CONSERVATION EFFORTS FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

Putting things in perspective:
Since the start of the calendar year to date, world oil prices have almost doubled, having started the year at US$38.00 per barrel and due to disruptions in supply caused by the war on Iraq, Hurricane Ivan and slew of other incidences, it has risen to more than US$58.00, setting global oil prices at record highs. The fire at Petrojam in October, which caused significant damage to the main refinery tower, has further compounded the situation locally. Repairs will keep the refinery out of commission for at least the next four and a half months! The Government has made arrangements to import finished petroleum products from Venezuela and Trinidad in order to meet local demand. In addition, since this month, the Jamaica Public Service Co. Ltd. (JPSCo) has announced an increase in the fuel rate applied to consumer’s bills.
At the pumps, the price of Auto Diesel has over the past three weeks been increasing at percentage rates higher than that of 90 and 87 octane. Auto Diesel is relied upon heavily by Industry, especially public transportation, thus, it is expected that transportation costs will increase, causing an inflationary effect into all aspects of consumption, therefore an increase in overall prices. With the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by members of the Public Sector, an increase in salaries or disposable income is not expected, as a matter of fact, given the current and forecasted scenario, real domestic income is expected to decrease.

What Next?
In the face of all these circumstances, what can a responsible consumer or citizen do to still have a merry Christmas? It is very important that all consumers see the link between their own domestic consumption on the local economy. Already, it is being speculated that the Oil Budget will way exceed the J$1billion originally projected by the government for this financial year. Given the added strain on the economy to finance reconstruction efforts to restore individuals and sectors that suffered damage and dislocation due to Hurricane Ivan, it is expected that it will be tight to continue to finance business as usual. In a bid to not catapult the economy into a serious financial crisis, every rational thinking Jamaican must commit their efforts to instituting some conservation practices with a view to alter their own consumption as an individual or household and to encourage like activities within their community and workplace.

Don’t deck the malls with bulbs of folly
When one thinks of Christmas in Jamaica, especially in the commercial areas of shopping malls and parks, you have vivid images of a plethora of lights and decorations, kept on all night long, seven nights a week for at least four weeks leading up to Christmas and at least two weeks after the beginning of the new year.
The question is: Is it possible to have Christmas lights and still be a good energy citizen? Can we put up as many lights as we want without plummeting the nation into an energy crisis or loom us dangerously close to island wide blackouts? Using a lot of lights will indeed use up a lot of energy. The traditional big, two-inch colourful bulbs use less watts per bulb. That means that one string of 100 lights uses 700 watts – compare that to a typical light bulb that only uses 60 watts. So an average display of big lights, two strings totalling 200 lights, uses 1400 watts. The small white or coloured lights, like the ones used on an average sized tree are a bit better. Each one of those smaller bulbs only uses about half a watt. So a string of the tiny lights is only about 50 watts. Therefore a typical display of small lights, about five strings, totalling 500 lights, uses 250 watts – still a pretty big energy cost, but an improvement which translates into energy and monetary savings.

And what of the Halls?
Households have the same responsibility as businesses to conserve, even more so because they feel the direct pinch to their pockets as opposed to in the workplace. Here are a few tips you could adopt to save energy in your home:

• Try not to turn on your lights before 8:00 P.M. Between 6:00 P.M. and 10:00 P.M. is peak demand time for electricity as businesses shut down and residents return home.
• Do not to use electric appliances like washing machines, dryers, microwaves, electric ovens or stoves before 8pm, especially if your lights are on. Try doing laundry later and when it comes to dinner, consider eating out or eat after 8:00 P.M.
• If your heater is electric, turn down your thermostat a couple of degrees while your lights are on.
• Turn off some of your lamps and overhead lights and/or change your traditional light bulbs to energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

Other Energy Conservation Tips:

• Add a programmable timer to your strings of lights to ensure lights are not accidentally left on. A timer also helps regulate energy use and reduce cost. Holiday lights can increase the average customer bill by $1000 to $1500 during the holiday season.
• Newer lights consume less electricity than older ones, and miniature bulbs use less than larger ones. LED lights (Light Emitting Diodes) use the least energy, but come only in red, green and yellow.
• Small lights for holiday trees do not use a lot of electricity, but outdoor lights with bulbs larger than 5 watts can significantly increase electric use and energy costs.
• Icicle lights are very popular now, and some people keep them up and lighted year-round. They use about the same amount of energy as mini-lights, but because their strings are shorter, more sets are required to decorate your home.
• One string of mini lights uses about as much energy as a 50-watt incandescent light bulb. One string of 25 large, traditional Christmas lights with 7-watt bulbs uses as much energy as a 175-watt bulb.
• Purchase lower watt lights, such as miniature lights. The lower the wattage, the lower the energy usage. Large bulbs provide more light but use more electricity.
• Purchase light strands that are wired in parallel. These have separate circuitry so that if one bulb blows out the rest will keep shining; all you have to do is replace the one bulb.
• Reduce your display by one, two or three strands of lights. If you make subtle changes, you may not even notice.

Any conservation counts, even small things

• Use a battery-operated radio and alarm clock instead of an electric clock or radio.
• When getting up at night, instead of turning on the lights, use a flashlight and have a low watt manual nightlight in the bathroom.
• Fix plumbing drips and leaks to save water and energy. Remember, conserving water also conserves electricity.
• Install low flow showerheads to save water and energy. Take shorter showers and share showers.
• Instead of using an air conditioner, open windows and use ceiling fans and oscillating fans.
• Use non-electric tools and manual appliances such as a can opener.
• Find alternatives to watching television, playing video games, renting video tapes, and surfing the Internet: reading books, playing card and board games, doing puzzles and word games, playing charades, making crafts, doing family projects such as hand washing and drying the dishes together, etc.
• Unplug holiday lights and displays at the close of each day.

Post Hurricane Ivan, let us remember that some of our dislocated neighbours have not been fully restored with their normal power and water supply or to the comfort of their homes. Let us remain sober and conscious, as we seek to scale down our usual festivities, cognizant of the national state of affairs. Whether at the level of the mall, the office or the home, we can still have a merry Christmas, we can still have fun and decorate or homes and business places, but let us do it wisely. Let us all play our part; keep the holly and forget the folly.