Power to the people

Olivia Chow isn't thinking of starring in a home renovation program on one of those specialty TV channels, but she has become a media celebrity with a show of her own on the popular YouTube website.


It can be seen by going to youtube.com and entering "Olivia Chow green house" in the search bar to see some of the energy-saving renovations she and husband Jack Layton, national leader of the New Democratic Party, have made to their downtown Toronto home.


"Over the years," the NDP Member of Parliament for Trinity-Spadina says, "people ask me questions about retrofitting, like, `How is it done? Is it possible? Can you actually put a solar panel up? What if there isn't enough sun?'


"So I figured the best way is to actually show people what it looks like. Talking in theories and figures doesn't quite work. Now when people ask about energy retrofitting your home and reducing energy bills, I can actually tell them to go to youtube.com and check it out."


The video includes Chow with seven rooftop solar panels the couple installed over the years to produce electricity and heat their hot water. Also included is a meter that produces a smile on their faces when it spins backward. That means they're helping to generate electricity that will go back to the grid for others to use. Other stops on the 4 1/2-minute tour of their home show energy-smart kitchen appliances, triple-paned windows and a low-flow toilet.




Source: Toronto Star
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