Do this if you can...

The next five days are green all ov er. Not only is this Canadian Environment Week and the

week of the National Commuter Challenge, but today is World Environment Day and Wednesday

marks Clean Air Day . Considering that about half of Canada’s greenhouse gases come from

motor vehicle emissions, the next few days are a good time to leave your car at home.

 

Do this if you can, commuters!

 

By KENNETH JACKSON

Metro Ottawa

Walk, bike or bus there —

just don’t drive yourself to

work this week.

The city is asking Ottawa

commuters to consider alternative

means of getting to

the office during the 2005

Commuter Challenge, which

kicked off yesterday on the

Ottawa River Parkway.

The Commuter Challenge

is a Canada-wide promotion

to mark Environment Week

(June 5-11), and it urges

commuters to ditch the car

keys and get active on the

way to work.

“We are trying to encourage

people to look at other

options of transportation,”

said Daniel Spence, co-ordinator

of the Ottawa Commuter

Challenge. “During

last year’s challenge we had

over 10,000 people participate

throughout the National

Capital Region, which reduced

more than 240 tonnes

of greenhouse gases. I expect

more of the same this year.”

Jill Fahey, 24, said she likes

the idea of biking to work.

“It’s so nice out now after

the winter we had, and I

could win a prize for doing

it,” said Fahey, one of the

people who biked the parkway

yesterday to help

launch the challenge. “Plus,

it’s great for the environment.

We have to do something

before we lose it.”

Reducing greenhouse

gases, Spence says, can be as

easy to do as hopping a bus.

“One (bus) trip can reduce

so much,” he said. “But there

is more to the challenge than

the environment and, personally,

I don’t focus on the

environment.

“It saves people money to

find ways to work other than

using their car and it’s a way

of incorporating fitness into

their daily routine.”

The Canadian Automobile

Association says driving

18,000 kilometres per year

costs an average of $9,525 —

or 52.9 cents per kilometre

for a mid-size car.

If that’s not enough, this

year’s challenge offers added

incentives. It features prizes

for individuals who register

online at commuterchallenge.

ca, including a Kunstadt

“Ottawa” Hybrid bike,

a one-year OC Transpo pass

and Florida Fitness memberships.