Peter Nix

Our Cowichan Carbon Busters meeting got started this week by noting that most people have very busy lives, seemingly too busy to reduce our carbon emissions and save the planet! Few of us have the time to preserve fruits, cook homemade lasagna or weed the garden. Hey, we buy convenience foods because they are convenient.

Our culture of perpetual work and play activity is deeply rooted in our economy. It is not going to change overnight. So in terms of eating, actions people can take to reduce carbon emissions and reduce global warming need to be simple, like low hanging fruit.

We discussed how even busy people can lower their food-related carbon emissions substantially by shopping at local farmers markets, buying direct from local farms or, in bigger cities, getting local produce delivered to your home. By buying locally, you will use less energy for transporting food and, as a result, produce less greenhouse gases that are causing climate change. That one action is simple and doable.

And hey, with modern gadgets such as bread makers, it takes only 5 minutes or so to prepare and bake a loaf of bread. Even with our busy lives, we do not have to buy pre-packaged foods, or food from China grown and processed by companies with dubious health credentials. We have choices.

OK, some choices may have bad endings. One member complained that their teenaged son was mostly resistant to even the concept of vegetarian food. Another noted that their smart car was not so smart as it did not run well on bio-diesel in the winter. And one spouse was clearly unhappy about their partner’s acceptance of lower temperatures as fall expands its cold reach into their house. But hey, life is all about mistakes, compromise and learning curves – embrace it, enjoy, but do not let anyone discourage you from your personal journey to reduce carbon emissions.

Speaking of mistakes, some cities, like Duncan, now allow each household to keep a small number of chickens in an attempt to increase food security and lower carbon emissions. Of course, there are hiccups – a mink murdered all 11 of my chickens just last week. I found myself butchering their bodies in a bloody heap in the front yard in a hurried attempt (my son had a hockey game) to reduce my family’s carbon emissions. Of course, I boiled them to remove their feathers – maybe for a tad too long. My wife observed that the mangled smell of boiled feathers and chicken flesh might get past the nose of our dog, but is unlikely to pass muster at our dinner table.

So I needed a little advice. In the Cowichan Valley, the “Food First” program is available to help you convert your front yard into a garden. Some of our Carbon Busters have made small “hoop greenhouses” using very simple materials with the satisfying reward of fully ripened tomatoes before the winter rains come. You can buy local veggie plants right now from Providence Farm for your greenhouse or winter garden. Find a mentor to help you with the gardening.

If you eat more vegetables and less meat, you can make a huge personal contribution to reducing the severity of coming impacts of climate change on your kid’s lives. And, you will save money. Meat is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emissions because of all that farting and belching, and because of the huge amount of energy required to produce it.

Speaking of energy, if we reduce our demand for electricity in general in B.C., all that unused power will be sold to Alberta or Washington State and this, in turn, will lower their use of fossil fuels and subsequent production of greenhouse gas emissions (which do not respect political boundaries). Any profits from such sales would also benefit us by reducing our taxes and/or our own electrical costs.

On the topic of electricity, the first and cheapest action is to reduce your demand. So turn off unnecessary lights, replace luminescent light bulbs with fluorescent ones, use power bars to shut down computers and sound systems not in use, and so on. In our Cowichan Carbon Buster group, we agreed that this one energy conservation measure already has reduced our monthly electrical bills. We also agreed that power bars should be located above our desks so as not to damage one’s head when turning the switch on and off.

The second and more long-term goal discussed was to buy appliances that use less energy like front-end washers and energy efficient fridges, electrical scooters and even cars. One of our group mentioned a rule of thumb that if the appliance is broken and over 5-6 years old, then it is time to buy a lower energy alternative.

My wife and I proudly mentioned our use of a clothesline, mostly in summer. However, we do use an electric dryer when it rains. A fellow Carbon Buster punctured our smugness with the observation that we could easily dry clothes, even in the winter or in the rain, by stringing a second clothesline under our veranda roof - a simple and effective strategy that had somehow had eluded me.

Electrical-generators operated by solar panels and wind turbines are available even now from retail stores such as Canadian Tire –although their cost cannot compete with electricity from BC Hydro just now. However, solar panel technology is getting cheaper. I hope to build a “solar farm” on my south-facing lot in a few years and make money by selling excess electricity back to BC Hydro.

One car lot and one big box store now sells electric scooter-bikes in Duncan that you could use for short trips such as shopping. In addition, electric cars will soon be available to take your kids to hockey games and you to work. Both the City of Oak Bay and Vancouver have recently passed bylaws allowing their use. Next stop - Duncan, North Cowichan, Chemainus and so on (write your local politicians and get them going!).

So do the simple energy conservation measures now, but plan your medium-term budget to include the purchase of alternative energy systems for both your house and your vehicles.

Save energy and save money at the same time. And reduce the impacts of climate change.