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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 28, 2008 - 3 Committed to the environment 24 hours a day By Karen Alton SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER T he light went on for Lisa Seiler, the environmentalist, about eight years ago, as the millennium dawned. "But I think it was something I've always been pre-disposed to," the 50-year-old, Oakville mother of three said recently. She has set the thermostat at 18C, which explains the sweater, and there's a stack of newspapers in the corner of her kitchen, ready for recycling. "In Grade 9, I was in the Environmental Nature Club," she laughed over a cup of herbal tea. Concerns about the planet were just emerging in the early 1970s. (The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970.) Seiler is the volunteer chair of the H a l t o n Environmental Network (HEN) and G r e e n Tr a n s . Currently she is working on a regional directory to list environmentally friendly businesses and services. There is something even bigger called the Halton Residential Solar Project. The directory will be out by midApril; the solar energy project won't start unfolding until later this spring and summer. Seiler herself is a study in environmental awareness. She credits her grandmothers for their values of resourcefulness, thrift, and a love for getting their hands dirty. "My one grandmother was a great walker, she walked everywhere, never owned a car, never wanted to be in debt. She washed her laundry by hand and hung it on the line." "What I remember about my other grandmother," she continued, "was in the kitchen, the way she always mixed things by hand. The thought of having electrical appliances never entered her mind. Even as a kid, I thought that was cool." Consequently Seiler has few electrical gadgets cluttering her kitchen counter - no mixer, no food processor. "I like to mix and chop things by hand," she explained cheerfully. "My meals are a little chunkier, but I like that. It gives me pleasure to do things manually." Ditto in the garden: the family has switched to a push lawn mower. They remove snow the old-fashioned way, with a shovel, sweat and muscle. "It's a health thing, too," she pointed out. "It makes me feel good, and it's good for the environment." Is her husband, Neil MacNaughton, also with the `green' program? Seiler had to smile, "Sometimes he does get miffed when he gets home from the office and has to pull on two sweaters." Mostly he is supportive, she added hastily. It was his idea to buy the Hybrid Honda Civic sitting in the driveway. And it was Neil's mom, Ann MacNaughton, who introduced Lisa to the envi- Lisa Seiler credits her grandmothers for her heightened environmental awareness LIESA KORTMAN / OAKVILLE BEAVER CHANGE FOR THE BETTER: Changing all her lightbulbs over to compact fluorescent bulbs was just one of many changes Lisa Seiler made to reduce her home's carbon footprint. ronmental movement in Oakville eight years ago. But her husband's discomfort with the declining temperature in the house is a good illustration of Seiler's theories on energy conservation. "Some changes are easy," she says, "but they cost money." Replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents is a case in point. Compact fluorescents are 75 per cent more efficient and last 10 times longer, but they cost more. Some conservation measures cost no money, but require lifestyle changes, time and effort. Recycling can be put in this box. After you have reduced and reused to the best of your ability, then you must separate and sort what is really garbage (for the landfill) from what can be recycled (and given new life in a different form). A few years ago, Seiler had her home audited by a certified energy auditor. As a result she invested in a high efficiency furnace and heat exchanger, costly acquisitions, but ones that will pay for themselves, over time, through reduced energy costs. "The auditor told us that our house was fairly tight, but we were losing heat through our unfinished basement. We are in the midst of fixing that." In the past few years when the air conditioning unit and the refrigerator broke down, these items were replaced with more efficient Energy Star models. Two toilets in the house were also replaced with 6-litre, low-flush toilets. "One is a dual-flush model," she said proudly. "They're not easy to find, but they really save on water." Other lifestyle changes? Seiler said, "As much as possible I hang my clothes to dry. Even in the winter, I have a line in the basement." She recommended plugging electronic devices like the TV, stereo and VCR into a single power bar and flipping off the switch at night. The same goes for computer, printer and scanner in the office. Turning off the lights when you leave a room is a no-brainer. Programming your thermostat to reduce the heat at night for sleeping, and during the day if no one is home, saves energy and money. Union Gas Energy Wise Guide reports that reducing the temperature in your home by just 1?C for seven hours each day can save one per cent on your heating bill. Imagine if you reduce it by 5?C as Seiler does. She pointed out that when she fires up her electric oven she tries to fill it with main course, sides and dessert. And when her car leaves the driveway, she usually has a list of errands to run. She favours train travel over air, and tries to buy food produced locally. "I like fresh produce. I especially love the farmer's markets here in Oakville. We are lucky in Ontario to have such abundance. There is nothing like local strawberries, or corn, or peaches, in season." "I once watched a woman from Guatemala wash dishes," she said. "She took the biggest pot that was dirty and washed everything else in that pot, using the absolute least amount of hot water for the task." Seiler worries that there are many valuable lessons from the Third World and the Great Depression that have gone unheeded or forgotten. "I think that's why I follow the path of my grandmothers," she said, "I don't want to lose their hands-on, down-to-earth qualities, and I don't want my children to lose out either." For information on the Halton Environmental Network's Halton Residential Solar Project go to: www.the-hen.net or e-mail info@the-hen.net. For Earth Hour and other energy conservation tips go to www.thestar.com/earthhour. For information on government funding for energy conservation ­ EcoAction Community Funding Program -- log onto www.on.ec.gc.ca/ecoaction. 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