Andy will be running across Canada starting April 12 ,2015 .
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Posted by Andy Sward · March 29 at 6:32pm ·
Okay what's this 80% reduction all about?
There's been a lot of talk about how we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 80% by the year 2050. I won't go into the details.. there's thousands of articles on the subject from just about every point of view. I've read through several reports from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. If one common theme can be found in many of these reports, it is this:
The longer we put it off, the harder, and more costly it will be.
That being said, there's also plenty of disagreement and finger pointing between the top emitting countries and the political parties within them. I don't intend on debating over the pro's and con's of one 'solution' or another. I'm just hoping to disprove a rapidly growing opinion amongst many naysayers:
Simply put, we can't do it. We like our comforts and our consumables too much. Any significant changes will be slow to come and then will be met with harsh resistance.
Well I think that's bullshit. And I'm hoping a few others will agree.
For the run back across Canada, I'm planning on a few 80% 'cuts' that will reduce my 'comfort' to say the very least. More details on those cuts will follow in the next few days.
First, the good part. I'm proposing an 'Earth Day Challenge' to anyone and everyone out there:
Between Earth Day 2015 and Earth Day 2016, attempt an 80% reduction to any part of your carbon footprint and/or waste use.
Here's a few quick examples:
Say your current household mixed trash amounts to two big black garbage bags/week. With diligent efforts on recycling, composting, and wiser purchasing that can be reduced to one bag a month. Even less!
If your city or town doesn't have the waste management program in place for this then get on them for it.
Or take your household or workplace power consumption and cut that by 80%. There's hundreds of ways to cut down. Anything from exercise equipment that powers household items to sloar panels, energy efficient appliances and lights. Lights? Who needs them? You know the nice looking solar lights out in the garden charging from the sun all day....take one or two inside for night lights!
Comuting to work racking up the mileage on your car? Car pool, ride a bike or take public transit 80% of the time.
I know there's many reasons why the above examples are not logical or even possible for some. That's why they're only examples. I'm open to hearing more suggestions. What can you do?
I'm hoping at least one person will accept this challenge and succed in their attempt. Also post their before and after pictures/numbers/results on this page. For that, I'll donate $2000 to their efforts. If two people accept and succed, $1000 each. Ten people, $100 each. And so on.
It's not a race against time or one another. If 2, 000 people do this I'd be happy to hand deliver them a dollar each (as long as I can travel by foot!), and in any case it's a win/win scenario for everyone!
Earth Day is on April 22nd this year. Hope to hear back from a few people by then. : )
There's been a lot of talk about how we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 80% by the year 2050. I won't go into the details.. there's thousands of articles on the subject from just about every point of view. I've read through several reports from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. If one common theme can be found in many of these reports, it is this:
The longer we put it off, the harder, and more costly it will be.
That being said, there's also plenty of disagreement and finger pointing between the top emitting countries and the political parties within them. I don't intend on debating over the pro's and con's of one 'solution' or another. I'm just hoping to disprove a rapidly growing opinion amongst many naysayers:
Simply put, we can't do it. We like our comforts and our consumables too much. Any significant changes will be slow to come and then will be met with harsh resistance.
Well I think that's bullshit. And I'm hoping a few others will agree.
For the run back across Canada, I'm planning on a few 80% 'cuts' that will reduce my 'comfort' to say the very least. More details on those cuts will follow in the next few days.
First, the good part. I'm proposing an 'Earth Day Challenge' to anyone and everyone out there:
Between Earth Day 2015 and Earth Day 2016, attempt an 80% reduction to any part of your carbon footprint and/or waste use.
Here's a few quick examples:
Say your current household mixed trash amounts to two big black garbage bags/week. With diligent efforts on recycling, composting, and wiser purchasing that can be reduced to one bag a month. Even less!
If your city or town doesn't have the waste management program in place for this then get on them for it.
Or take your household or workplace power consumption and cut that by 80%. There's hundreds of ways to cut down. Anything from exercise equipment that powers household items to sloar panels, energy efficient appliances and lights. Lights? Who needs them? You know the nice looking solar lights out in the garden charging from the sun all day....take one or two inside for night lights!
Comuting to work racking up the mileage on your car? Car pool, ride a bike or take public transit 80% of the time.
I know there's many reasons why the above examples are not logical or even possible for some. That's why they're only examples. I'm open to hearing more suggestions. What can you do?
I'm hoping at least one person will accept this challenge and succed in their attempt. Also post their before and after pictures/numbers/results on this page. For that, I'll donate $2000 to their efforts. If two people accept and succed, $1000 each. Ten people, $100 each. And so on.
It's not a race against time or one another. If 2, 000 people do this I'd be happy to hand deliver them a dollar each (as long as I can travel by foot!), and in any case it's a win/win scenario for everyone!
Earth Day is on April 22nd this year. Hope to hear back from a few people by then. : )
Testing if this works ?
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