We're not doing enough to conserve: Energy Probe

An article in today's Ottawa Sun says that even though we're using these new compact fluorescent bulbs (among other things), we're not doing enough to curb our apparent over-board dependence on electricity. (Source: http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2006/07/31/1711149-sun.html)

Some forecasters are predicting that the mercury will hit 35 degrees Celsius in Ottawa tomorrow. We are being reminded that we must do our part to cut down on our electricity consumption as resources are limited and there is a finite amount of energy.

As I've written several times before - here and in the Ottawa Citizen, among other places, I will keep my air conditioners on and I will ensure that I will remain comfortable throughout this so-called heat wave. Why? Since my last rant on this matter, another three towers have undergone construction along the Queensway here in Ottawa. What was a field near Palladium Drive a few years ago now has an operating Toyota dealership and two other car retailers will be opening in a matter of months. Two friends of mine are moving into a house in a new subdivision in two weeks where farmers once worked the land outside of Stittsville. Has anybody driven down the eastern end of Innes Road lately?

I've said it before, I'm saying it again now: don't tell me to turn my air conditioners down (or off!) because the power grid is under extreme stress. Tell municipal governments across the province to stop issuing construction permits that add tens of thousands of new homes and countless new mega-business buildings that add exponentially more demand for power than my little 6,000BTU Danbys.

Once that is accomplished, get the provincial and federal governments to do their thing and come into the 21st century. Canada's population isn't the same today as it was thirty years ago. It has grown. More population equals more homes. More homes mean more businesses in surrounding areas. All this adds up to more demand for resources. Our population has grown but our utilities have not kept up with the demand. They should be responsible for this problem, not individual consumers. Do you think the government would ask us to cut down our demand for General Motors products if GM plants were unable to keep up with consumer demands for Pontiacs? Nope. GM wouldn't hear of it and would build new plants or figure out another way to get another shift crammed into existing facilities.

Don't tell me I should have to suffer and lie awake at night while the temperature in my apartment hovers around 30 degrees. Fix the problem or impose an immediate moratorium on future development. Once construction stagnates and we clearly are shown that demand for electricity continues to grow, I will concede that I might be contributing to the problem. Until then, how can someone in good faith tell me that I am while I watch new towers going up with hundreds of new hydro customers being added to the grid? How indeed.