[greenon-l] After the Blackout -- Conservation Priorities

[Conservation Council of Ontario]

After the Blackout:
Emergency conservation
and
A 20% Conservation Action Plan
A special edition of the Conservation Council of Ontario's e-newsletter
Please forward to your friends.

August 19, 2003
Chris Winter, Executive Director


If there is a bright side to the blackout, it is that in the past few days 
alone we have heard politicians use the word "conservation" more times than 
they have over the entire past decade.  I wish the circumstances had been 
better, but it's good to have them back!

Ontario now faces two conservation challenges.  The first is to weather the 
immediate power crisis through emergency conservation measures.  The second 
is to re-build Ontario's capacity for conservation.  In this issue, we 
address both the immediate and long-term conservation needs:

1.  Please join us in the Two Fan Challenge -- a challenge to all 
homeowners to surf the next heat wave with two fans and a ten minute daily 
conservation routine.

2.  Support our Four Point Action Plan for Energy Conservation -- a 0.7 
cent per KWh staggered surcharge on electricity, a $1 billion green energy 
and conservation fund, support for community-based outreach, and regulatory 
and infrastructure changes to create a more energy-efficient economy and 
society.


The Two Fan Challenge
See http://www.greenontario.org/solutions/twofans.html

On behalf of the Conservation Council of Ontario, I'm challenging Ontarians 
to meet the next heat wave head on with two fans and a ten-minute daily 
conservation routine. Most homes can be kept cool for days with just two 
fans if you follow these simple steps.

Start this routine on the cooler days before a predicted heat wave

1. Trap the cool air in each morning.
         Close all windows
         Close the blinds and drapes except where needed for natural light.
         Conserve energy to minimize the heat generated by lights and 
appliances.

2.  Let the cool air in each evening.
         Open all drapes and windows
         If there's no breeze, use one window fan to bring air in or expel 
warm air
         Use a floor fan to keep the air moving through the house, or blow 
cooler air up from the basement

We've used this method for years in our family, and it's kept our two 
storey, semi-detached house cool for at least two to three days into a heat 
wave. Conservation was never about freezing in the dark, and it isn't about 
sweating in the heat either.  It's about eliminating the wasteful ways and 
living a comfortable, efficient lifestyle.

Ours is a typical urban home. There's nothing we are doing that cannot be 
done by nearly every homeowner in Ontario. I'll be monitoring the outdoor, 
top floor and basement temperature during heat waves for as long as the 
Ontario is experiencing a power crisis and in need of emergency 
conservation measures.



A Four Point Action Plan for Energy Conservation
See http://www.greenontario.org/solutions/energyplan.html

The public has done its part admirably by voluntarily cutting back on 
electricity consumption.  Now it's time for provincial leadership in 
implementing an aggressive long-term energy conservation plan that will 
reduce our overall electrical power consumption by at least 4,000 
Megawatts, or twenty percent of the current average demand.

The key step is to re-establish the provincial role in promoting energy 
conservation.  Provincial funding for conservation was an early casualty of 
the Common Sense Revolution in 1996.  Not surprisingly, electricity 
consumption in Ontario grew about 8% between 1995 and 2000.

Only with the recent crises over electricity prices and supply shortages 
has the provincial government come up with a conservation "action plan" of 
voluntary actions and a provincial tax rebate on energy efficient 
appliances. The Province's action plan does not involve Ontario's any 
conservation organizations, nor does it include any long-term commitment to 
restoring a conservation ethic in Ontario's society.

Our Action Plan for Energy Conservation
The Conservation Council of Ontario is a fifty-year-old association of 
provincial organizations and individual conservation leaders.  We have long 
espoused a strategic approach to conservation issues that combines 
regulatory, economic and voluntary measures to achieve our common goals.

For energy conservation (both electricity and other forms of energy), these 
are the four key elements of our conservation action plan:
1.      Price energy to promote conservation
2.      Create an Ontario Green Energy and Conservation Fund
3.      Support community-based conservation outreach and education campaigns.
4.      Plan for long-term energy efficiency.


Price energy to promote conservation
Should energy prices rise to reflect the true cost of production? 
Absolutely, but even more important is to make conservation an 
economically-viable alternative.  Any increase on the base 4.3 cents per 
kilowatt hour for electricity should be directly earmarked for conservation 
and alternative energy.  We estimate that each 0.1 cent per kilowatt hour 
would result in $150 million per year for conservation incentives and 
support programs.  A 0.7 cent per KWh surcharge would generate in excess of 
$1 billion annually for conservation and alternative energy incentive 
programs. There is already a surcharge to retire Ontario Hydro's stranded 
debt, so the concept is already in practice. Further, the surcharge could 
be structured to exempt a base consumption rate in order to promote 
conservation, avoid adding to the energy costs of low-income families, and 
allow the government to maintain its commitment to capping basic 
electricity rates.

Create an Ontario Green Energy and Conservation Fund
The federal government, under the Climate Change Strategy, recently 
announced a $1 billion program to promote greenhouse gas reductions, 
including energy conservation.  The Toronto Atmospheric Fund (established 
by the City of Toronto to fight smog and climate change) uses its $25 
million fund for low-cost energy efficiency loans and outreach 
projects.  It's time Ontario stepped up to the plate and use a conservation 
surcharge on electricity to establish its own $1 billion green energy and 
conservation fund.

Through an Ontario fund, municipalities would be able to finance programs 
for building and street-lighting efficiency, wind and solar power could be 
subsidized, and homeowners would be eligible for subsidies for 
energy-efficiency renovations and rooftop solar units.  It would stimulate 
investment and improve Ontario's long-term energy security.

Support conservation outreach
Government advertising alone won't create a conservation ethic in 
society.  We need to involve as many community groups, schools, cultural 
and faith associations, and provincial organizations as possible in 
promoting conservation.  Media advertising needs to be supported by 
community workshops, door-to-door marketing by community groups, incentives 
(such as low-cost efficient lightbulbs), homeowner support services (like 
the Green Communities home energy audits) and other services such as green 
power cooperatives and car-sharing.  There are tremendous resources 
available in the non-government organizations that can help turn 
conservation values into action.  It's time we put them to work.

Plan for long-term efficiency
We need to increase energy efficiency in appliances, our homes, 
automobiles, and in urban design.  Regulatory instruments such as the 
Ontario Energy Efficiency Act and the Ontario Building Code can strengthen 
minimum performance standards, and the provincial government needs to 
rethink its "smart growth" initiative to turn away from highways in favour 
of compact, energy efficient urban design.  Ontario and North America lag 
far behind Europe in energy efficiency.  We need to become leaders in 
conservation technology and urban design.

All in all, it's not that difficult to create a conserver society in 
Ontario.  We estimate that if people contributed even one percent of their 
gross income and one percent of their time to conservation measures, we can 
achieve tremendous results.

It sounds like the public is ready to make that commitment. We're just 
waiting for the right economic incentives and leadership from the 
provincial government to make it happen.



A Special Appeal -- Support Conservation Now!
Like most charitable organizations, the Conservation Council of Ontario 
lost its provincial funding in 1996, and we've been living on a shoe-string 
ever since.  We depend on member and public donations to cover our minimal 
core operating expenses and my salary.

Right now, our bank account is dangerously low. We need your contributions, 
or the Conservation Council of Ontario faces the very real prospect of 
having to fold at the very time when we are needed the most.

Please send a cheque payable to "The Conservation Council of Ontario", 43 
Sorauren Avenue.  You can also make a secure online donation through the 
services of CanadaHelps.org, a registered Canadian charity.  Simply go to 
www.greenontario.org and follow the link at the top left corner. It will 
take you to our donations page on CanadaHelps.org.  All contributions, no 
matter how small, will help.

Many thanks.



Funding Matters
Go to: http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2003/fm/
While on the subject of fundraising, there's an excellent report you should 
read by Katherine Scott of the Canadian Council on Social 
Development.  It's called "Funding Matters: the Impact of Canada's New 
Funding Regime on Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations"  It documents the 
dramatic changes in financial support for charities over the past decade, 
including the shift from core funding to project funding and sponsorships 
and the desire for a significant return by way of recognition.  The 
consequences of these changes have included volatility in funding sources, 
a tendency to "mission drift" in order to secure funds, a loss of core 
infrastructure, reporting overload, collapse of related funding sources 
(the house of cards), advocacy chill, and human resource fatigue.

I found it strangely reassuring to find there are so many other 
organizations experiencing the same woes.


Stay cool.
____________________________________________


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***************************
Promoting conservation leadership, cooperation, and action for over 50 years
The Conservation Council of Ontario
43 Sorauren Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M6R 2C8
(416) 533-1635
www.greenontario.org
Chris Winter, Executive Director
Lois Corbett, President 
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