After reading this post, don't forget to enter our contest – you could win a new dishwasher. Plus, do you have your own story to tell? Send it to greenchallenge@canadianliving.com (no more than 300 words, please), and you could win one of 30 daily prizes. Today's post is by senior editor Donna Paris.

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What I know: Cars are bad. What I should do: Park my car, smash the headlights, throw in some dirt and plant morning glory seeds so the vines and flowers will twist up and out and all around the hunk of metal and make it look pretty. Why I can't: Because I love my car. I want to hate it because it causes so much pollution, is a waste of resources and is unnecessary, as I have access to public transit. But I don't because my car allows me to do things I wouldn't be able to otherwise, like getting to my son's hockey games, taking my mom and her friends to church, and lugging props around for work. The irony of it all: My dad never drove when we were growing up, so we never had a family car. Honestly, we never missed it – I guess it's like anything else: you don't miss what you never had. Then I grew up, got married to a car dealer and got a car (I'm sure it's just a coincidence). What an incredible sense of freedom just to be able to go wherever I needed to go, whenever I wanted to and blow past TTC city limits! How, I wondered, did we ever survive without a car? Oddly enough, my 18-year-old son doesn't have his driver's license yet. 10 things I can do so I can live with myself: 1. Buy a hybrid. 2. Take the TTC to work two days a week. 3. Shop at the grocery store near my home so I can walk there. 4. Walk when running errands less than 2 km away. 5. Buy a bike (maybe I will be tempted to ride it). 6. Take the train instead of driving to visit my sister in Ottawa. 7. Keep my car properly serviced, which can minimize environmental impact (I am scraping the bottom of the barrel). 8. Work from home a few days a week (better run that one by my boss first...) 9. Move closer to work, so I can walk there, save money and the environment, and get in a daily walk. 10. Inform my mom and her friends I will no longer be driving them to church on Sundays (just kidding, I'm still going to do that).

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How often do you drive, how much do you love your car, and what do you do to reduce emissions?Today's code word: car Read more: • Cut your gas usage by up to 30 per cent • 7 easy ways to fight smog