Today, Ontario and parts of the USA brace for the hottest day of 2019 so far. The “so far” part makes it even more frightening, like the twist ending of a horror movie just gunning for a sequel. We know that climate change, or the climate crisis (climate change’s newer name, now with added urgency), is behind these crazy heat domes.

image credit: CBC and NOAA

The irony here is that heat domes and heat waves are worsened by the climate crisis, while people burning fossil fuels cause the climate crisis, and people will burn more fossil fuels to keep air conditioners running full tilt because of the heat, which makes the climate crisis worse and intolerable heat more frequent. “Yikes!” doesn’t quite cover it.

So how do we keep cool without making the climate crisis worse?

How we power our air conditioners makes a difference. Here in Ontario, we phased out coal plants way back in 2013.

Nov 2013: Al Gore talks climate after Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Ontario closing all coal plants. Almost no smog days since they closed.

Since kicking coal to the can, Ontario has seen almost no smog days! We still have natural gas but most of our electricity does not give off unfriendly emissions. More good news … “in 2018, the Government of Canada announced final regulations to phase-out traditional coal-fired electricity by 2030″. These are reasons to be cheerful.

Our recent Deep Lake Cooling project at Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Rehab Institute, and coming soon to Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, shows an even lower carbon way of cooling, and one that also saves a ton of water too! For a liveable future, the answer is transitioning to sustainable energy like wind, solar, hydroelectric, tidal, geothermal, or something not yet invented.

How much we power our air conditioners also makes a difference. Have you ever wandered into a building in summertime, maybe your own office, only to find the AC cranked so high you need a sweater? Does your spouse or someone in your house create an arctic habitat in your living room so you need to throw on a blanket and fuzzy socks?

image credit: ABC.net.au

This one is easy … change the setpoint on the AC 2, 3 or even 4 degrees higher (find the sweet spot), or talk to building management to complain. The squeaky wheel gets the AC changed. Those programmable thermostats are also fantastic for letting our houses warm up while we’re away, then cool again when we need it. The smart ones even let you change it up from your phone. We were lucky enough to get one for free from the former GreenON rebate program, and enjoy setting the AC back to occupancy levels when we’re 15 minutes from home.

Another way to keep cool while easing the pressure on the AC is right in your window. This may seem too simple, but it works … keep blinds and curtains closed during the day so the sun doesn’t heat up your space (the opposite is true in winter).

image credit: zebra blinds

This and 24 other climate friendly ideas can help you and the planet stay cool and be well.

The battle was hard fought, nail-biting, and ended in sweet victory. There was partying in the streets as an entire nation celebrated!

Yes, it’s true! Our own Energy & Environment department won a Local Impact Award at UHN! And a basketball team called the Raptors may have made a little history too ;).

Congratulations to all, and see you at the parade (walking, low-carbon style, natch).

For more on the Local Impact Awards, see the UHN News Article:

https://www.uhn.ca/corporate/News/Pages/And_the_winner_is.aspx

Or drive it in an electric car, natch. We’re having some pretty major electric dreams right now as (drum-roll please)…

We just installed 36 new Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations at UHN!  We have Tesla wall connectors and Universal (J1772 Connector) charging stations so they can be used by all kinds of EVs. Best part? There is no extra cost to charge your car. Just pay for parking, and power up.

Where?

Toronto General Hospital: Elizabeth Street Lot:

• 16 Tesla Vehicle charging stations
• 8 Universal (J1772 Connector) charging stations for other EVs

Toronto Western Hospital: Leonard Street Lot:

• 8 Tesla Vehicle charging stations (Tesla Wall Connectors)
• 4 Universal (J1772 Connector) charging stations for other EVs

Though all charging stations have been manufactured by Tesla, you can distinguish the universal charging stations by the much longer cord and by generic EV signage. These charging stations are split between staff and patient/visitor parking so everyone can benefit.

Generic EV signage denotes the universal charging stations. Note the longer cord.

These signs will help prevent ICEing. ICE=Internal Combustion Engines parking in these spots and blocking EVs from charging there. ICEing wastes a valuable resource.

As we know from Mike’s post, climate change is a health care issue. In Ontario, gas-powered transportation is responsible for the most Green House Gas (GHG) emissions that cause climate change, not to mention, the pollution that causes asthma, lung cancer and other respiratory illness. Yikes! Switching to clean-air transportation heals patients and planet simultaneously, right up our alley.

A top reason I’ve heard people pause before transitioning to electric is range anxiety. This surge in EV charging infrastructure really breaks that down. Staff know they can charge their cars at work (and make their home electric bills even smaller), and visitors know that not only are they brightening a patient’s day, they are powering up while they visit. Let’s not forget the added convenience of not having to go to a glamorous gas station anymore.

A recent look at Plugshare, the google maps of EV charging stations, shows there are lots of charging options now (though the yellow highlighted ones are particularly sweet :).

There is more good news. Not only can you charge up in UHN garages, the Canadian Federal Government will give you $5,000 cash back if you buy a reasonable electric car or other zero-emissions vehicle. Sweet!!! This breaks down the other barrier to EVs, the higher up-front costs. Good to note that EVs pay for themselves sooner than you’d think; no gas and far lower maintenance costs, plus a super peppy and quiet ride. I’ll stop gushing now :).

This was one of my favorite projects to work on yet! It is the culmination of an amazing collaboration between UHN’s FM-PRO team (which houses us in Energy & Environment) and Tesla Motors Canada ULC as part of the Tesla Destination Charging Program. A big thank you to all of the people involved, including Ron Swail, Susan Grove, John Latam, Roula Boultadakis, Tameru Tesfaye, Stewart Dankner, Karl Karvonen, John Soares, Chris Read, Brent Kurliak, Eusra Amin, Joe Lopes, Emily Martins, Todd Milne, Carl Valentine, Perry Ross, Ed Rubinstein, Mike Kurz, Mehdi Motakefpour, Robert Reti, Angela Elia, Liliana Vilela-Andre, Tony Letterio, Daniel Valadares and the JML team.

P.S. Here is the official website for the Government of Canada $5,000 Zero Emissions Vehicle Rebate. Or you can skip straight to the list of eligible vehicles

http://www.tc.gc.ca/en/services/road/innovative-technologies/zero-emission-vehicles.html

P.P.S: Misheard song lyrics alert:  Eddy Grant’s song is actually “We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue”. Not walk :). Thank you, helpful readers!   

DEFINITION

Wish-cycling:

The well-meaning but misguided process of wishing and hoping something is recyclable (because it should be!!!), and throwing it into the recycling bin regardless of your local rules.

In reality, this contaminates the recycling stream, making the rest more likely to end up in landfill.

Hey, we know this comes from a good place. We want to recycle! We don’t want to add to landfill. Throwing things in the garbage can induce some major guilt and despair. Recycling those items makes us all feel better … and that’s sometimes the problem.

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In a world that sometimes seems a little hard and cold (definitely cold this week), it’s heartening to see a group come together and do some good. We are thrilled to add just such a group to our Green Wall of Fame. Congratulations to the Continue reading →