Okanagan winery hosts solar engergy and transportation expo

Electric vehicle and alternative energy expo coming to Burrowing Owl in Oliver

  • Mar. 30, 2019 12:00 a.m.
Burrowing Owl Estate Winery founder Jim Wyse in front of the winery’s solar panel-covered parking area. (Mike Healey - Submitted Image)

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery founder Jim Wyse in front of the winery’s solar panel-covered parking area. (Mike Healey - Submitted Image)

A solar energy and transportation expo, ‘Three Ways to Save the Climate’ is coming to Oliver’s Burrowing Owl Estate Winery on April 6. This free event, presented by First Things First Okanagan, runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday April 6.

For those curious about going solar, driving an electric vehicle, or cutting back on heating bills, this is your chance to learn more.

“The world and the climate are changing so rapidly that we need to change with it,” said FTFO chair Jim Beattie. “As advocates for taking on climate change, we’ve begun to understand that people can take on climate change from an economic point of view. Here we have technologies that can help the pocketbook.”

Renewable energy and pollution free transportation are no longer futuristic sci-fi concepts or environmentalists’ daydreams, he said.

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Today’s electric vehicles and solar energy are both affordable and accessible. You can save even more by making your home energy efficient.

Energy conservation, building retrofits, and kicking the fossil fuel habit are the most effective steps an individual can take to reduce their carbon footprint.

Becoming more self-sufficient is an investment in personal finance as well in the future.

At 11:15 a.m. Burrowing Owl founder Jim Wyse will share the winery’s journey towards becoming a fully solar-powered operation. At 1 p.m. Fortis’s Carol Suhan will explain how homeowners can take advantage of eco-friendly tax rebates and improve energy efficiency. At 2 p.m. Bruce Stout of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association will recount his experiences traveling across Canada in a Tesla. Finally, at 3 p.m. Gord Lovegrove from UBCO will unveil his vision for a valley-wide electric train system.

‘Three ways to save the planet: electric vehicles, solar energy, and conservation’ is the fifth of six events in the series, ‘Looking the Dragon of Climate Change in the Eye.’

This FTFO series aims to inform and stimulate action to address climate change. FTFO is a local group dedicated to finding climate solutions. For more on the expo, visit http://firstthingsfirstokanagan.com/act-5-2/.

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