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With the recent arrival of the second generation of Batfinks, and in the context of The Donald's war on environmentalism - I'm looking for ways to be a bit greener in our everyday lives. Stuff we already do:
Only use the car at weekends - we commute using public transport.
Household recycling.
"green" energy supplier.
Solar hot water (we live somewhere sunny).
low energy light fittings.
Don't use disposable carrier bags/coffee cups etc.
I'm not looking to live in a yurt or start using a composting toilet, but looking for practical advice on how to be a little more eco-friendly.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Disclaimer - Not everything will work for everybody - don't shoot good ideas down because you can't make it work for you!!
Don't own a car, rent when needed or use a car share scheme if your in a city www.goget.com.au the impact of the build is spread around many more people
Recycling and stopping waste at source - no plastic bags, don't put 3 carrots in a bag in the shops.
Shop local from local suppliers to reduce travel
Shop seasonal for food
Solar hot water - worked in Northern tassie should work in a lot of places - don't have it currently though
Low energy electrical equipment
Drink local beer 🙂
Hahah - thanks Mike!
We used Goget for the last 3 years while we lived in downtown Sydney! Now we've moved to the burbs its a much less practical option, so bought a car.
We use hellofresh now - which minimises packaging and wasted food. It's great.
I am embracing your final suggestion - Murray's Whale Ale is a particular favourite.
I am about to go and buy a wooden surfboard 🙂
if you have a garden - compost your waste and grow some of your own food
take your own cup to the cafe for filling with coffee
eat less meat
Reduce meat, particularly beef, consumption
Don't have pets
Don't fly, buy less shit.
reduce, reuse , recycle 🙂
I think Hellofresh is a national company? Obviously they stand apart as they do the complete receipe/meal thing, but a local veg box company would cut down on the food miles drastically. My membership has lapsed at the moment but used to love the variety through the year, always something interesting in there that meant you would find new ways of using stuff. Plus it hits home just how 'perfect' our carrots etc have got. With Hellofresh's national scale I would guess they going with the supermarket style 'perfect veg' and reject anything else approach. (food waste)
Water use is another big one, how much you use and how much goes to treatment plant. There are some scary figures about how much energy use/effort is involved because we piss into the toilet and the nitrates or something dilute into all the waste water.
Get a compost heap and piss on that instead, as kids we were all encouraged to do this!
(and that above - reduce meat consumption...feeding animal food to cattle to make more food, is loads less efficient than just planting human food in the first place. I'd love to do 3 or 4 meat free meals per week but it involves more planning/forethought/commitment from me 🙁 It was easier when we got a veg box as we'd get lovely squashes to bulk out meals, one variety turns into 'spaghetti' when you scrape it out!)
I was going to say 'don't have kids - another generation of consumers isn't going to help things.'
However in light of
With the recent arrival of the second generation of Batfinks
I'd go with minimising car usage, and buying things that last. I was thinking the other day about stuff like washing machines. My parents' generation would save for something like that for ages, and it would then be expected to last a very long time. Nowadays you can buy one for a couple of hundred quid and it'll be dead in 5 years. Then a new one has to be made and transported with all the associated environmental impact. Shocking waste.
Reduce
Consumption - buy less, use less.
Thermostat - turn it down, reduce the timings. It's cheaper to put on a jumper than fire 😀
Use less water (espeically hot) - how many showers a day, etc.?
Do you have a tumble drier? Hang yer washing up outside (it's free and it smells nicer too).
Insulate.
Avoid unnecessay (powered) travel (make 2nd gen batfinks walk to school)
When things aren't in use switch them OFF...
There are hundreds of little things you can do.
Meat is a huge one, cut that down to once or twice a week or less and you'll be making a big difference. After that, but rather more difficult these days would be reducing food miles.
And don't get a cat/dog!
Why would my dog be that bad?
We eat veggie 3 times a week. Once you are in the swing of it its ok
Capture grey water, filter, then use in garden
Put a brick (other objects do exist) in cistern to reduce flush amount
Allotment/garden/hen house
Learn how to repair stuff
Thermostat down/wear jersey(possibly better in winter)
Meal planning so no food waste
All my kids have cycled or walked to their schools. If that was possible for everone I suspect the difference would be noticable.
I've also got very good and mending and making do which was a mantra from post war but has served this tight Yorkshireman well.
So buy a sewing machine and learn how to use it.
Try not to buy crap from China.
Try to shop local / buy 2nd hand.
Good vegetarian book..
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thug-Kitchen-101-Fast/dp/0751562300/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496384997&sr=8-1&keywords=thug+kitchen+cookbook
Why pets are bad
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/reduce-pets-sustainable-future-cats-dogs
https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/reduce-pets-sustainable-future-cats-dogs
There's a lot of assumptions in that and a lot of muddled thinking.
Would you prefer the simpler version? Dogs eat meat, raising livestock to feed them results in increased levels of gases associated with climate change.
There's also the vanity / status symbol angle.
That simpler yes but its not what the guardian article or the link talks about, my dog doesnt have clothes for example and she eats parts of animals that would otherwise be wasted.
Simpler ; Dogs consume.
she eats parts of animals that would otherwise be wasted.
Packaging and transport costs? Production and transport of poo bags, veterinary medicine.......
I'm not anti pet, but let's not deny that they aren't great from a climate change perspective.
I'm not anti pet, but let's not deny that they aren't great from a climate change perspective.
Neither is breeding more little consumers.
being more green - practical suggestions?
Vote for them.
I'm not denying it, but the article linked too assumed things like clothing and the consumer culture being applied to them with endless treats and over feeding etc.
Best thing you can do is get rid of children.
I was genuinely shocked when Jnr FD came along. i.e. You don't realise how much you impact the environment yourself but when you see just how much impact 1 extra human has it's quite an eye opener
The genuine answer is less humans
I'm not anti pet, but let's not deny that they aren't great from a climate change perspective.
You can extend that to anything that is done/owned purely for pleasure. All the transport and production costs, parts etc. around riding a mountain bike for pleasure / people who own more than one bike, for example. We'd all be better off if we stayed at home.
You can't just look at the environmental costs in isolation, because those things bring a lot of other benefits.
Don't fly.
By far the biggest contributor of 'greenhouse' gases in the worst place and in the worst way.
Conscious decisions on plastic will make the world a better place.
Flying is the big one though, cut that out and you'll be making a big difference.
The genuine answer is less humans
So anagallis juniors furry sister is good for the environment then!!!
Don't use a wood burner unless you live out in the sticks/have your own wood source.
Simple things such as:
Having a couple of compost heaps,
Having water butts,
Using water bottles when out and about.
Don't buy anything in plastic.
I buy recover products and get them refilled at a local shop.
Walk where possible.
Do you wash your own nappies? Disposable nappies take hundreds of years to break down.
Use charity shops, or buy second hand.
Ironically you are not the type of person we need to get through to.
Save the planet kill yourself
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Using water bottles when out and about.
Don't buy anything in plastic.
I heard a person, forget who now, say that the average person gets through 200 bottles of water a year!!! I just take my biking bottle around with me and save about £150 a year!!
I'm not anti pet, but let's not deny that they aren't great from a climate change perspective.
Pets are much less worse for the environment than children!
An often quoted 'fact' is that running a dog is about the same as running a SUV. Apples and oranges so hard to back up I suppose
I heard a person, forget who now, say that the average person gets through 200 bottles of water a year!!!
That sounds like a bit of a made up statistic.
170 not 200
blimey. big business then.
Buy less stuff (that you usually don't need).
Reduce/give up red meat.
Fly less.
Drive less.
Low energy bulbs and lots of other things are easy but make such little difference.
Also use green cleaning products such as ecover or plain old vinegar, lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda.
Washing up liquids with bright colours glaring out from the supermarket shelf are not good.
Just a small rant, too many new parents think it's ok to flush baby wipes down the loo, aarrgghhh, noooo, don't do it. ( This isn't aimed at you OP).
Cloth nappies?
Not sure in the exact savings using washing machine etc but at least not sending piles of nappies to landfill.
Realise it won't be for everyone, we have solar panels, EV Nissan Leaf and just about to install a Tesla Powerwall 2 battery to store the solar energy during the day (when the sun shines).
There was a good programme on BBC4 last night about a small village in the Cotswolds and the challenges they face to become self sufficient in domestic energy generation.