"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Thursday 7 January 2010

We Had a Chance

To take one small step forward to reduce our carbon footprint on the earth during this term. With grant money yet.

We had a list of projects, not included in the original $2.3 million renovation budget for the Church Street School. We were choosing a heating system.

A cost was provided for a conventional system and another, much higher, for a pump to draw heat from the ground.

Annual cost of natural gas and maintenance was estimated at $75.Ks. Total annual maintenance for the building, on top of the $350Ks purchase of cultural services contract, without curatorial staff, was estimated at $140Ks. A cool half million. Not far from a percentage point on the tax rate.

Cost of heat from the earth ? Zero...Zilch...Nada. Not a copper. Hallelujah . Amen my friends.

Did we take the opportunity?

Can a pig fly?

Not a red cent for a heating system for a building with ceilings rising fourteen feet from the floor and windows with single diamond glazing for historical authenticity, would be provided to utilise heat from the ground around.

Original heating was wood furnace in the basement. Pupils stoked the monster. They had to wear coats in class to stay warm in winter. Smoke residue still stained the ceiling tiles when the building was gutted by the Historical Society. A false ceiling had been installed by previous users to conserve heat.

Neither a dickey-bird nor a whisper of support was heard from any green roof aficionado, clothes line crusader, environmental initiatives engineer hired on the advice of the multiple member environmental committee or any other person fond of clothing themselves in shining raiment while gushing crocodile tears and grim foreboding about melting polar ice caps.

Silence in support of clean and free heat with a heat pump was deafening.

Instead the vote was for a conventional, fossil fuel, carbon producing , power driven, vastly and annually extravagant, natural gas furnace.

If he knew about it, I think His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales and Organic Farming would probably take his award back.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tell it like it is, Ev!
Morris can't pat her head and rub her tummy at the same time.
It's either Culture or the Environment. And both she has made a mockery of.
How many staff members are at the new "Aurora Culture Centre"? It appears to have lost "Heritage" in it's title.

Just Askin' said...

And why is it now the 'Aurora Cultural Centre' rather than the original 'Church Street School Cultural Centre'?

Would it be easier, in the future, to re-name a generic-sounding building in honour of some local dignitary, perhaps? Has this mayor set her sights on seeing her name "up in lights"?

Anonymous said...

Or maybe Phyllis has been searching for some time now for a suitable way to honour her predecessor Tim Jones, longest serving Mayor in the Town's history, and this is the first step in that direction.

You think?

Just Askin' said...

"Or maybe Phyllis has been searching for some time now for a suitable way to honour her predecessor Tim Jones"

Now that IS a photo op I'd like to see! (Not that Jones is deserving, of course)

I'm not holding my breath, mind...

Unknown said...

Aaarrgghhh! This is the kind of hypocritical crap that makes me want to pull out my own hair. And it's EVERYWHERE.

I am so glad there are people like you who are not afraid to tell the truth... people who are not afraid of appearing less than politically correct.

Anonymous said...

Are you suggesting that Geothermal systems are free heating?

I think for a building of this size, the ROI would be much longer than you think. I could be wrong.

Anonymous said...

That would be impossible because one of her gang said "She hates Tim Jones "
Please print this Ev ,there were two witnesses .

Anonymous said...

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