The one best thing you can do this Earth Day
If you’re ready to look beyond light bulbs and recycling,
here is the one best thing you can do to help the planet: change the way you
get to work tomorrow.
Transportation accounts for 200 million tonnes of
greenhouse gas emissions annually in Canada
and 1.8
billion tonnes annually in the US.
Much of that is produced by cars and light trucks. Commuting to work is probably the single
biggest environmental offence each of us commits: frustrated and tooting while
idling and polluting.
Here are the most eco-friendly ways to get to work, in
order:
1. Walking, biking or telecommuting (working from home);
2. Any form of public transit – take the paper or your
laptop, and enjoy being chauffeured; and
3. Carpooling, a great money-saving option for people living
beyond the reach of public transit.
For the health of our planet (and therefore us), perhaps the
whole notion of commuting solo by car needs to be reconsidered.
If you are ready to make a big commitment to a better
planet, change the way you go to work tomorrow.
Call a friend, take the bus or hop on a bike. The timing couldn’t be better: it’s Earth
Day.
In the News:
With the loss
of two more glaciers, Glacier
National Park is now down
to 25. It probably shouldn’t surprise us
but last month was the
warmest March on record globally.
Postscript to the previous Green Ideas: more people choose
stairs over the escalator when it’s fun, as this fun 2-minute video shows!
For Earth Day, here’s a lesson from a
favourite children’s fable.