Did you know it’s possible to power your house and gadgets on something other than dirty oil and gas? In the Maldives, a country of islands in between Africa and India, the plan is to make a power plant that runs on coconut husks! Yep, that hairy, tropical fruit will be powering people’s pads!

But that’s not all, the Maldives plan to go totally carbon neutral in just 10 years, by installing 155 windmills and half a square kilometer of solar panels.

This small island nation realized that if the world didn’t do something about climate change, its homes could sink beneath the rising water. Going “carbon neutral” means reducing your energy use as much as possible.

To do this, countries will need to:

• Use alternative energy sources like wind, solar and ocean power
• Stop using fossil fuels like oil and gas for cars, and to generate electricity
• Offset fossil fuel use with things that absorb carbon instead of spewing it out... like planting trees.

In Canada, we use a little bit of wind and solar power, but only to make a tiny part of the energy we need. There’s nothing wrong with starting small, but the more people and places that get involved the better.

A town called Ashton Hayes in the United Kingdom decided in 2006 they were going to go carbon neutral. Since then they’ve already cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 20%! Norway is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030.

Canada's in the race, too! The Village of Eden Mills, near Guelph, Ontario has plans to go totally carbon neutral. They’ve started with simple things like walking and biking more, and turning off lights and electronics when they’re not in use. Little things do make a big difference!

While there might not be any coconut trees in your backyard, there are still lots of chances to go greener and do your part to help with climate change.