Turn off or unplug any non-essential appliances whenever possible. Culprits include: modems, digital cable boxes and lamps or boomboxes with “powerpack” adapters. A rule of thumb is, “if it’s hot, it’s using/wasting electricity. Something that is generating heat for no real purpose is actually creating an even greater cooling requirement in your home. That means more air conditioning or fans just to get rid of heat that you didn’t intend to create in the first place. Do a quick walk around your home and do the “touch test”.

Try a book or magazine, rather than a computer. Have you noticed how hot your computer is? You may be saving it’s life!

Run your dishwasher after 10pm, then open it up and let it air dry rather than using an electrical heater to dry the dishes. Open your doors/windows to let out the steam and heat. We are all up late anyway.

Wash a load of laundry each night after 10pm, then hang that load out first thing in the morning. Get a drying rack for your yard, deck or balcony if you don’t have space for a clothesline. If you have a phobia about hanging out clothes, just ask yourself which is really hurting your neighbours: smog alerts and power outages, or fresh laundry flapping in the breeze?

Now if only we could order up some breeze.

David Chernushenko

Yesterday morning it was Giacomo Panico’s Monday Special Blend show on CKCU radio at Carleton University in Ottawa. This morning it was the “A-Morning” television show, and there is plenty more to come. If you like what you see and hear, please help me to spread the word.

David Chernushenko

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the making of my film Powerful: Energy for Everyone, I had the occasion to visit many communities, see interesting projects and interview passionate people of all stripes. I shot over 100 hours of video. Not all could be squeezed into a 95-minute film. This is one of the stories that I would like to have included if I had the space.

On April 7, 2010 my friend Jules de Heer passed away at the age of 53. Jules was a pioneer in a whole range of areas of eco/sustainable/green theories and practices. A trained engineer, Jules combined his rigorous attention to detail and desire for clarity with a passion for bringing human activity into harmony with natural processes and systems. He also introduced a strong aesthetic sense to whatever he was doing. To me, Jules de Heer was truly a pioneer in living lightly. His legacy will be a generation of students who studied under him, colleagues who worked with him, bid and host cities of Olympic Games that were “greened” by him, and many innovative tools for analysis and measuring performance that he shared generously with people like me.

I had the pleasure to visit with Jules and his family at their new home in Switzerland. Jules applied his passion for sustainability and precise detail in the design of this  pre-fabricated home, which meets and exceeds the Swiss “Minergie” standard.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the making of my film Powerful: Energy for Everyone, I had the occasion to visit many communities, see interesting projects and interview passionate people of all stripes. I shot over 100 hours of video. Not all could be squeezed into a 95-minute film. This is one of the stories that I would like to have included if I had the space.

It is easy for us, the people who have never known a life without easy access to cheap energy, to forget that as many as two billion people do not. Energy choices for many are limited and hard to come by. In many rural villages in Africa, South America and elsewhere, the only source of light is a burnable fuel like kerosene which can be scarce, expensive and polluting or batteries which are hard to come by and must be regularly replaced. Enter D-Rev — the design revolution entrepreneurs. Greg Lee and Amanda Gonzalez are two young entrepreneurs with engineering training and a social mission. They have developed a “solar concentrator” that generates electricity from the sun, using an elegant design and inexpensive materials. It has the potential to change lives, and even save lives.

David Chernushenko

Click here to view the embedded video.

In the making of my film Powerful: Energy for Everyone, I had the occasion to visit many communities, see interesting projects and interview passionate people of all stripes. I shot over 100 hours of video. Not all could be squeezed into a 95-minute film. This is one of the stories that I would like to have included if I had the space.

The town of Almonte (part of the municipality of Mississippi Mills, Ontario) was in the process of rebuilding its “run of river” hydro generating facility to generate even more “green power”. The municipally-owned utility company will not only be generating renewable energy, but earning a return for the shareholder (the local citizens). At the same time, the town is in the middle of a locally-driven economic revival – one that is more diversified than ever, and which is driven by local entrepreneurs who care as much about the community as they do about making profit.

This upbeat film looks at how we can make energy more democratic and democracy more energetic. Come and see how the transition to renewable energy can renew us as individuals and society.

Tuesday June 8, 7-9pm (FULL)

9:10-11pm (NEW)

Museum of Civilization, Gatineau (Hull), Quebec

Entry is by invitation. To receive one, email david[at]davidc.ca

Cost: There is no admission price. However, donations are most welcome. Cash donations will be accepted, and cards will be available for major donations (eligible for tax receipt) to the Films for Change programme administered by the Tucker House Renewal Centre.

Parking for bikes and cars is available on site. Consider carpooling, cycling or coming by bus (OC Transpo #8 and multiple STO routes)

Support for this special screening comes from Sustainable Ottawa Energy Co-operative,

and the Tucker House Renewal Centre.

Parts of this interview will be featured in the upcoming David Chernushenko film, Powerful: Energy for Everyone.

O

SPRING INTO ACTION – VISIONS OF LIVING LIGHTLY
A VIDEO CONTEST AND EVENT

Sponsored by Ecology Ottawa and David Chernushenko’s Living Lightly Project

“Maybe it’s time to stop scaring each other and start inspiring each other instead!”
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Overview

Making the shift to a more sustainable economy and lifestyle will be challenging. But many people are on board and are already forging a path towards living more lightly and building strong and vibrant communities. We are looking for short videos that illustrate some of the ways we can all live more lightly and some of the people and organizations that are doing it already.

Tell us your inspiring story or show us solutions that you have uncovered.

Selected video entries will be shown as part of the Spring Into Action – Visions
of Living Lightly Video Festival on April 4, 2009, from 1 to 4 pm at the Library and Archives Canada Theatre, 395 Wellington St.,
Ottawa, ON.
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Contest Rules

1. Length: All videos will be between 2 and 5 minutes in length, including credits.
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2. Format: Contest entries will be on DVD and authored to be played on a DVD player or computer (2 labeled copies, with the title, contact name and running time)
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3. Language: Entries will be in either French or English, or both.
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4. Categories: (i) Under 25 years of age; (ii) 25 years and older [note: changed from 21 years]
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5. Content: Entries may be either documentary or dramatic. What matters is that they illustrate ways of living more lightly — that is, living with a lighter impact on the planet but with a positive, solutions-oriented outlook. We want to see inspiring stories, practical solutions, fun and fulfilling approaches to big tasks or small. We do not want to see stories about problems. We know all that. What can we do about the problems/challenges? Any subject matter related to Living Lightly is appropriate:
   1. Saving Resources (water, energy, materials)
   2. Growing or serving food
   3. Transportation
   4. Reduce, re-use, recycle
   5. Building and rebuilding vibrant communities
   6. Being the change you wish to see – walking your talk.
   7. Art, music and theatre with a message of living lightly
   8. You name it – if in doubt, send us a message and test your idea..
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6. Permissions: All entries must be accompanied by a signed entry form confirming that you have the permission of all identifiable subjects and music rights holders. All identifiable individuals in your film should sign a Release Form. You can download a standard model release form HERE.
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7. Local content:
   1. Films must have been shot within the cities of Ottawa and/or Gatineau.
   2. Contestants must live within the City of Ottawa or Gatineau
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Deadline

Entries must arrive at the address below by March 18, 2009. They must be accompanied by a completed entry form. Click HERE to download.
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Judges

Films will be judged by active members of the Ottawa film/video and environmental community.

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Prizes

Prizes will be awarded to the best films in both the Under-25 and 25-plus age categories. Additional prizes may be awarded to honorable mention recipients in each category.

An Audience Choice Award will also be given based on audience voting at the Festival.
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Contacts

For more information about the contest, contact:

Erin Ellis, Ecology Ottawa, 613-316-7824 or erinlouiseellis@gmail.com

David Chernushenko, The Living Lightly Project, 613-730-0870 or david@livinglightly.ca

Send video entries on DVD to:
David Chernushenko
99 Seneca St.
Ottawa, ON  K1S 4X8

Click here to view the embedded video.

Powerful: Energy for Everyone 2-minute teaser

Enjoy the teaser/trailer for David Chernushenko’s recently-completed second film, Powerful: Energy for Everyone. By taking control of our energy appetites and reclaiming control of our energy supply, we can lead prosperous lives powered mostly by renewable energy, and less social and ecological harm will be done in the name of fuelling our energy needs. Who knew we had such power?

To be informed of upcoming screenings, sign up for the Newsletter

To learn about opportunities to book the film or help to broadcast or distribute it, send an email to info@livinglightly.ca

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SYNOPSIS OF POWERFUL

A documentary by David Chernushenko

Flick the switch, turn the key, press the button and then pay the bill. Multiply that by six billion and you’ve got a picture of energy consumption on Earth today. We’re hard-wired to a conventional energy system that drives our transportation, powers our communications and is the lifeline to industry and commerce. Despite the benefits, we know that this system is regrettably depleting our resources, polluting our air and affecting global climate change. Guaranteed access to energy is no longer being taken for granted and the quest for “energy security” has become the buzz-word behind global trade relations and even a justification for conflict.

Who has the power after all?

Short of moving “back to the land” and going entirely “off grid”, what’s an ordinary member of society to do?

Green economy educator, David Chernushenko isn’t quite ready to head for the hills, but he has taken the extra special step of installing solar panels to off-set some of the energy consumed by his family home. Now, if he could just be allowed to feed some of that energy back into the grid, perhaps others could do the same. But we’re not there yet and David wants to know what we can do about it. From the far side of the ocean to his own backyard, he’ll embark on a global journey to examine the alternatives to the conventional energy system and experience the critical resistance being met along the way. Tackling the spin of the big energy lobby and, equally, dispelling the myths of a “green utopia” envisioned by many, Powerful is a candid examination of what a sustainable energy-powered future may actually look like. From amazing innovators, eccentric eco-activists to average communities completely powered by renewable energy, David will begin to discover that the implications for political, economic and democratic change are right here, on our very doorsteps… or just above them.

Documentary, HD, 95 minutes