News

Andrew Robinson cringes when he cruises past the industrial section of Hamilton.

The 24-year-old Toronto university student, one of the majority of Canadians who worry about climate change, sees the billowing stacks and imagines havoc being wreaked on the environment.

His view, however, is from the driver's seat of his gas-guzzling Ford sport utility vehicle.

"Am I doing the same, but on a smaller scale? Sure, absolutely I am," he admits. "I guess this is only one truck, right?"

The majority of Canadians - 77 per cent - believe global warming is real and worry about its impacts on their lives, according to a survey by Angus Reid Strategies last month. One-third say it's the most important problem facing Canadians today.

And the sweeping federal environmental strategy announced in Ottawa this week - including a ban on old-style incandescent light bulbs - shows politicians have taken note.

Yet, our behaviours don't always match this new green conscience. Fewer than four in 10 Canadians compost their food waste when those options are available, according to a poll conducted by the Strategic Counsel for The Globe and Mail.

Almost two-thirds surveyed report having made no effort to green their daily commute. And despite soaring gas prices, Statistics Canada says that sales of minivans, SUVs and trucks soared to a record high last year.

The Angus Reid survey shows a majority of Canadians are not willing to drive more fuel-efficient cars or to reduce air travel.

So why do so many of us say one thing about the environment, and yet at crunch time are only prepared to take half-measures?

"The low-hanging fruit are what a lot of people are really thinking about," says Tina Bansal, director of the Research Network for Business Sustainability at the University of Western Ontario's Richard Ivey school of business.

As examples, she cites lowering the thermostat or using an air conditioner a bit less. But many people, she says, don't realize that climate change extends beyond the smaller energy sacrifices. "It's about consumption generally."

Other experts say it's the big-ticket items - such as the latest hybrid vehicles - that are the biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to shrinking environmental footprints, largely because of the high cost and inconvenience.

"It takes a long time for awareness about the environment to translate to the fact that you're going to go out and buy a new car," Toronto retail consultant Len Kubas says.

Mr. Kubas, who drives an eight-cylinder sedan, offers himself as an example. "We probably have 10 of those screwy fluorescent bulbs in our house," he says. "But I'm not prepared to go and suffer a $15,000 loss on the sale of a perfectly good car just to make a statement that we're going to stop environmental pollution."

Retail giants such as Home Depot have noticed similar consumer trends. Expensive items such as lumber cut from sustainable forests have languished on the shelf, while energy-efficient light bulbs have been the company's top seller since it introduced an eco-friendly line of products three years ago.

"Quite honestly, it costs more and it doesn't act any different. A piece of wood is a piece of wood," says Nick Cowling, spokesman for Home Depot Canada.

And when consumers are paying that much for a green product, they're less willing to make concessions. "People don't want to sacrifice style. They don't want to sacrifice design," says Rebecca Best, co-owner of Ottawa's Healthiest Home and Building Supplies.

Canadians do fare better with smaller changes at home. Almost all Canadians - 94 per cent - polled in The Globe and Mail survey have made some attempt to green their houses. The most common efforts include recycling, switching to more energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances, and dipping the thermostat below 20 degrees in winter.

Andrea Chiu, a 23-year-old Toronto native, has been using non-toxic cleaning products for years. She tries to buy clothing made of recycled fibres as much as she can, and last year started a blog promoting environmentally friendly consumer products. "I guess my attitude is to take small bites," she says.

Environmental activists say people like Ms. Chiu aren't in the majority, largely because people still aren't aware of what steps they can take to green their lives.

Politicians need to market green alternatives the way soda companies push soft drinks, says John Bennett, who heads Climate Action Network Canada and has been trying for 20 years to push climate change to the top of the public's agenda.

"We haven't marketed this thing properly," he says. "I think it's a failing of mine, and a failing of government."

Mr. Bennett is among those who say politicians need to do more to meet individuals halfway. He says a suburban mom, for example, shouldn't feel guilty about driving her kids to soccer practice when convenient bus routes aren't available.

"For behaviours to catch up with attitudes, there have to be available options," says Beth Savan, director of the University of Toronto's sustainability office.

She points to the success of the blue-box recycling program, widely introduced across most of Canada by the early 1990s. By providing individuals with blue boxes and weekly pickups, governments made recycling easy and popular.

Lack of alternatives has been the problem for Ms. Chiu. She recently purchased an orange Pontiac Wave for her 20-minute daily commute from the suburbs into north Toronto.

Facing an hour-long bus ride, and a greener car too expensive even with a rebate under the new federal fuel-economy program, Ms. Chiu bought Jellybean - the pet name for her compact car.

"That's my main source of guilt," she says.