Greener Shades of Business - Jun 13

Is this for real?  These show the % change in sales units as posted in press releases in early June for a random 7 automotive manufacturers.  (Note, I searched for recent ones by Industry - in this case, Auto Manufacturers.)

I was surprised to see such overwhelmingly positive sales results including Honda, Kia, Nissan, Hyundai, Toyota and Chrysler boasting incredible May sales.

“Honda Canada breaks all-time monthly sales records”

“Kia Canada announces record May sales”

Nissan says “This marked a record month in the company’s history”

Hyndai had “Best month in 25 years”

Toyota had “Second-straight best-ever month of sales”

Chrysler thrilled with “Best May sales in 10 years”

In fact, it was so overwhelmingly positive, I could not help but notice GM’s results.  GM said, “May sales results continue to reflect a rapid accelerated shift in consumer demand for smaller, more fuel efficient cars”.  As you can clearly see in the graph, they had an extremely disappointing May dropping 20% while their competition grew 4-22%.

Hmmm.  GM, looks like you’re losing a bit of ground here.  I wonder why.  Hmmm, is it possible that selling all those gas guzzlers just doesn’t cut it?  Is it possible that people just may not see the need to drive, (or heck, even find a place to park) Hummers in the city?  And seriously, what is a Hummer really for except for military or the movies?

I believe all the other companies named have their fair share of other less fuel efficient cars, but I am guessing that sometimes, the big GM ship may be a little slower to change directions.  GM’s focus on what was once their popular bread and butter gas-guzzling vehicles has left them in the lurch faster than they expected.

What can I possibly say?  I’m happy for Honda, Kia, Nissan, Hyundai, Toyota and Chrysler for their May results due to selling more energy-efficient vehicles.  Honda, in particular, is near and dear to me since I already own a Honda and posted previously about it.  I’m sure another reason is because Green is just a part of Honda’s brand.  If you’re interested, they even have a publication dedicated to what they believe and do on the green front.  It’s their North American Environmental Report.

I’m proud to drive a fuel-efficient car.  And I hope GM gets their act together. And I don’t own any stock on any of the companies named.

- Daisy

Remembering Blackout ‘03

Remember the blackout of 2003? The largest blackout in North American history? If you lived in North Eastern Canada/United States, you’ll likely remember those days in August where the entire area was in a blackout with no electricity. Affecting cities including Toronto, New York and many more, we had a transmission line problem originating in the United States that ended up affecting 50 million people and left Canadians and Amercans alike without electricity. Everything shut down.

Pitch black is how I remember it. The sky was clearer than I had ever seen it before and seemed even prettier than views from the cottage or even Algonquin Park. From satellite photos at night, it’s as if this entire area disappeared off the face of the earth. It was actually quite beautiful if you ask me, and I remember walking outside my front door looking up to the stars and I exclaimed, “Oh my. It’s so beautiful out here”. I blushed and smiled to myself as I realized many of my other neighbours were outside as well exclaiming the same thing even though none of us could see each other. It was that dark.

At the time, I was at home trying to keep my cool with my very young infant. I was happy the only thing he needed was me. The only thing I needed was food. I remember thinking about what it would mean for some other mothers who had switched to formula and would now have difficulty boiling water; I realized there is nothing like experiences like this to show us just what we take for granted.

When the power came back up, there was a serious call for everyone to conserve because not all power was back up on the grid and the weather was hot. There was a lot of concern about stablity and work at understanding what caused the problem and how to prevent it from happening again. I remember hearing the stability word a lot and there was concern that if we all tried to turn our A/C’s on again, then we’d be toast. (Pun intended.)

It was amazing to see all the businesses and consumers banding together to do everything they could to conserve and ensure we were not plumeted into the complete dark again because we realized quickly just how important energy was in everything that we did. It made us realize how basic electricity was a need for things as simple as ensuring we could feed ourselves.

Businesses kept their lights down low and at a minimum, all extraneous activities were stopped or dramatically slowed. Even though it was hot, we all tried our best not to use the air conditioner or use it sparingly and at a higher temperature than usual. I felt as though I’d been thrown into another time and world. It was fabulous.

It took some time, but it seemed business and consumers went back to their old ways. I grieved in a way, and wished that they would simply force us through some rolling brown-outs and/or blackouts to remind us every so often how important it is to conserve. Would instability in the electricity grid force you to conserve more in order to assure better stability/reliability? I think so. Would businesses do the same? I’d be willing to bet money they would.

It’ll be almost 5 years since the blackout of 2003. I think it’s time we remind ourselves again what stability and reliability is worth and what we can individually and collectively do to ensure we continue to be able to put food on the table.

- Daisy

Pumping Gas, Pumping Water

I filled up my little Civic the other day, and I think for the first time in it’s life, I paid more than $50.  Sticker-shock hit for me for a millisecond as I realized what $1.27 per litre meant.  Yikes.  Now, for people who usually fill up big tanks, I’m sure $50 doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re used to paying in the 30’s and low 40’s, it’s a real shock.

It’s such a wonderful shock though, because it reminds me of what price increases like that will do to the average consumer - they begin to think twice about their habits.  “Do I really need to drive to the corner, do I need to idle the car, do I really need an SUV?”  It’s a good wake-up call for many as car manufacturers’ are finally seeing sales of the gas guzzlers decrease.  It’s about time.

If only we could have this kind of an impact on other things, like water.  If you own a home, I dare you to take a wild guess what your water bill is.  Water bill?  What’s that?  My water bill is attached to my electricity bill, and the honest truth is, my water bill is a drop in the bucket of all my expenses.  I happen to have low-flow showerheads, low-flush toilets, no dripping taps, and aerators on the taps.  When the current washer dies, I will definately get an energy-efficient front-loader like the one at my old house.  I encourage the family to turn off the water when we brush our teeth, and generally not have water flowing except when we need it.  I don’t like to water the lawn though I allow my partner to do it once in a while.  It’s something we agree to disagree about and not worth a fight over.

So, with my tactics, I reduce the water that is used, and reduce the water that goes out into the sewers.  I should see a reduction in my water bill, no?  I’ll tell you something, I’ve never looked at the bill to determine just how much I am saving.  I’m afraid to.  Really afraid to.  I know at a dollar level, it’s likely so tiny, I’m not sure I would notice it.  It’s probably not worth the time it would take me to compare them.  That’s really sad.  I am not water-efficient in order to save money.  I am efficient because it is the right thing to do.

Water is so cheap.  That’s why so many people waste it and don’t even think about it.  If only we could get the true cost of water, then perhaps we would actually make some headway.

Imagine this - price of water includes the full cost including costs of infrastructure, pipes, maintenance.  And while we’re at it, what about the costs to process, sanitize and pump.  No wait, what if we paid the real price of electricity to process, sanitize and pump?  (Do you hear the “S” word here?  Subsidies?)  If we started paying real prices, I think some people just might go into a bit of sticker-shock over the price of flushing a toilet.  Even that annoying dripping tap is now like dripping gasoline.

Would you ever consider driving a car that was leaking gas all the time?  At $1.27 a litre?

- Daisy

Energy Conservation Week

Starting Sunday, it is officially Ontario’s first Energy Conservation Week.  The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is coordinating the efforts and encouraging people to “Take Part.  Take Action.”

There is one corporate sponsor I’m aware of who’s trying to do their part to raise awareness by lowering lighting levels but the truth is, this is such a small drop in the bucket.

It is also amusing that I just had a conversation with someone at the gym about this.  I was getting ready to teach my class and she asked me if I just came from another class.  I laughed and said, no - I was coming from work and explained I have a full-time job.  She asked if my job were fitness related and that’s when I began to tell her a little bit.  Our chat turned to conservation and what I explained was that we, as consumers are generally unwilling to make changes and/or unwilling to pay a little bit more in order to be greener.  We all have these great intentions about saving the environment, but when asked to put our money where our mouth is…  well, it’s a bit lacking, shall we say?  I concluded that if all we’re willing to do is change lightbulbs, then we’re in deep trouble.

Instead of electricity from lightbulbs, how about energy used for heating?  Heating is where the big efficiencies are and whether that is heating our homes, or heating our water, if we can crack that nut, we’ll actually make an impact.  We need to 1) use less, 2) prevent it from leaking/leaving (ie, heated air leaving house, heated water losing heat in tank), 3) be more efficient at heating, then we’d be laughing.  Why’s everyone so focused on these damn lightbulbs?

I think the new lighbulbs have acquired a bit of sex-appeal - it is a cheap way to look like we care about the environment and it’s relatively easy to spot, yet being green is not always sexy.  Sometimes, the way to really make an impact, is really non-sexy tactics like better insulation for the home, lowering the thermostat in the winter, and raising it in the summer, and replacing equipment with the most energy-efficient product that your budget allows.  These types of things relate to 1-3 above and are the keys to success, far more than electricity used to light our homes.

If you really want to make a difference, get past the lightbulbs.  Focus on the things that your hard earned dollars are really being spent on when it comes to energy - that is, heating and cooling and see how you can reduce, prevent heat loss, and get more efficient equipment.

Have an energy-efficient week.

- Daisy

Smaller is always better, except when bigger is better

I worked for a large Consumer Packaged Goods company in the mid 1990’s. This company had (and continues to have) great brands. I would consider it a power-house company that knows how to innovate and give consumers new products, some of which flourish beyond expectations, while some others do the ol’ flop. They spend the money on market research to help determine customer concerns and needs and even R&D money on new formulas.

Back then, there was ongoing consumer concern regarding the environment and packaging amongst other things. The blue box was relatively new to the area, and it seemed everyone was talking about saving the planet for their kids’ kids. The sentiments were there. The concerns were definately there. I felt joy in believing that perhaps this green movement was going somewhere.

One of their flag ship products in the early 1990’s, a cleaning product, used regularly by many households had a greener version in the market-place. In essence, the ‘filler’ in the product had been reduced so that a smaller amount of the product could be used to do the same work.

Let me get specific and I’m oversimplifying this a bit:

• 1/2 cup of new product was the equivalent of 1 cup of the old product - it had the same cleaning power.
• New product meant significant savings in packaging of the product - it took up less space
• New product meant significant savings in shipping of the product in trucks - it weighed less
• New product cost less than the old product - because of the savings from packaging and weight

So here’s a new product that performed the same as the old product but took up less space and less packaging. The marketplace included competitors’ formulas which were similar to the old product (they were bigger and heavier).  People were delighted that they were able to get this product manufactured to perform as well and include such green attributes in a socially-conscious environment which discerning consumers were demanding.  It was such a win-win situation for everyone.

The executives decided to replace the old product with the new product.  The advertising clearly showed people the benefits and savings of this new product in the smaller package that they had grown to love and trust.  If it cost $2 for 1/2 cup of the new product, it also cost $2 for 1 cup of the old product.  For me, the clear answer was, “Why would I lug a stinkin’ big box when I can carry a small one and do the same job?” - I loved it when I was at school because I relied on public transit and there’s only so much my arms could carry home in one go.

Unfortunately, other people didn’t agree with me.  This number one brand saw a slide in sales that I find incredible.  The new product in the smaller package and lesser weight (the greener product) was competing against competitor products that were still the larger format and people got stuck into believing that bigger was better - in spite of all the advertising and point of sale material; in spite of the companies best efforts, it was a disaster.

The company ended up spending ridiculous amounts of money to bring back the old product and sell both the new formula (greener version) and the old formula against the competition.

I concluded that people must be stupid.

- Daisy

Freezing Costs

I generally push for higher standards in building energy-efficient homes.  It is far easier to build houses that are more energy-efficient, than to retrofit (upgrade an existing house).  Not only is it easier, it is cheaper, better on the environment etc etc etc.  So as much as I can holler on and on about why the government is not doing a better job at ensuring we build more efficiently, I got a tiny dose of reality when I visited New Zealand years ago.

To be fair, New Zealand is quite different from Canada.  The weather in cities like Auckland and Wellington rarely dips below 0 Celsius and they don’t get much snow.  In fact, the plants there are all tropical-looking.  There are spots in New Zealand in the mountains where I remember hiking through a bit of snow, but I don’t recall any residential houses in those areas.  Where all the residential homes are, it seems they are built for a tropical climate.  Which is great, until it gets cold.  You’d think a Canadian is used to the cold.  Well, let me explain the difference.

Canadian Cold
Every year, it gets REALLY cold in Canada.  We will go through months when the central heating system (that’s right, a heating system like a furnace that heats the entire house) cycles on and off 24/7.  Everything is heated.  Everything is insulated. Many cracks are sealed up. When we take public transit, we wait outside, and when we get on the bus, it is heated.  The subway is heated too.  When we arrive at the restaurant, it too is heated.  Everywhere is heated - even the not-so-nice places.  We wear sweaters and winter coats; really warm winter coats.

New Zealand Cold
I was there in September which would be their winter time turning into spring and it got cold. But it wasn’t that cold - it was still above 0 - it only felt really cold because I never felt warmed up. I realized there was no insulation in the house. The windows were different. There was no furnace - maybe some room heaters here and there. As we travelled from Auckland in the North Island down to the South Island, I realized every restaurant was hit and miss when it came to heating. Most had some sort of space heating happening, but it wasn’t very efficient. I came to the realization that Canadians know how to centrally heat! We must have figured the art form of “in-home comfort” since we’re inside so much in the winter!

Obviously, there were some places that were far better than others and it is not like the entire country was a heating nightmare with heating costs going through the roof. I guess what struck me was that in Canada, heating efficiently is so much more important than it is in New Zealand because of our weather patterns.

You gotta choose your battles. In New Zealand, I guess heating and insulating is not as important as other things.

United States Sunbelt Hot
You know what else is interesting? Heating is not important in the southern belt of the United States, but they pay an arm and a leg for cooling costs. When it comes to cooling, the same principles apply for insulation - for the southern states, they need to insulate their homes to keep the hot air from coming INTO their cooled homes. We’ve got the opposite problem, and the same solution for both - seal and insulate.

If only more people would consider making this small investment to freeze their high energy bill costs.

Driving Miss Daisy

My household owns 2 cars. I’d rather we only have one and without getting into a long-winded explanation, let’s just say that it would be extremely unlikely that we would become a single car family any time soon.

I drive an energy-efficient 7 year old Honda Civic, while my husband drives an expensive to operate decade-old Nissan Maxima. We chose the Civic, while the Maxima sort of landed in our driveway.

There’s nothing like a simple fill-up at the pumps (especially these days - YOWCH) to remind me of just how much better the Civic is on gas than the Maxima – my heart always seems to skip a tiny beat when I look at the dough my credit card needs to depart with when filling up the Maxima. To be fair, the Maxima does have a bigger tank, and it only takes premium gas, but still - I’m allowed to say “What the Frak” every once in a while.

What does this have to do with Green anyway?
Some people might call me a hypocrite and start to quip and holler about all the things I’m not doing well or could be doing better – for instance:

• Why does she need 2 cars?
• Why is she driving instead of taking public transit or car pooling or biking, or walking?
• OMG – she’s driving a WHAT?

Give me a break.
We all have to choose on our own scales how much, or how little we want to do for our own reasons. When others make us feel guilty about everything we do or do not do, all that happens is some people just won’t do anything at all. Sometimes, doing nothing is the worse thing.

Regarding cars – I’ll keep the Maxima as long as it is working reasonably well. There’s no point in sending more stuff to the landfill. Besides, what were the first of three words back in the first green days? – reduce, reuse, recycle. I’ll try to hold off as long as possible (reduce) by not purchasing a new car until necessary. And when the time comes, I’ll be thrilled to purchase something like a Smart Car.  No kidding - have you test driven one?  Talk about a car that tells people who I am - Efficient and in a Cute Package.

In seriousness, when the time comes, I’d probably end up with another efficient Civic.  Okay, now get out of my way before I run you over.  Damn granny driver.

Intro to Green

I don’t have any credentials. Okay, I pretend to know what I’m talking about but actually have no idea. I’ve always had an interest in the environment since I was a child and considered getting a degree in Environmental Studies, however, the competitions marks were higher than mine. The joke at work is that I must have been chained to the big oak trees back in the university days, however, I’m scared to death of loud machinery (unless I’m driving it) and would not be capable of holding my ground in the face of such a personal terror.

I care about being green but to the seriously green, I would be considered just a bystander. Put it another way, on a scale of 1-10 where 10 menas if you’re cut, your blood spills green and 5 means you’re average, I’d be at 7. I don’t appreciate the 10’s who expect everyone else talking about green to also have green blood - there must be room for shades of green.

I personally have a lot of room for improvement but I also choose my battles and save my energy for the things I think will have the most impact - sometimes, green isn’t everything.

Funny thing - I currently work for an Energy Services company whose parent company based in the UK is investing time, money and effort on sustainable solutions for the residential and business markets. (Wow, sounds like one of my professional sentences.) I’m excited about what is to come, but afraid that I may be dead before the really good stuff happens.

About this Green Blog - I don’t expect to change the world. I don’t even know if someone will change a lightbulb because of me. Like my other blogs, I’m only trying to share strategies and thoughts and stories in the hopes of moving us all forwards. One thing you’ll note is that you’ll likely read frustration in my words because I recognize that this society is a very big ship, and moving that ship, even a few degrees, takes a lot of effort and time. Here’s to a greener me and you.

Thanks for stopping by.

P.S. Since you’re already here, don’t click on the My Greenery tab - it just says the same thing.