TORONTO - Despite recent polls that make it clear climate change has shot to the top of the list of pressing global concerns, life in Canada - particularly during the depths of winter - can pose unique challenges to those looking to put their money where their conscience is.
But experts say Canada's chilly climate, sprawling land mass and resource-based economy aren't good enough reasons to absolve Canadians of a growing responsibility to go green and reduce the impact they're having on the world's environment.
"A lot of the difficulties or challenges have been somewhat overblown," said Dale Marshall, climate change policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation in Vancouver.
Canada's not the only country in the world that's forced to endure frosty winters, Marshall said. "There are other Scandinavian countries who use less than half the energy we do."
The majority of transportation-related emissions are produced in cities, not cross-country travel, and the oil and gas sector is more greenhouse-gas intensive on a per-dollar basis than other resource-based sectors, he added.
"That's a choice that we make to engage in that economic activity that might not be entirely sustainable."
The environment, an issue that not long ago languished near the bottom of public-opinion polls, has shot to the top of the list of concerns that weigh on the Canadian conscience, say recent polls, including one commissioned late last month by pollster TNS Canadian Facts.
That concern has yet to manifest itself in the way Canadians spend their money, however. Though they have exceeded expectations, sales of gas-electric "hybrids" and other eco-friendly cars comprised a relatively small percentage of the 1.6 million vehicles sold last year in Canada.
Mercedes-Benz sold just 3,000 of its tiny Smart cars in Canada last year - a fact some experts attribute to the perception that Canadian drivers need something more substantial to get them through the frigid winter months.
The Smart car, which runs on a compact, three-cylinder diesel engine, doesn't generate much internal heat, said Jim Kerr, a Saskatoon-based auto technician who writes for the online magazine Canadian Driver. Some of the car's owners also say it struggles in extreme temperatures.
"The car performs okay in the cold until the temp approaches the minus-30 range," said owner Clint Cannon of Holland, Man. However, many Smart car drivers are delighted with their vehicle - and even suggest its small size makes it particularly well-suited to winter driving.
"I've never had it get bogged down or stuck," said Donald Hehr, a retiree from the Edmonton suburb of Sherwood Park, Alta. Hehr, who's owned his car since August, says he finds the heat "sufficient" and doesn't feel like he's making much of a sacrifice.
"A friend of mine calls it a toy, but he drives a great big six-cylinder diesel that he doesn't drive in the wintertime because he can't afford to drive the thing and it's too cold to drive it anyways."
In other instances, the cost of green technology remains a stumbling block, but Canadians are nonetheless beginning to foot the extra bill in order to buy themselves some peace of mind.
BullFrog Power, an electricity provider based in Toronto that sells strictly 100 per cent green energy at a steep premium to traditional power, has fewer than 2,200 customers in Ontario - although their ranks have doubled in the last four months, said president Tom Heintzman.
"There's no question that price is an impediment," Heintzman conceded. However, that price gap is narrow in the years ahead as governments and traditional energy generators bring more green power onstream, he said.
At GreenSaver, a non-profit home energy-efficiency firm, business was on the wane until Ottawa announced plans to provide homeowners with up to $5, 000 for energy retrofits.
Since then, daily calls have tripled, said president Vladan Veljovic, who points to so-called "green mortgages" used in Europe as an example that they don't just have to come from government.
"If you've spent $2,000 and you're going to get $200 savings in electricity and gas a year, there are mortgages that will take that into account over the value of the house," he said.
"For an average homeowner, it's a no-brainer."
Roger Peters, senior policy analyst with the Pembina Institute, said he believes many green technologies - a novelty just a few short years ago - are poised to break into the mainstream, such as compact fluorescent lights.
"A lot of the early problems with them not being able to be used in cold weather, them being too big to fit other fixtures, most of these things are overcome now," Peters said.
