Simple changes in our everyday lives can help slow climate change. For an excellent overview of actions you can take to reduce your carbon footprint, please download our brochure, 10 ways you can stop global warming, reduce energy consumption and make a difference (PDF). Together, we can make a difference.

What you can do:

• Reduce your home heating and electricity use. A more energy-efficient home will lower your utility bills and reduce the emissions that cause climate change. Find out how you can increase energy efficiency in your home through the EnerGuide for Houses program.
  
• Choose energy-efficient appliances. New refrigerators, for example, use 40 per cent less energy than models made just 10 years ago. Find out more
  
• Check the Canadian government’s Auto Smart ratings for the next car you intend to buy to make sure it’s fuel efficient and low polluting. A typical SUV uses almost twice the fuel – and releases nearly twice the emissions – of a modern station wagon, although both seat the same number of passengers. Visit the Canadian Annual Office of Energy Efficiency EnerGuide Awards to find the most fuel-efficient vehicles.
  
• Walk, bike, carpool or take transit to get to one of your regular destinations each week.
  
• Learn about the impacts of air travel and consider vacationing close to home.
  
• If you are moving, choose a home within a 30-minute bike, walk or transit ride from your daily destinations. A convenient place to live reduces the amount you drive, which means you’ll lower your greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.
   
• Take care of your trash. Composting all organic waste – and recycling paper, cardboard, cans and bottles – will help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with landfills.
  
• Eat wisely. Choose foods that are local, organic and low on the food chain whenever possible. Make the most of seasonal foods.
  
• Learn about how to plan a green, low-carbon wedding.
  
• Take the David Suzuki Foundation’s Nature Challenge to learn more about other ways you can help protect the environment.
  
• Go Carbon neutral!
  
• Find out more about what you can do to reduce your emissions at work.

Did you know?

• Standard light bulbs give off 90 per cent of their energy as heat. New compact fluorescent "spiral" bulbs are 75 per cent more efficient and fit in standard sockets.

• If you combined all the "heat leaks" in an average Canadian home, you would have a hole the size of a basketball! Proper weather stripping and caulking of doors and windows can reduce heating bills by 25 per cent.

• A typical car produces three times its weight in carbon dioxide emissions – a major greenhouse gas. Light cars produce fewer emissions and cost less. Annual fuel costs average $648 for a new Volkswagen Jetta and $2,067 for a Ford Expedition 4x4.

• Refrigerators are an energy-hogging home appliance. Replacing a 10-year-old refrigerator with a new EnergyStar-approved model would save enough energy to light your home for more than three months.

Encourage your local government to move towards energy efficient communities. Encourage your city to expand transit and other alternatives, make city operations more energy efficient and encourage compact development instead of sprawl. Tips on contacting political representatives.