There are only so many…

There are only so many things an individual citizen can do to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Already, I limit my use of electricity by shutting off lights I'm not using, putting on another sweater or using another blanket rather than turning up the heat, choosing public transit or walking rather than owning/driving a car, choosing to keep my still-functioning 5-year-old smart phone rather than upgrading (despite frequent "offers" to upgrade by my service provider), reducing consumption in general by borrowing/sharing/renting rather than owning (from books to tools to cars/trucks). I no longer own my own residence, and so have no control over the type of heating in my building, or whether to install solar panels or other renewable energy devices. Landlords are often unwilling to make changes to old infrastructures without some kind of incentive... so governments have the responsibility to create incentives for property owners (both landlords and private owners) to install renewable energy devices such as solar panels, perhaps even small windmills on roofs, etc. There should also be bylaws in all cities - or perhaps a province-wide mandate - that all new building construction/development projects adhere to minimum LEED standards.

I am no expert in any of this, but I do believe that not only is it important to drastically reduce carbon emissions and our dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels, it is also possible to work towards and achieve goals regarding switching to renewable energy sources. Other countries and cities are doing it... it's not impossible. Why is it that a country and a province so wealthy as Canada and Ontario lag behind in implementing renewable energy projects? Given the urgency - with climate change becoming an ever-greater threat to the well-being of everyone on this planet - it is perplexing and upsetting that there seems to be such ambivalence or even reluctance around creating and implementing renewable energy projects.

[Original Comment ID: 205088]