The start of Spring reminds us that there is a lot to look forward to.
Not only a new crop in the fields, Spring is about renewal after the Winter months when everything comes to a stop – or we wish it did so we didn’t have to venture out in the cold.
If we’re lucky, we get to see the next generation of wildlife, the ground becomes softer to walk on, migratory birds like osprey return, the days become longer, the air smells sweeter (except for the few days when area farmers are fertilizing their fields) as the trees put out their buds and trigger the beginning of allergy season!
Spring puts our focus on our surroundings. Everyone will enjoy the climbing temperatures, and a few of us will grab our gloves and an empty trash bag and collect the unsightly debris that has collected over the winter.
Earth Day is coming up on Apr. 22; Earth Hour has come and gone.
As many have rightly pointed out over the years, every day is earth day. The annually designated Earth day is more like the one day we are all supposed to focus our energies on “helping” the planet by cleaning it up, putting conservation habits into place and celebrating its natural beauty.
But it it’s anything like this year’s Earth Hour in BC, it will pass without much notice – or celebration. This year’s Earth Hour, sponsored around the world by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) had the lowest energy savings in our province since the event began in 2008.
It was averaging 100 megawatt hour reduction in electricity until this year. In 2013 BC saved a record 136 megawatt hours or 1.95 per cent reduction in overall provincial load. This year, 2015, BC saved 15 megawatt hours or 0.2 per cent.
Considering the fact that climate change is real, we need to look for more ways to conserve what we have. In BC, our electricity is generated by water running through turbines. No water means no electricity. We depend on this planet for much of what we take for granted. It’s past time we cut back on what we take, and start giving back.
Wendy Coomber is editor of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Journal
