6. Paperless office
When easy, cheap printing invaded the workplace and home in the ’80s, paper use skyrocketed, more than doubling between 1980 and 2000. Now, one Canadian company is working to reverse that trend.
WestJet, the Canadian airline known for its novel business approach, is leading the way toward a paperless revolution—and all it took was a couple of simple changes. The company found that the temptation to hit the print button correlated to the proximity of the printer: if you’re sitting near it, you’re more likely to use it.
So WestJet moved all the printers out of arms’ reach and into “tech shops”—two central locations on each floor with three printers per location. On top of that, workers have to scan their employee cards in order to use them—and a screen shows them their record of personal paper use.
WestJet has already noticed a huge change in printing habits, and estimates that it will save 20 per cent annually in paper and toner costs as the program continues.—Tom Henheffer
7. The induction stove
It’s eco-friendly. It’s also very, very cool.
Induction stoves use electricity to create a magnetic field, so—and here’s the cool part—while you heat up last night’s leftovers, the sleek system remains cool to the touch. The result: you save 50 per cent in cooking time versus an electric stove, and 25 per cent in energy costs.
Until recently, high price and size (early versions were behemoths) have made induction stoves impractical for many homeowners. But that’s slowly changing: Samsung recently released a standard kitchen-sized version that comes complete with a convection oven for US$1,999. —Rachel Mendleson
8. Contraception
According to the UN, about 40 per cent of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended—that’s a lot of babies spewing CO2 into the environment and consuming precious resources. So, of all the green technologies out there, birth control might be the most environmentally friendly.
A new report from the Optimum Population Trust at the London School of Economics finds that for each $7 spent on basic family planning over the next 40 years, global CO2 emissions would be reduced by more than one tonne. By comparison, the minimum cost it would take to get the same results with other carbon-reducing technologies—wind power, solar power, plug-in hybrids, etc.—is $32.
Not bad for a simple piece of rubber. —Kate Lunau
9. Algae-wrapped buildings
Algae—a group of organisms of which seaweed is the largest marine form—could be much more than just the slimy goo that irritates swimmers at the beach. It could become a powerful tool in the fight against global warming.
Strapping it to skyscrapers could produce a huge environmental payoff: researchers are pushing for the use of “algae-based photobioreactors,” which are transparent tubes filled with the stuff that can be attached to the sides of buildings. Carbon dioxide would then be pumped into the devices and the algae would absorb it through photosynthesis.
The end result can be either a liquid biofuel for energy and heating, or a CO2-absorbing soil conditioner called biochar. —Tom Henheffer
10. Shower with a friend
In the early ’90s, as the Earth Day movement transformed from hippie-dippy ideal to celebrity-studded cause, a group of well-meaning types, including Bette Midler and Bill Cosby, made the first televised Earth Day special. Their suggestions were mostly bland, save for one. “Save water, shower with a friend.”
Shower sharing makes complete sense. Canadians are water hogs, ranking 28th among the 29 nations polled by the OECD in terms of per capita water consumption. Part of the problem, says Environment Canada’s senior policy adviser Liz Lefrançois, is that we shower for too long and leave the water running when soaping up.
Environment Canada suggests low-flow showerheads and “sailor shower” valves that switch off with the push of a button. As for showering with a friend? The government isn’t getting behind the cause: “I don’t think we could promote that,” says Lefrançois. “It infers something other than water savings.” But just because the government has no place in the showers of the nation, that’s no reason you shouldn’t give it a try.—Martin Patriquin
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