About Me

Hi! My name is Carrie Karsgaard. I'm excited to be one of the people facilitating this project.

When I think about my life and the lives of many other people in Canada, I am overwhelmed by how much energy we use.

Where I live, most people (including myself) drive cars every day, fly to far away destinations for holidays, and import foods from all over the world. Because it can be -20 in the winter and +30 in the summer, we use a lot of energy to both heat and cool our homes all year round. We are happy and comfortable with our lifestyles and tend not to think twice about using so much energy – even though it means using resources that harm communities in Canada through extraction, affect the planet’s climate, and won’t last forever!

I am really interested in how we in Canada can transition to using less energy overall. Can we learn to build communities, cultures, and lifestyles that live off less?

As an individual, I do my best to reduce my energy expenditure. I ride my bike and take the bus as much as I can. I buy local goods, avoid plastics, and I don’t eat meat. I also participate in local efforts to impact energy systems more broadly. For instance, I join efforts to oppose the construction of oil pipelines in my province and advocate for car sharing and bicycle co-ops in my city. But I still have much to learn. I’m aware that my greater community and society needs to change – and I can’t wait to discuss with all of you what this might look like.

---

• Countries I've visited
  Austria      Bosnia & Herzegovina      Croatia      Cuba      Denmark      France      Germany      Italy      Kenya      Mexico      Monaco      Montenegro      Netherlands      Philippines      Poland      Sierra Leone      South Africa      Spain      Sweden      Switzerland      Taiwan      United Kingdom      United States