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Transport Canada working to protect the environment
Transport Canada is working to protect the environment and develop a more
sustainable transportation system. The department works with many partners
throughout the transportation system to address important environmental
issues such as climate change
Green travel tips - what you can do
If you want to do your part for the environment, here are some green travel
tips to help you:
- Where possible, walk, bike, skate, use public transportation or carpool when
you travel. If you commute 30 km to work (each way), you could prevent more than
one tonne of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
- Take your car to a free vehicle emission testing clinic sponsored by a
community group in your neighbourhood - there's no fee, no fine, just helpful
tips on keeping your car as green as possible.
- Check the mileage rating when buying a new or used car, and choose more energy
efficient models (more information on mileage ratings can be found at the Office
of Energy Efficiency's Personal Vehicle Initiative website)
- Keep your car well-maintained, and check the oil, tire pressure and wheel
alignment on a regular basis - you can cut gas consumption by up to 10 per cent.
- Use your air conditioner sparingly or open the window or fresh air vents to
cool your vehicle, and park in the shade if you can. Using your air conditioner
in stop-and-go traffic can increase fuel consumption by as much as 20 per cent.
- Respect the speed limit — driving 100 km/h instead of 120 will reduce fuel
consumption by 20 per cent.
- Slow down and accelerate smoothly.
- Remove roof racks when not in use. Even empty racks increase aerodynamic drag
and boost fuel consumption.
- Use a block heater on a timer during the winter. It warms the oil and engine
coolant, making it easier to start your vehicle, and can improve winter fuel
economy by 10 per cent.
- Consider selling your second car — the dollar savings alone could be
$600/month or more.
- Use ethanol-blended gasoline.
- Reduce idling - if every Canadian motorist cut idling time by five minutes a
day, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 1.6 million tonnes a year.
Transport Canada supports a number of programs designed to develop new
technologies for transportation, build greener infrastructure, and educate
Canadians on how to travel in ways that better respect the environment.
The Moving On Sustainable Transportation (MOST) program seeks to stimulate the
development of innovative methods for decreasing the impact of transportation on
the environment, and also aims to provide Canadians with practical information
and tools to adopt “sustainable transportation” thinking in their daily lives.
The Urban Transportation Showcase Program demonstrates, evaluates and promotes
effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from urban
transportation. Through this program, Transport Canada works with provinces and
municipalities to fund a number of transportation showcases in selected cities.
The impacts of these strategies on other urban challenges such as smog reduction
and congestion are also evaluated. This new information is laying a foundation
for the adoption of effective, integrated greenhouse gas emission reduction
strategies in urban centres across Canada.
Transport Canada's Advanced Technology Vehicle Program tests new, more
environmentally friendly vehicles, such as new diesel and hybrid cars, with a
view to adapting them to Canada's high safety standards and incorporating them
in the Canadian market. The program travels the country showcasing the vehicles
to raise public awareness of advanced technology vehicles and new developments
in engines, power trains, construction materials and methods, and fuels. So far,
attendance at the program showcase has exceeded 8.2 million Canadians. Under
Freight Efficiency and Technology Initiative, new and cleaner technologies are
being tested across all freight modes — truck, air, rail and marine. A voluntary
agreement with the Air Transport Association of Canada targets to reduce GHG
emissions from aviation in Canada, and Transport Canada is working with
associations in other modes to conclude similar agreements.
Since 1999, Transport Canada has been actively promoting Intelligent
Transportation Systems (ITS) by providing more than $10 million in support of
Canadian projects and research. Intelligent Transportation Systems make up a
broad range of diverse technologies, which are applied to the transportation
sector to make systems safer, more efficient, more reliable and more
environmentally friendly. ITS makes it possible to implement a number of
government regulations and processes (e.g., customs and immigration clearance,
transportation safety compliance, road/bridge toll collection) more
economically, and to improve corporate productivity through time savings,
reduced operating costs and energy consumption, and enhanced reliability and
safety.
Through the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund (CSIF), the Government of
Canada works with provincial, territorial and municipal governments, as well as
with the private sector, to meet strategic infrastructure needs throughout the
country. This Infrastructure Canada program supports public transit, water and
wastewater treatment, improvements to the national highway system, access to
broadband Internet, and tourism and urban development infrastructure. Under CSIF,
Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada are working together to deliver major
public transit expansion projects in Ottawa, the Greater Toronto Area, and
Vancouver.
Find out more about Transport Canada’s environmental programs.
July 2006
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