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We're making simple changes in our lives in order to protect environment. And it works. Here are some of your stories.
If you have a story of your own, we want to hear it! Email the !
Let us know if you don't want us to share your story with the Nature Challenge community.
| Your comments on the new look for David Suzuki's Nature Challenge: I love the new format so much easier to take in all the information! - Cheryl Bosley |
Here's what you've been doing:
| January 21, 2008 At my aunt's there is a porch off the side of the house, just screened windows and door. It is often used instead of the fridge or freezer to keep food cool Echo Railton |
| January 18, 2008 I have always felt that I was conscious of the environment but after watching An Inconvenient Truth I realized we need to do more. Before watching it we had just built a house where we put geothermal heat in, extra insulation on the basement and exterior walls. We have all CFL bulbs and bought energy efficient appliances. Since then we have started making an honest effort to reduce how often we drive. Not idling vehicles on cold winter days. I have started running or biking to work on as many days as I can. Also as an automotive instructor I am trying to bring more awareness to the students about our world. Mike MacKinnon Miscouche, PEI |
| January 18, 2008 My husband and I purchased our first home in October at 108 Mile Ranch. Installing a programmable thermostat was one of the first changes we made. The heat is off when we're not home and from 8pm until 6am every day. We keep our home at a cold temperature, a cold temperature compared to the North American average, a "chilly" 17.5C... but it doesn't feel cold to us. I throw on a sweater and my husband wears pants and socks during the evenings rather than shorts and no socks. This is one of the many changes I have planned for our new home. Big Red Murray (108 mile Ranch, BC) |
| January 17, 2008 The Arctic is now the centre of global attention as the world struggles to comprehend and respond to climate change. Virtually 100% of the fuel and a great deal of the food consumed in Nunavut must be imported, much of it by air. The greenhouse is an effort by one small Arctic community to reduce its carbon footprint by growing some of its own food. It is undoubtedly symbolic, but perhaps it can become a symbol that leads others in parts of the world that are causing climate change to do their part as well. Already, the greenhouse has received quite extensive media attention. John Lamb, Iqaluit Community Greenhouse Society |
| November 5, 2007 We recently had a party that encouraged our guests to bring food with locally grown ingredients. In keeping with the book, “The 100-mile diet,” the party-goers had to make food with ingredients that were grown within a one hundred mile radius of Barrie. The party was a huge success. The food was fantastic. It looked very different from other parties where so much of the food gets defrosted. Everyone rose to the challenge and created tantalizing dishes that were sumptuous to the eyes and the taste buds. To encourage our guests not to cheat we required they pay a $5.00 penalty (donated to the Foundation) for each ingredient that came from out of bounds. We would like to challenge others to try a similar theme. Ines Enderlein (Barrie, ON) |
November 1, 2007 Janice Horgos |
| October 22, 2007 Last week I sat down to read the last chapter of the Suzuki autobiography. When i turned on my lamp (with the environmentally friendly lightbulb), the lightbulb made a horrible buzzing sound then started smoking (just a bit). Also there was an odd odour. I unplugged the lamp and opened to the windows but i knew i would be okay. Because of the email you sent a few weeks ago, I knew that the mercury content was lower than a watch battery - thus I never overreacted. Jeremey Ludwig |
| October 8, 2007 After taking the Nature Challenge I am happy to report that we have made some real changes in our household. We equipped our flat with energy saving light bulbs and are now turning off the computer every night. Also, we have taken our car off the road and purchased a second bicycle and a bike trailer, which converts to stroller, for our daughter. We did not stop there. We topped that off with renting a community garden lot and are now growing a portion of our own food. I feel much better about what we are doing and where we are. Veronika Polanska (Burnaby, BC) |
September 24, 2007 I work in a call centre that employs about 1000 people and couldn’t believe that there were no recycling boxes anywhere. I wrote management and explained that if only half (500) of the employees threw 1 pop/juice/water can/bottle in the garbage 3 times a week we would be adding 780,000 cans to landfills every 10 years. That is just from one place of employment – unbelievable and unacceptable. With a couple of days the company had recycling bins spread throughout the centre. This is a small thing, but if every business in North America did the same, we would be doing great things. -Kaluyuti Ninha |
| September 17, 2007 I realized early this year, after seeing my huge hydro bill for an almost all electric home, that that it doesn't matter how many light bulbs I replace in my home, or how many times I put my clothes out on the clothesline, or if I put six sweaters on to keep warm, I live in a house too large for two people. So the "for sale" sign has gone up on our lawn, and I've purchased a tiny condo close to my husband's work with a ludicrously low hydro bill. I realize that for me the Nature Challenge means more than driving the speed limit to get where I want to go, but rather "living real." I will not live to impress others with my excess. I sleep better in my small condo. And if I have learned anything from the Nature Challenge, it is that I can take ownership of how I live. -Gene Graham |