A seminar on Cup Day

Press, 9 November 1978, Page 7

A seminar on Cup Day

By

BILL KREGER

Just as farmers are disinterested in irrigation schemes during floods, members of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce seem loath to attend seminars about energy conservation, especially when held an a warm, bright day which happens to coincide with the running of the New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington. Such was the situation on Tuesday when a seminar on the efficient use of energy was held and sponsored by the chamber. Apart from a reporter, chamber officers, and speakers, only seven persons turned up for what was a most informative and worth-while meeting. It started with an audiovisual presentation by Mr A. Bright, a conservation officer of the Ministry of Energy. Mr Bright, who has vis-

ited hundreds of industrial plants in New Zealand telling people how they can save money by turning off lights and conserving heat, said in opening: “I am excited at being here.”

In view of the audience the seminar had attracted, it seems that he might have been exuding a little too much enthusiasm. But, nevertheless, he came across well. The audio-visual presentation, already run hundreds of times, he said, was far more effective that the thousands of dollars spent on television advertising spots.

Mr Bright noted several cases of energy wastage common in New Zealand including the plastic trays, cups, spoons, and glasses invariably served to passengers on domestic Air New Zealand flights and which cost 22c a set. With no-one willing to reclaim them or even burn them, they were being dumped

in a most non-biodegra-dabie way. Mr Bright went so far as to hope that the next Budget would provide more money for such a programme and also the money to let more industries know they could make considerable tax savings through the installation of relatively inexpensive control devices.

After Mr Bright’s audiovisual presentation, the economics of efficient energy use were outlined by Dr J. B. Stott, reader in chemical engineering, and Professor J. Arrillaga, professor of electrical engineering, both of the University of Canterbury. Their comments were based on a conference held recently at Cambridge, in England. While Mr Bright had been giving his audio-vis-ual presentation, the drapes across the expansive windows of the chamber’s hall had had to

be closed and the lights turned off.

During the presentations by the next two speakers, the drapes remained closed and the overhead incandescent lights blazed on until afternoon tea — when the suggestion was made that it might be better to open the drapes than keep the bright lights on. The suggestion was acted on. There followed a description of the tax-m--centive scheme by a representative Of the Department of Trade and Industry, a replay of some case histories by a chemical engineering consultant, and an energyassessment programme talk by an energy consultant. Meanwhile, the New Zealand Trotting Cup and the Melbourne Cup had been run and the meeting adjourned at 5 p.m. for what was politely noted on the programme as “light refreshments.”