news
November 4, 2008
Canuck Kesler commits to Power Smart, but not to a small car
It’s no surprise that a guy who spends his life on the ice might like the house thermostat set low.
Vancouver Canucks centre Ryan Kesler, 24, says it was growing up in the cold state of Michigan that permanently acclimatized him to frosty temperatures. For his wife and baby daughter, however, the temperature comes back on when Kesler goes on the road for his fourth year with the Canucks.
“I like the cold,” he says. “I walk around in shorts and a T-shirt because I grew up in Michigan, and I’m used to the cold. I don’t have covers [on the bed], stuff like that… We have a duvet, but it’s on the floor by morning. I am just one of those people who doesn’t like being hot.
“Rarely do we ever turn the heat on. I know my wife turns it on when I go on the road, but when I’m home it’s easier for her to throw on a sweatshirt than for me to go around naked.”
Kesler joined Team Power Smart—now 45,000 members strong and growing daily—more than a year ago. And since then he’s become aware that little changes make a big difference.
“I thought it was a great idea and a great way to kind of get people to conserve energy and be Power Smart,” he says.
The Keslers just moved into a rebuilt 3,000 sq. ft. Kitsilano home that was renovated from the studs up, so it was made energy efficient along the way. They spend their summers in Michigan, where Kesler grew up until he was 18. Since then, he has lived in Vancouver, which is much more urban than the semi-rural environment he’s used to in Michigan.
In Michigan, the Keslers—including a pug, a pomeranian and a puggle—live on a lake on more than two acres of property.
“We’re just trying to cut back and turn the lights off, turn off the water when we brush our teeth,” says Kesler.
‘You still gotta live, you still gotta drive’
As for a dark side, Kesler laughs when he mentions the Cadillac Escalade and Nissan Murano that he drives, and the fact that as a hockey player, he spends a lot of time in the air. His next purchase when the lease is up on the Escalade is a hybrid, however.
But there is that gas-guzzling Malibu wakeboard boat he uses on the lake back in Michigan, when he indulges his passion for wake surfing.
“You still gotta live, you still gotta drive. You can’t be 100% green,” says Kesler. “But there are little things that you can do that make such a big difference. That’s what I really like about the program.“
Source: BC Hydro
