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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

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