It is important for us to think about why we are on this quest to build greener homes. Climate change is impacting our world. Climate change is closely linked to greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is affecting all regions of the world in various ways. Species distribution, community dynamics, ecosystem processes, distribution of ecosystems, sea levels and coastal environments, agricultural production, and human health will all be affected by climate change.

Looking at out greenhouse gas emissions helps us understand where we fit into the picture — and in fact, what we can do to change. The Conference Board of Canada (www.conferenceboard.ca) ranks Canada very poorly in the area of greenhouse gas emissions:

‘Canada is one of the world’s largest GHG emitters. Canada ranks 16th out of 17 OECD countries on GHG emissions per capita and scores a “D” grade. In 2005, Canada’s GHG emissions were 22.6 tonnes per capita, almost double the 17-country average of 12.4 tonnes per capita. Canada’s per capita GHG emissions were also almost four times greater than Norway’s, the top performer.

While Canada’s GHG emissions per capita have risen since 1990, Norway managed to decrease its GHG emissions per capita by 30 per cent between 1990 and 2005.’

Figure 1 – Canada Conference Board report card on Canadian Green House Gas emissions

I have lived in Saskatchewan all of my life. I always thought of us as a green, environmentally friendly society. It came as a big surprise to me that Saskatchewan is actually the second highest greenhouse gas emitter in the world. According to the Saskatchewan Environmental Society (www.environmentalsociety.ca) we are at 72 tonnes per capita. This is nothing to be proud of. We typically blame our climate but Scandinavian countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark have similar climates and they are doing much, much better than we are (see Conference Board of Canada report card above)

Residential energy use accounts for 16 per cent of total energy use in Canada. But there are ways to reduce this impact. For example, if we look at the Riverdale Net Zero Home (see my November 11, 2009 blog),  the average home in Saskatchewan would  be responsible for nearly 17 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.  This assumes an R2000 construction standard.  Of course, most new homes are not built to the same green standard, even though it’s possible.

So what are we waiting for? Proven technologies are available to eliminate or minimize energy use in residential housing. Reducing your energy use clearly saves money and reduces green house gas emissions. We need to start using these technologies to do our share for the environment. We need to build green.