$100. How will you spend it?

100 things you can do with your $100 climate action dividend

You’re about to receive $100. From the government!
How will you be spending it?

As part of the B.C. carbon tax, the provincial government will be sending each B.C. resident $100 as a climate action dividend. It’s money you can put towards reducing climate change and making our world a bit better. To help in this effort and to make it count, here’s a list of 100 things you can do with your $100.

1. Buy a used bike or put the money towards a brand new one. Not much feels better than a new bike.
2. Buy some new shoes and get out for a walk.
3. Go buy a shovel, trowel, and your favourite veggie seeds. Start a garden!
4. Buy a composting bin for all your organic waste.
5. Invest in drip irrigation for your garden.
6. Brighten up your day by replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs. You’ll probably be able to replace the majority of the bulbs in your house with $100.
7. Turn off the heating/cooling in your house for one night, grab a tent, and enjoy the outdoors!
8. Spend the $100 towards a home energy audit. Discover how much more you can be saving.
9. Buy a bunch of local, organic food from your neighbourhood farm.
10. Put the money towards a new energy-efficient refrigerator.
11. Donate to a community initiative or foundation that you can feel great about supporting.
12. Buy a new hockey stick or soccer ball and get outside.
13. Buy a programmable thermostat and set your heat lower when you’re not home or at night. You’ll even save money in the long run!
14. Purchase aerators for your water taps. You’ll decrease your water usage and help our lakes and rivers.
15. Install low-flow showerheads.
16. Renovating your bathroom? Put $100 towards a low-flush or dual-flush toilet.
17. Put $100 towards Energy Star labelled windows.
18. Buy a new bathing suit and go swimming. Every day is better with a swim.
19. Buy an insulating blanket for your hot water tank. Or better yet, put $100 towards an on-demand water heater.
20. Buy new filters for your furnace and air conditioner.
21. Got an old computer you’re putting in e-recycling? Put $100 towards a snazzy new laptop – they’re more energy efficient than a desktop.
22. Have your vehicle tuned up to ensure it’s getting its best mileage and fuel efficiency.
23. Buy power bars. (Not the edible kind… the electrical kind.) By turning the power bars off, you can prevent appliances such as TVs and DVD players from using power even when they’re switched off.
24. Instead of buying something new, pay to get the old one repaired.
25. Buy a push mower. They’re great exercise and they keep the air clean (a gas mower used for one hour pollutes as much driving an average car 550km).
26. If push mowers aren’t your thing, put the money towards an electric mower.
27. Invest in some rechargeable batteries and a solar charger. In the long run, you’ll save waste AND money.
28. Purchase a good thermos or insulated travel mug to reduce use of disposable cups.
29. Grab some weather stripping and caulking and fix all those little drafts in windows and doors. You’ll feel the difference right away.
30. Install energy film window insulation and reduce heat loss through windows by 12-18%.
31. Get a block heater for your vehicle. When it’s really cold, a block heater can prevent wear on your engine and improve fuel efficiency by as much as 20%.
32. Install a drying rack or clothesline and ditch the expensive energy bills associated with a clothes dryer.
33. Use only 100% post-consumer recycled paper. These products save energy, water, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
34. Replace your old inefficient wood stove with a new high-efficiency wood-burning appliance.
35. Take a course in ‘xeriscaping’ – an amazing environmentally friendly form of landscaping that’ll make your home and garden look incredible.
36. Plant fruit trees. They help take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, and think of all the yummy sun-ripened fruit at harvest time!
37. Pack up the family, visit your local market, and go have a picnic.
38. Invest in the equipment to can and preserve local produce to enjoy over the winter season.
39. Consider buying space heaters for your house – turn down your thermostat and heat only the room you are using.
40. Purchase $100 of gold standard carbon offsets (equivalent to reducing 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions).
41. Buy a telescope and learn about the stars with a friend.
42. Buy a bunch of bus fares for the newly-improved transit system for the Elk Valley.
43. Purchase books and donate them to your local schools, libraries, or seniors centres.
44. Visit a local bookstore and treat yourself to a good read.
45. Buy some nice rubber boots and go play in a stream somewhere.
46. Collect old mobile phones within your community. Donate used phones to local shelters or groups, or use your refund to have the rest shipped back to the manufacturer for recycling.
47. Purchase a recycling bin for your community’s downtown area.
48. Buy some fabric and some natural dyes and spend an afternoon making re-useable grocery bags with your kids.
49. Take those bags and hand them out at the local grocery store.
50. Invest in an eco-friendly stock.
51. Buy some stamps and some 100% post-consumer unbleached paper. Write a letter to everyone you’ve been meaning to write.
52. Manual kitchen appliances have come a long way: coffee grinders, blenders, food choppers, beaters, and more. Save energy and enhance simplicity in your kitchen.
53. Set up an impromptu environmental science ‘fair’ for kids in a local park. With simple, inexpensive experiments, we bet you’ll have as much fun as the kids!
54. Try a cooking class that teaches the best ways to use local produce.
55. Buy a pressure cooker and reduce the energy used by your electric stove by 70%.
56. Buy some candles and have a weekly ‘power-out’ with your family – grab a board game, do some crafts, read together, and enjoy the natural ambience.
57. Buy a rain barrel to collect rainwater and use the water for your garden.
58. Invest in a fruit and veggie juicer. Fresh juice is delicious and great for you!
59. Visit kootenayrideshare.com and take a trip somewhere you’ve never been.
60. Put the money towards solar water options for your home.
61. Instead of making money at work, skip it and enjoy a day outside.
62. Volunteer on a Wildsight Education in the Wild field trip.
63. Buy a big book of local animals and plants. Get outside with your kids and see how many different things you can identify.
64. Purchase a bunch of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood and build something.
65. Buy a sewing machine and learn how to make your own clothes.
66. Buy a quality, non-electronic tire pressure gauge. Having tires at optimal pressure saves gas and money.
67. Instead of driving, take the train or the bus. Relax and enjoy the ride.
68. Download $100 of music from iTunes or a similar service. You’ll have a stack of awesome new tunes and you won’t be buying a bunch of plastic CDs.
69. Buy cross-country skis or snow shoes. It’s fun and a great way to get around in winter.
70. Buy new hiking boots and go climb a hill. It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, just get out there!
71. Go on a shopping spree at your local thrift store. You never know what kinds of treasures you might find.
72. Build a bat house.
73. Stock up on fair-trade, organic coffees and teas.
74. You can give your living room a fresh look with some natural, eco-friendly carpets.
75. Invest in some quality glass food storage containers. They are much more versatile and durable than plastic and there’s no chance of chemical leaching.
76. Buy some nice wool and learn to knit. You can wear it to keep yourself warm when you turn the heat down, and have fun at the same time.
77. Buy an acoustic instrument and make some music!
78. Buy an anti-idle sign for a school drop-off zone.
79. Invest $100 toward a canoe or kayak. Get paddling.
80. Buy a climbing harness and some shoes. Get vertical.
81. Instead of turning up the heat, purchase some new long johns and a nice sweater.
82. Buy your kids a low-flow efficient sprinkler. Get your kids outside playing in the sun, rather than inside using the air conditioning.
83. If it's time to replumb, consider using PEX (cross-linked polyethylene) pipe rather than copper. PEX pipe has a smaller interior diameter – hot water gets to the point of use faster and saves energy on lost heat.
84. Buy a couple bottles of delicious organic wines and share them with friends.
85. Purchase only food without excessive packaging.
86. Going shopping? Use $100 towards shoes and clothes made with sustainable fabrics – they’re out there, and they’re stylish!
87. Create an eco-cleaning kit. Purchase micro-fibre cloths, a bottle of vinegar and a jar of baking soda, or other environmentally friendly cleaning supplies.
88. Visit a high-quality pet store to find biodegradable doggie bags, hemp leashes, eco-soaps and natural foods.
89. Invest in long-lasting LED Christmas lights.
90. Take a trip to a provincial park or a historic site.
91. Install a water filtration system under your sink. Use your good ol’ tap water instead of bottled water.
92. When painting your home, choose low-toxic paints that also are low in volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Outdoors, certain VOCs react with sunlight to create smog. Indoors, VOCs can irritate lungs and cause allergic reactions.
93. Start a dinner co-op with your friends and neighbours. By buying in bulk, you can eliminate waste, reduce cost, and build community.
94. Install a ceiling fan. Open the windows and run it on hot summer evenings to circulate cool air.
95. Visit a second-hand furniture shop and grab some new furnishings for your home.
96. Purchase timers for your outdoor lights.
97. Buy a bunch of beautiful handkerchiefs to replace your disposable tissues.
98. Make your own notepads! Save all of your scrap paper, then take it to a printing store to get cut and bound to make handy notepads. With $100, you can buy one for each of your friends!
99. Consider buying nothing. Do you really need more stuff?
100. Become a member of your local environmental organization such as Wildsight.