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The Take Action page will have various information on how you can, save money, improve air quality and make a difference in the community and to our environment. If you have any additional information to add please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it with suggestions.
Physical Fitness Many people believe driving to be the better way of getting around. While this may be true at times, quite often it is not. What is true, however, is the impact of the automobile has in creating more sedentary habits in Canadians. Did you know that nearly 2/3 of Canadians do not get the recommended amount of daily physical activity that they need? Physical activity reduces your:
It only takes an accumulation of 30 minutes of moderate daily activity to achieve these benefits! Consider a cycle to work, a brisk walk to the grocery store or a scooter-ride to the gym! Beyond physical benefits, Health Canada reports that:
Health Canada states that physical activity is essential to healthy growth and development in children. Regular activity will develop cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility and bone density. Active individuals are less vulnerable to the risk factors associated with chronic illness and delays those illnesses until much further on into adulthood. Further studies indicate that youth involved in regular physical activity are less likely to use tobacco or alcohol. For seniors, active modes of transportation provide weight-bearing activity so critical to maintaining bone density. A regular fitness schedule promotes strength, flexibility, balance and coordination, and importantly can reduce the impact and risk of falls. Overall, physical activity helps prolong good health and independence. Health Canada states that regular activity can have an empowering effect on those with disabilities by allowing individuals to set their own standards, and reap the social, emotional, spiritual and physical benefits of choosing their own activities. Active living helps make coping with the everyday challenges of life easier, and can even prevent relapses of certain disabilities. It can also increase the energy a person has to deal with the physical and mental stresses of a disability. From a health perspective, active living increases mobility, improves posture, and reduces aches and pains that can accompany long periods of sitting. Better circulation reduces the possibility of blood-pooling and swelling in the legs. And maintenance of a healthy weight helps those who use aids to get around more easily. Respiratory Health Participation in active and efficient modes of transportation benefits us beyond physical fitness. It provides our bodies with the fresh, clean air required for optimum lung health. Walking, cycling, busing and carpooling helps to improve air quality, by reducing single-occupancy vehicle use.
By inserting regular walking, biking, carpooling and busing habits into our lives can go a long way towards maintaining a healthy body. Links
SAVING MONEY Peterborough city and county citizens are driving more than ever before! Money spent on unnecessary driving is emptying our pocketbooks! According to the Canadian Automobile Association, it will cost $8,700 to drive a typical new Canadian car in 2003. This is based on:
Better Environmentally Sound Transportation of British Columbia compares these costs to:
The financial difference between supporting single-occupancy vehicle use and supporting walking, biking, ridesharing and telecommuting use are substantial. For some, owning and operating a vehicle may be debilitating their financial health. Even if you are not about to give up your car (and most of us aren't) reducing your costs by walking, biking and ridesharing whenever possible can go a long way to improving your financial freedom. Clean Local Environment Poor Air Quality Air quality describes the condition of the air we breathe. It is a measure of the chemicals that affect our health and environment. In Ontario , air quality is measured with the Air Quality Index (AQI). The AQI is based on the measurements of the six most common pollutants: sulphur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, total reduced sulphur compounds, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter. Poor air quality is the result of too many chemical emissions into our atmosphere. Though poor air quality can be present year-round, warmer temperatures make matters worse. This is because when emissions are baked by the hot, summer sun, yellow, foul-smelling smog is produced. âTransportation is the largest single human-produced source of outdoor air pollution in Canada . On average, each of the 16.8 million vehicles registered across the country emits approximately five tonnes of air pollutants and gases annually⦠At the heart of the current air pollution problem is the âsingle occupant vehicle. Single occupant vehicles represent the most inefficient use of transportation energy.â ⢠âThe Smog Primerâ, Pollution Probe, 2003 Poor air quality can have many effects on our economy, health and environment. The summer of 2002 was the worst on record for poor air quality in Peterborough . We registered 18 smog advisory days and experienced our first advisory of 2003 on March 17! Our Pocketbooks: Poor air quality costs Ontario more than $1 billion annually in hospital admissions, emergency room visits and absenteeism from work. Poor air quality and smog doesn't just affect those with poor health and allergies, it can affect even the most healthy and active people. Climate Change Transportation accounts for 50% of our personal greenhouse gas emissions - the main cause of global climate change. Climate change is the term used to describe both the warming of the earth's temperature (global warming) and the severe and/or unusual weather conditions that are occurring as a result of this warming. The heat from the sun warms our earth. This heat would escape into space if it wasn't for the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. These gases trap the sun's heat around our planet. The earth naturally produces the perfect amount of greenhouse gases. When we burn fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas - we add more. Fossil fuels are burned for the energy needed to drive our vehicles, heat and cool our homes and run our factories. The more greenhouse gases we produce, the thicker our atmospheric blanket gets. This traps excess heat around our planet, increasing the average global temperature. The result, global warming, disrupts the earth's finely tuned climate. While a warmer Canadian climate may seem appealing to many, the reality is that it will cause much more harm than good. Climate change could challenge the Kawarthas in the following way: Our Pocketbooks: Increased taxes, insurance and personal savings will be spent repairing weather-related damage to our homes, infrastructure and environment. Our elderly and very young will be challenged by heat stress and associated respiratory and cardiac ailments. By the end of the century, average temperatures in Peterborough could increase by 3 - 8 degrees. This will mean hotter, more humid and unbearable summers and milder, drier winters. The aquatic habitats of the Kawarthas will be drastically altered by decreased water levels and increased temperatures. Learn more at: www.climatechange.gc.ca Links
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