Did you know that there is enough solar energy striking the earth every hour to provide the entire planets energy requirements for a year?
And how much of this free nuclear energy are we tapping into? Not enough.
The cost to build and run another coal fired electric plant is considerably more then installing solar arrays to provide the same amount of power, and the cost to maintain the arrays is a fraction what a coal fired plant will consume.
After the initial cost to build and install solar there is marginal cost to maintain them.
This seems like an idea who's time has come.
But what can you as a taxpayer do about this?
I believe that we all can do something and a good start would be to contact your Member of Parliament and let them know your concerns.
Send emails to the Energy Minister in your province as well.
The more we all talk about what we want and put our collective consciousness towards a solution, the more it will occur.
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Sunday 23 October 2011
Not Really A Rant....but
It really does not matter where you start from or how you get there, all that matters is the fact you realize we are all in this together and we all have a responsibility to make whatever changes we can to save this planet. It is after all the only one we have.
There is a line from the US Declaration Of Independence that loosely translated says, "If there is something wrong, those who have the ability to take action, have the responsibility to take action". I stole this from the movie National Treasure, thanks Jon Turteltaub.
Guess what....there is a hell of a lot wrong and those who have the ability are not holding up their end of the bargain.
Case in point....we are burning fossils fuels at an alarming rate considering that they are in every decreasing quantities and polluting our atmosphere by doing so.
We badly need to stop using oil and it's byproducts as fuel and develop the alternate fuel sources that are available.
We also depend on oil products for many other items that we have come to expect available to us every day such as plastics and polymers.
If we totally deplete oil through fuel usage we will also stop having plastic products available to us. Look around and try to not see something made of plastic..It's hard to do, it is everywhere. If you are my age you can probably recall the days when car interiors where coated in steel and not cushiony plastics as there are now. Imagine that dashboard as a nice hard piece of steel, or those door panels. It may come back to that.
My point here after I ramble is to say that I feel that the automakers have a responsibility to help fix our world and they could easily do so.
Now it is very easy to say the sky is falling and complain about what is wrong with things but it takes some thought to come up with solutions.
I have one!
We need to revisit an idea from the early part of the 20th Century.....The Peoples Car.
I am not saying to go out and buy a VW.
I'm saying an automaker needs to make a small, bare-bones car with a rear mounted electric motor that can be plugged into a household 115V outlet and charged overnight.
It should have a minimum amount of frills and bells and whistles. Maybe not even roll-up windows, just sliders. This would save weight, engineering and costs as well as steel.
No radio, no air or cruise etc.
If you have ever driven in an older VW Bug you get the idea.
And it should be priced at a point that makes it widely available...say under $10,000 inc taxes etc.
Imagine how inexpensive it would be to commute with a vehicle that you plugged in to house power at home and at work. And if you have wind or solar generating some or all of your home power, it would be even less.
And guess what, the automaker who did this would also make money as I believe people would flock to buy these cars as a way to save money and hopefully, the planet.
One of my favorite cars from my past was an old 1962 Austin Mini Traveler that was as no frills as you could get. Slider windows, no radio and even pull cables for door openers.
I actually liked the slider windows, I thought they were funky.
There is a line from the US Declaration Of Independence that loosely translated says, "If there is something wrong, those who have the ability to take action, have the responsibility to take action". I stole this from the movie National Treasure, thanks Jon Turteltaub.
Guess what....there is a hell of a lot wrong and those who have the ability are not holding up their end of the bargain.
Case in point....we are burning fossils fuels at an alarming rate considering that they are in every decreasing quantities and polluting our atmosphere by doing so.
We badly need to stop using oil and it's byproducts as fuel and develop the alternate fuel sources that are available.
We also depend on oil products for many other items that we have come to expect available to us every day such as plastics and polymers.
If we totally deplete oil through fuel usage we will also stop having plastic products available to us. Look around and try to not see something made of plastic..It's hard to do, it is everywhere. If you are my age you can probably recall the days when car interiors where coated in steel and not cushiony plastics as there are now. Imagine that dashboard as a nice hard piece of steel, or those door panels. It may come back to that.
My point here after I ramble is to say that I feel that the automakers have a responsibility to help fix our world and they could easily do so.
Now it is very easy to say the sky is falling and complain about what is wrong with things but it takes some thought to come up with solutions.
I have one!
We need to revisit an idea from the early part of the 20th Century.....The Peoples Car.
I am not saying to go out and buy a VW.
I'm saying an automaker needs to make a small, bare-bones car with a rear mounted electric motor that can be plugged into a household 115V outlet and charged overnight.
It should have a minimum amount of frills and bells and whistles. Maybe not even roll-up windows, just sliders. This would save weight, engineering and costs as well as steel.
No radio, no air or cruise etc.
If you have ever driven in an older VW Bug you get the idea.
And it should be priced at a point that makes it widely available...say under $10,000 inc taxes etc.
Imagine how inexpensive it would be to commute with a vehicle that you plugged in to house power at home and at work. And if you have wind or solar generating some or all of your home power, it would be even less.
And guess what, the automaker who did this would also make money as I believe people would flock to buy these cars as a way to save money and hopefully, the planet.
One of my favorite cars from my past was an old 1962 Austin Mini Traveler that was as no frills as you could get. Slider windows, no radio and even pull cables for door openers.
I actually liked the slider windows, I thought they were funky.
Saturday 6 August 2011
Island Life
After we moved to Vancouver Island I started commuting from Duncan to Langford to work in sales for a large building supply company. This job made it possible for us to purchase a house in Cowichan Bay that had been in need of love for many years and was not getting it. The older gentleman who owned it previously had just passed away and we bought from his daughter. This was the beginning of a 3 year renovation project to take this house from it's status as the "nag of the neighbourhood" to one of the nicest homes in the neighbourhood.
As mentioned, I was working in building supply but knew this was not what I wanted to do when I grew up. But what I wanted to do or felt I should do was not readily apparent to me. This was another in a long line of jobs that I took to pay the bills but did not make me feel fulfilled or give me joy.
Far from it.
What this job did do was introduce me to alternative building products that were becoming available to the industry that are greener then what had been used to this point.
I learned about new window options, finger joint studs, green board etc. These products were just the beginning of my education into green options available to homeowners and builders that may cost more (or some did at this point) but were environmentally responsible choices.
When I could afford them, I used these products in my home renovation. Not all of these new green products were more expensive then the older conventional building items traditionally used, but any change can be a hard sell.
I was working predominately in window sales for this company and had an uphill battle convincing builders that the better, more expensive windows were worth investing in for their spec homes as they would save the homeowner more in heating bills then cheaper less well engineered windows. Builders, I learned did not want to spend a nickle more on a better product unless they had too. According to the builders, the prospective home owners would not know whether the windows were better or not, as they would only be gushing over the fact that their new home had new windows.
I did not agree.
Changing the way folks looked at new homes and green building products started to become more and more important to me.
I needed to know more so I could help change peoples perceptions of what was worth spending money on in building products, and what was not.
As mentioned, I was working in building supply but knew this was not what I wanted to do when I grew up. But what I wanted to do or felt I should do was not readily apparent to me. This was another in a long line of jobs that I took to pay the bills but did not make me feel fulfilled or give me joy.
Far from it.
What this job did do was introduce me to alternative building products that were becoming available to the industry that are greener then what had been used to this point.
I learned about new window options, finger joint studs, green board etc. These products were just the beginning of my education into green options available to homeowners and builders that may cost more (or some did at this point) but were environmentally responsible choices.
When I could afford them, I used these products in my home renovation. Not all of these new green products were more expensive then the older conventional building items traditionally used, but any change can be a hard sell.
I was working predominately in window sales for this company and had an uphill battle convincing builders that the better, more expensive windows were worth investing in for their spec homes as they would save the homeowner more in heating bills then cheaper less well engineered windows. Builders, I learned did not want to spend a nickle more on a better product unless they had too. According to the builders, the prospective home owners would not know whether the windows were better or not, as they would only be gushing over the fact that their new home had new windows.
I did not agree.
Changing the way folks looked at new homes and green building products started to become more and more important to me.
I needed to know more so I could help change peoples perceptions of what was worth spending money on in building products, and what was not.
Monday 1 August 2011
Beginnings
When my wife and 2 year old son left Calgary 10 years ago it was in response to the events of 9/11. We knew that leaving was not going to change what happened but we felt we had to use those events do make a life change.
I had been in the film and stage business for 16 years and did not enjoy it anymore due to the ego's and constant back-stabbing that occurs in any career that has lots of money involved. The film business is worse then most, it appears.
This was the beginning of my transformation.
I had also spent most of my life with friends who worked in or were involved in the oil and gas industry and made tons of money doing that. That lifestyle, while alright for them, was not what I wanted for me.
I lived in a fast paced, oil fueled city where the prevailing attitude was quantity not quality and I wanted a life that was the other way around.
It was time to find if there was another way.
We sold our Calgary home and bought one near Edmonton where we spent 18 months before we shook our heads and decided to get out of the cold snow-filled Alberta winters. The last winter there was the clincher as it started snowing in November and was still falling come May. I couldn' t find a place to put the crap.
After we decided to leave the winter weather behind we made the move to Vancouver Island as we had spent a short time here mid 90's and knew what to expect.
The lifestyle on the island was much slower and seemed to embrace a more ecologically friendly way of doing things.
The difference between the Island and Calgary couldn't be more different. Had I finally found a place where they embrace quality of life over quantity?
It sure looked like it.
I started to notice more recycling going on and folks were talking about bio-diesel (I had no idea what that was).
I knew we were in the right place and I had much to learn.
I had been in the film and stage business for 16 years and did not enjoy it anymore due to the ego's and constant back-stabbing that occurs in any career that has lots of money involved. The film business is worse then most, it appears.
This was the beginning of my transformation.
I had also spent most of my life with friends who worked in or were involved in the oil and gas industry and made tons of money doing that. That lifestyle, while alright for them, was not what I wanted for me.
I lived in a fast paced, oil fueled city where the prevailing attitude was quantity not quality and I wanted a life that was the other way around.
It was time to find if there was another way.
We sold our Calgary home and bought one near Edmonton where we spent 18 months before we shook our heads and decided to get out of the cold snow-filled Alberta winters. The last winter there was the clincher as it started snowing in November and was still falling come May. I couldn' t find a place to put the crap.
After we decided to leave the winter weather behind we made the move to Vancouver Island as we had spent a short time here mid 90's and knew what to expect.
The lifestyle on the island was much slower and seemed to embrace a more ecologically friendly way of doing things.
The difference between the Island and Calgary couldn't be more different. Had I finally found a place where they embrace quality of life over quantity?
It sure looked like it.
I started to notice more recycling going on and folks were talking about bio-diesel (I had no idea what that was).
I knew we were in the right place and I had much to learn.
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