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| NEWSLETTER # 16,
DECEMBER 1999 |
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Here we are at the doorstep of a new year, a new century, and a new Millennium--what an almost unbelievable conjunction! Looking back, this society sure can't be proud of too many achievements, socially, environmentally and even economically--our debts have accumulated from decade to decade. The nineties were supposed to be the turn-around decade, where we would start to clean up our act, work toward a cleaner environment--and combat climate change! Well, an increasing number of concerned people are taking action and CFRE is there to help them! Actually the demand for information has boosted our number of members to more than 1,000 and that was in less than 4 years of existence! Yes, we are bursting at the seams, so to speak! There is not enough time in the day to let this coordinator keep up with all the demands piling up on him. And, to give away a secret, this guy just turned 70, and he is not as productive as he used to be! That's the reason why he has been looking for help. Luckily, Karen Gventer from Kingston was without a job and happened to have all the credentials and expertise we were looking for. She even offered to move to Owen Sound so we could work together more effectively. She brings computer and all necessary office equipment along, an added bonus, and agreed to work for very reasonable pay. All we have to do now is to find the money! We are exploring several funding sources so far without success. The most immediate way to improve our finances, and completely painless (even beneficial!) for donors, would be to switch your long-distance provider to Renewable Telecom, our branch of a reputable long-distance service! Please look at the low rates and benefits shown in the insert! An additional way you can help, which may be a little painful, is to dig into your pockets and send a donation our way, to help us bridge the short term lack of funding. We anticipate that we will soon be receiving grants. Even if you can only spare a few dollars--every donation would be a help and a pledge of support! We truly need help from you, our members, if we are to maintain and, better yet, improve our services. We have been getting almost daily calls from people looking for information, and convincing most of them to join as members. I have pointed out before that CFRE is, so far anyway, the only grassroots, citizen based non-profit organization on energy issues in Ontario and is often called upon to attend industry and government functions, and make submissions. So we have a role to play as an advocacy organization relaying our members' concerns and requests to government and industry, especially with the upcoming restructuring in the electricity sector in Ontario. To make our voice even stronger and better heard, we have set ourselves an, in my opinion, not so overly ambitious target--to increase our membership to 2000 by the end of 2000! It can be done with all your help by recruiting friends and relatives!
QUOTABLES... ...and the last river has been poisoned ...and the last fish has been caught ...will we realize that we cannot eat money." 19th century Cree saying
SOLAR WATER HEATING
I'm a big fan of solar hot water, even in our relatively cloudy climate. Today's solar thermal panels capture a surprising quantity of otherwise wasted energy. For about seven months of the year it is our sole source of hot water for our two person household. The winter months produce only a small fraction of what you might get in June, but on a sunny winter day, two 4X8 foot panels will still give us a 40 gallon tank of hot water. A typical solar thermal collector has finned copper tubing (usually matte black) in a sandwich with glass on the sunward side and insulation on the back side. A fluid is circulated through the tubing to transfer the heat to where we want it--usually a heat exchanger in our hot water tank. The fluid could be water for strictly summertime use or a non-toxic antifreeze/water mix for below freezing situations. One of the challenges is getting all that energy most often captured on the roof to the hot water tank, which is most often in the basement. This is handled by a pump that is either turned on by a temperature sensitive switch or is directly connected to a photovoltaic panel--if the sun shines, the pump runs. If you are lucky like we are and have the opportunity to mount your panels below the hot water tank, you can take advantage of the natural inclination of warm fluids to rise relative to that which are cooler. It is called a thermosyphon and it can be used to circulate the fluid in the system for you. It's a nice arrangement because there are no pumps, switches, electrical connections, etc. to purchase or to fail. My hot water tank is a 40 gallon pressure tank that is very well insulated. Note that it is above the highest point of the panel and the lines from the panel to the heat exchanger are as direct as possible and always move ‘uphill'. Dips can allow air bubbles or cooler fluid to ‘plug' your circulation path. Using large diameter tubing and insulating well makes for improved efficiency. My heat exchanger is simple. It consists of one piece of copper pipe inside of another larger pipe. Four fittings provide a way for hot panel fluid to enter at the top and cooler fluid to return by way of the bottom outlet. Water from the tank also circulates itself as the extracted panel heat causes cooler water from the tank to flow in the bottom while the heated water is pushed back to the tank via the top outlet. Beautiful! This type of heat exchanger can be made with standard fittings from a well stocked plumbing supply outlet. The pieces of copper pipe I used were 2" and 3" in diameter and approximately 16" long, because that was what I had. Smaller diameter would probably work, too, if longer lengths were used. Careful soldering is important so there is no leaking between the panel fluid and tank water. Non-toxic antifreeze is insurance here! One other feature to include is a simple expansion tank at the highest point in your panel loop. This allows you to check the fluid level and provides room for the expansion that comes with heating, so make sure the tank has some free space and is open to the atmosphere so pressure could never build up! Good luck!
We are always inspired and gratified if we get words of appreciation from our members. Just to quote a few recent ones from a large number we received: "Thanks for the reminder about membership renewal. You are doing so much and I appreciate getting all the information. When it comes to Ont. Hydro, you are like David fighting Goliath, only more so." E.H., Woodstock "A big thank you for the CFRE newsletter. I am in awe of the enthusiasm and hard work which emanates from the newsletter every time I receive it.: A.S., Toronto "Thanks for all your efforts to make the earth a safer place to live. The workshop was a tremendous success--more people than you could ever expect. Good speakers from the grass roots level." J.W., Mitchell "Keep up the good work, Ziggy--I don't know how you do it all. Enclosed $15 for 3 years."B.B., Wingham "I am enclosing a cheque to renew my membership. You produce an excellent newsletter that keeps us informed about energy issues and solutions." B.L., Clarksburg "Merry Christmas. Enclosed $15 for 3 year subscription. I enjoy reading your newsletter. Keep up the good work." J.R., Formosa A big thank you goes out to members like Gerard Daechsel and the Gventer/Birmingham family, who have brought in quite a number of new members, to several generous members who made donations recognizing our diligent work, and we should not forget the generosity of our workshop presenters. That in itself is devastating the planet we seek to protect." Paul MacClennan, Great Lakes United OVERVIEW OF CO-ORDINATOR'S ACTIVITES Just a quick overview of the travels and activities of the co-ordinator during the last two and a half months:
October 7, Port Hope: Presentation to Atomic Energy Control Board on License renewal of Bruce "B" October 9, Port Hope: CFRE workshop October 21, Tiverton: Bruce Nuclear Power Development Ecological Effects Review October 23-26, Ottawa: Taking part in Great Lakes United lobbying effort on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement November 1-2, Toronto: Independent Power Producers Society of Ontario Conference and Exhibition at the Royal York Hotel November 6, Carp-West Carleton: Presentation at 7th Generation Community Project Inauguration on a panel together with David Suzuki November 7, Rideau Valley, south of Ottawa: CFRE Workshop November 15-17, Ottawa: Canadian International Development Agency Sustainable Development report on the exploratory project with PEUMA in Córdoba, Argentina December 3-4, Huntsville: Conference on Green Power Coalitions In October, we achieved, what I consider, a small victory in our fight to get the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) to take our concerns about problems at Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) (previously Ontario Hydro) nuclear reactors under consideration. Following two strongly-worded presentations on the Bruce "B" operating license renewal, and with the help of similar presentations from Great Lakes United (GLU), and Nuclear Awareness Project (NAP), the Board ordered OPG to report every six months on progress made on long outstanding safety component repairs. They ignored the recommendation of their own staff to renew the license for a two-year term, no conditions attached. There is another serious issue coming up for a hearing in January 2000. OPG is applying for a license to construct a huge facility to store at least 2000 huge containers with lethal radioactive waste above ground, only 1,300 metres from the Lake Huron shoreline! We are arguing that a project like this has not been proven to the fullest to be safe, considering that the containers (predicted) lifespan is only fifty years, while the contents remain lethal for thousands of years. Our main contention is that with other more economic forms of power generation, we want proof that there is a need for additional spent fuel storage, especially with the four Bruce "A" reactors closed down. Economic conditions seem very unfavourable for a billion-dollar refurbishing expenditure to make them operational again. We are hoping to present an impressive submission, based on a lot of research, together with the support of GLU and NAP, to convince the Board to at least postpone any decision until the dust of the electricity restructuring period in this province has settled. Ralph Torrie CFRE has acquired space again at the annual Organic Conference at the Guelph University Centre. It's now a two day event, and takes place the last weekend in January, Saturday January 29 and Sunday January 30. Come and say hello, and see our display! For some of the busiest people, it is not too early to announce our Annual General Meeting, together with an informative workshop at our favourite spot: the Environmental Learning Centre, YMCA Paradise Lake Camp, St. Clements. We are already lining up a number of new presenters. Make it a date! It is Sunday, May 28. Details will be included in the next newsletter. ...that heating water the conventional way, with an electric 40 Gallon water tank in the basement, makes up approximately one-third of your hydro bill? So a solar water heater with a low investment would be paying for itself in probably less than two years. There are instant water heaters available now which can supplement heat on cloudy days. They are compact and can be installed under the kitchen sink and/or in the bathroom, and are fuelled by propane or natural gas.
Yours, Ziggy
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