Challenges Backgrounder

From ClimateNetworkWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

The Challenges Backgrounder will host our initial work to create background information for the Challenges pillar of the Go Beyond Project.

Contents

Changes

Choose your path to climate neutrality...

We want to enjoy a high quality of life. We need to make choices to achieve that quality of life without the greenhouse gas emissions. Remember: you want the services, not the greenhouse gasses. We do not all have to believe the same things. We do all need to act.

We have organized the following actions into small, medium, and large changes from the average person's actions. The small changes add up quickly. The large changes will get you close to climate neutrality for that service. Start small if you want to build the habits and mindfulness to make bigger changes easier.

One of the best paths to cliamte neutrality is picking small and medium changes in two of the categories and large changes in one of them.

Transportation

Commuting

The LiveSmart BC program has information on tax benefits and tips for greener transportation choices. Open this page in another window or tab for when you're done here:Save on Fuel

Small:

Medium:

Large:

  • Drop the commute entirely and telecommute to work from home.
  • Liberate yourself completely from gasoline and insurance with a bike, a transit pass, and possibly membership in a car-share coop.

Travel

Small:

  • Choose videoconference or teleconferencing instead of travelling.
    • Sleep in when you would have been in the plane, then sip coffee in your pajamas while you're meeting.
  • Road-trip!
    • If you have two or more people in the car you will spend less GHGs by driving than flying the same distance. Memories to last a life-time are also often part of the deal.

Medium:

Large:

  • Have a homefront vacation.
    • Spend the money you would have spent on celebrating with your friends and family.
  • Always take the bus, rail, or car-pool when travelling.

Home

Shelter

This one is kind of a no-brainer so we're not going to bother with the small medium and large changes thing. It is hard to imagine a climate neutral world where everyone lives either by themselves or with one or two other people in gigantic McMansions. Remember that the suburbs of today are a 1950s ideal. They're an experiment that has taken us a good 50 years to build. There's a positive lesson from this: we can accomplish our goals when we try!

Large houses are one of the most obvious signs of wealth and status in our society. However, downsizing doesn't mean poverty. Quite the opposite - it is much cheaper and generally much better for our happiness to live in comfy proximity with other people. A random collection of studies on the subject:

Already living in a big and too-empty house? Try renting out a room or two.

Hot Air

Small:

  • Strengthen your windows cold-defense with shrink-wrap over the panes, caulking, and weather stripping.
  • Get your furnace maintained, at least annually. Having a clean air-filter is particularly important.
  • Dial down your thermostat down by a few degrees in winter.
  • Dial your thermosat down at night or when you are away.
  • Apply caulking around door frames.
  • Plug gaps around pipes, ducts, fans and vents that go through walls, ceilings and floors from heated to unheated spaces.
  • Install weather-stripping on doors and attic hatches.
  • Make sure that the sources of heat in your rooms are not being blocked by heavy drapes, rugs, or furniture.
  • When the sun is shining open the draps and blinds of your sun-facing windows (generally south windows) to let the heat in.
  • Close your drapes and blinds at night to keep heat in.
  • Turn off the heat in your garage unless you are going to use it soon.
  • Install heavy curtains on windows and glass doors to keep in the heat.

Medium:

A good place to start getting serious about home energy efficiency is the five-step program to home energy rewards offered by the government's LiveSmart BC's Efficiency Incentive Program. Open that link in a new window or tab for when you're done here.

  • Install ENERGY STAR windows.
  • Increase the insulation in your home, particularly in the attic and the basement.
  • Get an ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat to match your home's temperature to your work and sleep schedule.

Large:


Hot Water

Small:

  • Lower the temperature setting of your hot water heater to 49 degrees.
  • Spend less time in the shower. Your room-mates will thank you.
  • Wash your clothes in cold water
  • Procastinate on using your washing machine until it is full. (You know you want to.)
  • Install a low flow shower head to enjoy the same clean for less $.

Medium:

  • Think of your water heater's comfort. Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket.
  • Choose an ENERGY STAR dish washer.
  • Choose an ENERGY STAR washing machine.

Large:


Food

Small Changes:


Medium Changes:


Large Changes:


Electricity Checklist

BC is in a strange situation when it comes to electricity use and climate change. 90% of BC's energy comes from renewable sources. Turning on the lights in BC causes far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than doing the same thing in Alberta or Ontario.

However, the demand for electricity in BC has grown rapidly over the past decade. Solutions for climate change, like driving electric cars, will also put heavier and heavier demands on our renewable energy. The bottom line: we need to reduce demand for electricity if we want to keep it renewable and affordable.

BC Hydro's new Energy Plan includes a target "to acquire 50 per cent of BC Hydro's incremental resource needs through conservation by 2020."

The following check-list will give you a sense of how you are doing. BC Hydro has a longer checklist of tips for conserving electricity with how-to links - open it up in a new window or in a new tab before you finish this assessment: PowerSmart Tips and To-Dos.

Do you:

  • Concentrate bright light where you need it for particular tasks?
  • Use motion sensors for outdoor light?
  • Choose a sweater instead of a portable electric space heater?
  • Use dimmer switches on your lights?
  • Wash your clothes in cold water?
  • Put applicances on a power bar and turn it off when they are not in use?
  • Hang your laundry to dry instead of using a clothes dryer?
  • Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents?
  • Use ceiling fans to save on air conditioning?
  • Choose ENERGY STAR appliances?

Links and Resources

The following are NOT meant for inclusion in the Go Beyond website.

Challenges:

Calculators:

How-To's:

Organizing:

Retrieved from "http://www.campusclimatenetwork.org/wiki/Challenges_Backgrounder"
Personal tools
Campus Climate Network