I love Summer.  I take advantage of the long evenings and linger outside watching people come and go. I swim in fresh Ontario lake water  (not Lake Ontario but lakes in Ontario) and pack picnics to the park as often as possible.  For me Summer is too short.  Here in Toronto we are already feeling the chill of Autumn roll in.

I am trying to not be down about the end of Summer by thinking of all these  great projects we have been working on all Summer long and will launch in September. Actually when I think about it I am not going to have time to be down. 

In the next month we will see the much-anticipated UHN wide launch of online access to real-time electricity metering.  Our current counters for electricity are available on our Intranet homepage – sorry external readers – and if you have ever had the chance to see them spin you know how fast an organization like this goes through resources…and the rest of you can imagine.  Although the counters have served us well, they have always been an approximation.  The new counters COMING SOON will be available for each site and will reflect what is actually happening moment by moment.  This is interesting information in general and essential information for understanding where and when we can better conserve our electricity. 

Also COMING SOON 5 new bike racks accommodating around 60 more cyclists.  These are in addition to the 100 spaces we installed earlier this year. Later this Fall we will see improvements to our current indoor bike cage which will make it easier for more cyclists to use.  So….if you are not already cycling to work, your safe and secure parking space will be waiting for you.

Finally COMING SOON we will see the first ever for staff by staff energy conservation campaign in healthcare.  We have developed a simple and unique program that anyone with a pulse can implement in their department or unit.  It is our very own 12 step program to turn energy wasters into energy savers by promoting long-lasting energy conservation habits. 

That’s just some of what we are working on. Stay tuned for more details in the weeks ahead.  For now a few more late summer breezes to catch.