We've come a long way since 2003 blackout
Aug 15, 2008 - 04:30 AM
It's been exactly five years since we went powerless.
Thankfully, the big blackout of 2003 lasted just a few days. We can all recall where we were when everything shut off just after 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2003. Citizens had to scramble to make do as candles, portable generators and other fairly primitive devices were used to help get us through the night. There was much talk during and just after the power outage about how we needed to ramp up our efforts to conserve energy.
So the question is simple: After going through a few days of hardship, have we learned enough lessons from it to last a lifetime?
Since that event, which struck a large chunk of central and eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, there has been much talk about energy conservation. The blackout served as a timely wakeup call that we simply have to become more green. There is no choice.
And it appears, an energy-conserving light bulb has gone off in our collective heads.
Following the blackout, the Province set a target of reducing peak electricity demand by five per cent by 2007. That target has been met and it would appear we are on our way to hitting a highly ambitious target of a further five per cent reduction in peak demand usage by 2010. Through improvements in energy conservation technology and public education and awareness, the long-term goal is to dramatically decrease our use by 2025.
While conservation is a huge element in any long-term energy policy, so is prudent spending and investment on new and renewable sources of energy. Ontario has already committed to maintaining a 50-50 split between nuclear generation and all other forms of energy production. Such a plan will see new generators built in Darlington over the next decade and an attempt made to expand wind and solar power to help offset population growth.
While we will need more power sources, the best way to ensure we don't go dark again is to be aware of our energy use and to cut back where we can. If we all do a little, a lot gets done.
-- Metroland Durham Region Media Group
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