Fill up smart: gas is denser in cooler weather, so fill up early in the morning or later at night. Fill the tank slowly and tighten the gas cap to avoid evaporation. Fill up before you’re empty, and rotate the nozzle 180º while it’s still in your tank to get every drop you’ve paid for. Follow hyper-miling rules: keep track of your gas mileage. www.hypermiling.com shows how to use cruise control to save gas. Slow down: the Canadian Automobile Association says you’ll save 20% more fuel driving at 100 km/h versus 120 km/h. Relax: jack rabbit starts, rapid acceleration and aggressive driving use 37% more fuel and create five times more in toxic emissions, reports Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy.

Pump it up: proper tire pressure can reduce emissions by 1/8 of a ton each year. The BC Automobile Association states that when pressure drops 20%, fuel consumption increases by about 10%. Get going: according to the Office of Energy Efficiency, 30 seconds is sufficient for warming up your car. Turn it off: if every Canadian idled five minutes fewer daily, we’d save 1.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and 1.8 litres of fuel a year. Leave the car at home: walk, bike, or take the bus as much as possible. Car share: if you don’t need a vehicle every day, think about sharing with others: www.autoshare.com provides access to shared vehicles 24 hours per day. •

ECO-BACK TO SCHOOL  Green shopping doesn’t have to be boring. Gone is bland beige. Welcome bright, funky, and fun. Buy online – you’ll save gas and time. Eco-friendly clothing: hemp, bamboo, organic cotton, and soy are making their way into t-shirts, jeans, dresses and suits from lululemon, Mountain Equipment Co-op and Linda Lundstrom. Even major department stores are buying up organic cotton. Lunch time: ‘Lunchables’ and brown bagging are out:  trendy reusable lunch bags, like ones from www.laptoplunches.com, are in. They have everything from Bento lunch boxes to stainless steel drinking bottles. Forgo the pre-packaged snacks and purchase trail mix and dried fruits in bulk then divvy them into smaller containers yourself. Wrap-N-Mat is the ‘green alternative’ for the plastic sandwich wrap that has a dual purpose: it’s perfect for fund-raising. For more information, visit Vancouver’s www.knotworkfundraising.com Cafeteria food: encourage your school to offer local and organic choices. Order a copy of FoodShare’s report “Salad Bars in School: A fresh Approach to Lunch” at www.foodshare.net. Learn how to start this program, along with funding ideas, staffing requirements and menu suggestions. School supplies: places like Toronto’s www.grass-rootsstore.com and Vancouver’s www.frogfile.com have everything eco from bio-degradable corn pens to 70% post-consumer content scissors. Staples/Business Depot has a variety of 100% post-consumer acid- and chlorine-free recycled notebooks and papers.

We spend a lot of time eco-proofing our kids at home: protecting them from chemicals, washing their clothes in environmentally friendly soap, avoiding toys with harmful PVC, sorting bottles and cans, but what happens in their schools? Pesticides: several municipalities like Calgary have banned use of pesticides to create weed-free lawns. Many schools, however, still allow spraying. Ask about your school policy. Demand to be notified before spraying, or advocate banning the use of pesticides. Recycle: Waste Reduction Week Canada (October 19-25, 2008) is a great time to reduce waste. Every year, high school students generate approximately 16 kilograms of weekly trash each. Time to get out the blue boxes and join the more than 590 schools nation-wide that participated last year. •