Small fixes, big returns
Shrinking ice, fewer bears, no skiing, no Gretzkys
What to do and how to do it
The future of energy
Political energy and where to direct it

Political energy and where to direct it

You can change all the light bulbs and lifestyle habits you want, but if leaders and their policies don’t change, they’ll undo the positive steps we make. That’s why we need to let our government and corporate leaders know that they need to make changes too.

The current Federal government has rebates to help you become more energy efficient — check out the ecoEnergy Retrofit incentive program. This is a good thing. Problem is, there still isn’t enough financial support for energy efficiency investments available to the average homeowner. The previous government’s EnerGuide program offered a 50 percent subsidy on all energy audits (they typically cost about $300). The current government’s ecoEnergy Retrofits program doesn’t offer a subsidy for the audit and has enough funding to retrofit only about two percent of Canada’s homes. Tell your MP  to make the home audit less expensive or free.

Some provinces are adopting California’s emissions standards for vehicles, but car companies are fighting back, and there’s no national standard for keeping greenhouse gases out of the air. Canada’s government is siding with Australia and the United States in an alliance to do nothing to cut carbon emission levels. If we’re silent about that, they’ll think we approve. When politicians do something good for the environment, encourage them. When they do something bad, tell them you don’t approve. To see what your province is doing, check out All Over the Map.

And finally, a Halloween update:
ThanksGreening isn't the only new fall tradition. This Halloween Canadians chose to share David Suzuki's Nature Challenge by dressing in masks of the Doctor himself. Check out our photo gallery!

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