www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, August 5, 2010 · 8 Oakvillians pledge to power down Aug. 11 Continued from page 1 version of Earth Hour where energy conservation is observed not for an hour, but for a day. "What we're asking is for residents and businesses and all the stores downtown to just simply power down from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and do whatever they can to save energy," said Melissa Kois, an intern with the Town's Environmental Policy Department. "This can be done just by even turning down your lights or turning them off completely or turning down your air conditioning." Kois said energy can be conserved by residents taking a break from computers or TVs for the day. Electronics not in use can be unplugged to reduce `phantom power,' which is energy (and money) wasted when something is plugged in, but not turned on. "Your cell phone charger, your Blackberry charger, your laptop charger, lamps that are Presenting Sponsor turned off, gaming consoles -- those are the worst things for phantom power. They consume the most energy," said Kois. "Phantom power accounts for up to 75 per cent of the excess power consumed in Ontario." Kois recommended residents plug their electronics into a power bar that can be shut off when their electronics are not in use. This way the energy grid is turned off and nothing is consumed. Kois said Town facilities, except those that are exempt from participating because of safety issues, will be carrying out energy conservation measures Aug. 11. She said resident response to the Power Pledge has been positive with more than 2,000 residents signing up not only to implement Power Pledge energy conservation methods on Aug. 11, but permanently in their lives. Some of the conservation methods in this long-term Power Pledge include things as simple as doing laundry at offpeak times or on weekends. In addition to saving energy and money by carrying out the actions described in this Power Pledge, the Town's website states residents will also receive 20 Air Miles for signing up. As of Wednesday, 117,460 people across Ontario had signed up for the Power Pledge. It states on the Power Pledge website at www.powerpledge.ca that if everyone who has signed the Power Pledge does what they signed up to do for a year there will be a collective savings of 267,483,428 kilowatt hours and $27,747,927. A total of 59,292,928 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions will also be avoided. While this will be the first time Oakville has participated the Aug. 11, Power Pledge Challenge the conservation day has been around for six years. The Environmental Advisory Committee of Woodstock, Ont., and "As we saw from the blackout of 2003, there is only a certain supply of energy, it is not this unlimited source we can just keep tapping into." Melissa Kois, intern, Town of Oakville Environmental Policy Department Woodstock Hydro challenged the City of Woodstock to participate in a voluntary blackout day in August 2005 to mark the second anniversary of the 2003 blackout, which affected 50 million people in Ontario and the northeastern United States. "It's important to conserve energy this time of year because in the summer you have a lot of very hot days and by consuming extra energy, you're making a lot of different systems work overtime and work harder. By using a lot of energy you are producing a lot of greenhouse gases and that ultimately is going to con- tribute to climate change," said Kois. "Also, as we saw from the blackout of 2003, there is only a certain supply of energy. It is not this unlimited source we can just keep tapping into." After Aug. 11, Oakville's energy savings will be measured against those of other municipalities. The municipality with the highest number of Power Pledges and which reduces its energy usage the most on Aug. 11 wins. For information, visit www.oakville.ca. Clinics run throughout August Continued from page 1 A Some Kind of Wonderful 15th Anniversary Celebration La Labour D Labour Day Weekend, September 3rd to 6th, 2010 Spencer Smith Park, Burlington, Ontario Park Burlington gton, ar o ar BE ENTERTAINED AT CANADA'S LARGEST RIBFEST! Co Come o Canada's Come to Canada s Largest Ribfest, Sept. 3 to 6, at Burlington's beautiful Spencer Smith Pa k. This nad na iith Pa k This t Park. yea s Ribfest promises great ribs, good times and some of the region's most exciting musicall talent year's Ribfest p ea est st us a talent. Come see John Ellison, writer of the 1967 classic song "She's Some Kind of Wonderful," on Friday, Sept. 3. On Saturday, Jack de Keyzer performs, and the Legendary Downchild Blues Band takes centre stage on Sunday. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, and visit CanadasLargestRibfest.com to see the full line up of bands that will help celebrate the 15th anniversary of Canada's Largest Ribfest. were collected from the July 28 clinic in Oakville and are being sent to Ottawa for processing. Currently, David and 788 other patients in Canada are awaiting a bone marrow transplant. Listed below are upcoming awareness events for August -- including today, Friday, Aug. 6 -- and early September being put on by Canadian Blood Services. · Aug. 6 -- Blood Donor, McMaster University Medical Centre, 1200 Main Street West, Ewart Angus Hall, Hamilton, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. · Aug. 6 and 7 -- AMYA Summer Camp Swab Event, Bruce Mill Conservation Area, 3291 Stouffville Road, Stouffville, 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday and noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday. · Aug. 8 -- Parkwood Gospel Church Buccal Swab Event, 3005 Temple Dr, Windsor, 10 a.m. to noon. · Aug. 15 -- In Honour of Nidia Swab Event @ Mississauga Convention Centre, 75 Derry Road, Mississauga, ON, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. · Aug. 19 -- In Honour Blood Donor/OneMatch Clinic for all leukemia patients, Canadian Blood Services, 1940 Gottingen Street, Halifax, NS, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. · Aug. 21 -- Annual "Brotherly Love" Ball Hockey Tournament, Ottawa, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. · Aug. 26 -- In Honour Blood Donor/OneMatch Clinic for Leona, Clinton and District Christian School, 87 Percival St, Clinton, 1:30 to 4 p.m., 5:30 to 8 p.m. · Sept. 4 and 5 -- Latin American Festival Swab Event, Mel Lastman Square, 5100 Yonge Street, North York, 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 9 p.m. Sunday. 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