Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
When it comes to fighting climate change, a Toronto-based architect says personal actions have more of an impact than most people would expect.
Lloyd Alter, who teaches sustainable design at Ryerson University's School of Interior Design, is the author of the book, "Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle: Why Individual Climate Action Matters More Than Ever." In the book, he argues that the climate impact of actions such as driving less or limiting red meat consumption can go a long way.
"When we make these changes in our lifestyles, they add up," Alter told CTV's Your Morning on Monday.
A 2019 European study found that household consumer behaviour was responsible for 72 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Car usage, meat and dairy consumption and home heating were the biggest components of household emissions.
"The biggest offender for Canadian households is basically their cars. We buy big cars. We put a lot of gas in them. We drive longer distance than other people," Alter said. "Obviously that goes way down if people start doing things like biking and walking instead of driving."
Alter also points out that 74 per cent of Canadians live in suburban single-family detached houses. It takes far more natural gas to heat these types of homes compared to townhouses or apartments, given that these houses are larger and are exposed to the weather on all four walls.
But for many Canadians, it's not practical to change where they live or completely ditch their cars. Alter says making smaller lifestyle changes, such as eating less red meat or choosing to buy local produce, can still "significantly reduce our footprints without changing our lives dramatically."
Last October, Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse's "Treeprint" report calculated that it takes 44 birch trees to offset eating a 200-gram piece of steak three times a week. On the other hand, eating the same amount of chicken three times a week is only equivalent to six birch trees.
"When you put it into trees, it's something that people can wrap their heads around and understand because everybody knows what a tree looks like," Alter said.
"You could still eat a bit of chicken. You can still eat a bit of pork. You can eat these other meats that have a much, much lower carbon impact"
Some environmentalists have argued over-emphasizing personal carbon footprints shifts too much of the responsibility away from large corporations. A 2017 report from the non-profit group CDP found that 100 companies – almost all from the fossil fuel industry – are responsible for 71 per cent of the world's emissions since 1988.
However, Alter says energy production from these companies is driven by demand from consumers at the end of the day.
"You've got to look at it from a consumer point of view rather than a production point of view. Everyone says 100 oil companies are responsible for all the emissions, but we're buying what they're selling and we're putting that in our gas tanks," he said.
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
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A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.