This is the hottest year on record. Currently we’re facing a protracted heat wave through southern Ontario. News reports have emphasized our vulnerability to such extremes. With air conditioners working overtime Ontario’s capacity for generation of electricity is being surpassed by our needs for consumption. Certainly severe winter weather taxes our ability to keep warm but in mid summer we can’t cope with continuous days of over 30 degrees centigrade.

Doug Skeates Those working outdoors are personally badly stressed but society on the whole seems hard pressed to find answers to the problem. As populations increase things are not going to get better. One colleague years ago found a solution to fit his life style. He took his annual vacation in the form of Mondays through the summer season. He was able to join the family at the cottage on the long weekends so created. He also found that a 4 day work week drastically reduced stress in his life. Coincidentally any reduction in the work week also reduces traffic jams and lessens the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere.

A decision was made several years ago to allow civil servants to practice flex hours of work. This was in response to Toronto’s need to solve traffic congestion. For many it was a real relief to be able to avoid the worst of the rush hour as well as finding that working earlier in the day, or later, allowed for greater accomplishment without the constant interruptions found during normal working hours.

The city of Toronto has developed a system of controlling severe pollution. Companies producing heavy emissions have agreed to curtail activities when the pollution indicators are above a certain level. Surely if society has been able to compensate for one social concern it must be possible to find solutions to extreme heat conditions.

Several years ago on a visit to Scandinavia I encountered a time when all businesses in Finland were closed for the month of August. I suspect that Industry found this was a relatively easy means of simplifying the allocation of vacation time. Though this does not appear practical in Canadian terms, a reduction to a 4 day work week during July and August would reduce many of society’s pressures. Union agreements include vacation time. For workers entitled to four weeks vacation it should be possible to get an agreement to make this two weeks off plus eight days in the form of reduced days during the summer months when children are off school.

Probably the best solution would be one day’s closure of a businesses on a staggered basis each week. This would have to be on an agreed basis, each business selecting a specific closure day. If this could be coordinated within the community, this could amount to a 20% reduction on demands for energy during months of extreme heat let alone alleviating stress on other problems such as traffic congestion. This would in turn enhance vehicle flow thereby reducing the amount of pollution emissions.

There are far greater means for society to reduce energy needs during hot months but these would require major changes in infrastructure. It would be advantageous if industries and businesses were decentralized with residential communities located in close proximity. It would help if greater emphasis was placed on working arrangements whereby home participation in company activities was encouraged, or incentives provided for members of the work force to locate themselves closer to employer facilities. This brings up the subject of better public transportation to central work centres if business decentralization proves impossible.

Much greater consideration for improved environmental conditions around business locations could help reduce heating and cooling conditions throughout the community. Summer heat within any industrial or business park is horrendous. Greater emphasis on regreening around buildings by reforestation and/or roof top gardens for flat topped buildings would greatly reduce energy consumption as well as moderating temperature for the whole community.

It is unfortunate that adequate planning of community development wasn’t given enough thought many years ago. Closer association between community and establishment of businesses in the future could at least slow down the inevitable increased rate of energy use in the years ahead.