I could do better but I have tried. But as I keep mentioning, it's not enough to just change your own behaviour, you have to influence other people, and counteract the influences of industries and lobbyists and so on, that have that have their own self-serving agendae.

For myself, I live near the geographic centre of my city, close to the main north/south subway line, and about 8 km/5 miles from the heart of downtown. My wife wanted to live farther out and get a bigger house and yard, but when I pointed out I would get home from work half an hour later in perpetuity and probably be grumpy, she agreed to our current location. I'm well enough paid that I can afford it, even though Toronto has expensive real estate. However even in the heart of the city there are cheaper options like townhouses etc. if you want to live there and still be at ground level.

There are two cars in the household but not so much by my choice - one is my wife's (and mine), and the other is my adult daughter's who lives with us. Since in our culture, wives and daughters are not considered 'chattel' I am powerless to change this situation For most of our family life we had one car, which my wife, who is not a cyclist, drove during the week, while I commuted to work by subway or bike. I do drive on family outings, and sometimes on my own on errands, but I try to minimize that. I always walk to the bank and drugstore and do many other errands on foot or by bike. I'm not the main grocery shopper and if I go with another family member for a large load we drive. If it's a few items I usually go on foot. If I go out on my own to shop, let's say for a computer accessory, or shirts, etc., I walk to the uptown commercial area about 1 mile from my house, and if they don't have what I want I continue downtown by subway.

We live within a block of all levels of public school, and my kids also took public transit to University, in Toronto, Vancouver, and London, England. My oldest is 32, car-free and doesn't have a driver's license.

I have a large lot by urban standards, but it's deep rather than wide so the street frontage isn't much. I don't use pesticides or herbicides on my property. I have both an electric and push mower. I usually have to use the electric in the spring because the grass grows so fast, and the push mower later in the year. I've tried to grow vegetables but have given up because there is too much shade. Sometimes we grow a few tomatoes.

I almost never go to the doctor. His office is about 4 km away. The last time I went for a routine appointment I scheduled it late in the workday and took public transit from work. However if I was feeling ill I would drive. My dentist is on the way to work and I always schedule appointments for 8 am and go by bike and then on to work. I don't go to church unless it's somebody's wedding or funeral, and for that I would wear a formal suit, and drive. As well, I would be going with my wife who would expect me to drive. If we didn't have a car we would take a cab.

I'm a member of an organization that promotes sustainability and have a minor official role (finance). The last time we met I had a sore back and I drove. If I had no car, I would have taken a cab. I've belonged to a couple of other small local environmental organizations that fizzled out. I did a stint on the traffic committee of my homeowners association trying to plan for more bike facilities in the area but I realized they weren't badly needed. They're more useful downtown in heavy traffic areas. I occasionally write letters to local newspapers on traffic or cycling or other urban issues - I used to get one published about once a year but I haven't done it for 4-5 years.

I do about 26 or 29 days a year consulting in small towns. The main site is Sault Ste Marie, ON. When I started in 1995, the expectation was that you go for 2 days every month but after a while I switched that to 4 days every two months in part to lessen the environmental cost of flying. I can be reimbursed for renting a car there, but instead I stay close enough to the job site to walk to work at least part of the time and I take cabs or the hotel shuttle part time. In another thread Rowan questioned my reference to riding in a limo there, but basically that is the cheapest option for getting into town from the airport - a flat $35, vs around $45 for a cab on the meter. Often there are other passengers. Even if I were ambitious enough to bring a bike, and cycle 20 km into town from the airport, it would cost $25 each way in extra airfare, so not much savings. There is no airport bus.

A second site I go to once or twice a year is 200 km from an airport with no train, bus or shuttle service, so for that trip I rent a car at the airport.

Once in a while I go to optional professional conferences and am most likely pick ones in Ottawa or Montreal, and take the train. When my son was in Vancouver for a few years I went to a couple of conferences there, and of course flew there.