Warm Up

You now know about greenhouse gases and their harmful effect on our environment. In this activity, you will recognize that Canadians must do their share to reduce greenhouse gas levels.

     

Examining greenhouse gas emissions raises much discussion. Some people will not admit that there is a problem; they believe that the global warming that is occurring is part of a natural cycle. Of those who do believe that man is contributing to the problem, some prefer to focus on the total amount of gases that a nation emits. Others argue that population must be considered, so they prefer to focus on the amount per person that is produced. Regardless of this debate, the international community has accepted that a problem exists and realizes that nations must work together to correct this situation.

People have to realize that this problem is not restricted to industry and governments. Individuals such as yourself who live in a wealthy nation that is a huge energy user have the ability to make changes to reduce these emissions. The measure of the impact your activities have on the environment is known as your carbon footprint.

No one wants to return to living in prairie sod houses, but Canadians can use significantly less energy and reduce their carbon footprint simply by being less wasteful.

Given our climate, of course we need to heat our homes and buildings, but imagine the impact we could have if we thought of this in terms of necessity not comfort. If all households in Canada were to turn their thermostats down one degree, the savings to both the environment and bank accounts would be considerable. If a programmable thermostat is installed and used, its cost is more than covered by savings in energy costs in the first year just by reducing the heat when no one is home or when all are sleeping. You can make other changes to your daily habits to improve this situation.