One-Tonne Challenge
(I’ve been meaning to write about this for a while but Rick Mercer beat me to it!)
The One-Tonne Challenge is designed to help Canadians understand and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a great site, with a questionnaire to analyze your energy use and calculate your annual greenhouse gas emissions. Once you’re done, it suggests different ways you can reduce that amount and how the effect on your total.
The average Canadian produces 5 tonnes of greenhouse gas every year - the goal is to reduce this amount by 20%, or one tonne. We need to reduce current emission levels by at least 23% in order to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. Scientists suggest that number should be as high as 60% to reach sustainable levels. I’m a firm believer that through individual efforts, seemingly small, we can make a big difference when added up in the end. The One-Tonne Challenge will go a long way to helping Canadians meeet the Kyoto target and raise awareness about our lifestyles’ affect on the planet.
We took the challenge and rang in at about 2.4 tonnes per year. That’s a pretty low number: half the Canadian average and a tonne below the BC average. Can we really reduce that by another tonne? Maybe not, but I’m sure we can reduce it by at least 20% and encourage others to take the challenge.
Besides the One-Tonne site, you can also check out David Suzuki’s site for ideas about reducing your impact on climate change.
Non-Canadians: You can still give the challenge a try! Some of the data may be a little skewed (e.g. you have to pick the Canadian province you “live” in) but it will give you a good idea of your emissions with helpful tips on what you can do to reduce your impact on global warming. And for those not familiar with the metric system, 1 tonne = 1000 kg = 2204 lbs.