Sometimes it seems like saving energy and going green isn't for the ordinary person.
That's the idea that the Municipality of North Cowichan's Community for Climate Household Challenge can, well, challenge.
It's well and good for folks like Climate Buster Peter Nix and even North Cowichan Mayor Jon Lefebure to talk about buying solar panels for their homes, but for many people this is not a realistic option.
It's wonderful that people are going out and investing in alternative energy sources like
this, and we hope more people start to do it, but the economic reality of it means that it's not for everyone.
Rather than feel discouraged, we can all look to the households in the household challenge for realistic, day-to-day measures we can take as regular people to reduce our energy consumption.
We applaud North Cowichan for choosing households of all different sizes, from one singleperson household, to a couple, to a family with four children.
This will give everyone in the Cowichan Valley someone to look to that is just like them.
While it is likely the families volunteered for this because they are already energy-conscious, we think there will be lots of great tips that anyone can follow, without a great deal of effort.
Just look at the packages given to the participants to start them off.
Many of the items in them were simple things such as a cloth grocery bag, reusable water bottle, and a sturdy plastic bag to measure how much water they typically use in a shower.
For the home there was some weather stripping and foam to insulate hot water pipes.
The lesson there is that it doesn't have to be high-tech and expensive to have an impact.
The challenge is timely as we are heading into B.C. Hydro's Powersmart Month, where there are rebates and incentives to be had.
As the days get darker it's time to start being aware of turning the lights off as we exit a room, and not running our heat while we are not at home.
While there are only five official households that have been chosen as participants, every one of us should take up the baton and challenge ourselves.
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