Just unplug it!
Many appliances in our homes and workplaces use electricity even when they are turned off.
Incredibly, they were designed that way - usually for convenience. It’s called ‘phantom power’, and dozens
of items in a typical home use power 24/365.
The phantom power used in Canada is more than enough to power every home in New Brunswick.
What to do? Here are three suggestions:
1. Learn to recognize
things that use phantom power: anything with a clock, a remote control, a
charger, one of those blocky-looking plugs, or a quick-on feature (IE most
televisions).
2. Get into the habit of unplugging items when they are not
in use, or use a power bar: when clicked off, it eliminates phantom power.
3. When buying,
choose appliances that use little or no phantom power; look for the ENERGY STAR
logo, indicating best-of-class performance.
For more info, check out this great overview
of phantom power from the Office of Energy Efficiency.
In the News:
A victory
for trees, the lungs of the planet: working closely with environmental
groups, Canada’s major pulp
and paper companies have agreed to restrict logging in an area twice the size
of Germany.
It’s almost impossible not to be moved by these 39
striking images from the devastating Gulf of Mexico
spill – a direct consequence of our addiction to oil.
Congratulations to the Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth,
Nova Scotia: the first
idle-free mall in Canada.
Summertime is the ideal time to rediscover that beautiful carbon-free
form of transportation hiding in the back of your garage.