The Sounds Sustainable podcast had the opportunity to drop by the IT360 conference a couple of weeks back to check out what’s new in GreenIT.
The Conference…
“IT360° Conference & Expo 2008 is an interactive experience for IT professionals and business executives. Faced with the challenge of shrinking budgets and limited time to test or evaluate, IT360° provides a conference of 80+ educational sessions and an informative exposition where professionals can compare applications and solutions while learning first-hand from leading companies and their experts in this immersive arena.”
Green IT…
The conference this year took a good look at what is happening in the GreenIT space
“New this year, the IT Green Feature spotlights green or sustainable information systems and technology programs throughout the industry. An IT Green seminar series will be offered at the conference, and vendors will display green initiatives on the trade show floor. Among the topics addressed at IT360° will be energy efficiencies in servers and data centres, green business leadership, hazardous material reduction, and environmentally responsible IT asset disposal.”
While in attendance we managed to record a couple of sessions to share with you from the GreenIt content stream.
Peter Love was appointed Ontario’s first Chief Energy Conservation Officer in April 2005 to head the Conservation Bureau. The Conservation Bureau, which is a division of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), has a mandate is to lead conservation efforts within the OPA - and champion the conservation cause at the provincial, national and international levels.
“Meeting with representatives from industry, business, Aboriginal communities, the low-income sector, and with primary, secondary and university students, the Chief Energy Conservation Officer has called on all Ontarians to conserve wherever they live, work and play.
The mandate of the Conservation Bureau is to provide leadership in electricity conservation and demand management and advance a conservation culture in Ontario.”
One of Peter Love’s key messages to electricity consumers: conservation can be practiced by any and all Ontarians. Three simple rules can make a difference:
1. Increase home and office temperatures by two degrees Celsius in the spring & summer, and decrease temperatures by two degrees in fall and winter
2. Wait until after 8 p.m. to use electrical appliances where possible
3. Use electricity efficiently, e.g., turn off lights when not needed
Among the items covered in our interview with Peter Love was the Conservation Bureau annual report, a document that charts energy conservation progress and highlights advances in the Ontario conservation movement. You can find a number of Conservation Bureau resources here (including the 2007 CECO’s Annual Report).
Sounds Sustainable Interviews Peter Love, Ontario’s Chief Energy Conservation Officer
One of the items discussed in the interview was the use of social media and new media technologies/practices (like podcasts and video casts…). Further to that there was some discussion of how these tools can be used to promote a “conservation discussion” in Ontario. Peter seems to be hip to how powerful and influential podcasts and video can be to further the conservation movement. In fact he mentioned he would love to hear feedback and questions from Ontarians that are listening to this podcast.
To that end, here’s a little experiment.
Assuming your browser supports this neat little feature, you should see below an audio feedback recorder. Simply put if your computer has the ability to record audio (maybe you have a headset microphone? or a build in Mic in your laptop?) you can fire up the recorder below and share your thoughts with other Sounds Sustainable listeners and with Peter Love (we’ll be sure to pass along any messages we get!)
In fact what we would really like to do is to arrange another “virtual interview” with Peter Love, that addresses the questions Ontarians have about conservation. Here’s how it works.
1) You and a few other conservation minded folks leave audio questions with the player below
2)We will pass them on to Peter and collect his responses, and
3) We will compile the whole gamut into another audio file for your listening enjoyment.
You can record your audio file here
Or you can add a text based question or comment below.
“Friends of the Earth Canada (FoE) has grown from a small group of volunteers in 1978 to one of the country’s most important voices speaking out on environmental issues. We are affiliated with one of the largest international environmental networks — Friends of the Earth International — which has over 70 sister organizations around the world working for a healthy environment. Within the network, we pledge to be an efficient and effective environmental organization democratically representing the interests of Canadians.”
In this Sounds Sustainable podcast Jason Dasti interviews Karen Cartier from the Friends of the Earth talking about an number of the organizations initiatives including their recent Energy Green Box program.
“Each box contains energy saving items to seal windows, doors, electrical outlets and switch plates, and help keep the cold out and the heat in. As program sponsor, Enbridge Gas Distribution is also providing eligible customers free products such as programmable thermostats through the TAPS program (Thermostats, Aerators, Pipewrap and Showerheads). In select communities, local utilities and Project Porchlight* will provide energy saving compact fluorescent light bulbs.”
This interview was conducted at the Eco-Wedding & Lifestyle Show in Toronto. Glenn McKnight had the opportunity to speak with Jordan from the Lifford Wine Agency about their new carbon-positive wine.
plantatree™ wine was conceived in a rather untraditional way. The concept was born on a drive home from Michael Stadtlander’s culinary mecca Eigensinn Farm in a Toyota Prius. Steven Campbell, Lifford Wine Agency Owner, and Jed Goldberg, Earth Day Canada President, were returning from Stadtlander’s farm after having an in-depth discussion about Global Warming and the need to provide consumers with products that will reduce their ecological footprint.
Convinced that when given a choice, consumers will choose sustainable goods, Campbell decided he needed to do something. After many nights of contemplation in his garden, plantatree™ wine was born.
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