Vanier Institute of the Family -- Families and the Environment

Families and the Environment

Publications

Contemporary Family Trends Series

Full Report Families and the Environment: Understanding, Cultivating and Celebrating their Links
Highlights of the Report
Press Release

Other Publications

Transition Magazine Spring 2008
Fascinating Families - Family Friendly Environmental Policies

Practical Tips

Dreaming of a New Vehicle
Fuel Efficient Tips for Drivers
Simple Tips to Reduce Waste
Conserve Energy at Home

Dreaming of a New Vehicle

If you are thinking about getting a new vehicle for your family, consider favouring those that are more fuel efficient and produce less CO2 emissions. Although many families may need a larger vehicle for at least a few years to haul around hockey bags and the like, these too can be more or less fuel-efficient and more or less emissions-producing.

The Office of Energy Efficiency at Natural Resources Canada lists all vehicles by class (stationwagon, mid-size sedan, van, truck, etc.) and these can be ranked according to a variety of factors. For example, the CO2 emissions of vans range from 3700 kg to 7100 kg per year. The range of CO2 emissions among SUVs is between 2900 kg to 8400 kg per year. The yearly fuel consumption costs to drive a van range from $1800 to $2600 and to drive an SUV range from $1100 to $3500. Save money and be kinder to the environment when you make your next purchase. Visit NRCAN to access these resources.

Fuel Efficient Tips for Drivers

No matter what vehicle you drive, you can save money and help the environment by following these simple tips.

Keep tires properly inflated to increase your car’s fuel efficiency.
Maintain your vehicle regularly – oil, tires, wheels and brakes.
Remove unnecessary items from your vehicle. Extra weight makes your engine work harder, which uses more fuel.
Avoid aggressive driving. Accelerating and stopping quickly saves little time and guzzles gas. Keep a safe distance from other cars to avoid hard braking.
Maintain your speed on the highway using cruise control, except in hilly terrain.
Slow down. For every 10 km you slow down, you will use roughly 10% less fuel.
Keep idling to a minimum, even to warm up your vehicle. More than 10 seconds of idling uses more fuel than turning off the engine and restarting it again.
Warm your engine with a block heater in winter to improve fuel economy by up to 10%.
Minimize use of air conditioning, which significantly increases fuel consumption.

Source: Natural Resources Canada, http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/personal/driving/autosmart-methods.cfm?attr=8.

Under-inflated tires are estimated to cost Canadian light-duty vehicle owners almost 643 million litres of fuel annually.

Source: Natural Resources Canada, http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/personal/maintaining/autosmart-car-care.cfm?attr=8#tires

Simple Tips to Reduce Waste

Purchase quality goods that need replacing less often.
Recycle everything. If your building doesn’t offer recycling, ask your landlord for it. Turn old t-shirts and towels into rags.
Compost organic waste. Vermi-composts work well indoors, don’t smell and are compact.
Resell or give away used clothing, electronics and household items. Beyond thrift stores, the internet is a useful tool to recycle such items. For sale or free news groups exist in most communities.
Use cloth bags for shopping. Keep them where you’ll remember to bring them!
Reduce packaging by buying in bulk whenever possible. Reuse containers.
Use refillable water bottles instead of buying bottled water. This is healthier too.
Take hazardous substances to a local hazardous waste disposal site. Some communities take these substances on specific days, advertising in local papers.

Conserve Energy at Home

Locate and seal air leaks. These may be around door and window frames, mail chutes, electrical outlets, cable TV and phone lines, dryer vents, air conditioners and fans. If there is a spider web, there is a draft! Seal with caulking or weatherstripping.
Lower the thermostat 4-5o Celcius when sleeping or when away from home. Install a programmable thermostat.
Use cold water for laundry.
In winter, close blinds and drapes unless they receive direct sun. In summer, conserve coolness by closing blinds and curtains.
Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Turn down hot water heat to 49 degrees Celcius and turn off the hot water heater when on vacation.
Turn off the water when not directly using it (e.g., brushing teeth). Install water-flow reducing attachments on both the kitchen and bathroom sink faucets and shower heads.
Turn off lights of rooms that are unoccupied.
Use the cool dry cycle of your dishwasher.
Maintain your furnace’s efficiency with an annual tune-up.
Plant trees to improve air quality and help insulate your home naturally.
When replacing major appliances, furnaces, hot water heaters, air conditioners and windows, purchase energy efficient ones. The EnerGuide label, required by law, indicates where a particular item falls in relation to others in its class in terms of consuming energy. The Energy Star label indicates high energy efficiency.
Some homeowners are eligible for a federal grant to be used for energy-saving home improvements – an EcoEnergy Retrofit.
Visit http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/home-improvement.cfm?attr=20 to find out if you qualify.