Imagine this. It’s a scorching, smoggy day, and the sun is beating down mercilessly. Now think about lighting a propane or gas fire inside your house – or running a huge electric heater – to heat water.  All that extra heat warms your house, and generators must burn dirty coal to produce the electricity you … Read more

If your sash windows are sweating, letting in draughts, frosting during cold winter days, and developing mould, chances are your weather-stripping needs replacement.  Instead of replacing wooden-framed windows with vinyl, renewing the window weather-stripping is an affordable solution to a typical Canadian problem. How can you tell if your weather-stripping is causing you problems? With … Read more

Coffee makers. We all have them, and many of us use them daily. These handy gadgets quietly use a surprising amount of energy, drawing 900 to 1200 Watts while making the coffee, and 100-200W while keeping the coffee warm. Many households and businesses run these machines for hours at a time to keep coffee ready … Read more

You might think that a rural town like Caledon would have excellent air quality but on many days, we don’t.  We contribute to smog through the electricity we use, thanks to Ontario’s massive coal-burning power generators – the biggest air polluters in Canada, major sources of mercury and climate change-causing greenhouse gases. A household lighting … Read more

When a vehicle idles, it gets zero miles per gallon.  People comment on all the vehicles left idling outside my office while their owners run errands down the street. This is unnecessary, expensive and damaging to the vehicle as well as the environment. Police advise that it’s also an invitation to theft. I’m not an … Read more

Most of us know that generating electricity and burning fuel in cars produce gases that contribute to climate change and smog.  Did you know that the garbage we carry out to the curb each week is also a culprit? In fact, the waste sector is responsible for 3.5% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) … Read more

It’s great to escape to a swimming pool on a hot, smoggy day, but did you know that this same pool can contribute significantly to smog and climate change?  Pools can use an enormous amount of electricity (generated by smog-producing coal in Ontario) and other types of energy, but there are easy, inexpensive ways to … Read more

Article by Dr. R. Ehrlich Global warming, climate change, Kyoto Protocol, record smog alerts in Caledon, greenhouse gases, severe weather, droughts, melting polar ice caps… These stories are in the news every day – big issues being discussed by politicians and scientists around the world. Is there anything that we can do about them here … Read more

Solar power – a guaranteed high-return investment for the ordinary home and business, and a huge bonus for the environment. When most people think of a house with solar power, they may imagine an off-grid house with minimal electricity use and batteries charged by the sun. This type of house requires a very careful lifestyle … Read more