A quick look at British Columbia’s renewable electricity grid – Part 1

Hello cyberspace! It’s me Nic from Fruitful English with another hopefully illuminating little post.

I try and keep this blog away from politically charged subjects, but what with the current situation unfolding around the world, I thought it was a good chance to shine a positive light on my own country of Canada, and more particularly, my home province of BC, where my hometown of Vancouver is located.

今や世界中で起こっている気候変動による悪影響

Regardless of where you’re reading this from, I’m sure you’ve noticed a huge increase in a variety of goods, especially oil. In addition, Japanese people more than others must be keenly aware of the negative effects that climate change is wrecking on our world. The environmental catastrophes that have wrought destruction on Japan, from super typhoon to extraordinary rain and flooring events, are only increasing these days. Now more than ever, there’s an incredibly pressing need to move away from fossil fuels.

カナダBC州の電力の95％近くは再生可能エネルギー！

So, that brings me back to BC. I would like to share how BC generates its electricity, which I think is proof that sustainability and carbon-neutrality is possible.

From the Government of Canada, close to 95% of the electricity in BC is generated from renewable sources. This comes from a variety of sources, but overwhelmingly, the majority of electricity produced in BC is from hydroelectricity: hydroelectric dams. 

With our numerous mountains, copious rainfall and tons of open space, it’s the ideal source of energy here. As a fun fact, we even colloquially refer to our electricity bill as our ‘hydro bill’. In other words, you might ask someone:

How much do you pay monthly for hydro?

Since I got my new electric car, I’m paying about 10% more, but at least, I’m not going to the pumps as much!

It really makes me proud and gives me peace of mind thinking that every time I go to charge my phone, or turn on my computer to work for Fruitful English, I know that I’m producing very little in the way of greenhouse gasses. As I alluded to in my sample quote above, that applies to everything that you charge from the wall. I’ve heard many complaints that electric cars still rely on fossil fuels to be charged. That’s true in many, many places, but not all of them! In places like BC and Sweden, where the vast majority of energy comes from renewables, you really can realize the dream of carbon-free transportation!

未来のためにできることを考えよう！

I hope I’ve got my passion for this topic across in this little blog. There’s not enough space on the web for me to say everything that I want, so I’ll have to cut it short here. Don’t worry, I’ll pick this topic up next month, so until then, do your part and reduce your reliance on fossil fuels. It helps the planet, and brings us all closer to world peace as well!

By the way, the picture here is of my dad and I, standing in front of the result of one of BC’s many dams. The water is part of the Capilano Reservoir, which was created by the Capilano Dam on the Capilano River. The peaks in the background are known as the Lions: they are a landmark of Vancouver!

フルーツフルイングリッシュで英語表現の楽しさ感じてください 。初めての方には英作文添削チケット2回分をプレゼント。
「無料英語テスト800問（解説付）」メルマガも大人気。今すぐチェック！

Nic

日本の小中学校で英語を教えるALT講師Nic先生は非常にユーモラスな先生です。台湾でも英語を教えていました。どこでも適応できるのがNic先生が自慢ができること。「肉先生」と読んで欲しいとたまに呼びかけられるかもしれません。こんなコミカルで愉快なNic先生から楽しく英語指導を受けませんか？
座右の名”The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.”