In my opinion being "eco-conscious" means being aware of what you're buying, how you're using it, and what you're doing to lessen your impact on the environment. Whether you're driving a hybrid vehicle or recycling your snowboards into work benches, the personal decision to "Go Green" is extremely important for today's environment.

After watching one too many documentaries on the status of the earth, I started to think about how "eco-conscious" I'm being with my own daily routine. Although I wouldn't consider David Suzuki to be my mentor, I do think that I take care of the waste I produce. Since you don't want to hear about me, let's instead take a look at on of Canada's Olympians, Justin Lamoureux. Recognized as one of Canada's most technical halfpipe riders, there's no doubt in my mind that he's done his part to protect and preserve the environment both on and off the snow. With an opinion that's backed by one of the most solid educational degrees (Engineering), I had to find out just how eco-conscious he really was.

What does the phrase "eco-conscious" mean to you?
Being conscious of the environment in which you live, your actions within it and the results your actions have on the environment.

Do you think being eco-conscious is convenient?  What I mean to say is, how easy is it to be eco-conscious?
I think it's convenient. It's mostly a shift in your attitude that makes it convenient or not. If you're lazy, you might think it's inconvenient.

It generally saves money, which is a good thing. When you walk or bike to the store instead of driving you save money and get to enjoy the ride, enjoy the views. When you install CFL light bulbs in your house, you save money. Carpool or take the bus, save money.

When did you really start being eco-conscious?
It started when I was really young. I went to science camp and learned about how acid rain was killing our sugar maples out east and just started learning from there. While I was at university I had a fourth year class where my whole term was based on an enviro house that I designed. From a super young age I've always been outdoors and in the backcountry, so the environment has always been a big part of my life. Being in the woods is my favorite place to be.

Do you belong to any organizations that campaign for the environment?
I've been involved with the "Play It Cool" campaign for three years now I think. It originally started at the David Suzuki foundation, and is now part of the Climate Project Canada.

The past few years I've been involved in campaigns from both organizations. I think one of our really big successes was in getting VANOC to follow through on their environmental commitments for the 2010 games and offsetting a huge amount of carbon dioxide. I've also helped out with some one-off projects different people or organizations are doing.

Justin at the 2010 Canadian Open. Matt Forsythe photo.

With all of your travel, how do you manage to stay carbon neutral?
Easy. Punch in my travels at planetair.ca and see how much I need to offset. Takes about five minutes for a monkey to do it. So I'm all good in about ten.

The past few seasons I've been paying for my offsets, which has been about 15 tonnes a year, which is less than $500. This season, in a shift in our sponsorship deal, Whistler Blackcomb has paid my offsets.

What sacrifices have you made in an effort to become more eco-conscious?
I don't think I've made any. Everyone likes to live in a clean house, but for some reason when it comes to the air we breathe, the water we drink and the outside world it's suddenly a sacrifice or inconvenience. I find that strange.

I've made some changes in how I live, but they're not sacrifices. Some of them are: I'm back driving a car, no more 2 stroke sled, if I can drive instead of flying I will, and my house has as many energy efficient appliances, light bulbs, toilets, etc. that I can get.

And the benefits are: the car is more fun to drive than a truck and saves money, I explore more new zones on my splitboard than I did while sledding, and every energy saving item in my house saves me money.

How are you eco-conscious with your sport?
Very. Snowboarding is very energy intensive; we drive to the mountains, there're chairlifts, and snowcats, etc. But it's also a very good way to get people outdoors and give them a reason to care about the environment. If winter gets too warm we have no snow, and no snowboarding. Some people might be thinking, "yeah, but then I can skate more". But remember summers will probably be even hotter so you'd be skating less then.

Where can people learn a more about the importance of being eco-conscious?
Everywhere! Pick up a National Geographic magazine, check out the web. One of my favorite sites is davidsuzuki.org; lots of really good articles and info that apply to your day-to-day life.

What suggestions do you have for your the industry on how to offer more eco solutions?
Stop hiding behind "it's too expensive" and "no one will buy it".

I've been riding Bataleon's Project Green board for nearly two winters straight and it's an amazing board. I can't tell the difference between it and our regular boards. A lot of the Bataleon boards have FSC certified wood cores and they don't advertise it. They just put them in there.

There are a few companies that seem to be really trying hard to push enviro products, which is really good to see. I'd just like to see those products spread throughout their lines and the industry so it's no longer an "enviro" product, it's just product. The snowboard industry is obviously reliant on snow and winter, so we should all be caring about climate change in a major way. Our industry's attitude seems to be slowly changing for the positive, which is encouraging to see.

What advice would you like to give to the people reading this article about being eco-conscious?
Get informed and make proper choices. Lots of things in this world are cheap, and it's cheap for a reason. There's a price to be paid, and currently our society is saving money at the cost of our environment.

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