The Green Neighbour Challenge
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Canadians can feel very proud of our beautiful country, our free and democratic society, and our vibrant, diverse, and welcoming culture. Sadly, our use of energy is not something in which we can take a great deal of pride.
Canadians use, on average, more energy per capita than any other country in the world. We even out-consume Americans by about 15% per capita. To put this into perspective, Canada - a country of just over 35 million people - uses more energy than all of India: a country of over 1.2 billion people. If that does not make the point clear enough, Canada also consumes more energy than the entire continent of Africa. |
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To make matters worse, Canadians are also the world's biggest polluters, producing more garbage per capita than any other country on Earth. It is time that we turn this trend around, and if the 2030 consensus is correct, then we have very, very little time to do this. From a climate change standpoint, we have hit the wall. If we wish to maintain any of the things that we have, any of the things that we enjoy, or any of things that we dream of having in the future, then we must act now on climate change, and we must act decisively.
Canadians are now being issued the Green Neighbour Challenge: a challenge to become the world's greenest neighbours, instead of the worlds most prolific energy hogs and environmental laggards. Here are the THREE STEPS to the GREEN NEIGHBOUR CHALLENGE: |
David Roberts explains the harsh reality of climate change. The only thing that costs more than addressing climate change... is not addressing it.
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STEP ONEExamine ideas for greening your lifestyle.
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STEP TWOPick some ideas that will make a substantive impact on your carbon footprint, and start integrating them into your lifestyle... today!
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STEP THREETweet out your initiatives, ideas, and progress by using the hashtag
#GreenNeighbourChallenge. Follow this hashtag regularly, and encourage other people in their efforts to go green by liking and retweeting their green initiatives. |
Looking for a way to jump start your Green Neighbour Challenge?
How about starting a carpool at work? Better yet, encourage others to do the same by downloading and printing off the Green Neighbour Challenge carpool poster and posting it up at your workplace!
Learn more about Climate Change
Learn more about why it will take all of us, and why we need to act now.
How about starting a carpool at work? Better yet, encourage others to do the same by downloading and printing off the Green Neighbour Challenge carpool poster and posting it up at your workplace!
Learn more about Climate Change
Learn more about why it will take all of us, and why we need to act now.
References:
America Pink, http://america.pink/pollution-canada_3548971.html
Hunter, R. (2002). 2030: Confronting thermageddon in our lifetime. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
CBC, http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadians-produce-more-garbage-than-anyone-else-1.1394020
Shrink the Footprint, http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/average-household-electricity-consumption
Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-621-m/11-621-m2005023-eng.htm
United Nations, http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/08/transforming-our-world-document-adoption/
America Pink, http://america.pink/pollution-canada_3548971.html
Hunter, R. (2002). 2030: Confronting thermageddon in our lifetime. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
CBC, http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadians-produce-more-garbage-than-anyone-else-1.1394020
Shrink the Footprint, http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/average-household-electricity-consumption
Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-621-m/11-621-m2005023-eng.htm
United Nations, http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/08/transforming-our-world-document-adoption/
Resources:
| Green Neighbour Challenge, Carpool Poster 1 |
| Green Neighbour Challenge, Carpool Poster |