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Living Green

Green choices start at home, and here we share the many choices that can be made.

Living Green includes the 7Rs plus additional ways that you can reduce your impact on the environment. There are many. Here we focus on water conservation, green cleaning, eating for the planet, and green building/renovations.

Getting started with Living Green

Safe and sound : a renter-friendly guide to home repair
Living the 1.5 degree lifestyle : why individual climate action matters more than ever
Green clean : the environmentally sound guide to cleaning your home
Eat for the planet : saving the world, one bite at a time
To be a water protector : the rise of the wiindigoo slayers Water protector
Eco house : practical ideas for a greener, healthier dwelling
Taking on water : how one water expert challenged her inner hypocrite, reduced her water footprint (without sacrificing a toasty shower), and found nirvana
Natural home cleaning: over 100 ways to clean your home naturally
Your water footprint : the shocking facts about how much water we use to make everyday products
Ethical water : learning to value what matters most
Running out of water : the looming crisis and solutions to conserve our most precious resource
Water : exploring the blue planet
Green clean: Natural cleaning solutions for every room of your home
The natural home : simple, pure cleaning solutions and recipes for a healthy house
Green-up your cleanup
Natural solutions for cleaning & wellness
Organic housekeeping : in which the nontoxic avenger shows you how to improve your health and that of your family while you save time, money, and perhaps, your sanity
Toxic free : how to protect your health and home from the chemicals that are making you sick
The Reducetarian Solution
Simply sustainable : moving toward plastic-free, low-waste living
My Zero-Waste Kitchen: Easy Ways to Eat Waste Free
Food is the solution : what to eat to save the world--80+ recipes for a greener planet and a healthier you
Wasted! [DVD]: the story of food waste
Diet for a hot planet : the climate crisis at the end of your fork and what you can do about it
The greenprint: plant-based diet, best body, better world
The carbon-free home : 36 remodeling projects to help kick the fossil-fuel habit
Green building products
Green home building : money-saving strategies for an affordable, healthy, high-performance home
The greened house effect : renovating your home with a deep energy retrofit
The eco-home design guide : principles and practice for new-build and retrofit

Conserve water

The Earth's surface is mostly water, but not the kind you can drink or use to water plants. Fresh water isn’t always available and what is available can easily be overused, so we need to use this precious resource wisely.

In Canada, almost 90% of the population lives in the southern parts of the country and 50% of the country's freshwater flows into the Arctic Ocean or Hudson’s Bay. This means that 90% of the population is drawing on roughly half the supply of freshwater, putting strain on a limited resource.

You can make a difference by finding ways to conserve water.

Green cleaning

It has come to be known as "green cleaning", but not too long ago this was the only cleaning there was. Green cleaning uses products that are not harmful to the environment. Using them means: a safer home, money savings, less waste, and simplified cleaning.

Eat for the planet

Eat delicious and nutritious food while saving the planet? Absolutely. The goal of eating for the planet is to produce the least amount of carbon and waste while creating better tasting meals. How do you do this?

  • Choose local options. This decreases our reliance on fossil fuel transportation that carries our food long distances from the source.
  • Eat more plant-based food. This decreases the associated carbon effects of animal production. 
  • Decrease waste. Avoid packaged foods, reduce your food waste and compost.
  • Grow (at least some) of your own food. 

Green building and renovations

A green home uses and disposes of fewer natural resources and has good indoor air quality. It's easier to make a home green during its design stage because environmental factors can be factored into the design process, including where the home will be located, what materials will be selected for building, where the house will get its energy from, the types of appliances it will have, and more. But built homes can have a number of green features implemented long after they've been built too, like these:

  • Water-saving devices can be installed
  • Inefficient appliances can be replaced with energy efficient ones
  • Paints used in the home can be low VOC
  • Carpet or tile can be made from recycled materials
  • Insulation can be replaced or added in the walls
  • Doors and windows can be replaced or new seals put around them to stop leaks
  • Low-flush toilets can be installed
  • The attic can be re-insulated. 
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Subjects: Environment