Thursday, August 2, 2007

*Heat wave bakes Central, Eastern Canada*

Environment Canada senior climatologist David Phillips said there's
nothing unusual about the excruciating heat wave that's gripped the
better part of Central and Eastern Canada, prompting utilities to beg
consumers to conserve electricity. "This is not a head shaker," Phillips
said Thursday on what was technically the second and arguably the worst
day of the heat wave.

"This is normal life and weather in Central Canada, but it still is
tough to deal with... from both a health and from a comfort point of
view. It's not climate change, it's something that we've always had to
deal with."

Phillips said temperatures across Ontario, Quebec and into Eastern
Canada were expected to reach the low 40s with the humidity, while the
West Coast was to remain a comfortable - though slightly hotter than
usual - 25 to 28 C.

Phillips said the weather has been causing problems in a variety of
ways, Citing a tropical storm in Newfoundland as well as the blistering
temperatures.

"Even in Montreal, where they don't get as many pollution days as
(Ontario does), they also are talking about a smog warning and a high
heat and humidity warning, so the weather map is filled with all kinds
of misery, hardship and misfortune," he said.

"We have UV indexes of high, we have heat alerts, we have humidex
alerts, we have smog warnings, we have high heat advisories. My God, you
better hide under the bed because there's a lot of weather that can get
in your way."

WWF-Canada climate change campaign manager Keith Stewart said it's days
like this that put an incredible strain on the power supply.

Closing the blinds during the day to keep out the hot sun, taking care
not to crank air conditioners, and unplugging appliances like stereos
and televisions that drain power, even when they're not in use, are just
some of the simple things people can do to conserve electricity, he said.

Longer term strategies include planting trees around your home,
investing in an energy audit to ensure your place is properly insulated
and purchasing more energy efficient products, he added.

Terry Young, a spokesman with Ontario's Independent Electricity System
Operator, said both commercial and residential air conditioners should
be set no higher than 26 degrees. He also encouraged businesses to turn
off unnecessary lighting and suggested people wait until after 8 p.m. to
do laundry or run the dishwasher.

"We're not in a situation where we're saying 'here's a warning, you need
to or else,' " Young said. "What we're saying is demands are high, the
system's strained and if you cut back, you're going to release some of
the strain.

"You're going to help the environment and you're going to help yourself
as well because you're going to pay less for electricity when you get
your bill."

Young said demand for electricity in Ontario was expected to reach
26,500 megawatts, making it the second highest power demand day in the
province's history.

The record was set on August 1 last year when demand reached 27,005
megawatts, he said.

But even with all the coal, natural gas and nuclear generators operating
at full capacity, including one of three nuclear reactors previously out
of service in Pickering, Ont., Young said Ontario still isn't producing
enough power to meet the demand.

"We won't have enough generation in Ontario to meet our needs so we are
going to have to look outside," he said, noting the province will import
between 1,700 to 2,000 megawatts of electricity in from Quebec and the
United States.

Last month's heat wave on the Prairies is taking a toll on western
crops, the Canadian Wheat Board reported Thursday.

The board is now predicting a western wheat and durum crop of 20 million
tonnes, down five per cent from its original forecast in June. The
forecast for barley production has dropped 10 per cent to 11.3 million
tonnes.