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Lights at City Hall
Posted on December 19, 2009 by kfarbridge
I am often asked why there are lights on at City Hall at night. It seems counter-intuitive to all the energy-saving features of the new building.
One of the big reasons is that, with 24/7 by-law service now in place, the building is essentially occupied 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The By-law officers use mainly the 3rd floor, so that’s where you see most of the lights, but the main stair and elevator lobby is also lit for them to gain access to the 3rd floor. Also, By-law staff perform sweeps of the building every so often, which activates the motion-detector lights in those areas for a short time.
Another reason for seeing lights is that cleaning staff are working in the building until 11 p.m. The majority of the lights at City Hall go off after the cleaning staff depart, except for a few emergency lights on each floor.
In the area of the old fire hall, there are cove lights around the exterior windows that stay on all night. This is being changed; it requires a design change and some rewiring, which is planned to be completed in the new year.
While it may seem that City Hall is “all lit up,” the motion-detected lights mean that lights are on only when and where they’re needed.
However, we will continue to work with the new building to ensure only those lights that need to be one are on and only for as long as they are needed.
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Candlelight Vigil for a deal in Copenhagen
Posted on December 18, 2009 by kfarbridge
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More on IT in Guelph
Posted on December 15, 2009 by kfarbridge
I received this e-mail from a local IT enthusiast:
These are exciting times to work and live in Guelph.
3 years ago business leaders formed the Guelph Business Technology peer to peer network:
DemoCamp was established by a couple of Guelphites and now boast attendance of 100+ each month.
Guelph Chamber of Commerce established a technology committee in fall of 09.
Guelph Tech Business Community will be hosting a large technology conference at the newly opened “FRANK HASENFRATZ CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN MANUFACTURING”.
We are now becoming a centre of technology innovation and would appreciate your input on the potential development of a technology cluster. Please fill out this survey.
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Junior achievers create local greeting cards
Posted on December 10, 2009 by kfarbridge
I recently met with a member of Junior Achievement, Jeremy DiCarlo, who is President of a company called Hello! Greeting Cards. The company has created a number of greeting cards featuring Guelph images.
Jeremy is a local grade 10 student, and he created the company with other students who are involved in Junior Achievement Guelph-Wellington. JA is an organization created by high school students to take on the challenges of a real-life business. They do everything from coming up with an idea, to conducting market research, to production and sales for their product.
Entrepreneurs and small business owners are the engine of the local economy. It was great to meet a young entrepreneur like Jeremy and hear about his experiences with Junior Achievement.
Hello! Greeting Cards offers cards for the holidays, birthdays, as well as blank cards. For more information, contact Ramona Ostrander at 519-821-7563 or e-mail Ramona@jaguelphwellington.org.
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Cities and Climate Change
Posted on December 10, 2009 by kfarbridge
With the world’s attention on Copenhagen and the likely dashed hopes for a real commitment to act from some parts of the world, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has released a document drawing attention to the key role municipalities can play in addressing climate change.
Act Locally – The Municipal Role in Fighting Climate Change – FCM, Dec 8 2009
One of the interesting findings in their research is that the total estimated potential for emission reductions by municipalities in Canada relative to a 2006 baseline is 48 Mt. Over one quarter of these emissions can be achieved with no cost or a positive return on investment. More than two thirds of these emission reductions can be achieved at a cost of less than $25/tonne reduced. All reductions are projected to cost less than $75/tonne reduced which is significantly less than the projected cost of carbon capture and storage.
These results fly in the face of some criticism that suggest the cost of reducing emissions is too costly. This is not the case – certainly not in the area of conservation and efficiency which has significant room for advancement. Although that is not to say that barriers don’t exist even to going after the low hanging fruit.
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Infrastructure Jobs
Posted on December 9, 2009 by kfarbridge
Someone was asking how many jobs will be created in our community through the infrastructure funding. This funding is helping us replace aging infrastructure so that our toilets keep working and water gets to our homes and businesses.
It is estimated the work will create 800 jobs in Guelph. We will have a better accounting of the jobs created as we work through the projects because this is something we are required to track and to report to Infrastructure Canada on a quarterly basis.
Filed under: Jobs & the Economy | 2 Comments »
Owens Corning energy savings in the news
Posted on December 9, 2009 by kfarbridge
The energy conservation work at Owens Corning plant in Guelph made the National Post.
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