July 29, 2008

INTRODUCING NORMAN THE MOOSE

I woke early one morning a found a moose lying on my front lawn. We see all kinds of wildlife where I live, but this was special because the moose was practicaly on my doorstep. I rushed to get my camera, made certian my dog was locked up, kicked my wife out of bed and then proceeded to try and get the kids up. My middle child snarled, told me to take a picture and went back to sleep. The three-year old was pretty excited, but she still had to let me know how disappointed she was. The oldest didn't even budge.

So I quitely sneak out onto the front porch and start taking pictures. The moose had stood up and was walking through the brush just off my lawn. As you can see by the picture the moose was pretty close to us. The moose seemed eager to pose for the camera and wasn't bothered by us at all.

I made certain my family remained on the porch. Moose can be very territoral and will actually charge if they feel threatened. I began to get worried because this moose was very friendly, and this just insn't normal. In fact, I was blown away by the fact this moose didn't bolt the moment it saw us.

The moose, later named Norman by my daughter, decided to spend the day with us. The stupid thing continually walked around the house, ruining my lawn, eating the flowers and soiling the driveway.

Since that day, Norman returns once and a while and says hello. We always know when he comes around because his hooves sink 6" into my lawn. It's a good thing Norman is a female, because hunting season is only a few months away. It's highly unlikely that the Alberta government will release cow tags (femal moose term) so Norman should be safe for the winter. It's a good thing too, because I have a neighbor who loves moose meat.    

June 18, 2008

GOING GREEN

Many of you know I work full time as an electrician. One of the largest topics in my industry is about going green, and I'm certian you’ve heard the phrase. Surely you’ve noticed that weird green frog with its sickly red eyes hiding on billboards or posted on flyers.   You have to admit he’s a cute little bugger, but I almost wish they could’ve thought of something better to idolize this renowned movement of world hygiene.

The truth as I see it, is that global immunization is going to take our generation and the support of our children before we notice any progress. As an owner of an electrical company I’ve had to adapt to the new standards. I attended a lighting seminar last week and the main topic was going green. I learned quite a bit that day, mostly about new lamps and lighting technology that will help us in our effort. I’m going to share a couple of interesting facts that I learned that day and I almost guarantee there are two things that will most likely surprise you.

I’m going to start with the new and upcoming lighting technology. Lighting is something we all use and consumes a lot of power. There are things we can do to help limit our power consumption , but it won’t be until the future where we can make a difference.

Everyone knows what an LED is. The future of lighting is LED’s and OLED’s. (Organic LED) These OLED’s are simply awesome. Think of a ceiling tile in your office that glows, a picture on your shirt that is like a television, or curtains that when closed can picture a beautiful waterfall or mountain scenery. OLED’s are addressable, which means you can send them almost any kind of signal. They can be sewn into fabric or manufactured into solids. Right now there's a group of mad scientists with large heads and small arms trying to do all kinds of amazing things with OLED’s, and the highlight of this technology is that its power consumption is next to nothing. Right now, Panasonic is developing a new flat screen that will unroll like a projection screen, and the picture will be full High Definition. Can you imagine a flat screen as thin as a sheet of cloth?? Believe it, because this isn't science fiction, this is real technology.

There is a large movement right now to ban the incandescent lamp. This movement is backed by some very large countries, the most notable being China. (I’m going to pick on China further on here) In certain countries, by 2010, the incandescent lamp will no longer be manufactured. The new compact fluorescents are four times as efficient, saving both energy and pollutants caused by manufacturing the lamp. Not only emissions caused by manufacturing, but pollutants from electrical companies caused from producing electricity. To give you a thought, could you imagine a world that consumed four times as less power? That’s quite a bit, isn’t it?

Believe it or not, lighting companies are trying to stop this movement, and they have an excellent reason. It’s because by 2014 they hope to produce an efficient incandescent lamp, even more efficient than the compact fluorescent. Compact fluorescents, as good as everyone assumes they are, (because that’s what they have been told) actually aren’t very good. They contain mercury, for one, and everyone knows how bad that is. There are disposal issues, manufacturing issues, the list goes on.   The majority of people today believe that switching their lamps in their house to compact fluorescent is that they have done their part on going green. But what people don't understand, is that you’ve only stalled the problem. A short term fix.   We're replacing incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent, and while they are better, they still cause harm to the environment in several different ways.   And the next time you purchase a box of these new compact fluorescents for your home or office, have a look at the back label. Five points for you if you know where I’m going with this. There is a little sticker on it that says: MADE IN CHINA.

Before I pick on China I’m going to stray from lighting and electricity and touch on another dreaded subject—oil. Everyone has discussed current gas prices and the future of the industry, where it might be headed, or the events in the middle east that link this topic. You probably are aware of the automobile industry and what they are trying to do to help us go green. What you might not realize is that the oil issues don’t just reflect the automobile industry, but almost everything in our life. One small   example that I can point out to you is something that you use every day—plastic bags. Oil is required to manufacture plastic bags. Just like the movement on incandescent lamps, certain countries are trying to ban the plastic bag. Some countries already have. China is one of those countries. China will save 37 million barrels of oil a year; saved from manufacturing plastic bags. Can you believe that? I won’t even get into the economics or the environmental issues caused by plastic bags. Some cities in the US have banned the plastic bag. Other countries are joining the cause. What are you doing today? Are you going shopping? Think about that issue when they pack your groceries or the next time you haul your garbage.

Now here is the part that makes me understand the battle that lies ahead of us and our children. The next time you purchase an item, read the label. MADE IN CHINA. The next time you purchase a green product, sorry—environmentally friendly product—read the label, MADE IN CHINA. China is the largest contributor to world pollution. Every time you buy something that was made in China you are contributing to their destruction. Apparently, 70% of the fresh water supply in China is polluted.

The Canadian population, if united to the cause, wouldn’t even scratch the surface of the damage caused by China. The United States and United Kingdom could make a difference, but again, it’s not going to help unless China sails that ship along with everyone else.

I know China is trying and making strides to become green—banning the plastic bag is an excellent example. Only when   the world unites (where is Canada's ban on plastic bags?) are we going to make any kind of difference, but even then it's going to take some time.   We rely on technology to further advance the efficiency of technology,   continually   damaging the environment as we're learning to save it.   I'm sure you are familiar with the old   saying;   taking two steps forward but one step back. Hopefully one day we'll catch up, or that little green frog is going to die like the movement that   it represents.

shayne@shayneeasson.com