In The Garden

• To protect our Lake Simcoe watershed by saying no to chemical pesticide poisons and quick release fertilizers. Use organic fertilizers for all of your landscape needs.

•   Increase habitat for wildlife on the shores of Lake Simcoe by planting native plant species.

• Do not use pesticide poisons on your lawn. They kill everything that flies, slithers, and crawls.

• Use organic lawn care! Since the advent of synthetic pesticide poisons in the 1940’s our air, water, food, blood, mother’s milk and adipose tissue contain significant residues of a variety of harmful pesticide poisons.

• Use organic products for all your landscape needs. After waging an ever increasing war on pests, using enough poisons to literally contaminate the entire world we have not managed to control or eliminate, even one pest species!

•   Use free water for your garden by installing a rain barrel.

•    Trees absorb a store of CO2 and filter out pollution. Help reduce greenhouse gases by planting as many trees as possible.

•    Use free fertilizers and keep GHG out of your garbage can by leaving grass clippings and a sprinkling of leaves on your lawn.

•    When you water your lawn, electricity paid by tax payers, is used to pump water to your house. Save your own money and tax payers’ money by letting Mother Nature water your lawn.  Should we really be applying water that has been treated at great expense for drinking, on our lawns?

•     Reduce the amount of nitrous oxide in the air we breathe by avoiding the of use chemical fertilizers.

•   Stop 48 kilograms of green house gases from entering our atmosphere by replacing your air-polluting power mower!

   Do not wash you car in the driveway as all the pollutants and detergents on your driveway end up in Lake Simcoe and cause great harm to the aquatic life in the lake.
 In the Home

•    Save 4% on your heating bill by turning down your thermostat by 2 degrees Celsius.
•     Save 25% on your heating cost and reduce green house gases by installing an energy-efficient furnace.
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•    Wash and rinse your clothes in cold water and use up to 50% less energy.

•  Replace all your traditional light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. By replacing just 5 bulbs you can save up to $30.00 per year and reduce GHG’s. Imagine how much you will save by replacing all your light bulbs!

•  Install an energy efficient furnace and reduce greenhouse gases and save up to 25% on heating bills per year!

• To increase the amount of sustainable and clean energy used in your home, pressure all levels of government to erect as many wind turbines as possible.

•  Reduce your home heating needs by up to 20% by caulking and weather stripping to seal air leaks around windows, doors, baseboards, electric outlets, and switches on outside walls.

•  Replace old doors with insulated core doors.

•   Change the filter in your furnace every couple of months to avoid damaging the heat exchanger.

•  Use aluminum duct tape to insulate warm-air ducts and reduce leakage by up to 25%.

•   If needed, upgrade your insulation in the attic and basement and reduce your energy bill by 30%.

•   To keep energy costs down, reduce GHG emissions and save money  by always buying  Energy Star qualified equipment.

• Take a quick shower instead of a bath and use up to 50 % less hot water.

•   Stop city treated water and your money from disappearing down the drain by not running water when you brush your teeth and shave.  Use a glass with water when brushing your teeth and pour a bit of water in the sink for shaving.

  In the Car

• Check your tire pressure once a month when they are cold and reduce greenhouse gases by one eighth of a tonne each year and save $80.00 annually in fuel costs.

•   Buy seasonal and local foods. A 40 tonne transport truck releases about 5 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere for one typical shipment of food from afar.

•  Keep your car fully tuned at all times. A poorly maintained engine can use up to 50% more fuel and produce 50% more CO2 than one that has been regularly maintained.

•   Stay within the speed limit of 100 km/hr. increasing your speed from 100 to 120 km/hr will suck an extra 20% of gasoline and reduce the life of your tires.

•   Get rid of your SUV and replace it with a hybrid vehicle. Driving 20,000 km/yr in an SUV produces 6 tonnes of CO2. Driving a hybrid produces 2 tonnes of C02. Fuel efficiency in a hybrid-electric car is about 20% -50%

   greater than an electric car.

•  · Do not use your air conditioner in stop and go traffic. By opening the car window instead, you can save 20% on fuel consumption to help reduce greenhouse gases.
  

• Stop idling your car today.  Idling your car for 10 minutes a day produces one quarter of a tonne of CO2  emissions and wastes $20 worth of fuel.

• Every litre of gasoline used by your car produces 2.4 kg of CO2 and major greenhouse gases. Car exhausts account for up to two thirds of smog-producing health-reducing pollutants. Help slow climate change, improve air quality, your personal health and save money by walking more and driving less.

•   When the temperature drops below 0 degrees Celsius use a block heater on a timer. Your car will be easier to start and you will improve your fuel economy by as much as 10%.  Set your timer so that it switches on 2 hours before you plan to drive.