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THE NEW TANNERTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2007 13THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 200712 TOWNSHIP OF GUELPH/ERAMOSA NOTICE COMMERCIAL CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT COMMITEE The Township of Guelph/Eramosa is seeking two(2) members of the public to participate on the Guelph/Eramosa Commercial Corridor Improvement Committee. The Committee generally meets once a month. The Terms of Reference for this Committee can be veiwed on our website at www.get.on.ca. Interested applicants are invited to complete the Townships required Application for Appointment to Committees, which can be obtained at the Township of Guelph/Eramosa Municipal Office, faxed or e-mailed upon request by calling (519)856-9596 Ext. 107 or the Township website at www.get.on.ca. Please forward applications by November 30, 2007 to: Janice Sheppard, AMCT Clerk/Chief Administrative Officer Township of Guelph/Eramosa 8348 Wellington Road 124(at Brucedale) P.O. Box 700, Rockwood, Ontario N0B 2K0 OLDE TIME TREATS - NEW FOUND FRIENDS * SPECIALIZING IN HANDMADE FUDGE* 120 Main St. S. Rockwood 856-8268 VILLAGE SWEET SHOP Come see what the elves have been busy making this year! Beat the rush..place your Christmas Order early and save Free candy canes for the kids. Free Hot Chocolate Enter your name in the door prize draw SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17 10AM-5:30PM Christmas Open House JIMS REPAIR SHOP NEW!Snowblowers with electric start NOW ON SALE While Supplies Last! From $699.00 to $1026.00 24 to 30 105 ALMA STREET, ROCKWOOD TEL: 519-856-2564 GOING CARBON NEUTRAL - YOU AND ME: The Eden Mills Going Carbon Neutral project was officially launched last week. Children from the village opened and closed the event by singing the projects catchy new the anthem, written by Linda Hendry - Rebecca Ring Photo Eden Mills carbon neutral project launched Rebecca Ring. The Eden Mills Com- munity Hall was filled to capacity last Thursday for the launch of the villages project to go carbon neu- tral to help slow down climate change. Tim Laing emceed with coordinators Charles Simon and Lib- by Little speaking to the what, why and how. Over 30 volunteers and corporate sponsors were on hand to help out and promote the message of reducing energy con- sumption, using clean, renewable power sources, and increasing the tree canopy. A warm reception followed, with vegetarian food donated by Guelph caterers Ouderkurt and Taylor, and local Welling- ton Ale donated by Philip Gosling. Coordinators Anna Simon and Glenn Little worked hard behind the scenes to bring it all together. Charles Simon intro- duced the three-pronged concept of the project. The first prong is to re- duce CO2 production, or the carbon footprint, through awareness and education. Participants can have their carbon footprint measured by fourth year Environmental Science students, under the guidance of Dr. Paul Sibley. The six students stood to introduce them- selves. Progress will be measured against this baseline. Ways to reduce this footprint will be iden- tified and publicized. Ten simple steps are list- ed on the website (www. goingcarbonneutral.ca), such as using compact flu- orescent bulbs and turning off lights and electronics when not in use. Simon pointed out that people will save money as well as reduce their footprint. Representatives from companies such as EnWise Power Solutions were available to show people ways to achieve these goals. EnWise provides free home energy audits, installs efficient Energy Star products, from light bulbs to water heaters, and shows homeowners how to access government grants and incentives. The second prong is to replace fossil fuels with renewable, green power, such as wind, solar or geo- thermal. Simon quoted the forward thinking inventor Thomas Edison: Id put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we dont have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that. Elect r ic i ty re ta i le r Bullfrog Power was on hand to answer questions about their company, which currently supports 20% wind and 80% low- impact-hydro sources. Ontarios current system mix is made up mostly of nuclear, coal, oil and gas sources, with less than 1% from wind and 2% from low-impact-hydro. Representatives from Wellington Fireplace and Leisure were there to dis- cuss available heating solutions that use biomass as fuel (wood or corn pel- lets). The third prong is se- questering carbon by conserving and planting trees and other plants. They absorb CO2 through photosynthesis, where they breathe in CO2 and exhale oxygen. Dr. An- drew Gordon, a professor of Forest and Agricultural Sciences at University of Guelph, explained this process and demonstrated how much tree coverage is needed to absorb the CO2 produced by one pick-up truck. His previ- ous Chevy truck produced seven tonnes of CO2 an- nually, compared to less than four tonnes from a Smart car. A small forest sequesters four tonnes of CO2 per hectare per year. He pointed out that planting trees is there- fore not the solution, but every little bit helps. He said that short rota- tion wood crops, such as poplar trees, can pro- duce the equivalent of 23 barrels of oil, using the equivalent of one barrel to do so, which is more efficient than producing fuel from corn. Todays children will be living with the out- come of todays choices. To illustrate this, children from the village opened and closed the launch by singing The Carbon Neutral Anthem, writ- ten by Linda Hendry. Environmental and social youth group leader Robin Bresnahan said, We are all part of this web of life. What we do to one part, we do to ourselves. We young people did not create the problem, but we contribute to it with our everyday activi- ties. Libby Little showed a video featuring inter- views with children about what global warming is, why its important and what can be done. One child summed it up with The environment helps people food, water, everything. We wouldnt be alive without it, nei- ther would other living creatures. Another pointed out that he kind of thought it was traditional to have snow at Christmas and has seen more green than white Christmases. One predicted that they will need to buy oxygen tanks in the future to breathe. They suggested driving less, buying less stuff and cutting down fewer trees as solutions. They talked about solar heating, hybrid cars and turning down the ther- mostat in winter and up in summer, and to Take down coal plants and put up windmills. They said that they are raised with habits and look to parents and teachers as examples. One little boy said, There is not much kids can do adults dont really listen to me. If theyd listen, Id tell them to get a big committee together and get help. Gather everyone in the village and move onto Rockwood and anybody we know. Little ended by saying, We have gathered up everyone we know and are asking for your help.