Bob and his flashlight

A couple of weeks ago if someone had told me that I was going to be blogging about Bob Costas I would have assumed that it would be about my longstanding distaste for the man. Let’s face it – he takes himself way too seriously. Costas has almost single-handedly made prime-time Olympics unwatchable for the past twenty years, and he leads a football highlights show that is laughable and frustrating and light years behind the other networks’ products.

It was about a year ago to this day that millions of people across the US and Canada joined me in lambasting smug little Costas. That was the day that Bob and his NBC colleagues decided to try one of the most blatant and embarrassing examples of greenwashing that I have ever seen. In order to promote the launch of their 2007 Green Week, Costas and his crew of Sunday Night Football commentators did their half-time show in a darkened studio (save for a few romantic candles). While they pledged that they were conserving energy by turning off the studio lights, they forgot to deal with the vast array of video monitors surrounding the set that were lit up like Christmas trees. Viewers were even treated to the fun of watching Costas play around with a flashlight with his fellow commentators.

And to top it off, they went for a special report to Matt Lauer who was stationed somewhere near the Arctic Circle for a piece on global warming. There was Lauer, surrounded by husky dogs in a bright generator-fed spotlight on the frozen tundra. I was left thinking – how much jet fuel, generator fuel and other resources were wasted so that we could have three minutes of Matt Lauer reporting an incredibly weak and uninformative report?

With that lengthy introduction, now you can imagine my surprise as I was watching Costas and friends announce their 2008 Green Week and it was actually well done! I usually ignore the NBC halftime crew for all of the reasons mentioned above, but I perked up this past week when I heard them go into their Green Week talk. How could I not after last year’s debacle? I was actually hoping that they would do the show in total darkness so that I would not have to see Costas and his friends. Alas, for this year’s Green Week they worked in a fully-lit studio, but the panel discussed the choices that they have made in their own lives to make a positive impact on the environment. This was actually interesting and informative. I think it is awesome that Jerome Bettis’ family washes their clothes in cold water – hopefully a lot more people do it now too. Usually Keith Olbermann is difficult to stomach, but it is great that he told America that he has stopped drinking from disposable water bottles.

NBC’s Green Week 2008 helped to promote the message that my wife Jenni and I have been trying to spread through our blogs and the upcoming Kuzuka website – that small manageable steps can make a difference. So this week I tip my cap to my old nemesis Bob Costas and his crew. They have a difficult time putting together a quality football broadcast, but they seem to be getting the hang of how to do an informative and fun Green Week show.

At Kuzuka we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to President-elect Obama for his historic and resounding victory earlier this week. Mr. Obama has captured the hearts and minds of people the world over, and we are optimistic that he will actually be able to deliver on some of the change that he promised throughout the lengthy campaign. Let us hope that Mr. Obama sticks to his word and brings the climate change issue to the federal level in the USA after years of relative ignorance to the problem. With the power shift that will be occurring when the new Congress starts in January, the Democrats are in the position to introduce rigorous but fair federal climate change legislation.

On another note, over the past several months it has been so interesting being able to monitor the American presidential race from my humble home in the Great White North. For those of you that aren’t aware of this, we had a federal election up here in Canada earlier this fall. The entire process took about six weeks from the time the Prime Minister announced the election to when it was held. What I found amazing was that during that six-week campaign period in September and October, most of my Canadian friends and family were much more interested in talking about the American election.

Why is this?

Is it because they knew that my wife and I are American citizens and they wanted to get an American perspective on the US election?

Is it because they were just doing the most favorite of Canadian pastimes – obsessively concerning themselves with American issues and comparing themselves to Americans?

I don’t think it is either of these reasons. I think the reason they were so interested in the American election more than their own is because the American candidates were actually appealing! Look at the two choices in the American election. One was a decorated war hero and one of the few maverick politicians known to cross party lines and vote with his conscience. The other was one of the most charismatic and motivating politicians I have ever seen, and the first African-American candidate to ever gain his party’s nomination for President.

What did we have to choose from here in Canada? We actually have a lot of political parties in Canada, but only two have a realistic chance of governing. Choice 1 - an incumbent prime minister with a bad attitude, bad haircut, and zero charisma or charm. Choice 2 – a lifelong academic who looks like one of the guys from the audio-visual club in high school. No wonder the Canadians were so turned off by their own election and mesmerized by the American one.

Congratulations again Mr. Obama. We at Kuzuka look forward to working in a country governed by an administration that will address the issue of climate change with the attention that it deserves.

A few days ago my office thermostat decided to call it quits. Besides the inconvenience of having to replace it, at least it provided me with something to write about in this edition of ‘The Buzz’. And I suppose I should be relieved that it decided to die during the fall. At least I have a few weeks before I’ll be using it full time. In the middle of winter I would have to make a frantic visit to the local hardware store before my office pipes froze.

Only a couple of days after the thermostat quit I received my natural gas bill. To my delight inside was a rebate coupon from my utility for $15 on the purchase of a programmable thermostat. This is just one example of the hundreds of rebates that are available to homeowners and businesses for new energy-efficient products and/or upgrades. These rebates can be up to several hundred dollars for some larger products like heating/cooling systems, appliances, and even automobiles.

If you are in the market for an energy-efficient product make sure you check out the websites of your local utility and government - it could save you money! Here are a few sites to get you started:

Environment Canada incentives and rebates database

DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Energy)

Energy Star Rebate Locator