Energy statoids

A country’s wealth is a key indicator of economic performance in that it represents the potential to generate income and benefit society. Natural resources are arguably the most fundamental component of wealth and the latest quarterly Envirostat from Statistics Canada highlights the importance of the role played by resources in general and energy resources in particular.

The latest numbers show that in 2008, the value of energy, minerals and timber rose 45.3 per cent to $1,723 billion in 2008 and accounted for more than 22 per cent of Canada’s overall wealth.

Unsurprisingly, given the state of world markets last year, the value of energy in Canada soared by 72.5 per cent to $1.162 billion as higher commodity prices easily offset higher capital and operating costs. Energy assets accounted for more than 67 per cent of total natural resource assets in 2008, up 10 points from the previous year.

The value of crude bitumen nearly doubled last year, rising 97.5 per cent to $604.8 billion, which reflected increased reserves and production as well as record prices for much of the year. In dollar terms, crude oil ranked second at $256.9 billion (up 55.4 per cent from 2007), followed by natural gas at $231.8 billion (up 40.2 per cent) and coal at $68.7 billion (up 86 per cent).

Canadians still warming up to energy efficiency

While Canadians are clearly “greener” than they used to be in terms of energy consumption, we evidently still have plenty of room for improvement. That’s the indication from the results of Statistics Canada’s latest Households and the Environment survey. A biennial collaboration with the Environment and Health departments, the survey was initiated in 1991 and the latest is based on data collected from more than 21,000 households between late last year and early this year. 

“Rising energy costs and environmental concerns about the need to reduce energy consumption provide incentives for households to adopt energy conservation measures,” the agency says in an introduction to the survey, which is downloadable. Request Catalog No. 11-526-X.

“Lowering the temperature by just a few degrees at certain times of the day is one way Canadians can reduce their energy consumption,” it says, noting that the heating season can last up to 10 months in some regions.

Of the nearly 12 million households with at least one thermostat, 42% have installed the programmable kind. However, 16% apparently couldn’t be bothered or were unable to actually program them.

Another potential energy-saver is a federal proposal, announced in April 2007, to introduce national lighting efficiency standards by 2012 with a view to phasing out less-efficient lighting. Some 84% of respondents to the latest survey indicated that they had installed at least one type of energy-saving light in their homes, the most common option evidently being compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) despite concerns about appropriate disposal due to mercury in their ballasts.

With forced-air furnaces being the heat source of choice in 53% of Canadian homes, filter maintenance remains a critical element of efficiency. Two-thirds of the 2007 respondents said they changed filters at least every six months while others changed them every three months or more frequently. Fully 22%, however, admitted they changed filters only once in the preceding year and 5% had not done so.

Worryingly, 6% indicated they had no idea when their furnace filter was last changed.

Hypocrisy? No, just reality

New information about Canadians’ environmental activism suggest that many of us are doing what we can to make the world a greener place. Statistics Canada reports that virtually everyone with access to recycling programs use them, 59% of us have converted to compact fluorescent lights, 56% to low-flow showerheads and 54% of us have lowered our thermostats.

However, another StatsCan report states that our homes and personal vehicles are still responsible for nearly half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Recycling and the other “green” behaviours – which, incidentally, increase commensurately with household incomes – involve relatively simple choices. Some, such as using less water, lowering thermostats and using fluorescent fixtures, are essentially no-cost options which quickly yield personal savings. There’s also a couple of downsides to fluorescent light fixtures: they don’t contribute much heat to a house and disposal presents a problem because of the mercury they contain.

Moreover, in Canada’s generally long winters, turning down the heat significantly usually isn’t an option and, unless we live in a major metropolitan centre, neither is mass transit. Sure, there are some gains to be made by improving household insulation or moving away large vehicles, but the capital costs can be considerable. 

So what a cynic might see as hypocrisy is seen by others as simply the reality of life in a northern nation.