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6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday December 30, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Guest Columnist IAN OLIVER Group Publisher NEIL OLIVER Publisher TERI CASAS Business Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager KELLY MONTAGUE Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ROD JERRED Managing Editor WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing Ltd., includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora Era-Banner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian Shed extra kilowatts in 2007 By Peter Love Chief Energy Conservation Officer, Conservation Bureau would like to say "Thanks!" to everyone who answered my call to use less electricity in 2006. We've made a good start, reducing our electricity use during a time when our economy was growing. This is a great achievement. In the New Year, I challenge Ontarians to lose more kilowatts. It's a lot easier than you might think, and you'll be surprised by how much money you can save. Here's my Top 10 list of simple ways to get you started, starting at number 10: 10) Wrap your electric water heater and reduce energy use by 8 - 10 per cent with an easy to install "tank insulating blanket," available at hardware and building supply stores. 9) Wash your clothes in cold or warm water. Did you know that 85-90 per cent of the energy used by washing machines is used to heat the water? If you are buying a new clothes washer, check out front-loading models, which cost a little more but use about half the water of conventional washing machines. 8) Use energy-saving small appliances, like an electric kettle, toaster oven, or microwave whenever possible. Run your dishwasher only when you have a full load, and use the energy-saving cycle. Use indoor/outdoor electrical timers. Electrical timers are ideal for both energy conservation and home protection. They can be programmed to turn lights on and off to suit your schedule, automate outdoor landscape and security lighting, and make your residence appear occupied when you're away. 7) Plug your computer into a power bar. Computers and related components use electricity even when they are not in use. Plug each computer component into a power bar that can be shut off to avoid wasting electricity with the 'standby' power feature. At a minimum, shut off the computer screen - your monitor uses 60 per cent of the power used by a computer! 6) Replace your five most-used light bulbs with energy star compact fluorescent bulbs -- they use 75 per cent less electricity and last up to ten times longer than incandescent styles. You can save up to $60 each year in energy costs. And don't forget -- an unlit light does not use any energy at all, so turn them off when not needed. 5) Consider getting an EnerGuide for Houses energy audit. Yes, there's a price associated with the audit, but the potential savings are far greater than the initial cost. 4. Don't keep that old, inefficient refrigerator running in the basement for occasional use. It can cost $150 or more per year in electricity. And if you replace it, make sure your new fridge is energy star rated. 3) Take advantage of the Hot Savings Rebate (until March 31), which offers rebates on energy star furnace fans, air conditioners and programmable thermostats (see www.hotsavingsrebate.com). 2) Defend the purchase of that stylish new sweater by using it as a reason to keep your thermostat set lower in the winter. For every degree you lower the heat, in the 16 to 21 degree Celsius range, you'll save up to 5 per cent on your heating cost. And the No. 1 thing you can do to save electricity and money is: Turn off all lights, radios, TVs, computers, etc. when not in use! There are many ways to reduce the extra kilowatts we use. The ones I have listed above are easy to do and will save you money. For more ideas, visit www.conservationbureau.on.ca and if you have any questions about how to use electricity more efficiently, contact me at ceco@conservationbureau.on.ca. Peter Love RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America I THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION A New Year's resolution and a word to rhyme with orange new year. A clean slate. And an opportunity to do what we please with that slate ­ clutter it up, cute-it up with curlicues, keep it clear, or whatever our hearts desire. So many of us seem to enter each new year with our eyes on the unattainable. This, we proclaim in a revved-up, rumfueled, resolution-frenzy on New Year's Eve, this is the year I'm going to invent a word that rhymes with orange. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men. By the second of January, those resolutions have unceremoniously bitten the dust and we're back to feeling bad about our lives, and sorry for ourselves. I can't begin to tell you what I resolved for 2006 because I honestly can't remember. Perhaps for 2007 I should resolve to improve my memory, that is, once I've invented that elusive word that rhymes with orange. Borange (a bland, boring orange)? However, I can say with clarity and conviction that `06 was a great year. Great? Yes, my friends, I've officially reached that fossilized, fuddyduddy age where not only am I easily amused ­ I can contentedly watch for hours a prehistoric-looking crane fishing in our pond ­ but where I'm also apt and able to attach the word A "great" to any day that finds me alive and lucid. This is in part because I'm genuinely happy to be alive and lucid, and in part because with age comes the perspective (clichéd, I know, but true) that each day is a gift. And if you're not ripping open that gift and enjoying the daylights out of it, then you're doing nothing more than Andy Juniper wasting precious oxygen. Have you ever met someone who rips open the gift of life and delights in each day? Unfortunately, these types are rare. Fortunately, we have a few friends who are like that: people who can find Zen-like contentment in a well-brewed cup of coffee, pleasure in a passage of prose, giddiness in a guitar lick, bliss on a golf course, and wonder -- hell, maybe even rapture -- in a sunset; people who approach everything without trepidation, but rather, with admirable, open-minded and insatiable curiosity. These friends inspire us, they lead by example and we marvel at how they truly live life in the moment, in the here and now; we marvel at how they extract as much out of each moment as is humanly possible; we marvel at their lust for life. Perhaps their attitude toward life can be summed up by a pithy Bono lyric from the song Kite: "I'm not afraid to die, I'm not afraid to live, and when I'm flat on my back, I hope to feel like I did." Perhaps their attitude can be summed up by the pithy words once found in a fortune cookie: "The best times of your life have not been lived." Regardless of how good your life is, live with a positive attitude and the hope and expectation that even better days are ahead. Yes, instead of eying the unattainable ­ florange (a floury orange)? ­ maybe in 2007, we should all aspire to the attainable. Maybe we should work at enjoying to the fullest all that we have. Thanks for another great year, dear readers. And thanks for inviting me into your homes. See you in 2007. Happy New Year! Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.