Don't sit idle: Taking steps to fight climate change

HALIFAX -

You'll forgive film producer Mike Velemirovich for running a few extra errands these days, which is typical behaviour for anyone with a new vehicle they enjoy driving.

Velemirovich's new car turns heads where ever he goes.

He ordered the new Tesla online and it was delivered to his home in Bedford in June.

"The car's ignited, or reignited, my love of driving, of just getting in the car and going for a drive. It's just so much fun," Velemirovich told CTV News Wednesday.

There's growing evidence we're all paying the price for generations of fun, convenience and industry.

Stifling heat in the Maritimes in recent days has been a hot topic, but worldwide, July was the hottest month ever recorded, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atomospheric Administration.

And we're all contributing to the problem, often without even thinking about it.

Former broadcaster Ron Zima has emerged as a worldwide anti-idling expert, years after noticing parents sitting in running cars outside his daughter's school.

"North Americans in Canada and the U.S. spend about 6.6 billion gallons a year idling, in parking lots like this one," said Zima at a shopping centre in Lower Sackville, NS.

"Just virtually for no benefit."

Although more and more corporations are interested in getting onside, Zima says there's still plenty of work to do, adding his firm, GoGreen Communications has posted many of its fleet lessons on its Facebook page. 

Experts at Nova Scotia's Ecology Action Centre say idling is a major contributor to the climate change problem.

"In Nova Scotia, 27 per cent of our emissions come from the transportation sector," said Kelsey Lane, climate policy coordinator.

"So, when it comes to transportation, there's lots we can do there. And if you have to drive, and you are purchasing a new vehicle, purchase an electric vehicle."

Which is exactly what Velemirovich had been thinking for years, especially as he gassed up his former SUV, usually at $100 per fill.

"I would get a hundred litres of fuel, and that fuel goes straight into the atmosphere. And after a while, it bothered me that I was contributing to the problem. So, I thought, with a Tesla, I can be part of the solution. It's just one car, one person, but that's how it begins."