Q: I read this site and I see all these great suggestions for living green —all the beautiful bicycles and re-purposing and those gorgeous walls of plants. But the thing is, I live in northern Canada and so for ten months a year there is 3.5 feet of snow on the ground. That means no biking or skateboarding! And when it reaches -48 degrees Celsius and there are 3 inches of frost that have formed all along your windows and baseboards, there are not a lot of plants that can deal with that sort of thing. What are some ways you can go about living green when you can't bike and the earth all around is frozen and there is no rain?
How Can I Live Green In Cold, Frozen Canada?
Good Question
... I need some plants that will flourish in the slight chill without immediately dropping dead! I already collect snow and let it melt inside to water my herb garden and plants, and I still get exercise and fun from variety of cold weather sports (snowboarding, sledding, snowball fights), but when you can't run outside without having to visit the emergency room after there must be cardio alternatives to going to electricity-hogging gyms to run on treadmills for 120 a month!
So you should do a list of 25 ways to stay green in Canada! Even when the flowers freeze and all green other than pine trees is eradicated, there must be ways to stay environmentally-friendly.
Sent in by Emma
Editor: Emma, we hear you! We'll get to work on that list, and come back to you with more answers soon. For now, we'll open it up to our readers in the far north: how do you stay green in your cold climate?
Image via Flickr member Shahram Shariff licensed under Creative Commons.
Comments (5)
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Yoga is done indoors. Hopefully your home is properly insulated & you have triple paned windows. If not, that is the greenest thing you can do to update & stay comfortable.
view tallsarah's profile
I don't live quite that far north, but we get seasonal changes here in the North Eastern U.S., and I have to concur with our neighbor to the north...some postings on how to stay green in the winter would be great.
My first thought after reading this post was...hibernating! That's how I stay "green" in the winter. Yes, I still get up and go to work. But I tend to go to sleep earlier, spend my free time curled up with a book and hot chocolate, eat items that we stored for winter (this gets a little bleak toward February and March but makes you really appreciate that first spring harvest!), and as for exercise, when there is snow we're outside enjoying it, when it's brown and frozen I figure that's nature's way to tell me to take a nap!
view mdevans's profile
this is a great question. i don't live that far north, but i have some issues b/c i'm in a rural area. & not all of them are farm friendly! even my farmers market is sad. ie: all of the tomatoes are shipped from other states.
as far as cardio when it's cold, i use wii active.
as for plants, maybe try evergreens in tiny pots. they use those for bonsai quite often. & as long as you took care to insulate the roots, i think it'd grow ok.
view mariegael's profile
Great idea for a post!
Heating would be your largest issue. Anything you can do to save energy in this respect would make a big impact. Proper insullation, sealed and efficient windows, using a programmable thermostat... Even small things, such as after you run a load in the dishwasher, leave the door open a bit to warm up the room rather than closing it right away. You may also be able to take advantage of passive heat from the sun - leave curtains open when the sun is shining in, and close them at night to prevent heat loss.
Something else we do is keep jugs of water (ice) in our freezer when it's not full. This keeps the freezer more energy-efficient than being half empty. I've also heard (though never tried it) that if you put a container of ice into your fridge, it reduces the energy required to keep the fridge cool, because as it melts, it naturally cools the air in there.
If you have a patio, you can also store food/drinks there. Fill a pail with snow and stick your beer or wine in.
view PEIgirl's profile
Hi Emma!
I don't know which part of Canada you are from - I'm from Ottawa.
First, I'd like to suggest that you take up cross-country skiing. Go and buy used (affordable), 2nd hand cross-country equipment. It's such a good sport (well, if you don't live in Toronto). Find a field, or even bicycle path (winter)... It's a great sport - you get all the cardio, you don't need to worry about balance (like you would with downhill ski) and you get your cardio so high and feel so warm that you don't need to worry too much about -35 celcius (well, get a tuque..)
Second, if you live in a house, this is an old trick from the old days. At the first heavy snow, pat/make the snow stick to the walls outside all around your house (maybe 1 or 2 feet high). It will help your house be more energy efficient.
I also encourage you to leave your curtains open during the day, close them at night. Add carpets, heavy curtains, heavier blankets to different rooms of your house. Wear socks (this sounds stupid but, it's logical). Anything for you not to crank up the termostat.
As to eating green, this is where I need help too, during the winter. There is just so much canning and freezing you can do.
view Marie-Eve's profile