As warm-weather-loving Canadians, is it any wonder that we patiently bide our time as the frigid months and weeks fall by until the much-loved-and-anticipated sunny days of June.

Is it also any wonder that we tend to move our living outdoors come summertime? Let’s face it, a morning coffee, an afternoon cocktail or an evening burger tastes so much better on the outdoor patio.

It’s believed that cooking outdoors is better for the environment than doing so in your kitchen.  Some say it’s quicker. While others like how it keeps your energy bills down as you don’t need to cool down a warm kitchen.

But as much as we like to cook outdoors and as responsible stewards of our planet we should be doing so in a way that doesn’t harm our eco footprint.  Grilling and barbecuing do one heck of a scorch job on the earth. According to the Sierra Club, a well-known U.S.-based environmental group, some 60 million barbecues occur on the Fourth of July each year. Those cook-outs manage to release 225,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, burning the equivalent of 2,300 acres of forest. What’s more is the amount of charcoal, lighter fuel and gas used on that one celebration is enough to power 20,000 households for one solid year.

So in honour of Father’s Day, let’s take a look at ways to make your next summer cook-out an eco-friendly one.

Solar cooking – This wins the prize for most environmental brownie points. However, know that a solar cooker, while the hands-down champion for its low carbon footprint, has a down side. And that is the cooking is much slower and food will not have the typical grilled taste or appearance. The other point is that solar relies on sunlight which can be challenging during inclement weather.

Gas grills – If solar doesn’t interest you, a gas grill is a good alternative. While propane and natural gas-fueled barbecues do eat up a non-renewable resource, there are some worthwhile benefits. Based on some estimates, propane-powered grills generate three times less greenhouse gas than that of their charcoal cousins. On the negative side, gas grills are more expensive to buy and repair.

Electric grills – Unless you are using an alternative energy source such as solar or wind power, this is not a particularly green option.

Charcoal – While this type of grill will prompt you to recall your childhood days thanks to your food’s smoky charcoal flavour, this kind of grill is a killer when it comes to climate change. Charcoal briquettes contain carbon monoxide and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). If you must use coal, use all-natural lump varieties as they don’t have the chemicals and additives found in briquettes. And the taste imparted on your food is also pretty similar to briquettes.

Pellet grills – They use up compressed pellets of scrap wood that would otherwise be thrown away. Due to this, these types of grills are very eco-friendly and they release a limited supply of emissions. Big-box stores sell a wide array of pellet grills.

Sources: www.growingagreenfamily.com, www.fix.com, www.motherearthnews.com, www.sierraclub.org