The Editor:
RE: New Port Moody school to feature solar panels
While BC Hydro is busy building Site C to provide electricity that is low in greenhouse gas emissions, I am left scratching my head over the installation of solar photovoltaic panels proposed for the renovation of Moody Elementary School.
The new school may continue to emit a large quantity of greenhouse gases from natural gas-fuelled space heating furnaces and water heaters.
A more climate change-sensitive design would eliminate the school's greenhouse gas emissions with solar hydronic panels supplemented by a ground-source heat pump for space and water heating.
A more sustainable school would utilize passive design features with more wall and ceiling insulation; better natural lighting; and energy-conserving ventilation equipment.
After the City of Port Moody has declared a "climate emergency," School District 43 should be showing leadership by making the renovated school an example of voluntary compliance with the new Energy Step Code.
The students who attend this school will have to live with the climate that is bequeathed to them by the infrastructure building decisions that are made today.
- D.B. Wilson, Port Moody
