All week long, many northerners have been participating in activities related to Environment Week. One of the most visible aspects of this awareness campaign was an increase in the number of cyclists on the road. Employees at many offices in Whitehorse participated in the Commuter Challenge, a friendly competition among Canadian cities to cut air pollution by using active and sustainable forms of transportation.

"It's no longer just about the environment," says Bob Van Dijken from the Northern Climate ExChange. "People are becoming more and more convinced about the other positive impacts of more active modes of transportation."

Van Dijken says that health and fitness is a top reason people give for walking or cycling to work. And because they sit in traffic and can't use trails or alternative routes, drivers are exposed to ten times more air pollution than the average pedestrian or cyclist.

"Active commuters enjoy benefits like weight control, lowered cholesterol and disease prevention. In fact, more and more doctors are giving patients 'active prescriptions' to encourage them to make small changes to their lifestyle."

"Active commuting also contributes to better mental health," adds Van Dijken, "People have the opportunity to de-stress and make the transition between home to work."

Another very convincing benefit of active or sustainable transportation is enjoyed in the wallet. The Canadian Automobile Association reports that the average yearly cost to operate a car is $8,468. Because the CAA calculations were based on cheaper fuel, and many northerners own larger vehicles, the average is likely higher in the Yukon.

"Any time you leave your vehicle parked, it works out to a savings of 47 cents per kilometre," says Van Dijken. So for someone commuting from Porter Creek or Granger, this translates to up to $10 saved for every day they leave the car at home. At an average speed of 18 km/hour, a bike commuter from one of these neighbourhoods can ride downtown in twenty to thirty minutes. And, Van Dijken points out, Whitehorse city buses accommodate bikes, so cyclists can peddle just one way if they prefer.

The environmental benefits of sustainable transportation are very compelling on their own. According to the Commuter Challenge website, the average car produces about 4 tonnes of air pollution each year. Vehicle exhaust contains carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons and fine particles. The biggest single pollutant from cars is carbon dioxide, and CO₂ is the primary contributor to greenhouse gases.

"These gases act just like glass in a greenhouse -- they let short wave radiation from the sun come into our atmosphere and heat the earth," Van Dijken explains. "But the earth ends up emitting long-wave radiation that can't escape and the result is a warming trend."

For the Yukon, global warming has a number of very specific local impacts. "In the case of disease -- for example, the spruce bark beetle -- you need a good week or two of minus forty to kill it off. Science shows that a disease in salmon called ichthyothonus is related to water temperature."

"The stability of permafrost is a big issue in the North," he adds, "Any small increase in soil temperature could cause all kinds of problems for infrastructure, such as slumping."

"Impacts on ecosystems and habitat are crucial -- will wildlife be able to live where they want? For northerners, this could mean that our traditional uses of the land might have to change."

Some local monitoring programs enable individual Yukoners to help track the effects of climate change. The PlantWatch and IceWatch programs rely on reporting from the public to monitor changes in the environment. The Northern Climate ExChange was also established as a clearinghouse for information on climate change in the North.

For more information contact the Northern Climate ExChange at 668-8735.