How we measure up

Canadians are doing moderately well at going green according to a new study by Statcan.

About 45% of Canadian households had made a real switch, according to the study, doing things like composting, switching to low flow toilets, and changing to low flow shower heads.

Another 45% of Canadian households had made some changes, but there were a number of switches they could still make.

About 97 per cent of Canadians with access to recycling programs take advantage of them, but only 30 per cent compost.

Interestingly, whether or not Canadians are taking action is related to how much they earn. About 60 per cent of households with incomes of more than $100,000 were very environmentally active, but only 35 per cent of households with incomes of $28,000 or less, according to the study.

Homeowners were also more likely to be very environmentally active than renters. About 54% of homeowners were "very active" compared with 22% of renters.

You can read the full study here

Also released was a Statcan study on Canadian households and their greenhouse gas emissions.

In brief, it said that Canadian households are responsible for about half of our greenhouse gases. About one third of our emissions come from our gas guzzling vehicles and the fuel used to heat our homes. The rest comes from buying goods and services, especially from items bought from far off places.

The full study is here.