Hats off to Olds for reducing its energy consumption during Earth Hour—between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on March 23— by 8.9 per cent compared to the same one-hour period one week earlier on March 16.
The town ranked fourth out of 42 communities that FortisAlberta tracked energy consumption rates for during Earth Hour and this year's savings bested energy reduction during Earth Hour in 2012, when Olds saved 6.8 per cent compared to the same hour on a Saturday evening one week earlier.
According to FortisAlberta, the amount of energy the utility's 4,260 customers in Olds saved this year could power 1,087 average households.
This feat is something the community should be proud of and we should aim to keep the momentum achieved over that one hour going.
Every hour should be Earth Hour, especially when power rates are more likely to increase down the road than decrease.
Keeping energy consumption down also has benefits for our health and the environment.
Electricity for the community of Olds is provided through the burning of coal and on March 26, the Pembina Institute, a Canadian think-tank focused on the environment, issued a report stating the annual health-care costs associated with burning coal for electricity in Alberta are nearly $300 million.
According to the report, chronic exposure to air pollution from coal plants contributes to nearly 100 premature deaths per year.
Such pollution also leads to 4,000 asthma episodes, more than 700 emergency room visits for respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses and roughly 80 hospital admissions per year in the province.
The same day the report was released, Edmonton and Red Deer had to issue air quality advisory alerts due to smog over those cities.
Whether climate change concerns you or not, having clean air to breathe and fewer financial constraints on our health-care system should.
Now that the days are getting longer and the weather's getting warmer, it's easier to make sure lights and heat are either turned off or used sparingly.
So consider trying to make every hour Earth Hour for your health, your wallet and your planet.
