Is Toronto Following A Greener Path?

The best way to save the environment can be making small

, permanent changes that have constant positive impacts. As a business, sometimes the things you have to do every day can be done and make a difference. Your utilities can be overhauled to be made more 'green' and have a better environmental impact. An electrician can evaluate your fixtures and often make recommendations to improve your efficiency and reduce power loss and waste. Electrical retrofits allow your energy usage to be reduced while improving the amount of light available in your facility.

While it can be difficult to know what will be the best thing that makes a lasting difference, simplicity can be achieved in the quest for greener living. Buying and consuming produce that was grown locally and in season can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions considerably over produce brought in from across the country and even across the world. Buying locally grown food helps your money to stay in the local economy and supports the well being of your city and town.

Living in a large city, with a good public transit system can be more environmentally friendly than living in the countryside. Using less fuel to move within your city allows you to further reduce your carbon emissions. So, take the train or bus down to a local farmers' market and prepare a healthy meal from fresh local produce. Understanding your local transit system can be a great asset in a quest to live a greener life.

In Toronto, there is a system of underground tunnels connecting the downtown buildings with the subways, called PATH. PATH connects over fifty buildings or office towers in the largest underground shopping mall in the world. This allows a distinct advantage to public transportation use in the cold winter weather and hot summer months. Over twenty seven kilometers of tunnels connect buildings like City Hall with the CBC Broadcast Center.

The tunnels make the city very pedestrian friendly and save energy because they are cost effective to heat and cool. Electric usage is kept at a minimum due to the natural insulating properties of the earth surrounding the tunnels.

Using the knowledge we have and the technologies we have developed, all communities have the ability to work with our surroundings instead of against them to provide a greener, more environmentally friendly future for us all. Sometimes being more aware of the resources we have available to use can enable us to utilize them to a greater advantage for mutual benefit, locally and internationally.

by: Art Gib

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