Climate Change
CO2 emissions from our vehicles are a major contributor to climate change. The transportation sector is the 2nd largest contributor of carbon dioxide emissions in Canada.
Internationally Canada ranks:
- 2nd place for most fuel consumed per km travelled
- 3rd highest CO2 emitter per capita (8th place overall)
- 4th place for the most kms/year on our cars
Nationally Nova Scotia ranks:
- 1st place for largest decrease in urban density
- A close 2nd place behind New Brunswick for most kms/year on our cars. We drive on average 18,500 km/year on our cars, well above the national average of 16,000 km. Many rural Nova Scotian communities are spread out and are not serviced by public transportation.
These stats illustrate just how much Canadians, and Nova Scotians in particular are dependent on their vehicles.
Green house gases, including carbon dioxide (C02), are released into the atmosphere by all kinds of human activities, including driving. The sun's energy passes through the Earth's atmosphere. It is redirected and some of it is trapped within the atmosphere and insulates the globe, like a greenhouse. This is a normal process and keeps Earth livable for us- otherwise the Earth would be -18oC!
By burning fossil fuels (like coal, natural gas and oil), we have greatly increased the amount of gases in our atmosphere, which traps more heat in the "greenhouse". Gradually, this accumulation leads to increases in global temperature.
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