Being environmentally friendly is a chore. In a world designed to leverage resources in favour of monetary gain, all other concerns are secondary, including the impact on our ecosystem. Until the governments of the world unite to incentivise eco-friendly manufacture and production, these attitudes will be passed on to us, the consumer.
Listen to me, although I am getting fatter…
There are, however, some things you can do in the meantime to cut down on your emission of greenhouse gases. Below is a list of 15 suggestions, which are designed to negatively impact your life as little as possible while positively impacting your carbon footprint. By changing a few small behaviours, you can make a real difference with very little effort.
1. Avoid using your car The hardest one on the list unless you think about it. Most car trips you take are likely to be 10 minutes or less in duration - popping down the shops for some milk, taking the kids to school etc. Especially in summer, why not walk? You will feel good about doing some exercise and while it may seem like it would eat up all your time, you are actually only adding around an extra 10 minutes to your trip on average.
Short journeys use up fuel as well
2. Unplug from the mains An easy one, this. When you are not using electrical devices like hair dryers, mobile phones or laptops, unplug them from the mains. Unplug your TV overnight. This ‘vampire’ power drain accounts for a far from negligible percentage of total electricity used in your house. It will save on your bills too.
Think of them as electric pythons!
3. Set up your TV correctly Most modern TVs have a power-saving mode which will automatically reduce the amount of power it consumes (and leave your wallet/purse a bit fatter at the end of the month too). Five minutes looking through the user guide could leave to savings for both your finances and the environment.
They’re here…and they’re eating up our electricity
4. Eat more vegetables and less meat As strange as it sounds, meat has a larger carbon footprint that vegetables. If you can slightly reduce the amount of meat you eat and replace it with veg instead, i.e. have beans on toast instead of a ham sandwich, you will be cutting down on the carbon footprint of your shopping.
Eat all this and you’re be doing the environment a favour. Make sure it’s locally grown, mind
5. Hoard your washing Simple as it sounds. Do not put your washing machine or dishwasher on until you have a full load, saving water and energy. This gives you an excuse to not do any housework too.
Time to hit the slabs by the river now….
6. Sign up for renewable energy Some power companies now offer electricity exclusively from renewable sources, if you sign up. They do not tend to market this as renewable energy is currently more expensive, but by doing so you will drastically reduce your carbon footprint. Plus, if you are doing everything else on this list too, it should offset the difference in your bill.
If you get this power, it will be better for everyone
7. Short showers Take shorter showers. Say, two minutes less. Over the course of a year, assuming your shower every day, that’s 12 hours worth of hot water saved.
30seconds is enough for the key areas…
8. Close your laptop lid Again, incredibly simple but massively effective. Instead of turning your laptop off at the end of the evening, close the lid instead to send it to sleep. Waking it from this state takes less power than shutting it down and restarting it in the morning, and it lets you get down to work quicker as well. Win-win.
Shut it!
9. Recycle The big one that is constantly drummed into our heads. Yes, it may seem more difficult, but this is easily solved. Invest in a second bin. That way, all your recyclables can be sorted at the source of the rubbish. If you are lucky, your council will already be providing you with a bin or crate, so it is simply a case of collecting the cans and bottles until the end of the day. Take baby steps - a massive change in your lifestyle immediately is likely to make you resent recycling rather than altering your natural behaviours.
Make sure you remove those bottle tops though…
10. Buy durable Primark and other department stores may seem like purveyors of bargain deals, but that is because the quality of their products is shocking. Most bags will break within the year, soles will come off shoes, tights will ladder and hems will fray. Instead, save your money and fork out on some quality clothing once in a while - it will make you feel great to splash the cash and you will not have the horrible mass throwing-outs.
The T100 was not bought in Primark
11. Pack your fridge An empty fridge takes more energy to keep it cool. Keep your fridge full. This will also help you with the next point.
Smashing Pumpkins!
12. Make one trip If you make regular trips to the supermarket for one or two items, change. Make a list at the start of the week and do one big shop. Then plan a second trip halfway through the week to pick up anything you have forgotten or anything you need to top up, and keep to that schedule. It will free up more of your time and will save on your carbon footprint if you are taking the car.
Paula Abdul’s let herself go, hasn’t she?
13. Avoid plastic bags Get yourself a couple of big, hard-wearing bags and take them with you whenever you go to the supermarket. This is a great example of consumer behaviour being led by corporations - when supermarkets start charging for plastic bags, the percentage of consumers bringing their own sky rockets. Set an example ahead of time.
Be hip, get ready of the Tesco rejects…
14. Buy recycled Again, such an easy thing to do. All it takes is a quick flip of the packaging. Is the product recycled? Is the packaging? If not, can it be recycled when you have used it? If not, do not buy it. You will easily find an alternative that can be - it’s probably on the same shelf.
Not the butt of jokes anymore
15. Tell everyone to do the same The best one of all. Tell everyone you know to do the same. Do not preach, just explain that it will save them money and make them feel good. Before you know it, what you are doing will no longer seem all that strange.
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