About 400 community members came out to the Mid Island Co-op’s Energy Tradeshow on April 14th, a 25% increase over last year. And it wasn’t just Nanaimo area residents who attended, but people from Courtenay, Comox, Parksville, Denman Island, Gabriola Island and Duncan came to check out the show.

The purpose of the tradeshow was to raise awareness of how the residents of Vancouver Island can reduce our energy needs and become much more sustainable through home and business energy efficiency options, conservation and renewable energy alternatives.

Throughout the day, the over flowing parking lot at Bowen Park left some people to park on the street. Despite the crowded lot, attendees weren’t disappointed by the quality of information they found at the variety of exhibitor booths. From solar hot water heating and wind turbines to micro hydro and rain water collection, attendees reported that it was certainly worth their while. “That flashy car is something else,” one attendee commented about the three-wheeled Alé by Fuel Vapor Techologies. The car that gets 100mpg.

“The trade show was a fine success from my perspective,” shared Judith Munn, “And I certainly learned a great deal from the various exhibitors. The keynote speaker…was excellent!”

Keynote speaker, Naomi Devine of the BC Sustainable Energy Association spoke on the needed change to more towards renewable, green energy and how to implement change on both a political and personal level.

Ian Gartshore of Energy Solutions Vancouver Island shared easy tips that home owners can implement such as buying energy efficient appliances, flushing one’s hot water tank once a year, insulating the hot water tank, change incandescent bulbs to fluorescent lighting, using foam insulators on outside outlets and washing clothes in cold water with higher quality laundry detergent.

And what is the single most effective change of habit residents can make to slow climate change? Buy local food! Local vegetable farmers were also represented at the energy show to educate people on the fact that importing food and shipping food around the world is one of the biggest CO2 producing industries. Food grown locally does not travel the typical 2500 kilometres to get to our plate! To demonstrate, the concession at the show served only local fare.

The variety of ideas and “do-able” solutions presented at the show created a positive environment for change… and plenty of “food for thought.”