I Can Change Climate Change
This program will examine climate change while providing hands on experience to Grade 9 students which will enable them to better understand the issues and solutions to this global problem. Students will participate in emission testing, see real life examples of their personal impact and see the uses and limitations of renewable energy sources. IC4 will present the students with first hand knowledge and show them the tools they can use to help prevent climate change.
Global warming is changing the world as we know it. Through the “I Can Change Climate Change” program, students will learn how to make good choices to reduce their carbon footprints. The “I Can Change Climate Change” program covers topics such as:
Calculate Your Ecological Footprint:
Ontario Government Carbon Footprint Calculator
Ecological Footprints
The Ecological Footprint demonstrates how people are consuming resources and materials and affecting their surrounding environment. Many steps have been put into place to help reduce your Ecological footprint such as the “100 mile diet”.
The 100 mile diet is a way to improve your Ecological footprint, and you only eat foods that are grown/produced in a 100 mile radius of where you live. This cuts down on transportation costs compared to foods to get foods imported from outlying areas. This not only helps the environment, but also is a healthier way of eating as the food usually doesn’t have any preservatives in it.
What You Can Do To Reduce Your Ecological Footprint:
1. Turn off the lights when leaving a room.
2. Recycle everything you can!
3. Reduce the consumption of meat that you eat daily, and introduce the 100 mile diet.
4. Replace the light bulbs in your house with energy efficient light bulbs.
5. Take a local vacation instead of flying.
6. Keep your garden natural by planting native plants.
7. Cancel your newspaper subscription and read the news on the Internet.
8. Buy a small car or a hybrid car to reduce gas emissions.
9. Use public transportation or car pool.
10. Spread the word to family and friends about reducing their ecological footprint!
Green House Gas Emissions (Hybrids vs. Regular Cars)
A hybrid car can best be explained as a half gas, half electric car as that is what the engine consists of. A hybrid car still has a normal car engine, but has an electric assist engine as well to reduce emissions and to help gas mileage.
Hybrid cars cost more to purchase, as the technology is new and more costly to build then the conventional gasoline car. For your hybrid car to be effective you must lose those bad driving habits, such as driving over the speed limit, quick accelerations, and unnecessary lane changes.
Some hybrid cars are called “mild hybrids” as the electric engine only works when in park or stopped, as soon as the driver hits the gas the gas powered engine kicks in.
Hybrid SUV’s are said to get about the same gas mileage as a normal car, but small sedan hybrids can save you up to $ 1 500 a year on gas. Sedan hybrids can cost up to $ 4 000 more than normal gas cars. Hybrid cars are said to have up to 55% less CO2 emissions than the normal gas powered car. The normal gas powered car gives off about 200g/km CO2 emissions.
Many people have the wrong idea of what a hybrid car looks like. The public views hybrids as weird looking futuristic cars when really they have the same look as the normal gas powered car, except for an added electric powered engine assist.
Solar, Wind, And Geothermal Power
Solar Power:
Installing solar panels on your house is a good start to helping the environment through the use of reusable power. Solar panels can be installed in many places, making it easy for almost every type of home to own a solar power system. Solar power can bring heat to your house through solar heating, and it can also give you electricity to power objects and lights in your home. Solar power can even give you enough hot water for your dishwasher and shower.
.gif)
Wind Power:
Wind power has been used as far back as 3000 B.C. and is one of the oldest forms of power generation. You can think of wind almost like a liquid except the liquid is little particles of gas, and when wind picks up the particles of gas start moving quickly.
Wind power is created when blades catch moving particles of gas, causing the blades to spin on a turbine. The simplest way to describe the outside of a wind turbine is a large freestanding pole with three large blades. When the wind starts spinning the large blades they turn a shaft that leads to a generator, and the generator turns the rotating energy of the blades into electricity.
Geothermal Power:
A geothermal system uses the energy of the sun, stored in the earth, to keep you in comfort all year round. Even in the winter, when a blanket of snow covers the ground, the earth's temperature remains approximately 10°C (50°F) at only six feet below the surface. This means that you have a steady supply of heat to keep you in comfort, even in the depths of the coldest winter.
A series of pipes buried in the ground. An ethanol solution is circulated through the pipes to make them highly efficient conductors of heat. In the winter, the ethanol in the pipes absorbs the heat from the ground and, now warmed up, the fluid is pumped back through the geothermal unit in the house. In the summer, the heat transfer process takes place in reverse. The fluid in the pipes leaves the house in a warm state, but after circulating underground, is cooled as the pipes exchange heat with the cooler earth.
The underground loops connect to the main geothermal unit installed in your house, and is connected to your home's forced air (or water radiator) system. Compatible with your home's distribution system.
Source: NextEnergy
Links:
Green House Gas Emissions Calculator
100 Mile Diet
Ecological Footprint Quiz
How Hybrids Work
David Suzuki Climate Change
Environment Canada Climate Change
Energy Saving Tips
Halton Environmental Network
Ontario Power Authority
Supported By:
Conservation Halton
Conservation Halton Foundation
Ontario Go Green Fund (http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/air/climatechange/cggf.php)
Click Here To Book!
Conservation Halton Parks 
