Hypocrisy? No, just reality

New information about Canadians’ environmental activism suggest that many of us are doing what we can to make the world a greener place. Statistics Canada reports that virtually everyone with access to recycling programs use them, 59% of us have converted to compact fluorescent lights, 56% to low-flow showerheads and 54% of us have lowered our thermostats.

However, another StatsCan report states that our homes and personal vehicles are still responsible for nearly half of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Recycling and the other “green” behaviours – which, incidentally, increase commensurately with household incomes – involve relatively simple choices. Some, such as using less water, lowering thermostats and using fluorescent fixtures, are essentially no-cost options which quickly yield personal savings. There’s also a couple of downsides to fluorescent light fixtures: they don’t contribute much heat to a house and disposal presents a problem because of the mercury they contain.

Moreover, in Canada’s generally long winters, turning down the heat significantly usually isn’t an option and, unless we live in a major metropolitan centre, neither is mass transit. Sure, there are some gains to be made by improving household insulation or moving away large vehicles, but the capital costs can be considerable. 

So what a cynic might see as hypocrisy is seen by others as simply the reality of life in a northern nation.