Former mayor sees the wisdom in reducing energy expenditures
Maria Canton
Northern News Services
Inuvik (May 18/01) - The proof is in the savings, says a conservation-savvy Inuvik resident.
Don Patterson switched to a smaller car to save on gas, traded his electric water heater for a hot-water boiler, has a solar oven, uses energy-efficient light bulbs and is now thinking up a way to run his clothes dryer off the boiler instead of electricity.
Not only do these initiatives help the environment, but Patterson says the cost savings help keep his money in his wallet and not the energy suppliers.'
"Even if you only use energy-efficient light bulbs, you can see the savings on your bills," said Patterson, a retired businessperson and former mayor of Inuvik.
"I've always had an interest in the environment and that's part of the reason I do all of this, but the other part is for the savings."
Patterson was one of six people in attendance at last week's public meeting on the recently released NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy.
Of the strategy, Patterson says it is "pretty vague with not a lot of meat to it," but that it is a beginning.
"I'd like to see a research program developed here to educate people locally on what is happening (with the environment) and if they think it will affect them they will conserve," he said.
But people at the meeting said it would take more than that to motivate locals.
Andy Swiderski, a Yellowknife-based consultant running the meeting, said Northern subsidies distort the real cost of things, making residents less aware of how much energy they use and misuse.
"When consumers are made aware of the real cost of goods and services and when they are required to pay for them they generally manage the resource better," says Swiderski.
"On the other hand, subsidies should not be seen as evil, they do help us cope with the cost of things, but we still have to be aware of the true price."
The meeting was held to gather feedback on the 31-page government and industry produced document that highlights obstacles the North faces in its quest to reduce emissions.
Because the majority of Northerners receive subsidies for heating fuel, gas and even travel, it is difficult, says Swiderski, to convince people they need to stop idling their vehicles for hours, turn down their thermostats and even re-consider the number of trips they take each year.
His idea was echoed by Inuvik resident Dev Sharma, who suggested all subsidies be done away with, forcing consumers to conserve energy.
Statistics show that on a per capita basis, a Northerner produces 25 kilotonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year compared with the 20 kilotonnes produced by the average southern Canadian.
If what Swiderski and Sharma say is true, that the real cost has to be exposed, then Patterson's method of environment and bank account conservation is likely a convincing route to pursue.
