Airdrie family enters 'Live Net Zero' competition
Samantha and Kevin Shannon and their three children will be drastically reducing their energy usage by squaring off against other Canadian families as part of the 'Live Net Zero' competition.
"We were going to do this before we even knew about the Canadian Geographic challenge with 'Live Net Zero'," said Samantha Shannon from outside her home on Thursday.
The Airdrie residents say they hope to inspire other typical middle class families to reduce carbon emissions and lessen the effects of climate change.
"We still have a long long way to go," she added.
The Live Net Zero challenge is hosted by Canadian Geographic and Shell, a national charity dedicated to environmental initiatives.
A total of eight households across Canada will complete six challenges starting after Labour Day through to late November, with the winners receiving a $50,000 grand prize.
The challenges cover commuting, home improvements, addressing drafts, heating and cooling efficiencies, electrical power consumption, and eco-friendly vacation planning.
Officials with Canadian Geographic say the competition provides tangible examples any family could implement.
"To help Canadians figure out where to start and to show them practical examples of what Canadians are doing to try to make a difference," said Aran O'Carroll, national director for Canadian Geographic.
A panel of judges will determine the winner based on proof of completion and the quality of videos submitted by participants, and will make the announcement in April 2024.
ENERGY EFFICIENT GOALS
The Shannon household already installed solar panels and are planning to replace the garage natural gas furnace with an electric heat pump, which would disconnect it from the non-renewable energy grid.
The family's front yard is also in the process of becoming a source of geothermal power from deep underground to provide heating and cooling from renewable resource.
These projects have been self-funded through grants and loans, but winning the prize money would be a welcome help.
"We are not the Rockefellers we do not have this in our piggy bank to accomplish everything we are going for," said Samantha Shannon.
She is also helping produce a documentary about upcoming building code changes in Canada, and said that inspired her own family to get ahead, and begin energy efficient retrofits.
"I don't want our house to be left behind when it comes to 2030 and 2050 when all the new builds are net zero ready or completely energy efficient and sustainable on their own."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.