Environment

Environmental news and things I am doing to make my like more green.

peaksaver Review

If you live in Ottawa or Toronto (other areas are covered as well) then I suggest you check out the peaksaver program. The idea is to help the utilities control the load on the electricity system during peak periods. By signing up for the program you allow your utility to bump your thermostat setting a few degrees when necessary (think 30+ days in the summer).

For giving up a little control they pass along some nice incentives. You get a one time rebate for signing up. They also come to your home to install a new programmable thermostat which has a pretty cool feature, allowing control from a website. This feature is great if you set the thermostat to hold while you are away on vacation, just login a few hours before you get home and you return to a nice comfortable house. Not bad for something that costs you nothing but a degree or two!

The Gospel of Green

If you have a 40 minutes to spare I really suggest you take the time to watch The Gospel of Green – Video | CBC News: the fifth estate. It hightlights the green revolution in Germany and points out how far Canada is falling behind other countries. Here’s a synopsis of the show:

As the world confronts the reality of global warming and the inevitable end of oil, the questions of what to do and how to sustain energy without oil or fossil fuels becomes more urgent. Bob McKeown and a fifth estate team travel to Germany to meet Hermannn Scheer, called “Europe’s Al Gore,” a parliamentarian who is leading the way to increase Germany’s reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power. To date, 15% of Germany’s energy comes from renewable sources. Scheer estimates that if Germany continues on this course, by 2030 that will be 100%. So, if one of the world major industrialized nations can achieve this, why can’t a country like Canada? The answer may lie in the fifth estate‘s investigation of the influence, in this country, of conventional energy industry on politicians.

Ask The Green Lantern

Slate.com has launched The Green Lantern, a weekly Q&A about a wide range of issues dealing with the environment. Every Tuesday, Brendan I. Koerner answers readers’ questions from “cloth diapers for your baby” to “debunking the email about a Hummer H3 being more environmentally friendly then a Prius.”

Earth Hour

March 29th at 8 pm (your local time) is Earth Hour. The idea is to shut off all your lights (I suggest all your power) for 60 minutes starting at 8 pm. I hope that you will sign up to show your support here.

While doing this action for one hour a year is not going to stop climate change, it does send a message to governments and corporations that people care about this issue.

Earth Hour Logo

Bullfrog Power: Best company ever?

I got a email today from our electricity provider Bullfrog Power letting us know that our locked in rate with them was going down because of lower costs. Are they insane? This is no way to treat customers! They may tell friends!

🙂

Bullfrog Power is an electricity retailer in Ontario and Alberta that sources 100% renewable (wind and small scale hydro) power that you can sign up to receive. It costs you a few cents more per kWh on your bill but you can offset that by making a few energy improvements around your house. Overall it cost us about $100 more a year to have Bullfrog Power.

So do yourself and the environment a favour and sign up today!

By the way these sorts of emails will get your company a permanent link at the bottom of the site, Bell Canada I hope you take notice!

Bullfrog Power Logo