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Photo by CODIE MCLACHLAN

“It actually isn’t that hard to go beyond business as usual, but it’s going to take all of us to step up,” said Coun. Ben Henderson, who made the official environment week proclamation.

Edmonton does well in waste management and in cleaning its waste water before returning it to the North Saskatchewan River. Citizens also do well with water conservation, he said.

But Edmonton has a lot of work to do on transportation — using energy efficient vehicles and making alternative methods of transportation attractive and popular.

Photo by Manitoba Hydro

Edmonton is starting to do a better job using energy conservation techniques in single-family homes. But the city and industry are laggards on the commercial side, he said, pointing to the new Manitoba Hydro towerhe visited recently in Winnipeg. It uses just 20 per cent of the energy most buildings its size would use, and for a cost that will be repaid in about seven years, said Henderson.

Most of that is accomplished with a tighter building envelop, well-positioned windows and blinds to provide heat or shade, plus some geo-thermal energy. It uses a six-storey waterfall with heated water to humidify the building in the winter and cooled water to dehumidify in the summer, he said. A solar chimney circulates fresh air through the building all year round.

“Sick days have plummeted and everyone stays awake in the afternoons because they have fresh air,” he said.

Solar energy can also accomplish a lot in Edmonton since it works more efficiently in cold, sunny climates, Henderson said.

“I don’t think we understand the potential for solar.”

estolte@postmedia.com

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