10 ways to help save the planet

10 ways to help save the planet



From fake trees to showering with friends—these ideas might even save you money




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1. Sell solar power back into the grid
Solar panels are costly, so only the most committed environmentalists
have thus far been willing to install them on the roofs of their homes
and businesses. But new government programs that permit small
renewable-energy producers to sell excess energy back into the power
grid are making it easier for anyone to jump on the solar bandwagon.
Last week, the Ontario Power Authority launched Canada’s first feed-in
tariff program, which will offer a buy-back rate of up to 80.2 cents per
kilowatt for solar power—more than seven times the rate paid for other
forms of green power, like wind.
Want in? A grid-connected system at home, including installation,
will cost about $10 per watt of output. If you installed a 2,000-watt
system (at a cost of $20,000), then depending on your energy consumption
you could bring in roughly $1,850 in revenue each year, recouping your
investment in just over 10 years. And considering solar panels can last
30 years or longer, that’s a fairly sunny long-range forecast.—Jen Cutts
2. Fake trees
Trees, we all know, are carbon catchers. Problem is, they don’t catch
enough of the stuff, and the process is slow. So scientists have built a
better mousetrap, so to speak. According to a new report out of the
U.K., the most effective way to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) levels is to
construct hundreds of thousands of artificial, greenhouse-gas-scrubbing
trees.
Prototypes already exist—they’re made up of a type of mesh suspended
between a two-pronged fork, and look like gigantic fly swatters. As air
blows through the structure, CO2 binds to an absorbent compound, a
process that removes the carbon 1,000 times faster then normal plants.
There are problems: the trees are expensive—more than $20,000 each—and
“planting” 100,000 of them would offset only 60 per cent of the CO2
produced by a country the size of the U.K. With enough government
funding, though, fake forests could start popping up around the world
within the next few years.—Tom Henheffer

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3. Open drains
At Southeast False Creek, Vancouver’s newest downtown development—and
site of the Olympic athletes’ village—the city has cut open trench
drains down the main thoroughfare. It’s a simple, and effective,
environmental tool.
Instead of channelling storm water through an underground sewer, the
water will flow above ground. Rock pits, then grass lawns, at the end of
the drains will slow the pace of runoff, and the water will enter the
soil, which naturally filters it before it flows into False Creek, an
ocean inlet separating downtown Vancouver from the rest of the city.
The above-ground drains send a strong message: “When people are
changing their oil, or washing the car, they can see the water—see that
it doesn’t just wash into a hole in the ground, and disappear,” says
Vancouver city planner Thor Kuhlmann.—Nancy Macdonald
4. White roofs and roads
Darker hues absorb heat, while lighter hues reflect it—if you’ve ever
worn a black shirt on a hot day, you know that well. It’s the same for
the roads we drive on and the roofs over our heads: according to a new
study, painting driving surfaces and house and building roofs white in
the 100 largest urban areas in the U.S. would offset 44 metric gigatons
of CO2. That’s more than all the countries of the world emit in a single
year, or equivalent to taking all cars off the roads for 11 years.
It’s worth pointing out that whitewashing only works in warm and
temperate climates, where it reflects heat. But in colder spots, dark
roofs actually help warm our buildings and houses—which translates into
less energy spent on heating.—Rachel Mendleson
5. Tankless hot water
Tankless hot water heaters are the oldest new idea in energy
conservation. They’ve been in use in Europe and parts of Asia for more
than a generation. Canadians are starting to pay attention, attracted by
energy savings of up to 50 per cent, says Shell Busey, who operates the
House Smart contractor referral service in Surrey, B.C.
There are many advantages and some drawbacks: the small wall-mounted
units instantly heat water as it flows through a compact maze of pipes,
providing a limitless, continuous supply. Not only are you spared the
cost of keeping 40 or 60 gallons of hot water on standby, you regain the
floor space where the tank once stood. Plus, the units last 20 years or
more, about twice the life of a standard tank. Many are eligible for
government ecoEnergy retrofit grants; in Ontario, that can mean savings
of between $630-$750.
Supply can be a problem, though. There is no storage capacity—so be
sure to buy a system large enough to meet your household demand. Also,
expect to pay twice the cost of a regular tank, as well as additional
costs to install and vent the system.—Ken MacQueen6. Paperless office
When easy, cheap printing invaded the workplace and home in the ’80s,
paper use skyrocketed, more than doubling between 1980 and 2000. Now,
one Canadian company is working to reverse that trend.
WestJet, the Canadian airline known for its novel business approach, is
leading the way toward a paperless revolution—and all it took was a
couple of simple changes. The company found that the temptation to hit
the print button correlated to the proximity of the printer: if you’re
sitting near it, you’re more likely to use it.
So WestJet moved all the printers out of arms’ reach and into “tech
shops”—two central locations on each floor with three printers per
location. On top of that, workers have to scan their employee cards in
order to use them—and a screen shows them their record of personal paper
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WestJet has already noticed a huge change in printing habits, and
estimates that it will save 20 per cent annually in paper and toner
costs as the program continues.—Tom Henheffer
7. The induction stove
It’s eco-friendly. It’s also very, very cool.
Induction stoves use electricity to create a magnetic field, so—and
here’s the cool part—while you heat up last night’s leftovers, the sleek
system remains cool to the touch. The result: you save 50 per cent in
cooking time versus an electric stove, and 25 per cent in energy costs.
Until recently, high price and size (early versions were behemoths)
have made induction stoves impractical for many homeowners. But that’s
slowly changing: Samsung recently released a standard kitchen-sized
version that comes complete with a convection oven for US$1,999. —Rachel Mendleson
8. Contraception
According to the UN, about 40 per cent of all pregnancies worldwide
are unintended—that’s a lot of babies spewing CO2 into the environment
and consuming precious resources. So, of all the green technologies out
there, birth control might be the most environmentally friendly.
A new report from the Optimum Population Trust at the London School
of Economics finds that for each $7 spent on basic family planning over
the next 40 years, global CO2 emissions would be reduced by more than
one tonne. By comparison, the minimum cost it would take to get the same
results with other carbon-reducing technologies—wind power, solar
power, plug-in hybrids, etc.—is $32.
Not bad for a simple piece of rubber. —Kate Lunau
9. Algae-wrapped buildings
Algae—a group of organisms of which seaweed is the largest marine
form—could be much more than just the slimy goo that irritates swimmers
at the beach. It could become a powerful tool in the fight against
global warming.
Strapping it to skyscrapers could produce a huge environmental
payoff: researchers are pushing for the use of “algae-based
photobioreactors,” which are transparent tubes filled with the stuff
that can be attached to the sides of buildings. Carbon dioxide would
then be pumped into the devices and the algae would absorb it through
photosynthesis.
The end result can be either a liquid biofuel for energy and heating, or a CO2-absorbing soil conditioner called biochar. —Tom Henheffer
10. Shower with a friend
In the early ’90s, as the Earth Day movement transformed from
hippie-dippy ideal to celebrity-studded cause, a group of well-meaning
types, including Bette Midler and Bill Cosby, made the first televised
Earth Day special. Their suggestions were mostly bland, save for one.
“Save water, shower with a friend.”
Shower sharing makes complete sense. Canadians are water hogs,
ranking 28th among the 29 nations polled by the OECD in terms of per
capita water consumption. Part of the problem, says Environment Canada’s
senior policy adviser Liz Lefrançois, is that we shower for too long
and leave the water running when soaping up.
Environment Canada suggests low-flow showerheads and “sailor shower”
valves that switch off with the push of a button. As for showering with a
friend? The government isn’t getting behind the cause: “I don’t think
we could promote that,” says Lefrançois. “It infers something other than
water savings.” But just because the government has no place in the
showers of the nation, that’s no reason you shouldn’t give it a try.