Riding the Rails: Montreal to Quebec City

August 12, 2013 -- I took an early morning VIA Rail Canada train from Montreal Central Station (Gare Centrale) to Quebec City Palace Station (Gare du Palais) for a short two-day excursion to the most European city in North America.

Green Traveler: Quebec Hydropower

The province of Quebec gets around 40 percent of its electricity from hydropower, which is clean and renewable power produced from the kinetic energy of falling water and running water. The government-owned public utility Hydro-Québec has been providing residents with clean energy since its founding in 1944 and currently operates sixty hydroelectric generating stations with a combined capacity of 35,829 megawatts (MW).

Guest Post: Ways To Make Your Home Really Energy Efficient

1. Insulation

When done properly, insulation is a really effective way of making your home more energy efficient. Insulation saves energy through its air-trapping properties. The advantages are that your home will be cooler in summer, and warmer in winter, and that you will be able to regulate the temperature in your home more closely without using as much energy. Hot and cold air has a harder time escaping through insulation, which is normally installed in your walls.

Green Traveler: Montreal Recycling

Montreal takes sustainability seriously and the recycling bins all over town are a good indication of that. The city makes it easy for people to do the right thing by providing recycling bins for sorting paper and plastic. There are even composting bins and battery recycling at select locations. I saw recycling canisters at Metro stations, the Bell Centre, shopping malls, public parks, sidewalks and other places.

Green Traveler: Biking Montreal

Montreal is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in North America. There are interconnected bike lanes across the city, Bixi bikeshare stations, bicycle parking every few blocks and a population with a more European sensibility when it comes to normalizing bicycling as a routine form of transportation for not just getting exercise but commuting, running errands, visiting friends and other daily activities.

Green Traveler: Montreal Canadiens Goal is Green! Initiative

While visiting Montreal, I toured the home arena of the Canadiens hockey team -- Bell Centre. I noticed that there are easily identifiable recycling canisters located throughout the building. In fact, there are approximately 945 recycling bins placed in concourses and offices. This is part of the Goal is Green! (Vert le But! in French) program that has been in place since 2007.

Green Traveler: Montreal Metro

A visit to Montreal, Quebec, Canada this past summer revealed a city that works. Commuters can hop on a Bixi bike or personal bicycle and easily navigate the many interconnected bike paths, or enter the clean, modern subway stations to ride on the reliably efficient Metrorail system. In this Green Traveler series, I'll be recapping my experiences in this world-class city -- from biking to riding the Metro to hydroelectricity to recycling and more.

Canada Summer 2013: Riding Amtrak Adirondack Train from New York City to Montreal

August 8, 2013 -- The trip began in Washington, D.C. where I boarded the BoltBus intercity bus service for the four hour plus ride to midtown Manhattan. I stayed with family in Battery Park City for the night and early the next morning took the subway to Penn Station to get ready for the 11-hour, 381 mile (613 km) train ride through New York State and Quebec Province to Montreal.