It is incomprehensible that so many stores on Baker Street (many catering to those who want to enjoy, explore, and protect our environment from negative human impacts) insist on wedging their doors open while blasting air conditioning during heat waves.
It’s not a huge leap of consciousness to acknowledge that using precious energy to cool an interior environment is wasted when doors are wedged open all day.
There is a simple choice to be made: to either use air conditioning to control indoor environments, or to use open doors, but not both at the same time, costing us all by increasing the consequences of climate change now and into the future.
Recently, we left a restaurant patio before even ordering our meals when a waitress insisted on lighting up a heating lamp at 6 p.m. when the temperature was over 34 degrees because one other customer complained they were cold. Anyone who feels cold at 34 degrees needs to take care of their own needs by putting on a sweater.
But the servers’ rude and dismissive response to valid objections left us no option but to leave.
Clearly we need bylaws to guide businesses to make more informed choices regarding ethical use of our shared and finite power resources. I am appalled by this obtuse and intentional disregard of reality and sincerely hope that our City will help to enforce guidelines for businesses to honour reality instead of catering to greed and ignorance above all.
Sascha Galt
Nelson