A Greener Life

After patiently waiting (and waiting and waiting) it seems summer has decided to arrive right on schedule with sunshine (!) and temperatures above 25 degrees (!) and that humidity thing we just can’t seem to escape in the GTA. And all of this means one thing: power usage is going to sky rocket as people crank up their air conditioners. Don’t do it! Here are a few easy ways to stay cooler as the temperatures (finally) heat up:

• Keep your curtains closed during the day. (That’s a fairly no brainer tip, but it really will help keep the sun from turning your living room - or bedroom - into a sauna).

• Use a programmable thermostat to save some cash and ensure you’re not wasting energy to cool your home when no one is in (and the cat or dog don’t count - they’ll be fine with it set a few degrees higher). Set it to 28 degrees while you’re away and program it to move to a more comfortable 25 just before you’re expected home. REMEMBER: Air Conditioners cool people, not houses.

• Sign up for peaksaver and you can get $75 in gift cards. A small device will be installed near your central air conditioner to reduce its electricity use during peak times (usually on hot summer afternoons, never on weekends or statutory holidays). You likely won’t notice the difference.

• And finally, why not be kinder to the earth by setting the thermostat a little higher in the summer. If it’s 32 outside, it’s still going to feel cool inside if the A/C is set to 26. Leave it at 22 or 23 degrees and guests might just be wearing a sweater around your house in July!

There are not one, but two eco-conscious events taking place this weekend. Strawberries and Asparagus festival takes place Saturday, June 20 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The celebration of all things green takes place in Toronto’s Cedarvale Park. It promotes public space, local and organic food, local sustainable business, nature appreciation, music, and fitness & health.

Meanwhile in North York all the savvy people will be out at the EcoSavvy Festival running Friday and Saturday at Mel Lastman Square. It features an Eco Fashion Show, live animals with the Earth Rangers, a free screening of Toxic Trespass, a food drive, live music and the Green Spoons Organic Sampler.

They both seem like a good green time.

In honour of Ocean’s Month, which begins on Friday, the World Wildlife Fun and the Vancouver Aquarium are presenting free screenings of Sharkwater. It’s less of a “da-da, da-da, da-da” type film and more of an award winning documentary outlining the importance of the ocean’s most misunderstood inhabitants.

Named one of Canada’s Top Ten at the Toronto International Film Festival, Rob Stewart’s true-life action/adventure Sharkwater has won 34 international awards, including People’s Choice and Best Documentary awards at top festivals around the world. The film brings people closer than ever to sharks, proving they are not man-eating monsters and showing how important they are to the ecosystem. WWF is working globally to build healthy oceans and healthy communities. Sharkwater highlights some major problems and raises key questions.

There are five Toronto screenings June 25-27. Lucky Vancouver and Montreal get more than a dozen each (Montreal has nearly 100!). I’d love to see the film as I feel wholly uneducated about the importance of sharks to our ecosystem, but unfortunately I’m out of town

Green Neighbours 21 is a grassroots organization of residents in Ward 21 helping to make Toronto a greener place. One of its projects is Green Together where volunteers help their Ward 21 neighbours reduce home energy use.

The project is now well underway and they are looking for more volunteers to join them. They are looking for people with a keen interest in energy conservation, environmental issues and connecting with their neighbours. GT provides training on rebates, basic energy conservation, and a wealth of other resources for home owners. After training volunteers work with 10 neighbourhood households to help them through the energy audit process.

The information learned in training is sure to help you reduce your own energy bills and carbon footprint too.

A GTA mall is trying to save the environment one plate at a time by offering something revolutionary - real plates in the food court. Oakville Place  is letting customers make the choice between a disposable or a reusable plate when dining in the food court. And so far most patrons are make the eco-friendly choice.

The centre’s dishwasher uses just four litres of water per load - about 1/40th the amount used in the average shower. And plates and trays will be left to air dry to save electricity. Oakville Place is taking aggressive steps to reduce its eco-footprint with the goal of reducing its waste by 50 per cent.

Imagine the reduction if every food court in every mall across Toronto and the GTA offered
this choice. It could be HUGE!!

Toronto is playing host to the EcoCAR Challenge this month, with teams from 17 Canadian and American universities taking part in the week-long event. The challenge kicks off Monday, June 8 and runs until Friday June 12.

The EcoCAR Challenge is a three-year competition that challenges teams across North America to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles by designing and integrating leading-edge technology into a 2009 Saturn Vue. The first year of the EcoCAR Challenge ends in Toronto, with the winner for best-designed vehicle to be announced at the end of the week.

The teams will be officially welcomed at a ceremony at City Hall at noon on Monday.