What You Told Us
Canadians from coast to coast are taking action to kick-start their One-Tonne Challenge. Read what they are doing in your province or territory.
Stories are published in the language in which they were submitted.
Alberta
My wife and I lowered our emissions by 65% by buying a used hybrid vehicle and signing up for 100% green power. What we’re really proud of, though, is that we’ve challenged all our friends and family to beat our percentage drop.
-Don Carruthers Den Hoed, Alberta
British Columbia
I sold my car and joined the Cooperative Auto Network. Now I drive maybe 900km a year and walk, bus or ride my bike everywhere else.
-Stephen Buckley, British Columbia
I have bought a more efficient gas water heater, installed water saving shower heads, started composting, turned down our thermostat to 68 during the day and 64 at night, installed a programmable thermostat, and don’t water my grass in the summer.
-Charlene, British Columbia
Nova Scotia
We are lobster fishermen in Cape Breton. To reduce fuel consumption, we stopped hauling our lobster traps every day. We haul half one day, half the next. By hauling half our traps the engine is running a shorter day, cutting our fuel consumption by 3,500 liters per year. We have been doing this for eight years so we have saved 28,000 liters.
-Cathy Murrant, Nova Scotia
Ontario
I'm a grade five teacher who has the most fortunate responsibility of teaching all 90 grade five students about conservation of energy. I ordered each of their families a guide and have been assigning it as part of their culminating task. They are so enthused about this endeavour and have been spreading the word to everyone they know. We have already made changes to the way we use and conserve energy in our school. This is truly my favourite part of the science curriculum to teach!
-Danielle Parlato, Ontario
I am amazed at how much composting reduces the number of garbage bags my partner and I set out each week. We are down to one bag of garbage a month.
-Alicia Benton, Ontario
The solar panels I use to boost my boat’s battery system in summer are used to charge batteries in my garage in winter, which through an inverter, powers the garage door opener.
-Arthur Griffiths, Ontario
We use energy-efficient appliances, stove, fridge and front-loading washing machine. I use mainly cold water in many of the loads. The biggest part: I use clotheslines to dry our clothes. I use the drier only if absolutely necessary!
-Mrs. Faith Cook, Ontario
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