Publishing energy conservation tips in English won't reach a large segment of Toronto 's population A new program is reaching out

MAUREEN MURRAY
STAFF REPORTER

TYLER ANDERSON/TORONTO STAR

EnerAct's Mark Singh says the goal of his non-profit agency is to spread the message that everyone needs to conserve energy, not just homeowners but tenants as well.

It's hard enough getting the energy conservation message out. But getting people to stop and take notice when you're not communicating to them in their mother tongue is an even greater challenge.

So in the days following the big blackout last August, EnerAct — a Toronto non-profit agency promoting energy efficiency — launched a pilot program to start tapping into some of the city's diverse communities.

"It's really, really important to do this kind of outreach," said Mark Singh, executive director for EnerAct. Toronto is an incredibly diverse city where "many speak or read a language other than English."

EnerAct has created a Chinese-language version of its website, which is set to go on-line. A link on EnerAct's http://www.smartliving.ca will offer Chinese-speakers an assortment of energy conservation tips in their native language.

Pamphlets are also being produced and will be distributed by Chinese-speaking volunteers, targeting community events to spread the green message.

In the fall, EnerAct is hoping to starting rolling out a similar program for other ethnic groups in the city including the South Asian, West Indian, Portuguese and Filipino communities. With some communities, the barrier isn't always a linguistic one, Singh noted. Even for English-speaking immigrants it still can be more effective to reach out to them through cultural institutions within the community, he said.

Various ethnic media, community centres and other gathering places will be used as a conduit to urge people to conserve and be more environmentally friendly.

The program is funded by TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and Shell Environmental Fund.

"The goal is to show people how they can save money and ultimately use less energy."

Singh said it was also important to spread the word that everyone needs to conserve, not just homeowners. Tenants need to be shown there are benefits to becoming more energy efficient.

"There is so much the individual can do to make changes and they don't require a lot of money and they don't require expert knowledge," Singh said. Anyone who has to pay their own utility costs will save if they make simple changes.

Switching just one standard energy-wasting incandescent light bulb in a high-use area to a compact fluorescent one will save about $30 a year. The City of Toronto estimates that if every Canadian changes one light bulb to a compact fluorescent, it would be like taking 66,000 cars off the road.

This underscores why it is so important to make a special effort to connect with individuals across cultural backgrounds, said city councillor Olivia Chow.

"Our future depends on the engagement of all citizens, whether they can speak English or not," said Chow, whose house had hot water during last August's blackout thanks to solar panels on her roof.

Chow said she sometimes senses that immigrants are somewhat ignored by those beating the environmental drums because of an attitude that energy conservation isn't high on their agenda. But Chow said many immigrants come from countries where they are taught to not waste precious resources. Then they come here and witness long-time Canadians using these utilities lavishly, she said.

The average Ontario household uses 12,000 kilowatts of electricity annually. In California , the rate of consumption is 6,000 kilowatts, while the average household in Denmark puts us to shame by using just 3,000 kilowatts a year.

Chow said she hopes that other environmental groups and the provincial and federal governments will follow EnerAct's lead. "If not, then it's all lip service," Chow said. "We can't turn around and say citizens are not interested if we are not reaching them where they live."