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ACTION ALERT! EARTH HOUR 2008
Turn off your lights for one hour on Saturday, March 29 at 8 P.M.! Join with millions around the world as a symbolic move to urge action on CLIMATE CHANGE! CFRE is encouraging members, relatives, friends and our communities to join in to this strong demonstrative action! And we encourage you to go even beyond turning off your lights - don't use your appliances - cloth- and dish-washers, electric stoves, micro waves, computers, TVs, for just this one hour! Just memorize the large blackout of August 2003 and how it could have been prevented with many thousands of smaller distributed renewable energy generating plants, instead of those few huge conventional generators depending on long- range transmission lines! Our energy supply has to change - and fast!! Call for urgent CLIMATE CHANGE action and the future survival of our planet! ![[GLNPO]](news49GLNPO.jpg)
YMCA Outdoor Centre, Paradise Lake, 3738 Hessen Strasse, St. Clements, ON (West of Waterloo), 519-699-5100 GO SOLAR - SHARING MEMBERS’ SUCCESS STORIES
Please take time to check out our displays – lots of free brochures and hand-outs! Pre-registration essential by May 15/08!!
WHO KILLED THE SOLAR HOT WATER PANEL? - Part II
The first part (In December 2007 newsletter) begins with the notion: If we don't learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. The author then brings examples of government grants and incentives in the 1980s spurring a new industry. Besides residences, almost every government building sported a solar water heating system (SWHS). But maintenance and repairs were neglected and most became dysfunctional. The author offered in many cases to fix them only to be frustrated by government bureaucracy. He would make calls, write letters repeatedly to save those costly systems from being ripped out and sent to the scrap heap. A particular example he cites is the 120 panel SHWS on the RCMP building in Ottawa where a study would have to be done about the repairs, but no money was ever in the budget to fund it. The first part ends with the sentence (on the cost comparison): 'The cost difference would quickly make evident that, compared with fossil fuel heated water, solar is a bargain - especially if the cost is to fix, not replace!' This spring the terrible happened. I drove by RCMP headquarters and took my usual longing glance over to the panels and they were gone. I was aghast at how, despite all of the calls and letters, this could have happened without my being made aware. No one had more time invested in this system. I returned with some binoculars and noticed from a high point of land nearby that the panels were stacked on the roof. This time I couldn't take it and started an around the clock calling barrage. I obtained info that the grounds were being managed privately. Seemed to me to be strange, considering the security concerns lately, but I proceeded. Sure enough the roof leaked, the roofer subbed out the contract to a demo company who subbed it out to a smaller demo company and so on and so on. Eventually I reached a very small company who said they'd sell them. We struck a deal. I removed, I trucked and I managed to obtain all 120 of the coveted solar panels that I had worked so hard to get. Having no film skills, I still wished I could have made a documentary about these solar panels along the lines of the electric car film Who Killed the Electric Car? (after which I titled this article). The huge difference between solar panels and the electric car is the fact that GM (a private company) killed their own electric car, while the Canadian Government, using taxpayers' dollars, killed our solar hot water panels that we paid for. Then to add insult to injury refused to maintain our equipment and in the end refused to even sell any of them back to us. I eventually sold all 120 panels with the placement of one free add on a local junk trader website. I shipped panels all across the country. Some people bought one, some bought 20, and all are on their way to making hot water again. All in all over 20 years, I estimate I managed to divert from the scrap heap about one in one thousand panels. Not a great track record given the thousands of hours involved in researching, studying, air photo interpreting (a neat trick when access was limited or travel was too great), phoning, and letter writing. I've even contacted many scrap metal dealers and asked them to hold, not melt, the equipment. A key factor with respect to Kyoto is that many of the thousands of panels installed were still working in 1992 - the key date to reduce our emissions. We have to make up for the increased emissions as these panels were taken off line. It looks as though everyone is hoping the government is going to start up the grants again. If we are going to make the mistake of subsidizing one energy source over another, let's be extremely careful and learn from history! Some of the most recent accolades from our members... “Thanks for all the great work!”–K.B., Hamilton “Keep up the good work - we always enjoy getting the newsletter. It's a good read!”–L.P., Inglewood “Thanks to you and CFRE for all your efforts and dedication!”–S.G., Marmora “I admire you for your never-ending work for a sustainable future!”–P.A., Utterson “Thanks for the latest newsletter - so good to remind me that we are all of a bigger community of sustainable livers!”–M-J. P., Kitchener It was a year of heightened activity starting with our presence at the Guelph Organic Conference, motivating farmers and consumers who are striving to produce and buy clean and safe food to also get into the business to generate clean and safe electricity from our great natural energy resource. To contribute to the valuable work the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) is doing, board member Jeff Harti and the coordinator attended their 2-day Annual General Meeting in Hockley Valley. As a full member, CFRE is eligible to nominate a candidate for their board and Jeff was elected by acclamation. February is always the month when the Canadian Organic Growers (COG) hold their Eco-Farm Day in Cornwall and our director George Wright staffed our display. A special Renewable Energy event took place at Queen’s Park attracting a large audience to hear Dr. Hermann Scheer, General Chair of the World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) on the advances this safe sustainable energy has made around the world. Several of our members attended. Another great event in Guelph featured Energy Minister Dwight Duncan announcing the first contracts awarded to small renewable energy generators under the Standard Offer Program – always a good venue to make contact with politicians to do advocacy as the coordinator was able to hand the Minister several studies on solar power to encourage greater emphasis on residential applications. To get more information on Canada’s Energy Future the coordinator followed an invitation to attend the National Energy Board's public consultation session in Toronto, only to find out that Solar Power was not even mentioned as energy source! “Charging the Future – Kimbercote Kilowatt Conference” was a 2 1/2 day event in the Beaver Valley organized by the Kimbercote Farm Co-operative. Two of our members and the coordinator took part and gave presentations to a sold-out audience. Our information gathering and interventions on nuclear industry projects continued by attending Bruce Power’s Open House on the proposed nuclear reactors new build and making submissions to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) in Ottawa on the Pickering B refurbishment proposal and the operating licence renewal for OPG’s huge nuclear waste site at Bruce. The coordinator was invited to be part of a newly established NGO Regulatory Advisory Committee by the CNSC and travelled to Ottawa for the first meeting. To celebrate Earth Day Jeff and the coordinator attended and staffed a display at a Downsview Park event. Our AGM and high-profile workshop on Energy Conservation and Efficiency at the YMCA Outdoor Centre near Waterloo was well attended and well received. Frank and Liz Barningham became our new board member team to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Gary Bastin, who decided to get more involved in local advocacy. Following an invitation by the Minister of Transportation the coordinator attended a 'Sustainable Transforum' symposium in Toronto with several international speakers presenting. The annual Windfall Eco-Festival in Newmarket was another occasion for a CFRE display with board members Annette, Vitold, Jeff and the coordinator attending. The international coalition Great Lakes United (GLU), of which CFRE is a member, held their 2-day AGM in Toronto and the coordinator attended and presented a resolution opposing the dangerous proposal of a Deep Geological Repository for nuclear waste on the shore of Lake Huron. The resolution was adopted and has been forwarded to the Governments. By invitation of Ontario’s Premier the coordinator attended the ‘Shared Air Summit’ at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. A public meeting was called on the Nanticoke energy diversion issue by Toby Barrett, the MPP for the riding hosting this giant coal-fired generating plant slated for closure in 7 years. The coordinator was one of 10 presenters from a range of promoters of nuclear, clean coal, biomass and renewable energy generation. The CNSC held an information workshop on the performance of Bruce Power reactors which CFRE members and the coordinator attended to ask specific questions on safety. To show CFRE’s presence in the Eastern part of the province, too, board member George and the coordinator staffed a display at the 2-day ‘Art of Being Green Festival ‘in Lanark. To connect to our grassroots constituency the coordinator attended the AGM of the farmers’ cooperative ‘Organic Meadow’ near Guelph. An information workshop on Nanticoke was held by CFRE at the Royal Botanical Gardens under the title ‘Nanticoke – Coal or Nuclear? There is a better solution!’. In September the coordinator combined visiting relatives with a fact-finding mission on the status of Germany’s renewable energy. The annual Feast of Fields Festival CFRE display was staffed by Annette and Vitold. Frank, our new board member, was invited to make a presentation on his off-grid solar-powered home at a KAIROS conference on energy in Ancaster. To gather information on the Deep Geological Repository CFRE member Tim and the coordinator attended an Open House by OPG in Wiarton. Following an invitation to a Nuclear and Renewable Energy Symposium sponsored by a Michigan-based organization the coordinator traveled to Warren, Michigan, to make two presentations. The 2-day Canadian Solar Industry Association (CanSIA) took place in November in Toronto. It was an ideal event to hear about projects and programs and to view the exhibits of solar power companies. And then we had a generous offer of a free display space at the 2 1/2 day Whole Life Expo in Toronto, which gave us a great venue to reach a receptive audience. Our thanks goes to all those who volunteered their time for these actions. Special thanks also to those members who sent donations and to one member for an especially generous one! With Karen’s help our quarterly newsletters went out on schedule and were well received, judging by many favourable comments. We held monthly board meetings by conference call to plan our activities and advocacy. Because of our previous involvement with Environmental Assessments we applied and were granted intervenor status at the forthcoming Review Panel Hearings on the Bruce Power New Build and OPG’s Deep Geologic Repository. We need to impress on governments that the huge taxpayers’ subsidies for polluting generating plants at the least have to be shared with efficient renewable energies. Small progress has been made in this direction but we cannot relent in our advocacy for a new direction in Ontario’s Energy Future! So we are calling on all of you to assist us in every way in our valiant battle to mitigate Climate Change, to give hope for a livable planet to our children and grandchildren!
A SENSIBLE POWER BACK-UP SYSTEM
Throughout North America residential electric power outages happen regularly since transmission lines are above ground exposed to the elements. Many home owners install gasoline or diesel-powered back-up generators, but there is a better way. When there is a grid-power failure, a diesel generator can do a good (but smelly) job of providing enough electricity to keep some home lighting and appliances working. The other 99% of the time, when there is no grid power outage, the diesel generator sits there doing nothing. There is a better way to spend money than investing in something which mostly does nothing. A photovoltaic (PV) (solar – electric) system is a better choice since it can not only supply emergency back-up power, but can also easily provide some power to your home every day. Unless money isn’t an issue, it is wise to start by figuring out the quantity of back-up power required. during a grid power failure, likely only a few key lights and appliances are absolutely needed. Make a list of only the lights and appliances which you cannot do without. On the list record the power requirements of each, in Watts (look at the label which is on every electric-powered item). Then record how long each of these things are used on a typical day, in hours. Multiply the Watts times the hours, and you’ll have an itemized list of power consumption in Watt-hours. Add them all up and you will know the total power consumption for your home during a grid-power failure. Divide the number by one-thousand and you now know your emergency power requirement in kilo-Watt-hours (kWh).
But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy
SURVEY REVEALS GAP IN PUBLICS AWARENESS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY'S ROLE IN REDUCING GREENHOUSE GASES
Fewer than half of Americans strongly associate nuclear energy with clean air, according to a new national survey of 1,000 adults. The survey conducted in March & April 2007 showed that only 42 percent of Americans associate nuclear energy “a lot” with clean air. This is the case even though nuclear power plants provide 71 percent of all U.S. electricity. This is a similar result to previous surveys in 2005 and 2006. More than 100 nuclear power plants operating in 31 states provide electricity to one in every five U.S. homes and businesses and the survey found that the majority did not recognize how much electricity it supplies today. Twenty four percent in the survey said that nuclear power would be a future source of electricity in the next 15 years, second from solar power at 27%. Coal fired power plants ranked 14% even though they supply 49% of the U.S.’s electricity and will likely remain the leading source in the next 15 years.
Whatever we do to that web, we do to ourselves.” Chief Seattle, 1855 Prince Edward County Green Homes Tour on Sunday April 20, 2008 . To help celebrate Earth Day this spring, our doors will be open for you to visit between 10 am and 5 pm at any of the following list of homeowners properties, where they will happily share their GREEN experiences with you. Drop by to see firsthand & get information on : solar hot water heaters, solar photovoltaic power systems ( off-grid and grid-tied ), passive solar, wind power turbines, heat pumps, straw bale construction, hybrid vehicle, living ( green ) roofs, energy efficient designs, Bullfrog Powered homes, and more. Maps marking the locations of the participants will be available from Apr. 18th to 20th at Century 21 Lanthorn Real Estate offices on Main St. in Picton & Wellington during regular office hours . We encourage the use of carpooling & cycling. For further information please e-mail donrossc21@hotmail.com or call Don Ross at 866-294-2100 or 613-476-8016. We look forward to you taking part in this environmental awareness initiatiVe. "HOW MUCH WILL IT COST ME TO INSTALL SOLAR PANELS OR A WIND GENERATOR?" This question is the most common question posed to us. The answer to this question depends entirely on your energy consumption. In order to reduce the cost, the first thing you should do is reduce your consumption . Obviously you can do things like turning off lights you are not using, but there are other ways you may not think of that you can save energy. The cost of your solar and/or wind power system also depends on the components you choose, and the size of the system. You may wish to only install a few solar panels or one small wind generator to supplement your energy needs, or you may prefer to try to generate all your own power. You could probably have most of your questions answered by attending our workshop on May 25!
German residence selling solar power to the grid Warnings of the consequences of Climate Change have become more frequent in recent months. According to a number of public opinion polls the environment is at the top of people’s priorities. So, do governments get the message that action needs to be taken – and fast – to minimize the damage to our planet? It sure doesn’t look like it! More of OUR MONEY to expand the tar sands, more into the nuclear industry to keep producing that deadly waste, more into the auto industry without determined action on emission controls – the list goes on - . In the meantime Canadian manufacturers of solar PV panels like Arise Technologies have to go to Germany to set up their factories because of better incentives. The much- touted provincial 100,000 solar roof program is another example. The government felt obliged to establish a taskforce to study how to implement it! The money spent on salaries for those ‘experts’ could have been better applied to grants and other incentives for home owners!! These kinds of misplaced incentives and foot dragging sure come to a point where concerned people want to take action on their own. And that’s where CFRE comes in – encouraging, informing, leading them in the right direction. To that effect, a team of our directors and members staffed a display at the 2-day Organic Conference in Guelph at the end of January again, handing out information leaflets and answering questions. To attend a workshop on the health effects of the carcinogenic Tritium emissions from nuclear reactors, sponsored by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), the coordinator drove 7 hours through dense fog to Ottawa to hear the consensus of several international scientists that present exposure limits are not strict enough and more research is needed. Two days later he presented a submission before the CNSC in Oshawa to raise concerns about the long operating licence request for the Darlington Nuclear Station which also houses a Tritium Recovery Facility. With all the problems reported by CNSC staff, there needs to be more public accountability. Vitold, our President, tendered his resignation at the end of January, and Annette Verhagen, Vice President, is taking on his job. George Wright, our director for Eastern Ontario, is moving to take her position. A very informative workshop was held in Kitchener by the Community Renewable Energy Waterloo (CREW) organization. The coordinator attended and listened to presentations from the solar branch of OSEA and from the Clean Air Foundation (Jennifer Gaudette). A newly formed initiative called Guelph Solar reported on their solar community project where a number of residents had signed up for buying PV and water heating systems. A very well formulated Request for Proposal (RFP) had been circulated to installers. The companies chosen had representatives available to talk about their expertise. In a community project like this considerable cost advantages can result through quantity discounts. For other similar initiatives contact OSEA , 416-977-4441 or http://www.ontario-sea.org/.
Our membership fees have been kept at an affordable rate, in spite of increases in postage rates and printing costs. They are:
All memberships include quarterly newsletters. Sustaining memberships also include discounts on CFRE workshops and publications. Go to previous newsletter Return to Newsletter list Return to main page |
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