Eating more fresh produce and less meat can help your health – and the planet’s, advises Greenpeace.
Here are four tips from the David Suzuki Foundation to reduce your carbon footprint — not just on Earth Day — but every day.
GREENER TRANSPORTATION
According to the David Suzuki Foundation about 24 per cent of Canada’s emissions come from transportation, with cars and trucks as the biggest polluters.
If possible, choose cycling, walking or public transit over driving. If your neighbourhood makes that unfeasible, then consider trading in a gas vehicle for an EV or plug-in hybrid.
If you can’t avoid flying, you can look into purchasing a carbon offset. This is a credit purchased through a broker or retailer that balances out the expected carbon use of a flight with reductions elsewhere. For more info on this visit https://davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/carbon-offsets/.
GREENER EATING
Our food system — how we raise and harvest the plants and animals we eat, as well as how we process, package and ship them — is another significant contributor to emissions and climate change, according to the Suzuki Foundation, and here are three ways to lighten our impact:
• Support local agriculture, including farmers markets and community-supported agriculture. Wherever possible, choose organic;
• Opt for more plant-based meals and less meat and dairy products. Beef, lamb and cheese have some of the largest carbon footprints of all food products;
• Don’t waste food. Nearly half of all food produced worldwide is wasted after production, discarded in processing, transport, supermarkets and kitchens. When we throw out food, we waste all the resources that went into its production.
A GREENER HOME
By making some thoughtful changes at home, you’ll not only emit fewer emissions, you’ll save money too. Some things you can’t control, such as how carbon-dependent your provincial energy grid is; but here some things you can do:
• Swap your furnace for an electric heat pump;
• Get a home energy audit;
• Swap your gas stove for an electric stove;
• Learn how to cool your home in the summer without AC and prevent heat from escaping in the winter;
• If you live in a condo, work to ensure renovations include energy-efficiency upgrades and