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In an effort to persuade all of us to use less electricity, The Ontario Power Authority, WWF-Canada and Air Miles have colllaborated on an energy conservation campaign. The Power Pledge campaign rewards Ontarians for pledging to take simple actions that will have lasting financial rewards and help fight climate change.

What kind of pledge would like they like us to make? Well, for example, to reduce phantom power in our homes. Phantom power is the electricity used by electronics and appliances even when they’re switched off — a problem that accounts for as much as 15 per cent of a home’s monthly energy use! To take the pledge, click here.

According to campaign materials, Ontario residents who take the Power Pledge by August 31 will earn 20 Air Miles and can direct an additional 10 reward miles to one of three participating charities (including WWF-Canada).

To inspire you to get started, the Power Pledge campaign members are offering Eco Logic readers a prize pack worth approx $250, including:
- A power bar with automatic shutoff to reduce phantom power
- 1,000 Bonus Air Miles (this could get $140 in grocery gift certificates, movie tickets or even a 3 piece luggage set)
- A cuddly toy panda from WWF-Canada
- Cold-water laundry detergent

To win, comment to this post about household energy use. Send me a tip on how you’ve reduced your energy consumption or what you pledge to do, or send me a question about reducing household energy use (which I will pass along to Ontario Power Authority). I’ll pick a random winner on Wednesday, May 26th at 5 p.m. Good luck!

I took the pledge; apparently if I do everything I promised (I’m doing most of the list already) I will save 4,164 kWh/year in energy savings, which would mean saving $433 a year on electricity (maybe more, since I’m with Bullfrog Power). Not a bad start!

People are always asking if little eco actions matter. Well there’s a new tool out there to show you that they do, and quantify just how much they count.

That’s good news, because after a long day of reading news stories and tweets (I’m @ecologicjess by the way) about the horrible thing happening to our earth right now, the latest being the nasty oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I sure need to feel that something’s going right, that there’s a chance to make a difference.

@WWFCanada tweeted about their new tool, Eco Guru, yesterday, and I just tried it out.

You can use this little app (also available free for Nokia phones) to either “Green your lifestyle” or “Calculate your carbon footprint.” I tried the former, since I’m always looking for new ideas and I know that WWF is terrific at providing actual data about what’s green, greener and greenest.

I created a “to-do” list of green items, then noted what I’ve already done. For example, I often close many of our home’s blinds at night to conserve heat and, in the summer, to reflect heat. Eco Guru responds, “If 75 more people act this way, it would be equivalent to enough energy to provide lighting to 3520 families for a year.” When I noted that I use a green electricity supplier, Eco Guru said, “If 35 more people did this, your combined effort would be equal to saving a forest the size of 56 football fields.” Wow!

Have you found ways to look past today’s bad news?

Earth Hour is one of the most fun events of the year, in my books anyway. Everyone’s itching to get out of the house in spring, and what’s more fun than to walk through the streets of your town when everyone’s out to see the spectacle. While a light bulb that makes light out of dark can seem like a miracle thing, somehow, to me, seeing a whole bunch of lights go out at once, in the spirit of environmentalism, is the big miracle.

Earth Hour is next Saturday, March 27 at 8:30 PM. My parents are coming to town, and I’m looking forward to walking the city with them as everyone comes together to create a big non-light show across the Toronto. It’s great to see all kinds of light sources flicked off — in office towers, apartments, shop signs and window displays, in public spaces, schools, little houses and more. An LED flashlight (powered by rechargeable batteries) is the evening’s must-have accessory!

After the event, I’ll be eager to see how much we reduced our power consumption. The dramatic numbers of previous years show that we’re willing to conserve, all we need is a little incentive… or a special event. Here’s my post about last year’s results.

What are you planning to do for Earth Hour?

Have a look at this terrific slideshow illustrating kids’ postcards to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) asked kids to send in their postcards with an illustration about climate change and a letter advocating for solutions, as part of the My Future, My Climate Postcard Contest. The WWF received over 800 entries; their three selected winners each gets a bicycle of his or her choice, to “to support their carbon friendly lifestyle.”

Have you ever written a letter to the media or to a politician asking for change?