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Toronto West CRAG Meeting
October 29, 2008, 7:45 pm
Minutes
Attended by: Anders , Heather, Peter
Regrets: Tim P, Krista, Tanya, Nancy
Thanks to Krista and Peter for providing snacks!
Thanks to Peter for organizing the VTACC (Voters Take Action Against Climate Change) sign ordering and delivery in response to the federal election.
1. Minutes from last meeting were reviewed and approved.
2. Reconsideration of the reference group for setting our annual target : – important from a media perspective and for external communication. Anders suggested that we should be comparing ourselves to the Ontario average (10% less) and not the Toronto average. Comparing ourselves to the Toronto average might sanction urban sprawl. However, we still don’t have clearly defined values for the Ontario or Toronto footprints.
Peter suggested that the newly released book “Global warming for Dummies” by Caron and Elizabeth May, may be a good source. Also the City of Toronto Energy Efficiency office. Peter will follow-up with Zero Footprint to find out how they determine their average footprint.
Anders noted that he looked at a federal site which quoted emissions due to domestic spending, both direct and indirect. This site had approximately 5 tonnes per person (without aviation) for a Canadian number.
3. Reducing our own carbon footprints:
Room heating was discussed – whether it is better to heat a particular room with a space heater vs raise the temp of whole house. Better insulation/air sealing in that room would be the best response. Peter noted that even in old windows you can replace the fuzzy weather stripping – he recommended Can Am Zero Draft. Peter mentioned V5 gloves which are designed to keep your hands warm while working on a computer.
Use of a pressure cooker reduces cooking time and energy use by 1/3 – good for cooking beets and beans.
The importance of reducing food waste was discussed. This is one of the cons of buying food from Front Door Organics or a CSA (community shared agriculture) – sometimes food is not used and is wasted. Heather suggested making soup broth.
4. Public Meeting:
Discussed more options including Green Saver (a non-profit), AutoShare (a “for profit”), movie (like History of Oil), pairing up with another group such as Green Neighbours 21, North Toronto Greens, East End Greens, WWF Good Life, Post Carbon Toronto.
A major problem is the lack of time that we, as individuals, have for organizing an event.
Possible venues: Dufferin Grove RinkHouse, The Storefront on Bloor
The problem with the theme of retrofits is that it only targets homeowners. Maybe “key ways to cut residential footprint” instead. A theme that appeals to our group members would be useful too – have a public CRAG meeting which we invite others to. Such as a discussion on pros and cons of Green Tarriff electricity – but who do we invite? We would need a panel, not just BullFrog (a for profit company)
Heather to follow-up with Green Saver to see what types of presentations they offer (if any).
5. Endorsing Campaigns
Discussed having Toronto West CRAG join Climate Action Network Canada. (http://www.climateactionnetwork.ca/e/about/mandate) Cost is $40. (Anders doesn’t mind paying this as he would benefit from access to online discussions) We should have a group online discussion to see what other members think.
Also for Power Up Canada (http://powerupcanada.ca/)
Also encourage individual members to sign up for KyotoPlus petition (http://www.kyotoplus.ca/en/petition.html) and WWF Good Life (http://thegoodlife.wwf.ca)