30 Ways to Spend Your $100 Climate Action Dividend

Originally published in the Victoria Times Colonist, Sunday June 22nd.

Guy Dauncey | Image: BCSEA

BCSEA - How will you spend your Climate Action Dividend?

At the end of June, every adult and child in British Columbia will receive a $100 cheque in the mail from the government. "What's this?" you might think.

It's your personal Climate Action Dividend, part of BC's new Carbon Tax that kicks in on July 1st.

"A tax, where the government sends me a cheque? Roll on new taxes if that's how they work!"

The carbon tax is part of the global effort to slow global warming, which is going to cause humongous problems for our children and grandchildren if we don't rapidly reduce the carbon emissions we produce by driving, flying, heating our homes, and so on.

The carbon tax will add 2.4 cents to the price of gas, starting July 1st. It will also increase the cost of heating oil and natural gas. That's what it's meant to do, to encourage us to reduce our emissions.

The tax is deliberately not a tax-grab, like the GST. It is "revenue-neutral" - the government gives back all the income it receives through personal, small business, and corporate tax reductions - and our $100 cheques.

If you do nothing to reduce your emissions, you'll be out of pocket by $1 every time you fill up with 40 litres of gas or heating oil. 100 fill-ups, and you'll be $100 out of pocket.

If you change your behaviour, however, by walking, cycling, using the bus, or making your home more efficient, or if you don't drive at all, the $100 becomes a reward for producing fewer emissions. That's the way it's meant to be.

The best use of the rebate, therefore, is to spend it on something that will help you reduce the amount of carbon tax you pay. To help you do this, the BC Sustainable Energy Association has created a list of 30 practical carbon-saving ways to spend your dividend.

A couple could pool their dividends, for instance, and pay for a Home Energy Assessment which will advise you on ways you cab save energy in your home, and open the door to 23 new grants from LiveSmartBC and the ecoENERGY program.

You could spend it on efficient light bulbs (30 for $100), programmable thermostats (2 or 3 for $100), or a combination purchase of a Kill-A-Watt meter to show how much power each appliance uses ($30), a smart strip power bar to reduce your wasted vampire power ($30), a low-flow showerhead ($12), a 20-foot retractable outdoor clothes line ($15),

and 3 efficient light bulbs ($12).

To reduce your emissions from travelling, you could buy a month's bus pass ($42-$99), a used bicycle ($100), or a cycling commuter skills course ($100) - or put it towards an electric scooter or electric bike conversion kit ($600-$1600), or membership in the Victoria Car Share Cooperative ($400).

If you have a car, you could buy a pack of 4 LED tire pressure indicator lights ($35) which will tell you when your tires need inflating, enabling you to use 3.3% less fuel, saving $50 a year. You could also buy a "Scan Gauge" ($160) to indicate your fuel consumption, enabling you to practice eco-driving and reduce your fuel-use by 10-15%, saving up to $250 a year. You could also buy a new pair of running shoes, or a good camera and microphone for your computer to make web conferencing easier in place of travel.

To reduce the carbon attached to imported food, you could spend $100 on seeds, tools, and compost to start your own organic kitchen garden. Since meat is such a large cause of global warming, you could spend $100 on a vegetarian starter kit at a good organic food store, or buy $100 worth of local organic food to throw a feast for your friends.

Alternatively, you could use the money to get prepared for more climate-related storms and power outages by buying a St John Ambulance Emergency Ready Kit ($60), a Solar Wind Up Radio ($60), or a LED Wind Up Flashlight ($32).

Or you could donate your $100 to an environmental organization that is working to tackle global warming or save BC's forests (preserving their carbon) such as the David Suzuki Foundation, the BC Sustainable Energy Association, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, the Sierra Club, or The Land Conservancy. For all these and more ideas, with live web-links, click here .

Whichever way you spend your $100, don't just blow it on gas. Make it an investment in the future that both you and your children can feel good about.