Doing Just Two Things Is Enough to Prevent Climate Change

For Blog Action Day 2009, Treehugger.com wrote that "If We All Just Do Two Things We Can Prevent Climate Change" -- and what are those two amazing things?

"1) Sign Up For Green Power With Your Utility"

"2) Stop Eating Meat"

Sounds familiar to me.

- We're on green power from BullfrogPower since January 2007
- We've been vegetarian for the last 20 years.

Both changes have been easier than many people think. Among many other benefits, vegetarianism saves you money (beans and whole grains are cheap - meat is expensive). Green power may cost more per kWh -- but if you conserve electricity throughout your house, you could cut your consumption in half, and pay the same in the end as you did for conventional power, with no major impact on your lifestyle.

But why stop there? We've done lots of other things too:

Transportation - driving as little and as efficiently as possible by:

- Walking - healthy, community-friendly and cheap!
- Biking - folding bikes, child bike seats and bike trailers work great, too!
- Taking a train - GO Transit or VIA Rail - train schedule permitting
- Working from home (telecommuting) - one of us does it each working day
- Driving very fuel-efficient conventional and hybrid cars - we buy the most fuel-efficient used cars that we can find - they also tend to be the most reliable and therefore cheapest to maintain

Home Energy

- Insulating our basement and crawl space
- Upgrading to very energy-efficient basement windows
- Using a programmable thermostat to save natural gas
- Installing super-efficient, dual-flush toilet - less water used = less energy wasted on pumping and treating it!
- (We're also looking into installing a solar water heater - stay tuned!)

Reuse & Recycling

- Bringing our own mugs/plates/utensils or asking for reusable ones
- Packing litter-free lunches for school
- Avoiding bottled water by filling up water bottles tap or fountain
- Using recycled paper in the office, kitchen, living room and bathroom
- Composting or using the municipal Green Bin program for kitchen scraps
- Recycling everything we can using the municipal Blue Bins
- Scrapping and recycling old cars (over 10-12 years old and not worth repairing) via Car Heaven
- Bringing old, unfixable electronic and computer equipment to a municipal recycling depot

Passing it On

- Educating our children on why we do all of this
- Writing this blog

And yes, we live a comfortable, happy life in a typical Canadian city. Self-preservation means moderation, not self-deprivation.

[Important Notice]

Reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost - why it's important!

I know that you all recycle anyway - because it's good for the environment, and saves landfill space - right? But following the '3Rs' and composting also save energy and help to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Avoiding the production of a material in the first place is the single most effective way to avoid emissions at all stages of its life cycle. Reusing materials also diverts waste from disposal, at least temporarily. (Source)

However, once a material has been produced, recycling is probably the best way to dispose of it. Here are some facts you can use when somebody tells you that it's just too much trouble to recycle that pop can or piece of paper!

How recycling saves resources, energy and GHG emissions:


The waste sector accounts for 3.5 per cent of Canada's total greenhouse-gas emissions.
(Source)

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough electricity to operate a TV for up to 3 hours. (Source)

A ton of paper made from recycled fibers instead of virgin fibers conserves:
* 7,000 gallons of water
* 17-31 trees
* 4,000 KWh of electricity
* 60 pounds of air pollutants
(Source)

Increase storage of carbon in trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in wood, in a process called "carbon sequestration." Waste prevention and recycling of paper products allow more trees to remain standing in the forest, where they can continue to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
(Source)

Using recycled glass to make new glass products requires 40 percent less energy than making it from all new materials.
(Source)

When recovered steel is used instead of iron ore to make new steel, water consumption is reduced by about 50%.
(Source)

It takes 70% less energy to recycle plastic than it does to make it from raw materials.
(Source)

A family of three can reduce GHG emissions by more than 125 kilograms per year by backyard composting.
(Source)

Reduce and reuse too!
If you can save this much energy by recycling, think of all the energy you save when you:

* Buy less stuff!
* Buy stuff with less packaging!
* Use re-usable items, rather than disposable items!