It's Earth Week - and we need 3 things from you

Posted on April 21, 2018

It’s Earth Week, and all across the globe there is talk about the big things that we can do as global citizens to impact our planet.

Here at Green Calgary, we believe that every Calgarian has the power to positively change the environment. Big changes come from millions of small changes. And in the spirit of driving big changes through a series of small actions, we are asking everyone – people of all ages and backgrounds at all points on their green journey – for three small things:

1. Learn something new: Pick an issue that you are passionate about and consume information about that topic. You can borrow a book from the Little Green Library or the Calgary Public Library; you can watch a documentary or listen to a podcast; or you can grab coffee with an expert. You can also attend a Green Calgary event – we are at IKEA this Saturday from 0830 – Noon, and will be talking about composting, water conservation, sustainability, Green Goals, and more. We are also hosting a screening of An Inconvenient Sequel, followed by a roundtable discussion of local and Canadian environmental and climate concerns, on Sunday morning.

2. Do something new: Pick a topic that you are passionate about, and choose one small thing that you can do about it. It doesn’t need to be a massive change in your life – take one step this week towards a more sustainable lifestyle.

3. Support a local environmental leader: Green Calgary is a registered charity, and we rely on support from people just like you deliver our programs in schools and in the community. Please support Green Calgary by giving a donation, or by making a purchase from our EcoStore. You can also find other great local charity and business leaders who are helping Calgarians to have a positive impact on the environment.

Being intentional about the “small stuff” has a big impact on your footprint. Let’s look at this graphic that I found at HydroOne’s website:

What I find the most interesting about this is just how much energy is consumed when the power is turned off. In my home we have a speaker, 2 laptops, and a PVR (among other smart devices). If we did not use smart power bars, timers, and other power management tools – we would, as a household, be wasting hundreds of kWh each year. Now imagine the entire population of the greater Calgary area, roughly 1.4 Million people – making small changes to lower their impact.

If each person in our community reduced their energy consumption by just 200 kWh per year, we would save 280 Gigawatt Hours. That is significant, and it’s not hard to save 200 kWh per year.

This Earth Month – join me and the rest of Calgary in doing 3 things – learning, doing, and supporting. Together, let’s make the small things count.

Be well,
Conor
Executive Director