Do you want to protect nature but don't know where to start? You invent the future every day with the choices you make about transportation, food, and energy use. Let's choose wisely. Join the David Suzuki Foundation Nature Challenge today and learn more about how to protect your quality of life.

Walk, bike or take transit to regular destinations
Try leaving your car in the driveway for just one trip a week. Cars are the largest source of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. Each day Canada’s 14 million cars lead to greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

Save on gym fees. A 125-lb. person walking at a brisk pace for only 30 minutes burns 150 calories; a 196 lb. person burns 235 calories. Visit the Walking Calorie Calculators.

Get fit. Thirty minutes of walking per day cuts the risk of heart disease by up to half, and reduces the risk of some cancers, diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis.

Learn more. Walking is a great way to get to know your neighborhood and community. In addition the pace of walking is conducive to visiting or contemplation.

Cycle your way to a healthier planet
Many of our car trips are for distances less than three kilometers - well within the range of an easy bike ride. In just 15 minutes the average person can bike 3.5 km. Here are some other benefits to cycling to your destinations:

Get there quick! For trips of up to 10 km, cycling is usually the fastest way to travel within the city. Save $$$. It costs about $200 per year to maintain a bike, plus an additional $300 for accessories - compared to $7,500 the average Canadian pays to own a car.

Share the drive!
More than 12 million Canadians use transit, which helps alleviate traffic congestion and improves air quality. Transit is cheaper than driving: A family using transit can save an average $586 in auto expenses each month!

Carpooling is another great option: Carpooling replaces up to four cars and causes less air pollution. Carpool lanes allow you to bypass traffic congestion so you arrive on time with less stress. Carpooling also saves money since passengers share gas and vehicle expenses.
Figure out your savings with the Carpool Calculator and search for other commuters in your area with the Carpool Tool.

Telecommute into the new millennium!
Telecommuting is rapidly becoming one of the most popular ways for people to work.
According to consulting firm InnoVisions Canada, about 1.5 million Canadians telework from home at least once a week. If a million telecommuters worked from home just one weekday each year, Canada could save some 250 million kg of CO2 emissions; 100 million litres of fuel; and 800 million fewer kilometers of mileage on our roads. Visit the Canadian Teleworker Association if you are thinking about telecommuting to get some tips.

Do you want to protect nature but don't know where to start? You invent the future every day with the choices you make about transportation, food, and energy use. Let's choose wisely. Join the David Suzuki Foundation Nature Challenge today and learn more about how to protect your quality of life.

Stop using pesticides

Do you want to protect nature but don't know where to start? You invent the future every day with the choices you make about transportation, food, and energy use. Let's choose wisely. Join the David Suzuki Foundation Nature Challenge today and learn more about how to protect your quality of life. 

Eat meat-free meals once a week
Although many people reduce their meat consumption for health or humanitarian concerns, there are also environmental reasons for eating less meat. Meat production requires a tremendous amount of resources such as water and fossil fuels, while runoff from livestock operations may pollute rivers, lakes and even drinking water.

Did you know:
Feedlots cause water pollution. Nearly 21 per cent of the average Canadian's contribution to common water pollution is caused by meat consumption from high-density farms. By designating just one “meat free” day a week you'll help reduce common water pollutants by as much as 21 kilograms annually.

Meat production requires more water than raising crops. For example, 283 grams (10 oz) of beef requires 85 times more water to produce than the same amount of potatoes.
What's good for the earth can also be good for you! Reducing meat consumption lowers the risks of heart disease and stroke. Eating more vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes improves your cardiovascular health and reduces the risks of obesity, diabetes and cancer.

Many people are afraid that eating less meat means they won’t get adequate protein or other essential nutrients. But there’s no need to worry. In fact, most western adults (and some children) tend to suffer from excess protein. Even vegetarians frequently consume too much protein. As long as you eat a variety of foods including grains, fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts or seeds and a small amount of fat, you'll get all the nutrients you need.
The World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research recommend we consume:

Well, after the first few days I thought that I had failed at zero waste.  But then I realized that all those foil, plastic bags that are normally the only contents of my garbage bag, can actually be burned.  Because of this idea, my garbage remains empty!   Well maybe not completely empty.  There's the jar and bottle lids (I'm sure they're not recyclable.  Even www.terracycle.net that reuses old beverage bottles, is looking for ways to reuse the lids) and some old gloves that have served their time volunteering in local parks (holes in almost every finger).

I was in the Brentwood Save On Foods today. At the checkout I asked the clerk how many people use their amazing quality (yet inexpensive and sturdy) recycleable shopping bags. "Actually, not many people use them," was the reply. I was shocked.Truly. "Once in a while I see people with them," she continued, rather too matter-of-factly.So I decided to  wait around a while. Indeed, I  watched streams of people loading provisions into plastic. And not one of the bright green bio-degradable bags were to be seen. Okay, here comes the lecture: Wake up folks! The bags are only about $1.49 and they will last you for years. Sure, they do not say "Prada" along the side, but so what? Next time you are in Save On Foods buy a few and keep them in the back of the car. Be in a state of environmental readiness. Buy some and give them away, to your friends, just for the heck of it. Look at it this way: the "Vancouver Sun" has now dropped the 'allleged' when speaking of global warming; and if CanWest Global is waking up to reality, then we really are in deep do-do. So, I reiterate - buy the bags already! What's more, get  Eckhart Tolle's new book. Realize: we do not need more "stuff."  The Wii's, HDTV's, iPod's - whatever. Drop the bling and the inferiority complexes. We are in serious crisis.Think of the children. Think of your son. Your daughter. Your granddaughter. Your favourite nephew, even. The small ones you love so dearly. Now imagine them forty years from now, dying slowly of hunger, or of thirst, or murdered, even, at the hands of bellicose migrants fleeing the rising waters. Now imagine: YOU may be able to alter the course of their future. And yes, a buck and a half is all it costs.

I’m giving up plastic in 2007. That means not buying/accepting products that contain or are packaged in plastic. Sounds simple? Think about it….shampoo/deodorant in plastic bottles, toothpaste with plastic lids, toilet paper wrapped in plastic…and that’s just the morning routine. Read about my adventures in the no-plastic zone.

It’s day 2 of living plastic free and my antiperspirant committed suicide this morning. As it leapt out of my hands and hurled itself towards the linoleum at warp speed I was thinking “Where the frell am I gonna find a non-plastic substitute…how absolutely plebeian that anti-perspirant is going to be the first thing I’ll be blogging about…I wonder if there will be any leftover Xmas chocolate at work today….(sometimes my brain travels at warp speed too).