What can you do? A lot!

We’ve done the research. These are the most effective ways to conserve nature and improve the quality of life everywhere on earth (these simple changes can make a big difference):

Transportation: Boy do we get around – cars, trucks, buses, boats, planes! All that transportation accounts for almost half of noxious air pollution, more than a third of greenhouse gas emissions, one quarter of common air contamination and almost one-fifth of water toxicity. Not surprisingly, cars are the worst offenders – they contribute the most carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, cause urban blight (with all those jammed, ugly freeways) and pollute our water and air through exhaust and road runoff. Yuck!

We have an epidemic of respiratory ailments such as asthma in this country – all aggravated by contaminated air – and at least 16,000 premature deaths per year directly linked to air pollution.

No one’s asking you to stay home and lock yourself in a closet. Get out in the world! Just try to lighten your footprint. Here’s how.

Go here to fuel up on more information.

Food: There are so many humans on the planet, simply feeding ourselves has led to all kinds of environmental havoc – air and water pollution, loss of soil and reduced biodiversity. It’s time to clean up our act.

We don’t all need to become overnight vegans or live the 100 Mile Diet (although those are great ideas). But we can have a huge effect on climate change by simply changing a few of our food habits. Here’s how.

Hungry for more information? Check this out.

Energy: You’ve probably heard that Canada is the largest consumer of energy in the world on a per capita basis, and the second largest producer of greenhouse gases (after the United States). We have just over 30 million people, but we use as much energy as the entire continent of Africa, home to 700 million!

Canadians have home heating issues that most Africans don’t, but we have to think of the whole planet as one big community and do our part. Wasting energy hurts nature and your wallet because energy efficiency means lower bills as well as less pollution. (Where will you spend the money you save?) Here’s how.

Plug in here for more energy facts.

Public Action: As individuals, we can green our homes, schools and offices and have a huge impact. But we also need policy movers and shakers to step up to the plate –  with incentives for fuel efficient technologies, legislation banning toxic chemicals and strategies to protect endangered species (to name just a few things).

You can make a difference at so many levels in your community – by hosting meetings, organizing letter writing campaigns to legislators and media outlets, and drumming up support for action on all levels. Here’s how.

Go here for more on this issue.


Download the Green Guide (PDF)
Download the Science of the Challenge (PDF)