"Sustainability means doing things better - not doing without.
Right now, Canadians consume too much, and most of it is wasted.
Less than 10 per cent of the energy we generate is actually used for its intended purpose.
Most of it goes up in smoke.
Our economy is fully one-third less energy efficient than the United States and only half as efficient as most European countries.
" This was so far removed from what I believed to be true.
I guess I just thought that we Canadians, being surrounded by vast areas of wilderness and an abundance of nature, would be natural leaders in protecting our planet.
I happily thought I was doing my part by recycling each week, washing clothes in cold water and switching all my light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs.
Then, one Christmas a few years back, I had a strong emotional response to what I now recognize as the insanity of our wasteful world.
Here's my story..
..
As was tradition every Christmas eve, our family stuffed ourselves with a great Turkey dinner and then heaved into the living room to gather around the beautifully decorated tree with the usual overflowing pile of presents underneath.
It was one, two three go, and the gift opening frenzy began.
Twenty minutes later, the gifts were all open, the chatter died down and I was overcome by an overwhelming feeling of melancholy.
I looked around the room at all the 'stuff' and I thought to myself, 'what here did any of us really need'.
I looked at the pile of gift wrapping and I thought 'what a waste of paper' and as all the kids soon started to get ready to leave, to visit other family and friends or do last minute preparations for Christmas day, I thought 'but we didn't even get a chance to really visit'.
For the few weeks following that Christmas I couldn't shake the downhearted feeling.
After I had returned the unneeded gifts and filled the recycle bins with packages and unusable wrapping paper, I decided then and there that Christmas for our family had to change.
I wanted to get back the real joy of Christmas and not feel ashamed over the excessiveness and wastefulness of it all.
I called a family gathering and I explained to the four nearly grown kids, that the next year they weren't to buy us gifts because we didn't need anything.
They balked at this a bit but for the most part they were OK with it.
I hadn't told them yet, but I also wasn't going to buy them the usual mountain of gifts the next Christmas.
When Christmas arrived, the kids were surprised to see that I hadn't put up a tree and instead I had made the house look festive with lights and decorations and I had made the centre of attention a 3' tall Santa Bear that I already had sitting on a pedestal.
They also noticed that there were no gifts to be opened and instead, after enjoying a great Christmas dinner, we presented the kids with a weekend getaway trip in January at a local ski resort.
The kids were thrilled with the idea and excitedly helped to plan the details of the trip such as games, food and activities.
Needless to say, we had a blast on the trip and we had a chance to renew our family bonds through fun and games and quality time spent together.
Something our busy schedules rarely allowed us to do.
For me, I was satisfied and proud that there were no unneeded gifts, no wasted gift wrapping and packaging and delighted when at the end of the weekend I asked for a vote as to whether we should do this again the next year and I got a resounding cheer.
I know that this new family tradition will continue for years to come and I hope that my children will carry on this tradition with their families allowing them to capture the true meaning of Christmas and at the same time sustain the world for generations to come.

• "Sustainability means doing things better - not doing without.
  Right now, Canadians consume too much, and most of it is wasted.
  Less than 10 per cent of the energy we generate is actually used for its intended purpose.
  Most of it goes up in smoke.
  Our economy is fully one-third less energy efficient than the United States and only half as efficient as most European countries.
  "

This was so far removed from what I believed to be true.
I guess I just thought that we Canadians, being surrounded by vast areas of wilderness and an abundance of nature, would be natural leaders in protecting our planet.
I happily thought I was doing my part by recycling each week, washing clothes in cold water and switching all my light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs.
Then, one Christmas a few years back, I had a strong emotional response to what I now recognize as the insanity of our wasteful world.
Here's my story..
..
As was tradition every Christmas eve, our family stuffed ourselves with a great Turkey dinner and then heaved into the living room to gather around the beautifully decorated tree with the usual overflowing pile of presents underneath.
It was one, two three go, and the gift opening frenzy began.
Twenty minutes later, the gifts were all open, the chatter died down and I was overcome by an overwhelming feeling of melancholy.
I looked around the room at all the 'stuff' and I thought to myself, 'what here did any of us really need'.
I looked at the pile of gift wrapping and I thought 'what a waste of paper' and as all the kids soon started to get ready to leave, to visit other family and friends or do last minute preparations for Christmas day, I thought 'but we didn't even get a chance to really visit'.
For the few weeks following that Christmas I couldn't shake the downhearted feeling.
After I had returned the unneeded gifts and filled the recycle bins with packages and unusable wrapping paper, I decided then and there that Christmas for our family had to change.
I wanted to get back the real joy of Christmas and not feel ashamed over the excessiveness and wastefulness of it all.
I called a family gathering and I explained to the four nearly grown kids, that the next year they weren't to buy us gifts because we didn't need anything.
They balked at this a bit but for the most part they were OK with it.
I hadn't told them yet, but I also wasn't going to buy them the usual mountain of gifts the next Christmas.
When Christmas arrived, the kids were surprised to see that I hadn't put up a tree and instead I had made the house look festive with lights and decorations and I had made the centre of attention a 3' tall Santa Bear that I already had sitting on a pedestal.
They also noticed that there were no gifts to be opened and instead, after enjoying a great Christmas dinner, we presented the kids with a weekend getaway trip in January at a local ski resort.
The kids were thrilled with the idea and excitedly helped to plan the details of the trip such as games, food and activities.
Needless to say, we had a blast on the trip and we had a chance to renew our family bonds through fun and games and quality time spent together.
Something our busy schedules rarely allowed us to do.
For me, I was satisfied and proud that there were no unneeded gifts, no wasted gift wrapping and packaging and delighted when at the end of the weekend I asked for a vote as to whether we should do this again the next year and I got a resounding cheer.
I know that this new family tradition will continue for years to come and I hope that my children will carry on this tradition with their families allowing them to capture the true meaning of Christmas and at the same time sustain the world for generations to come.