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Every day should be an earth day

Celebrated every year on April 22, Earth Day is the largest environmental event in the world. More than six million Canadians — including nearly every school-aged child — participate in an Earth Day activity in their communities.
Earth Day

Celebrated every year on April 22, Earth Day is the largest environmental event in the world. More than six million Canadians — including nearly every school-aged child — participate in an Earth Day activity in their communities.

We partner with and support hundreds of organizations across the country, as they engage Canadians in annual celebrations of this special day.

Founded in 1990, Earth Day Canada is a national environmental charity. We offer free, year-round, award-winning programs to educate and inspire Canadians of all ages, backgrounds and sectors to reach local environmental solutions.

Our mission is to foster and celebrate environmental respect, action and behaviour change that lessens our impact on the earth.

What can I do to help the environment?”

“How can my individual actions make a bigger difference?”

“Can the impact of one person really help the planet?” Every day, Earth Day Canada receives questions from people across Canada looking for ways to make real positive impacts on the planet and feel like ‘part of the solution’ to our pressing environmental needs. On Earth Day 2015, we’re excited to provide a new, easy-to-use interactive tool that challenges and rewards people to take action to reduce their environmental impact at home, at work and at play.

The Earth Day Every Day campaign addresses our sympathetic attitudes and concerns about the environment by providing concrete actions and behaviours that actively tackle climate change. The campaign platform calculates the carbon reduction impact of each person’s actions and decisions, and totals the national collective impact to build a sense of accomplishment for everyone who pitches in to make our earth a cleaner, healthier place.

Our ultimate goal: helping people in Canada reduce their carbon footprint 20% by 2020, in line with global emission reduction targets.

How It Works:

On a mobile friendly web platform, you can:

•Choose from a range of simple, voluntary activities to reduce your carbon footprint and impact on the planet

•Post and share your activities online via social media

•Track greenhouse gas reductions associated with your actions on a personal dashboard

•See how your actions work in tandem with other campaign participants on a national carbon dashboard

•Be recognized for hitting milestone carbon reduction levels, share success stories online, and compete to win prizes

Earth Day Every Day launches on April 22nd, with a variety of actions to choose from to Clean Your Commute and reduce your carbon output. Sign up for Earth Day Every Day and you’ll have the opportunity to sign an Earth Flag we are taking to Paris in December, where 196 countries will meet to sign a new international climate agreement. The Earth Flag will represent the collective resolve of Canadians to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint. Learn more about the Earth Flag on the Earth Day Canada website.

 

ADVICE TO IMPROVE YOUR FOOTPRINT

Clean Your Drive

Is driving your only option? Better driving practices and maximized car tuning will boost the overall fuel efficiency of your car, save you money and reduce carbon emissions. Try these win-win-win solutions and green your ride!

Drive Speed Limits

•Driving the speed limit can reduce fuel consumption by 10% and can reduce GHG emissions by 0.12 tonnes/year.

•Driving the speed limit is safer for you and people around you.

Don’t Idle

•Idling for over 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more CO2 emissions than restarting your engine.

•If Canadian motorists avoided idling for just three minutes every day of the year, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 1.4 million tonnes annually. This would be equal to saving 630 million litres of fuel and equivalent to taking 320,000 cars off of the road for the entire year.

•On average, Canadian motorists idle their vehicles between 5 to 10 minutes a day.

Properly Inflate Tires

•Tires not properly inflated can increase fuel consumption by 6% by creating drag between the tire and the road.

•Under inflated tires also cause more wear and tear to the tires, reducing the life of tires by a year.

•Driving with one tire under-inflated by 20% results in consuming approximately two weeks more fuel per year, reduces tire’s life by six to nine months, and increases vehicle’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by 0.075 tonnes/year2.

Match Octane Fuel to Your Vehicle

•Using the correct octane fuel reduces GHG emissions by 0.075 tonnes/year.

•Always follow the auto manufacturer’s octane recommendations in your owners manual.

•The right octane fuel creates optimum engine pressure, reduces knocking and long term wear and tear of the engine.

Carpool/Carshare

•Car sharing with another person can reduce your GHG emissions by 0.6 tonnes/year.

•Carpooling by drivers using the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane along Highway 404 in Ontario reduced their travel time on the highway from 26 minutes to 9 minutes.

•There are many online tools to help commuters find shared rides to work, such as Smart Commute by Metrolinx in the Greater Toronto Area.

Service Your Vehicle Regularly

•Replacing clogged air filters improves fuel economy and reduces GHG emissions.

•Keeping the car in good working condition reduces gas consumption by 4%–10% and reduces GHG emissions by 0.05–0.12 tonnes/year.

(Test) Drive a Hybrid Vehicle

•Hybrid vehicles have a lower depreciation rate than gasoline powered cars.

•Hybrid cars are best suited for city driving or a short daily commute.

•There are over 30 hybrid car models in Canada to choose from as of the 2014 model year.

 

GIVE BACK TO NATURE

It’s April: a time when the sun shines a little brighter, birds chip louder and all around there’s a good vibe emanating from nature. With Earth Day on April 22, there are many ways to celebrate, give back and lend a hand to nature.

Conservation organizations like the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) encourage citizens to participate at all levels on this day and beyond.  Just as drops of water make a mighty ocean, each small pledge for the environment can be a contribution to improving ecological conditions in your corner of the country, wherever it is. And making a commitment is as easy as one, two and three!

Volunteer

Across Canada, volunteers are a key ingredient in keeping communities healthy and strong. NCC’s Conservation Volunteers help care for Canada’s spectacular natural places so they will still be spectacular for generations to come.

Looking to get involved? NCC’s Conservation Volunteers program offers events from coast to coast, with some close to city cores. Join like-minded individuals in hands-on conservation activities with tangible impacts such as removing invasive buckthorn and counting birds.

Whether it’s a solo adventure or in the company of family and friends, you may share a ride by using the events’ carpool groups for a greener commute. Be sure to check the event map on conservationvolunteers.ca as opportunities are posted throughout the season!

Pledge 10 for nature

Aside from volunteering your time, lending a hand to nature on your own terms can be just as fulfilling. Consider naturalizing your turf grass lawn to create a haven for native plants or plant species that are pollinator friendly. Beat invasive species by...eating them! When it comes to getting your nature on, the possibilities are endless. For 10 pledge ideas and an informative how-to, visit natureconservancy.ca/lend-a-hand.

Donate

While getting down and dirty is one (and certainly fun) way to pay tribute to Earth Day, contributing by making a charitable donation is just as meaningful. Whether it’s a donation to recognize a special person or occasion or a monthly gift, there are many options to help fund conservation work from coast to coast! For more information about how you can help lend a hand to nature this Earth Day, visit www.natureconservancy.ca.