I Will Not Turn Down my A/C and I Will Not Take Public Transit

Even with a cursory glance through your local newspaper, newstand magazine or through various television news programs, you will no doubt get the sense that environmental concerns are on the forefront of what is being reported in what you read and what you see. As I listen to ample amounts of talk radio, I can tell you first-hand that the airwaves are also innundated with discussions on how to contribute towards a more greener lifestyle. While I am not a tree-hugger, rabid David Suzuki type, I am also not a deliberate waster as well. I recycle everything (strange for a right wing conservative, I know...) and fully support my green bin program. I think those are excellent ideas. However, there are two changes that the provincial and municipal governments constantly pressure its citizens to make, that I have decided I will neither support nor participate.

The first is turning my air conditioner down in the summertime. OK, so we had the blackout in 2003, but managing the power grid and anticipating consumption is no my problem, I'm sorry. I pay enough fees in my hydro bill that the utility companies should be able to figure it out, and if they don't - well, it's their problem. I'm ticked off enough that the Ontario provincial government nonchlantly incoporates debt payment for the former Ontario Hydro as part of their bill to myself all all other hydro consumers.

In the past few years, I've heard and read a lot of material about turning down you A/C so it's at least 26 degrees celsius. Does anyone know how hot that actually is inside a residence? If you're going to turn it down to 26, you may as well just turn it off. And with homes generally having the thermostat on the main floor, 26 degrees downstairs generally means about 35 degrees upstairs (at least that's what it is in my house - the upstairs is sweltering). No thanks.

So the liberal provincial government decides last year to offer incentives to those who decided to turn off their A/C units, thereby lowering their hydro bill. One thing I said to my wife was that it was such a stupid suggestion, since if people did that, guess what would happen? The utility and hydro companies would have lower revenues and as a result, they will hike your rates later. Guess what happened earlier this year? Yup - the hydro companies announced rate increases. I tell you, if you're one of those suckers who believe what the hydro companies tell you - well, what can I say. They're companies too and need to make money. Do you really think they care about the environment? Or profits? They shouldn't go after the small potatoes residential family who wants to save money and is willing to let their kids sweat out an entire summer - they should go after the companies in office towers who leave all their lights on summer night after summer night. Until they actually go after the real usurpers of summer electricity, you can be darn sure I'll happily have my thermostat at 21 or 22 degrees all summer.

Now, the second item is more of a Toronto thing, but anywhere there is public transit, this will apply. Liberal governments and environmentalists want you to leave your car at home and take public transit. Yeah right. I will go on record right now and say that I will take public transit again when I am able to grow a full beard. Not possible. Will never happen.

Years ago, I worked downtown and took public transit, from our condo in North Scarborough (northern part of the city). Despite "express" buses, it still took me a considerable amount of time (1.5 hours) one way to get downtown. And it wasn't a pleasant ride - the buses were often snarled in traffic, I had to make several transfers (oftentimes waiting for a while as other packed buses rolled by, unable to accomodate me as well - as if I really wanted to be another sardine on that tightly packed bus). When there was an accident (car or pedestrian), I was forced to wait on the bus. If I was sick at work and had to go home, I had to endure a less-frequent non-rush-hour schedule and it took me forever to get home. I barfed on a bus twice and on the subway once. The air quality on buses and subways are very poor and in the summertime, you have to deal with nasty body odours. You can't read as the jerky bus driver stops and goes constantly. You can't sit quietly and think, as loudmouthed teenagers are all over the place, talking about their boyfriends or their latest crush on some member of a boy band.

Of course, with the increasing cost of gas, renewed calls to leave the cars at home abound once again. The gas price can be at two bucks a litre - I'm still driving to work. I can enjoy my talk radio, music, news or just sit quietly. If a road is closed or slowed due to an accident, I can take another road instead. If I have to go pee, I can just quickly stop off somewhere. Same if I need to grab a quick bite to eat or drink, or if I want to stop off on the way to or from work, to pick up something in a store. I can cart around my eBay wares so that people can pick it up from me wherever I am. I have access to the car in the event of a family emergency or illness (it has happened several times and I am glad to have that option). I don't need to put with the constant barrage of subway delays due to construction or suicides ("there is an injury at track level"). I don't need to deal with the foul, smells-like-dirty-socks mixed with diarrhea air quality on the subway system. I don't have to listen to some of the foul mouthed and inconsiderate riders on the bus and subway system, and I don't have to, once again, see (and smell) the yearly incidence of someone who happened to take a crap in his pants while on the subway, deliberate or not. In short, it is a much better ride for me to drive myself to and from work. My car is a low-emission producing car, so it's not like I'm bragging about deliberately polluting the environment with an SUV (and even those stats are suspect - volcanic eruptions over a thousand or so years have caused far more damage to the environment - negligible overall - than thousands of cars ever will).