take the one tonne challenge

no that's not a typo. tonne is the propper Canadian spelling for 1000 kilograms. so what is this 1tonne challenge thing? well the details are here but here's the gist:

you create pollution that wrecks the environment in a number of ways -- the most scary of which is increasing the temperature of the planet. this is a problem 'cause it leads to Very Bad Things like species extinction, deforestation, rising of the water levels, drought and a personal favourite: melting of the polar ice caps. a few years ago most of the nations of the world got together to talk about how to fix this and they settled on a deal they called "The Kyoto Accord" which is political-speak for "we're screwing up the planet, so we're gonna stop at the same time". Canada has promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and needs your help in doing it, so they've invented this challenge.

The average Canadian produces more than 5 tonnes of GHG emissions per year from energy use. Together, we account for about one-quarter of Canada's emissions, so achieving our Kyoto target means that we all need to make changes to our lifestyles and the way we use energy.

- climatechange.gc.ca

so if you're sick and tired of hearing about how the environment is going to hell and actually want to do something about it, here's what you do: check out the tonnage calculator and find out where you stand. when that's done, it's got this really great app that gives you suggestions and shows you how you can reduce your own tonnage to help fix the world in your own way. seriously, try it. it won't kill you... though doing nothing might kill your grandkids.