Switching from red meat to veggies just one day per week would spare 1860 km of driving.</p> <p>"'The differences between eating habits are very, very striking,' Weber says."</p></blockquote><p></p>This is great news for people in northern countries like Canada. Dietitians of Canada state that fruits and vegetables are <a href="http://www.dietitians.ca/public/content/eat_well_live_well/english/faqs_tips_facts/fact_sheets/index.asp?fn=view&id=5766&idstring=5766%7C986%7C2540%7C2518%7C1093%7C1035%7C2356%7C1267%7C1032%7C1092%7C1178%7C1151%7C2526%7C2520%7C1288%7C1329%7C1201%7C1102%7C1197%7C1198%7C987%7C2527%7C2546%7C1082%7C2525%7C1296%7C1070">an important part</a> of a balanced diet. Yet fresh <span style="font-weight: bold;">local</span> produce is often impossible to find during the winter, and imported fresh produce can be expensive. The Canadian Cancer Society <a href="http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2007/31/c2506.html">states</a> that frozen, canned or dried fruits and vegetables can be good choices, too. But having looked at food labels, I've realized that many of these items come from warmer climes, as well.<br /><br />The latest research implies that you can stop worrying so much about the carbon footprint of your imported carrots, oranges, and frozen okra. Just eat local produce when you can -- and most importantly, emphasize <span style="font-weight: bold;">plant</span> proteins like beans and bean products, nuts and whole grains. It's really that simple!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">[<a href="http://www2.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070">Important Notice</a>]<br /></div><p></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Discuss this on your own Blogger blog! </span>Click <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2007/09/ontario-vote-for-mmp-is-vote-against.html">here</a> for a permalink in the Address Bar > highlight any text for quoting > click </span><a style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;" href="javascript:popw='';Q='';x=document;y=window;if(x.selection)%20{Q=x.selection.createRange().text;}%20else%20if%20(y.getSelection)%20{Q=y.getSelection();}%20else%20if%20(x.getSelection)%20{Q=x.getSelection();}popw%20=%20y.open('http://www.blogger.com/blog_this.pyra?t='%20+%20escape(Q)%20+%20'&u='%20+%20escape(location.href)%20+%20'&n='%20+%20escape(document.title),'bloggerForm','scrollbars=no,width=475,height=300,top=175,left=75,status=yes,resizable=yes');if%20(!document.all)%20T%20=%20setTimeout('popw.focus()',50);void(0);">BlogThis!</a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > </span><br /><p></p><br /><!-- BlogThis! 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<br /></div>ydzabelishenskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-83827352632242434272007-02-14T22:21:00.000-05:002007-04-27T10:23:15.174-04:00Halving Our Electricity Use from 2005 to 2007 - The Graph<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbi1Ru4ovUiIidDGOV0ESnc9594owELlc_DSjfVlXoCNaqbhMU9ApSI6odvYsyESC7bWUFGnVxwPSlo6f5IHedhFbM1_3YBah5PYWangOU66jcAU77UZvj5ZDEFqWrYXdw72e7A/s1600-h/Electricity+and+Water+Consumption+Jan-05+to+Jan-07+-+IMG_2877.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbi1Ru4ovUiIidDGOV0ESnc9594owELlc_DSjfVlXoCNaqbhMU9ApSI6odvYsyESC7bWUFGnVxwPSlo6f5IHedhFbM1_3YBah5PYWangOU66jcAU77UZvj5ZDEFqWrYXdw72e7A/s200/Electricity+and+Water+Consumption+Jan-05+to+Jan-07+-+IMG_2877.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5029766806975130882" border="0" /></a>In <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2007/01/were-finally-on-bullfrogpower.html#comment-748692881943828142">an earlier comment</a> on this blog, LNeumann has mentioned that "We have already decreased our electricity use from last year...." Here's the proof, taken directly from our last utility bill with the local Hydro company (our next bill should be <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2007/01/were-finally-on-bullfrogpower.html">coming from Bullfrog Power</a>). The most recent data is shown on the left, and the oldest data is on the right in this graph.<br /><br />Arguably, the Jul-05 and Sep-05 spikes (and the smaller ones in Jan-06 and Mar-06) are exceptions to an overall declining trend in electricity use. As I <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2006/12/our-carbon-emissions-reduction-actions.html">mentioned previously</a>, we have adjusted the thermostat to reduce summer-time air conditioning. In the winter, our house is heated with a forced-air gas furnace. But with less daylight, electricity savings from using Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) may be more noticeable than in the summer. The bottom line is that these and other efforts (such as not using our electric clothes dryer as often, and <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2006/06/slowing-electricity-leak-or-how-to.html">reducing electricity leaks</a>) are paying off!<br /><br />Unfortunately, our water use has remained almost unchanged, so we will focus more attention to conserving water in coming months.<br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: right;">[<a href="profile/12235298150467123070">Important Notice</a>]</div><span nd="1" name="intelliTxt" id="intelliTXT"><p nd="9"> </p></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>ydzabelishenskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-87444801268568055652007-01-12T21:31:00.000-05:002007-04-27T10:26:13.397-04:00We're Finally on BullfrogPower!The <a href="http://www.bullfrogpower.com/about/faq.cfm#q16a">long wait</a> is over. We are officially <a href="http://www.bullfrogpower.com/">BullfrogPowered</a> as of today! The computer on which I am writing this Blog entry -- and the rest of our house -- are powered by 100% renewable electricity<a href="http://www.bullfrogpower.com/about/faq.cfm#q16a"></a>, the "Bullfrog Mix":<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bullfrogpower.com/int_graphics/energy_chart.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 368px; height: 159px;" src="http://www.bullfrogpower.com/int_graphics/energy_chart.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />(<a href="http://www.bullfrogpower.com/clean/clean.cfm">Source</a>)<br /><br />So... No more worries about paying for nuclear power, coal burning or other unsustainable technologies every time we turn on the light or cook dinner!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">[<a href="profile/12235298150467123070">Important Notice</a>]<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>ydzabelishenskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1167096067620021372006-12-25T20:17:00.000-05:002007-04-28T02:22:21.919-04:00Our Carbon Emissions Reduction Actions in 2006As the year draws to a close, it's a good time to review the main things we did to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in 2006. Thanks to these actions, we have become more energy- and carbon-efficient without detrimental effects on our lifestyle or (gasp!) "freezing in the dark":<br /><br /><ol><li><strong>Telecommuting:</strong> One of us is now telecommuting full time, working from home instead of driving to the office four days a week. Convincing an employer to go this route can take a few years and lots of negotiations, but it's definitely worth all the effort. In addition to a major cut in carbon and smog-producing emissions, telecommuting is much less stressful and leaves more time for important things like sleep and being with the family.</li><li><strong>Adjusting the Programmable Thermostat:</strong> We have a 7-day programmable thermostat. This year, we readjusted the thermostat to 26 Celsius in the summer to reduce air conditioning. Many people spend thousands of dollars on vacations to places with this type of temperature, so we feel no need to pay to keep our house colder. Our finished and well-insulated basement stays a bit cooler than 26 degrees anyway (just a bit of geothermal bonus?), so we can keep our home office is there in the summer. We set it for 19.5 Celsius in the winter to reduce the need for heating. The upstairs part of our house is usually warmer than that anyway. Those temperatures apply when we are at home and awake -- we program even more energy savings for times when we are away or asleep.</li><li><strong>Insulation:</strong> We insulated the crawl space that is under part of our ground floor to R12 (walls) and R20 (top of joists). That had been the top recommendation from the (now sadly discontinued) Energuide For Houses audit. We used the least expensive option that is also the most chemically inert (no risk of out-gassing into our house): fiberglass insulation. The floor above the crawl-space went from freezing to merely cool in the winter, and we are probably saving money on heating already. </li><li><strong>Shopping by Bike:</strong> We went grocery-shopping by bicycle instead of driving to the store, weather permitting. We have a bike trailer for the groceries and a child seat (on our other bike) for our daughter -- she loves going to the store by bike and asks for it herself on occasion. Not only did we reduce pollution, we also got some exercise and fresh air. Actually, the store is uphill from our house, so the exercise was mostly going there -- going back with a heavy load of groceries was a breeze, thanks to the free "gravity assist" :-) With the unusually warm weather this winter, we've even been able to do this in December!</li><li><strong>Air-Drying Clothes:</strong> We started hanging our clothes to dry when possible rather than use the electric clothes drier. This takes a bit more work up-front as you cannot just dump the wet load into the drier, but the clothes are easier to fold when they're dry since they're not all scrunched up. We hung the clothes outside on sunny summer days, and inside in part of the basement at other times.</li><li><strong>Efficient Lights:</strong> We finished converting most of our light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL). This typically cuts energy use from 60 Watts to 15 Watts per bulb. We even found tiny C40-type CFL bulbs for our wall-lights at IKEA, cutting energy use from 25 Watts to 7 Watts per wall-light. The only non-CFL (i.e. incandescent) lights we have left are on dimmer switches, allowing us to use less energy most of the time, when we do not need maximum brightness. At our daughter's birthday, we gave a free CFL bulb as a "thank you" gift to each guest family, helping to promote the conservation message among friends and relatives. (Note: all of our Holiday Lights already were of the energy-miser LED [Light-Emitting Diode] variety since last year.)</li><li><strong>Cutting Stand-By Power:</strong> We cut down on stand-by power use from appliances and chargers by putting the TV, stereo, microwave, computers, and high-speed modem/network box on power strips. We shut off the power strips when the appliance is not in use, or unplug the charger when the charging is done.</li><li><strong>Carbon Offset:</strong> We asked for Carbon Offsets instead of conventional gifts for the Holidays. We got a certificate for a 1-tonne GHG (Greenhouse Gas) Offset from the <a href="http://www.recov.org/">Vancouver Renewable Energy Co-op</a>.</li><li><strong>Coming Soon -- 100% Renewable Electricity: </strong>We signed up for <a href="http://www.bullfrogpower.com/">Bullfrog Power</a>, which will provide all of our household electricity from 100% renewable sources, i.e. EcoLogo Certified Small-Scale Hydro, as well as Wind Power. Unfortunately, it take a long time to switch electricity providers even after signing all the paperwork. Bullfrog Power will become our supplier on January 12, 2007, helping us to start the new year on a positive note.</li></ol><p>Additional ideas that we are testing include using a web cam to allow family members to see us and our daughter without having to drive to visit. We are also researching options for buying the most fuel-efficient replacement car (e.g. a hybrid or subcompact instead of an already-efficient compact), though this is a longer-term proposition. </p><p>We are not carbon-neutral yet, but we are working in that direction through a process of continuous improvement, as our finances and circumstances permit.</p><br /><div style="text-align: right;">[<a href="http://www2.blogger.com/profile/12235298150467123070">Important Notice</a>]<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1161998035057760792006-10-27T21:09:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:19:20.246-04:00The rake's progressNow that fall is here, and the leaves are scattered on the ground, many of us worry about how to tidy them up. Well, Home Depot has a simple, yet sexy solution... <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/10/ecooptions_maga.php">the good old rake</a>! (Thanks to Treehugger.com for pointing out the link.)<br /><br />Not only does this rake look good - you'll look good using it! And the <a href="http://www.aarp.org/health/fitness/work_out/a2004-10-27-rakingleaves.html">exercise</a> you get from raking your leaves will help you stay in tip-top form. In fact, why not get a few rakes and turn it into a family activity. My daughter just loves raking the leaves - an attitude I'm heartily encouraging!<br /><br />I'm glad to see Home Depot finally putting some effort into selling low-carbon solutions to yard work. They certainly have big-enough displays of the noisy, gas-guzzling kind at their stores.<br /><br />And don't think you'll save any time using a leaf-blower. According to <a href="http://www.nonoise.org/quietnet/cqs/new.htm">this story</a>, a grandmother in her late 50s "cleaned the areas using rakes or brooms faster than any of the battery powered blowers and almost as fast as the gas powered leaf blowers and she did a better job in cleaning up the areas".<br /><br />I just wish I could send a copy of the Home Depot EcoOptions magazine to a fellow I saw a few weeks ago. Not only was he using a leaf-blower (ick!), but he left it unattended, running, and belching blue-grey smoke out in front of his house. Don't let this happen to you! The moral of the tale is: "For idling hearts and hands and minds the Devil finds a work to do." (Apologies to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Rake%27s_Progress&oldid=84104817">Igor Stravinsky</a>.)<br /><br />(An interesting aside - apparently, "it’s a <a href="http://www.antipixel.com/blog/archives/2003/11/22/a_rake_and_five_brooms.html">little-known fact</a> that the number of human calories expended world-wide in raking leaves each year roughly equals π times the number of arboreal calories required to make the leaves throughout the preceding year." Believe it - or don't!)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1159140245466763742006-09-24T19:12:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:12:06.720-04:00How much electricity do you use?At our house, we're constantly looking for ways to reduce our electricity consumption. Our average electricity use for this year is around 470 kWh/month. Given that the average household in Ontario uses 1000 kWh/month, it's not too bad. But I'm sure there's more we can do, if we work at it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2286/2638/1600/smallwindow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2286/2638/320/smallwindow.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>And now that we've signed up for <a href="http://www.bullfrogpower.com/">Bullfrog Power</a>, we have an extra incentive to reduce our consumption (because the rate per kWh is a bit higher than with Oakville Hydro).<br /><br /><br />There's a new program in Ontario put on by the Conservation Council of Ontario called <a href="http://www.lightenupontario.ca/">Lighten Up Ontario</a>. You can enter your current electricity usage and pledge the actions that you'll take to reduce it. For example, you could save 30 kWh/month by switching your lightbulbs to compact fluorescents. They have a great list of <a href="http://www.lightenupontario.ca/conservation-tips.asp">tips and links</a>.<br /><br />It's one way to keep on thinking about conserving, and how we can turn ourselves into a conserver- rather than a consumer-society.<br /><br />But, I really signed up so that I could use this photo of Colin Mochrie ;-)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2286/2638/1600/colin1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2286/2638/320/colin1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1158804708796568712006-09-20T22:10:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:11:14.083-04:00Reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost - why it's important!I know that you all recycle anyway - because it's good for the environment, and saves landfill space - right? But following the '3Rs' and composting also save energy and help to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.<br /><br /><blockquote>Avoiding the production of a material in the first place is the single most effective way to avoid emissions at all stages of its life cycle. Reusing materials also diverts waste from disposal, at least temporarily. (<a href="http://www.ec.gc.ca/science/sandenov02/article1_e.html">Source</a>)</blockquote><br /><br />However, once a material has been produced, recycling is probably the best way to dispose of it. Here are some facts you can use when somebody tells you that it's just too much trouble to recycle that pop can or piece of paper!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">How recycling saves resources, energy and GHG emissions:<br /></span><br /><br />The waste sector accounts for 3.5 per cent of Canada's total greenhouse-gas emissions.<br />(<a href="http://www.ec.gc.ca/science/sandenov02/article1_e.html">Source</a>)<br /><br />Recycling one aluminum can saves enough electricity to operate a TV for up to 3 hours. (<a href="http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/saving_energy/index.html">Source</a>)<br /><br />A ton of paper made from recycled fibers instead of virgin fibers conserves:<br />* 7,000 gallons of water<br />* 17-31 trees<br />* 4,000 KWh of electricity<br />* 60 pounds of air pollutants<br />(<a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/paperandglass.html#SavingEnergy">Source</a>)<br /><br />Increase storage of carbon in trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in wood, in a process called "carbon sequestration." Waste prevention and recycling of paper products allow more trees to remain standing in the forest, where they can continue to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.<br />(<a href="http://www.recycling101.ca/climateChange.html">Source</a>)<br /><br />Using recycled glass to make new glass products requires 40 percent less energy than making it from all new materials.<br />(<a href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/paperandglass.html#SavingEnergy">Source</a>)<br /><br />When recovered steel is used instead of iron ore to make new steel, water consumption is reduced by about 50%.<br />(<a href="http://www.recycling101.ca/facts.html">Source</a>)<br /><br />It takes 70% less energy to recycle plastic than it does to make it from raw materials.<br />(<a href="http://www.massrecycle.org/recycling_benefits.html">Source</a>)<br /><br />A family of three can reduce GHG emissions by more than 125 kilograms per year by backyard composting.<br />(<a href="http://www.co2re.ca/ecoscaping.htm">Source</a>)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Reduce and reuse too!</span><br />If you can save this much energy by recycling, think of all the energy you save when you:<br /><br />* Buy less stuff!<br />* Buy stuff with less packaging!<br />* Use re-usable items, rather than disposable items!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1157853701534545132006-09-09T21:59:00.000-04:002009-04-06T13:41:46.287-04:00Tim Flannery's "11 Realistic Ways You Can Help Reduce Global Warming"Here is a list of action items from <a href="http://www.theweathermakers.com/globalwarming/">Tim Flannery's web site</a> (author of The Weather Makers). After some items, I've provided links to local (mostly Ontario) resources and information.<br /><br />(Action = Impact)<br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Change to accredited Green Power option</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Eliminate household emissions from electricity</span><br /><br />It's easy to do this in Ontario:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bullfrogpower.com/">Bullfrog Power</a><br /><a href="http://www.greentagsontario.com/">Green Tags Ontario</a><br /><a href="http://www.oakvillehydro.com/greenpower_residential.asp">Oakville Hydro's Green Power program</a><br /><br />More information is available at <a href="http://www.electricitychoices.org/choices.html">Electricity Choices</a><br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Install energy-efficient hot water system</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Up to 30% reductions in household emissions</span><br /><br />You can install a tankless (on-demand) gas system, or a solar (thermal) system, or both!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ozzcorp.com/210_Homeowners.html">OZZ Corporation</a> offers high-efficient tankless hot water heaters. You can buy or rent (according to their web site)<br />I've also noticed them for sale at the <a href="http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CatalogSearchResultView?D=1&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=level1&langId=-15&catNav=3&storeId=10051&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=112188&catalogId=10051&Nty=1&s=true">Home Depot</a>.<br /><br />Lots of places that sell solar systems are listed on the <a href="http://www.electricitychoices.org/renewables.html#hot">Electricity Choices</a> web site.<br /><br />BONUS: The Ontario government is offering residential consumers a <a href="http://www.energy.gov.on.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=conservation.guide7">full sales tax rebate</a> on the purchase of solar energy systems and components up to November 26, 2007.<br /><br />Another energy-saving idea: Install a <a href="http://www.gfxstar.ca/englishindex.html">heat-recovery unit</a> on your drain to recover some of the energy wasted by showers, etc.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Install solar panels</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Eliminate household emissions from electricity</span><br /><br />While this is a great idea, it can be really expensive. (I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing this until you've made your household as efficient as possible first.) However, with the new <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/03/21/solar060321.html">offering from the Ontario government</a> it has become somewhat more cost-effective. Some people in <a href="http://wise.ourpower.ca/portals/wise/ourpower.aspx">Toronto</a> are trying to implement this in their neighborhood.<br /><br />If you want to do this on your own, <a href="http://www.electricitychoices.org/renewables.html#photo">Electricity Choices</a> has a list of suppliers.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Use energy-efficient whitegoods</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Up to 50% reduction in household emissions from electricity</span><br /><br />When replacing your old appliances, be sure to look for the <a href="http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=appliances.pr_appliances">Energy Star</a> logo!<br /><br />5. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Use triple-A rated shower-head</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Up to 12% reduction in household emissions</span><br /><br />These are available at any hardware store. Here's some information from <a href="http://www.hydroonenetworks.com/en/efficiency/water/water_products/">HydroOne</a>.<br /><br />6. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Use energy-efficient light globes</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Up to 10% reduction in household emissions</span><br /><br />Again, these are available almost everywhere. The Ontario government send some <a href="http://www.energy.gov.on.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=english.news&body=yes&news_id=132">coupons </a>for $5 off on these earlier this year.<br /><br />7. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Check fuel efficiency of next car</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Up to 70% reduction in transport emissions</span><br /><br />Ontario offers up to <a href="http://www.trd.fin.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/cma_3_25097_1.html">$2000 rebate on the PST</a> when you purchase a hybrid vehicle.<br /><br />8. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Walk, cycle or take public transport</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Can reduce transport emissions</span><br /><br />Taking the bus, train, or your bike can be lots of fun. We've started to take our weekly trip to the grocery store by bicycle (when the weather permits). It's fun, and we get some exercise!<br /><br />9. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Calculate carbon footprint</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Can eliminate transport & household emissions</span><br /><br />Some places online that you can do this:<br /><br />Although the Government of Canada has taken down its climate change web site, their <a href="http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/calculator/english/">GHG calculator</a> is still available (for now!). Visit while you can.<br /><br />There is also <a href="http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.html">CarbonFootprint.com</a>, <a href="http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/">Al Gore's version</a>, and one from the <a href="http://safeclimate.net/calculator/">World Resources Institute</a>.<br /><br />There are many more out there if you Google 'carbon footprint'. Take your pick.<br /><br />Of course, then you need to decide what to do with the information. For example, maybe you want to <a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/carbon_offsets.asp">offset your emissions</a>. Lots of choices there too. The <a href="http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/carbon_neutral.asp">David Suzuki Foundation</a> has a list of vendors, as well as lots of info.<br /><br />10. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Suggest a workplace audit</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Up to 30% reduction in emissions</span><br /><br />This <a href="http://www.climatefriendly.com/business.php">site</a> is from Australia, but the ideas should work here too.<br /><br />11. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Write to a politician about climate change</span> = <span style="font-style: italic;">Can change the world</span><br /><br />OK - I've <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2006/08/better-never-than-late.html">tried this</a>, and I don't think I've changed Rona's mind yet. But maybe if we all join in? It can't hurt, anyway! See <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2006/04/worried-about-climate-change-let.html">this post</a> for contact information for your federal politicians.<br /><br />And don't forget your provincial and municipal politicians - especially with municipal elections coming up soon. We emit GHGs at all levels of government!<br /><br />Edited to addd: Check out <a href="http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2006/09/11-realistic-ways-you-can-help-reduce.html">this post</a> for more links to information in other provinces.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1149904105082446002006-06-09T21:38:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:08:33.558-04:00Slowing the electricity leak - or how to save 10% or more on your electricity bill!While doing some reading recently on how to become more energy efficient at home, I found information on how a lot of equipment is constantly leaking energy. Just like a leaky faucet - but without the annoying 'drip, drip, drip'...<br /><br />For example, did you know that your computer probably uses power even while it's "off"? For an overview, <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1645410,00.asp">see this article</a> from PC Magazine.<br /><br />Or that the clock on your microwave uses more power than the actual microwave feature? See <a href="http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/transformers.html">this article</a> for a good explanation.<br /><br />Some of this power is used by the equipment for things like digital clocks, or the ability to receive an "ON" signal from a remote control. But some of it is just bad design, and just plain wasted - like the power used by a transformer that's not connected to anything. If you touch a transformer that's been plugged in for a while you'll notice that it feels warm - it must be drawing some power to generate heat!<br /><br />For most electronics and appliances, it <a href="http://fsec.ucf.edu/bldg/pubs/leaking/">averages to around 4W of electricity each</a>. It doesn't sound like much - until you start to add it up!<br /><br />So, I recently conducted an experiment at home. Before I left for work one day I made sure that all of our equipment, lights, computers, central air conditioner, etc. was "off". Everything except for the refrigerator. Then I wrote down the numbers on our electricity meter. And when I came home I checked the meter again. Our house had used up 2.2 kWh while I was away. I was away for 9.5 hours, so over the course of a day this would add up to 5.6 kWh. Over a year, this represents 2028 kWh (or roughly 2 MWh).<br /><br />Our refrigerator is rated at around 528 kWh per year, so this leaves 1.5 MWh per year of wasted electricity!<br /><br />The next morning, I went around and unplugged everything that I could find in the house that I thought might be 'leaking':<br />transformers<br />computers and associated devices<br />portable telephone<br />microwave<br />TV, DVD/VCR and stereo<br /><br />I unplugged everything except for the refrigerator, stove, and dehumidifier (which was turned off), and turned off the central air conditioner. Then I noted the electricity meter before I left, and again when I came home. What a difference! This time the house had only used 0.9 kWh over the 9.5 hours I was away. This represents 2.3 kWh per day, and 829 kWh per year. Over a year, this could represent a savings of 1198 kWh (1.2 MWh)! Last year our electricity bill was around 8500 kWh, so this represents a potential savings of 14% of our total electricity use! At today's prices in Ontario, this is about $115 savings per year. And electricity prices are only going to go up!<br /><br />Of course, we'll only realize these savings if we keep this equipment unplugged all of the time. However, for most of the items 90% of the time they are not being used.<br /><br />However, it is a pain to keep unplugging and re-plugging things. So we've purchased several power bars that have an Off switch. This allows us to, for example, turn on or off the TV, stereo and DVD/VCR, all at the same time. Of course, this means that we can't use our DVD/VCR as a clock any more. For us that's OK. It may be an issue if you use your VCR to record shows regularly.<br /><br />[Edited to add:] I just thought of another advantage of unplugging your DVD/VCR and microwave - less clocks to update when you switch to daylight savings time and back again!<br /><br />Now, if you multiply our savings by the number of households in Ontario (<a href="http://www.statcan.ca/english/census96/june9/d2on.htm">3,924,515 at the 1996 census</a>), and you get 4704GWh (giga-Watt hours)per year! Convert back to Watts, and it's a draw of around 537 mW. Not enough to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=aFGTgQ58Z5Jo&refer=canada">shut down Nanticoke</a>, but still a significant amount.<br /><br />And how much carbon would this save? Well, that gets a bit tricky, so I'll leave it to another post.<br /><br />(If you're confused by all these measurements and calculations - like I was, see <a href="http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/cost.html#kilowatt">here</a> for a good explanation.)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1145241898091910932006-04-16T22:34:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:03:23.677-04:00Climate change is not just an issue - it is THE issueEverything I've been reading lately has me more and more convinced that climate change is real, and that we MUST do something about it. Here's a scary piece from <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/story?id=1843086&page=1">ABC News</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>"Last year the chairman of the International Panel on Climate Change said that man's carbon emissions were reaching such concentration that "immediate and very deep cuts in the pollution are needed <span style="font-style: italic;">if humanity is to survive</span>."</blockquote><br /><br />Yikes!<br /><br />And yet <a href="http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060415/conservative_poll_060415">according to a recent poll</a>, the majority of Canadians, while being concerned about the environment, are not concerned that Stephen Harper is in power, and even think the Tories are doing a good job!<br /><br />Obviously, the message is not getting out here in Canada. I see lots of stories in American media on climate change, and relatively few Canadian stories.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">And now for some better news...</span><br /></span><span>On the other hand, there are lots of good-news stories happening at the local level: <a href="http://www.haltonsearch.com/hr/ob/story/3443205p-3979950c.html">Halton region has a pretty good plan</a> to improve car-pooling and transit use among it's staff members. And <a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&amp;amp;amp;cid=1145137833901&call_pageid=968256289824&col=968342212737">Toronto councillor Joe Mihevc has an interesting idea</a> of creating small neighborhood groups of people to help each other make their homes more energy efficient! Sounds great - anybody else in!?!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1145041144937065842006-04-14T14:56:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:03:02.208-04:00My letter to Stephen Harper and Rona Ambrose<div><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ></span></div>Dear Mr. Harper and Ms. Ambrose:<br /><br />I am deeply concerned about the announced cuts to the One Tonne Challenge and other Kyoto programs. Most climate experts agree that climate change is real and is happening right now. While we may not feel the full effects for many years, we don't have a lot of time left to mitigate this problem. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we need to act now!<br /><br />As far as I can see this is the most important issue that we as Canadians should be working on. I urge you to take the advice of government scientists, and environmental leaders like David Suzuki. <br /><br />I understand that the government will soon be announcing tax incentives for transit users. While this is a good first step, there is so much more we need to do. The federal government should be playing a critical role in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by:<br /><br /><ul><li>encouraging and enforcing industrial emission-reductions </li><li>promoting and subsidizing alternatives to fossil fuels </li><li>assisting businesses and individuals to become more energy efficient </li><li>bringing in programs to reduce automobile use </li></ul>I strongly believe that we can and must fulfill our Kyoto commitments. Please let me know what your government plans to do on this very important issue.<div><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1145039325770774562006-04-14T14:20:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:02:50.825-04:00Worried about climate change? Let Harper know!<a href="http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=25267532&postID=114498388041024650">D.Neumann</a> asked "how can we get the message out to more people?"<br /><br />Well, first I think we should all contact <a href="mailto:Harper.S@parl.gc.ca">Stephen Harper</a>, <a href="mailto:Ambrose.R@parl.gc.ca">Rona Ambrose</a> (Minister of the Environment), and your <a href="http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/PostalCode.asp?Language=E&source=sm">local Member of Parliament</a>. Let the Tories know that you care and are watching what they do! Don't forget to post here and let us know what you said!<br /><br />Also, if you like this blog, please forward the address to anyone you think may be interested. Don't forget that you can be notified when it's updated using the site feed address:<br /><br />http://climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/atom.xml<br /><br />If you use Firefox, you can use this address to create a live bookmark. Or if you use a service like My Yahoo, you can add the feed to your home page.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1144981163903535272006-04-13T22:16:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:01:58.257-04:00Thinking of planting some trees to offset your CO2 emissions?While planting trees is usually a great idea, it may not have much impact on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, according to this <a href="http://www.scidev.net/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=readnews&itemid=2784&language=1&utm_source=feed-1&utm_medium=rss">article</a> from <a href="http://www.scidev.net/">SciDevNet</a>.<br /><br />The bottom line is, we "cannot rely on nature to clean up"!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1144724377363057462006-04-10T22:53:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:01:37.020-04:00How many planets do you use?Here's another interesting quiz: <a href="http://www.myfootprint.org/">Ecological footprint quiz</a><br /><br />According to this quiz, it takes 3.8 hectares to support my lifestyle. It also says "If everyone lived like you, we would need 2.1 planets".<br />Here are my results:<br /><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="345"><tbody><tr><td><span class="red">CATEGORY</span></td> <td align="right"><span class="red">GLOBAL HECTARES</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" bgcolor="white"><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="5" />FOOD</td> <td class="results"><br /></td> <td class="results" align="right">1.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" bgcolor="white"><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="5" />MOBILITY</td> <td><br /></td> <td class="results" align="right">0.2</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" bgcolor="white"><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="5" />SHELTER</td> <td class="results"><br /></td> <td class="results" align="right">1.1</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" bgcolor="white"><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="5" />GOODS/SERVICES</td> <td class="results"><br /></td> <td class="results" align="right">1.3</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" bgcolor="white"><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td><img src="http://www.earthday.net/footprint/images/spacer.gif" alt="" height="1" width="5" /><span class="bold">TOTAL FOOTPRINT</span></td> <td class="results"><span class="bold"><br /></span></td> <td class="results" align="right"><span class="bold">3.8</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />It's interesting, but the questions are not as detailed as the One Tonne Challenge, so I wonder how accurate it is. It does bring the question of what we choose to eat into the picture though.<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.myfootprint.org/"></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1144292028772192042006-04-05T22:47:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:01:21.080-04:00Apparently I was a bit late to be touting the OTC!As pointed out in a blog called <a href="http://www.duq.ca/wp-trackback.php?p=104">Clay and Wattles</a>, use that calculator while you can because the Tories may be removing it soon! According to an article in the <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060331.wxchallenge01/BNStory/National/home">Globe and Mail </a>the Tories have abruptly stopped funding this program.<br /><br />In other news, apparently <a href="http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-04-05T181136Z_01_N05365632_RTRIDST_0_CANADA-ENVIRONMENT-CANADA-BIOFUEL-COL.XML&archived=False">biofuels are good</a>, but only if they are made in Canada!<br /><br />Two steps back and one baby-step forward??<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1144290461124664902006-04-05T22:18:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:00:53.926-04:00Do nothing? You can't be serious!Here's a <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,6-2120774,00.html">great piece</a> from the Times Online (UK) arguing against the 'climate change skeptics'. Some nice quotes:<br /><br />"If we discovered that some asteroid was heading in our direction with a 5 per cent chance of collision, we would mobilise every missile, throw all our money at strategies to deflect it. But when scientists confront us with a threat that they believe is still within our control, we wish it away. Crazy."<br /><br />"The real superstition here is our horror of using less, in societies that have been reared on consumption. There is a desperate fear that greater efficiency would devastate the economy. But the idea that we are plunging into a new Dark Ages is ridiculous. Is everything we hold dear threatened if we have to refit our homes with energy-efficient lightbulbs? In the US, corporations that have reduced energy use have made money."<br /><br />I think the idea of buying 'clean' power plants for China is an interesting one. What do you think?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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<br /></div>LNeumannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07360967260991183192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25267532.post-1144205947347578492006-04-04T22:51:00.000-04:002007-04-28T02:00:38.904-04:00Calculate YOUR emissions - and take the One tonne challenge!Despite the change in government, the <a href="http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/onetonne/english/index.asp">One Tonne Challenge</a> program is still up on the government of Canada web site. The <a href="http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/onetonne/calculator/english/">Emissions Calculator</a> is actually kind of neat. Basically, you enter information about your household and driving habits, and it estimates how many tons a year of greenhouse gasses you produce. Then, you can select things you can do to reduce your emissions, and it dynamically shows you how much you would save.<br /><br />My one quibble with the calculator is that it doesn't take everything you may be doing already into account when giving the first estimate. For example, one of the suggestions in the reduction part was to install a low-flow shower head. Well, we already have that, so I wasn't sure if I should check the box (that says you will implement this change), or not.<br /><br />I suppose I could go through the survey twice - the first time checking off ONLY the items we already do, and the second time checking off what we are planning to do in the future. That should give me more accurate "before" and "after" estimates.<br /><br />Anyway, here are my results from my first pass at this:<br /><br />Current emissions estimate: <span class="Huge">4.59</span> <span class="h2">tonnes<br />After planned reductions: 3.184 tonnes<br /><br />The Canadian average is 5.5 tonnes, and the Ontario average is 5.7 tonnes, so we're not doing too badly. But I know we can do better!<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br />
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