The one-tonne garden challenge

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7 • POSTED ON June 09, 2005
The one-tonne garden challenge
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In this week's column, we look at how you can reduce greenhouse gas emmissions with some help from your garden.

Our gardening column is published every Tuesday on OttawaStart. Read previous columns here.

Firstly, I would like to thank Randy for “holding down the fort” these past two weeks; it is a bit of an understatement to say that May is fairly hectic for “us landscapers” and the break he offered me was more than welcome. So, a big “thank you” goes out to Randy for his articles about Bonsai. (And no, you are not – I repeat - NOT – getting a raise out of this!)

This week, I would like to become somewhat serious with you and talk about “The One-Tonne Challenge”.

I am sure that, by now, most of you will be aware – or at least have heard - of the federal government’s One-Tonne Challenge (hereafter referred to as “the challenge”). The objective is fairly simple: Canadians are challenged to reduce their annual greenhouse gas emissions (hereafter referred to as “GHG”) by 20%. The average Canadian (hereafter referred to as “Joe or Josephine Average”) produces around five tonnes of GHG per year so a 20 per cent reduction translates to one tonne.

In order to get our facts straight: there is no such thing as “a greenhouse gas”. In actual fact, what is commonly referred to as “greenhouse gases” are many different chemical compounds in the earth’s atmosphere that ACT as greenhouse gases. Now, you may ask yourself “what do these gases do and why does the government want me to produce less of them?” Well, here’s the deal: when sunlight enters our atmosphere and strikes the earth’s surface, part of it is reflected back into space as infrared radiation (simply put: as heat). Over time, the amount of energy sent from the sun to the earth’s surface should be about the same as the amount of energy radiated back into space. Ergo: if all goes well, temperatures here on earth should remain roughly constant.

Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. GHG has the nasty habit of absorbing the infrared radiation, thus trapping the heat in our atmosphere. Unlike what some people think, GHG is not solely human-made but occurs in nature (carbon-dioxide, methane etc.) as well. However, whereas nature has always been very modest in producing GHG, men started to negatively affect the balance from the beginning of the large-scale industrialization roughly 150 years ago. For the sake of argument I am over-simplifying matters, but the main culprits – responsible for around 75 percent of human carbon dioxide production - are fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas). A significant part of carbon dioxide emissions is absorbed by plants – the reason why we refer to rainforests to as “the Earth’s lungs” – but sadly, plants can no longer keep up with us. Global temperatures are on the rise and although it is apparently very hard to exactly determine what the long-term effects of this climate change will be, there has been enough reason for worrying.

By means of the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change (negotiated in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997) the UN has been attempting to reduce the global emissions of GHG. Canada ratified this Protocol in December 2002 and now has until 2012 to lower its GHG emissions to 6 per cent below what they were in 1990 – or between 20 to 30 per cent from current levels (this is where the 20 per cent reduction figure in the One-Tonne Challenge stems from).

How can we go about reducing our GHG emissions by 20 per cent and for that matter, why would a gardener be writing about it in a newsletter on OttawaStart? Well, obviously because it affects us all. The fastest way to reduce GHG emissions would be to sell your car, as half of the gases you produce come from driving. That is not likely to happen but by carpooling, using public transit or biking and walking you can significantly cut back your GHG emissions.

Simple things such as not idling, regularly checking your tire pressure and using a programmable thermostat can make a difference. You can find lots of tips on the government web site (http://climatechange.gc.ca).

However, apart from a smarter use of your vehicle there are actually a few things we can do in our garden to help the reduction of GHG. A simple - yet very effective – way is to recycle our household waste by means of composting. Around 25% of Canada’s annual waste is recycled or composted, but this figure could be much higher (around 70%). A family of three can reduce its GHG by about 1/8 tonne each year by composting.
Chemical garden fertilizers are a source of nitrous oxide, a GHG, so by replacing them with natural fertilizers you are contributing to a less toxic environment. Most people tend to over-fertilize anyway, because they think they are doing their plants a favour. Plants are a bit like humans; they can only “consume” so much and the rest is wasted.

A big “GHG reducer” is limiting the use of gas-powered lawnmowers and other equipment (leaf blowers, string trimmers – “whipper snippers” - etc.). I realize I am about to step on many a man’s toe here, but if the lawn in your backyard is about the size of a stamp, you don’t really need a gas mower; a push mower or even an electric mower is a much better alternative. On average, a gas-powered mower produces 48 kilos of GHG during a season – as much air pollution as a car driven from Ottawa to Toronto.

Well-placed lines of evergreens on the north-facing side of your house can shelter it from cold winter winds and reduce your home’s need for heat. By the same token, a well-placed tree on the south-facing side of your house can keep your home cooler in the summer by means of its shade and thereby reduce the need for air conditioning.

If you cut your lawn, do not remove the clippings but leave them on the lawn. They will quickly break down and add valuable nutrients to your soil which will reduce the need for fertilizers. Keeping grass out of your garbage can reduce your GHG emissions by 0.1 tonne.

These are just a few examples of how we can all contribute to achieving a less toxic environment without having to make huge sacrifices. To quote the government’s web site: “Fewer emissions means protecting our climate and having cleaner air and healthier communities for all Canadians. And saving energy puts more money in your pocket.”

Until next week, happy gardening!

René Trim

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About René
René Trim was educated and trained in The Netherlands, before moving to Canada in 2000. After studying the differences in climate and season faced by Ontario gardeners he established Trim Garden Design and Rescue in May 2002. A gardener since the 1980’s, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience, a vast library of reference materials from which to draw answers to various garden situations as well as an enthusiastic and professional staff.