So not the big ticket items that many can't afford like electric cars or solar . What small ideas have you got?
I'll kick off with a few ideas we've done. I'm sure some of these ideas are debatable.
Plastic free kitchen and house scrubbers, ie coconut based, to stop micro plastics.
Clothes washing sheets that come mail order so no plastic bottles. They're much more compact for starters and much easier to use.
15 litre washing up liquid and reuse the bottle. We are on the same bottle for the last three years.
Hard soap style shampoo. This is great, again no single use plastic. Hard soap as well.
Laundry powder comes in a cardboard box and is much better for your machine.
Don't turn the heating on in June because you can't be bothered looking for a jumper.
I don't suppose putting Shell V-Power in the car to get a better mpg counts does it...
Most things I do to save money because I'm tight but also help the planet eg making a teapot with 2 bags rather than 3 individual cups with 3 bags; doing one big load of washing up in one go rather than doing a couple of plates.
I also tend to try and re-use things rather than throw them away - eg socks with holes in go as rags to clean shoes; old tshirts rags for the garage.
On bike related matters, I try to buy concentrated cleaning soap etc and dilute it at home with filtered water out of the water butt. I car share with a mate when going biking, mainly to save money on parking and petrol but it helps the planet too.
I've decided to kill my children. It ain't easy being green 🙂
Hard soap and shampoo saves a lot of plastic yes.
Also, you can make your own deodorant with half a tsp of aluminium ammonium sulphate and a few drops of tea tree/whatever oil you want in a refillable roll-on bottle. It is extremely effective, costs almost nothing and the refillable bottle lasts forever. If you don't fancy that, then Pit Rock also lasts almost indefinitely, only going down when you drop it and the crystal breaks.
Smol detergents come in cardboard, they also make cleaning sprays that are a tablet and you refill the spray bottle.
Don't shower every day - you don't need it, your skin biome adjusts and you smell less overall.
This is controversial, but I'm going to say don't wear cotton t-shirts. Synthetic ones last many many years, far longer than the cotton ones I have, so overall probably better for the environment I reckon. I can also wear them two or three times without smell unlike cotton which goes about 4hrs in hot weather. I haven't analysed this though.
Don't wash towels after every use.
Buy local food - I hate the shopping experience at Asda but they are much better for locally sourced produce than the others we have.
Buy seasonal food and learn to make the right dishes to appreciate it.
Learn how to keep and use leftovers.
Next time you change your car do try and get an EV. You can get decent cheaper ones now, and the used prices are plummeting so keep an eye on the market. But only if you need a new car. They save a shitload of CO2 and if you need to change the car anyway you might as well.
Bikes: use chain wax - you'll get through a fraction of the drivetrain components. Also ride road when it's shitty weather.
Learn how to tune your central heating - fit bigger rads if needed to allow you to run it cooler. Also balance your rads to get the heat where you want it, and put reflective foil behind them. Consider IR panel heaters if you WFH in the winter.
Do little things to insulate your house. Check for cold spots, work out where the gaps are and block them. Put a curtain in front of your door with a portiere rack. Put a temporary curtain at the bottom of the stairs when it's cold using a compression rod (this makes a staggering difference). Use double curtains - a thin one you can leave closed in cold weather during the day and some heavy ones for the night. Make them fit into the recess to block draughts. Check the gaps around your UPVC windows with a bit of paper - you can replace the hinges to get them to shut better (although this is a right faff to do) or you can replace the rubber strip. Same for doors.
Not really marginal gains, as these are huge savings; do less (it's cheaper):
Our heating has been set to 17.5C for 2 winters now, it sounds cold but after we had the cavity walls insulated the house is just a nice even temperature. It's just the default to wear a jumper rather than take it off when getting home.
We're down to 1 car, we could probably do without entirely 90% of the time but my OH refuses to cycle for reasons and we still use it for trips where trains don't make sense.
I went veggie, which is cheaper, healthier, and a massive reduction in CO2.
That's £thousands saved each year and probably halving my carbon footprint and I've not even actually "done" anything, just not done some normalized things (setting the temp at 21C, owning a car, eating meat) .
Kettle has sharpie marks showing capacity of the different teapots we use regularly
bath towels are smaller than standard to reduce wash and drying load
kitchen chemicals are all made up from dry sachets from Nisbets and we have decent quality spray bottles - I’m certain this saves us a million pounds a year and is so much less plastic waste https://www.nisbets.co.uk/jantex-green-kitchen-surface-sanitiser-sachets-pack-of-10/ft322
other kitchen chemicals also bought in bulk - dishwasher rinse aid is a 5l commercial thing, also citric acid, bleach & washing up liquid - of course has an up front cost and requires a lot of storage so may not suit everyone
encouraged the kids out of hoodies and into fleeces to reduce washing weight - I know I’m moving from cotton to plastic but we tend to get nice stuff and move it on via Vinted when outgrown
Vinted! Loads of bargains there and feels like doing the right thing.
Check the gaps around your UPVC windows with a bit of paper – you can replace the hinges to get them to shut better (although this is a right faff to do) or you can replace the rubber strip. Same for doors.
How do you do that?
I've got one that doesn't close properly, the hinge end of the window sits about 3-4mm out from the frame relative to the side with the lock. I assumed there'd be an adjuster (a bit like kitchen cabinets) but haven't found anything.
I went veggie. Rest of the family already were because they don't like eating things with faces. For me it was the massive use of resources required to feed animals.
We use re-fills on shower gel and soap.
Heating is down too (to save money!).
Refilling kettle to a least minimum line, or enough for two cups if better half is home, just after pouring boiled water in cup(s) to make a tea.
Made more of a difference when I was a caffeine monster typically having ~8 cups per day instead of ~4 these days, makes more difference during chilly winter period, but should mean less power needed to boil kettle next time compared to adding cold water just before turning kettle on.
Find and use a zero waste store where you can bulk buy stuff from washing up liquid/ shampoo to nuts, pasta rice etc
Refilling kettle to a least minimum line, or enough for two cups if better half is home, just after pouring boiled water in cup(s) to make a tea.
Made more of a difference when I was a caffeine monster typically having ~8 cups per day instead of ~4 these days, makes more difference during chilly winter period, but should mean less power needed to boil kettle next time compared to adding cold water just before turning kettle on.
Surely the same overall? It's just taking heat from the central heating rather than the wall socket?
Although in our house the bigger gain would be that the OH is incapable of judging what 2 cups looks like so boils a full kettle 😂. In her defense it's a kettle on the gas hob so there's no markings, but still.
"Surely the same overall? It’s just taking heat from the central heating rather than the wall socket?"
The ch is gas so far cheaper per kWh. So boiling water from room temp rather than cold tap temp will save a few pence.
Not sure if it matter to the plant or not.
Wonder what the saving is over a year being the kettle to boil from 18c rather than 10c?
Wonder what the saving is over a year being the kettle to boil from 18c rather than 10c?
Google say 7p to boil a full kettle. So about 1.5p per mug? Assuming you could reduce that by 10%, 0.15p per cup, say 10 cups a day 3600/year. That's about £5.50 saving a year.
Half that in gas for heating so £2.75, but the heating is only on for half the year, so £1.40?
Total saving about £4.00?
But.........
Gas is much worse from a planet perspective than electricity, so it's saving money but not the planet.
This is controversial, but I’m going to say don’t wear cotton t-shirts. Synthetic ones last many many years, far longer than the cotton ones I have,
I am currently wearing a cotton t shirt from the 1996 National MTB champs. It's indestructable! Most of my cotton t's are 10-15 years old.
Don’t wash towels after every use
Do people actually do this?
Most of my cotton t’s are 10-15 years old.
Conversely I have four; one is new and been worn a few times, the others have been worn a handful and are already looking like rags. Two are are Fjallraven and not cheap, and one has a Cragghoppers logo on it.
I’ve got one that doesn’t close properly, the hinge end of the window sits about 3-4mm out from the frame relative to the side with the lock. I assumed there’d be an adjuster (a bit like kitchen cabinets) but haven’t found anything.
I'm not sure how this happens but it did to our upstairs windows. I think it was because we didn't lubricate the slider bit so it put undue stress on the hinge pivots making them slack. I replaced and lubed the ones in my daughter's room and I didn't even need the replacement rubber strip. It's not easy to do though, ideally you need two people - one to hold and one to screw the new hinge in; and you need a rope or strap to tie around your waist and the window so you don't drop it out of the gap - it's heavy.
The process to replace the hinge is to remove the screws that go into the casement top and bottom, then pull it into the room. Then you can swap over and re-fit. Then lube the new hinges with silicone spray.
Do people actually do this?
Apparently yes.
Separate energy use from all the other stuff like recycling/avoiding plastics etc.
Yes recycling is nice, but if you rinse that plastic butter tub with hot water from your gas combi boiler you have probably scored an own goal from a climate change perspective.
Substituting things like riding/walking the dog from home instead of driving to do those things (even if it's in an electric car) is going to reduce energy use massively.
Don’t wash towels after every use.
Teenage me must have paid into the planet savings bank then. I'm not sure I washed a towel until it could walk itself to the washing machine.
If you think the frequency you wash your towels affects planet earth's climate, I've got some carbon offset credits to sell you
Heating turned down, ride to work, tend not to use my 22 year old car very much, prefer powdered washing powder - gentle ones, avoid lots of chemicals for cleaning, recycle as much as we can.
99.9% of recreational cycling is done from home. No car.
I keep my bikes a long time, only ever sold one.
Bad side, hot tub and two gaming PC's are energy monsters. Hot tub get's turned down to pump only on a regular basis. Son's a petrol head, as are his friends, and the needless driving they do completely outweighs the fact my car doesn't move much.
Almost mid-year, and I have still not used a single disposable cup.
Most of my cotton t’s are 10-15 years old.
Most of mine are even older, though unfortunately I've had to buy some new ones because I've gone from XL to M over the last couple of years.
Conversely I have four; one is new and been worn a few times, the others have been worn a handful and are already looking like rags. Two are are Fjallraven and not cheap, and one has a Cragghoppers logo on it.
I don't know how you're managing that. I can't even remember throwing at t shirt out unless it's been ripped or otherwise badly damaged in some way. Though if you only manage 4 hours wear before they're minging we obviously are very different, I usually have to wash clothes because they're grubby rather than smelly and find synthetics start to pong quicker than cotton.
In general, just wash clothes less. It saves water, power and wear on the garment. For most people the washing process causes more wear than actually wearing the clothes.
Anyway, although I think it's all worth doing, marginal gains through individual action won't save the planet. It has to be a worldwide change in philosophy away from consumption and growth based economies and we're a long way from there..
Use feet and bike for anything local. Be fussy about this.
Learn to use curtains. If it is dark or cold, close them. If it is warm and light open them. If it is hot and light, close them. YHMV.
Drive slower.
Heating is down too
I hope you mean it is OFF now though (assuming you are in the UK).
Visiting friends last week ,and they were mucho impressed by Nancy's book.^^
They have sent us a copy in the post 🙂
Washing towels! Roughly 35 years ago I joked to my house mate (now wife!). 'why do you need to wash towels, you are always clean when you use them? '
She's never let me forget it.
Back on topic, driving slower someone said. It's amazing what difference there is between 65 and 70+
So how long should I endure a damp smelly towel in order to offset the output from this week's new Chinese power station(s)?
Is two or three days ok?
I've just bought some plant based sellotape. I didn't spend a couple of minutes wondering whether I'd spent all my life buying sticky tape made from meat, but it turns out it's plastic-free. Haven't opened it so no idea if it actually works.
Gribs - everything makes a difference . Team SKY used to win lots of races, because Dave Brailsford and his secret squirrels were making incremental gains with tiny changes.
what we haven’t mentioned is the outside space. Making ones own compost, reusing plant pots, leaving grass long, planting a small tree, bush or hedge. Not using power tools in the garden. Don’t power wash drive ways, have at least one waterbutt ( for watering, cleaning cars, windows etc. Grow and eat your own produce where possible. Dry clothes outside.
Insulate.
The cotton Ts are still serviceable, and I'd wear them if I have nothing else, but I do have synthetics which look great so I wear those instead. The cotton ones pong in hot sweaty weather like 25C plus if I am walking or doing something. Not normally.
So how long should I endure a damp smelly towel
You don't. You dry yourself, then hang the towel up so it dries, then it won't smell and you can use it again. You don't need to wash it between use but you do need to dry it (obviously).
If you think the frequency you wash your towels affects planet earth’s climate
It does, just a very tiny amount. However, there are a lot of people doing it, so...
Eat less dead animals. Its gross anyway.
Vote with your wallet. Changing your bank is pretty much the single biggest action you can take as an individual. Stopping your wage, savings and pension contributions being used for harm is quick, easy and painless.
Don’t fly.
Don’t go on cruises.
Don’t have children.
Go veggie/vegan.
Don’t wash towels after every use
Do people actually do this?
Our elderly neighbour used to (well, tea towels anyway) But she was as mad as a fish
Not all bins in the house need bags in, and not all that do need a new bag every time you empty them.
Stop using disposable bikes with fragile transmissions.
Stop driving to ride.
Stop using your mobile. That will save electricity for charging, all that crap to produce them and the poisons resulting from disposal.
Stay at home , not waste resources to holiday.
No imported luxury food. Bloody bananas.
Modern life really needs to stop.
Would banning new things generally help? Never seen a decent explanation of how a new electric car every few years is better than an old one every 20 years.
Alternatively be a hypocrite.
Stopping your wage, savings and pension contributions being used for harm is quick, easy and painless.
there's interesting figures behind this, but it is not clear cut..
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/are-e-s-g-investors-actually-helping-the-environment/
Don’t agree with that. Depriving the multi-billion dollar fossil fuel companies of money to transition. I have two word for that and one of them is off. It’s about not investing your hard earned in to companies and practices that cause harm to people or planet. I’ve seen and read more evidence for than against.
I haven't eaten meat for 30+ years, ride to work (albeit nowadays on a soft e-bike), one car that gets used sparingly, don't fly to go on holiday and don't drive to ride.
However, I have 2 kids.
Disabling the stop/start system on your car should be banned.
I’ve just bought some plant based sellotape
Hasn’t it always been plant-based? Sello => cello => cellulose.
Fixed the "Vax" hoover - very nearly binned it - a very important plastic 'tab' cracked off months ago, and we've taped the collection bin on - fills up each use due to having animals. Had a good look at the broken area, drilled two pilot holes, and popped in two button head screws. Works a treat, and is no doubt stronger than before.
Fix and make do.
Gribs – everything makes a difference . Team SKY used to win lots of races, because Dave Brailsford and his secret squirrels were making incremental gains with tiny changes.
Team Sky would claim they were already doing everything they could right and then finding little performance improvements on top. We haven’t even mandated domestic insulation minimum standards, maintained the fuel duty escalator, or banned private jets. I love the sentiment, but for the marginal gains analogy we really need to start by eating, training, and sleeping properly first.
In the meantime I try to avoid unnecessary car journeys and lobby others to do the same, try my best to keep my ***** English house safe and comfortable with minimum energy use, avoid buying new and avoid consumerism, and when I do buy things I try to buy things I need that will last well.
"Our heating has been set to 17.5C for 2 winters now".
I'm going to be quoting you to my Mrs. Ours is typically on 18 or 18.5 when it's on. If I come in and the heating is at 19.5 or even a ludicrous 20, I feel like my face is going to melt - blast furnaces operate at lower temps.
Being serious... getting a properly adjustable (and ideally app based) thermostat in the house.
When we got this house, it had one of those mechanical timers with 2 segments on a rotating dialfor turning the heating on and off. Same for the hot water tank. No thermostat on the heating. It was atrocious really. It could be baking hot some times if we'd been out for hours and not having changed the settings before we went out.
When we got a new boiler we got a Hive controller. It definitely helps us not heating when not needed; re-set or turn off remotely when not going to be in etc. And controllable in 0.5C increments.
^ to add to that, get an external temperature sensor on your boiler.
I fitted ours a year after our new boiler was installed without one as the plumber 'didn't believe' in them.
It took nearly 10% off our gas usage, and evened the inside temperature out.
Ours cost £20, a bit of cable and about 20mins to fit.
I shower nearly every day, but I don't use deodorant, and when I saw something telling me to limit showers to 4 minutes I set a timer and it turns out to spend 4 minutes in the shower i'd need to take a book so I don't feel too bad.
I shower nearly every day, but I don’t use deodorant, and when I saw something telling me to limit showers to 4 minutes I set a timer and it turns out to spend 4 minutes in the shower i’d need to take a book so I don’t feel too bad.
Yep. That's me too.
Team Sky would claim they were already doing everything they could right and then finding little performance improvements on top. We haven’t even mandated domestic insulation minimum standards, maintained the fuel duty escalator, or banned private jets. I love the sentiment, but for the marginal gains analogy we really need to start by eating, training, and sleeping properly first.
It's still marginal gains. Marginal gains doesn't say anything about getting the basics right first, although it would be very sensible to but more difficult. The Team Sky parallel though doesn't fit.
I agree with your overall take though. People may be distracted by and feel satisfied by making these tiny gains that are within their gift, whereas the big progress needs campaigning, organising, writing etc.
Our heating has been set to 17.5C for 2 winters now, it sounds cold but after we had the cavity walls insulated the house is just a nice even temperature. It’s just the default to wear a jumper rather than take it off when getting home.
You're an amateur - my Mum has had it set at 15C for as long as I can remember.
Whereas i don't even have heating (different climate so don't need it).
Never seen a decent explanation of how a new electric car every few years is better than an old one every 20 years.
Not wishing to derail the thread but absolutely noone at all is suggesting that you need a new electric car every few years. What on earth are you on about?
People who change their car frequently do so regardless of the fuel type; same for people who keep them a long time.
I'd get a couple of independent honest opinions on whether not showering every day and wearing nylon t shirts doesn't result in a degree of 'agricultural' aroma. 😬
My experience is the exact opposite, you'd have to be a biological outlier, which may explain how you're burning through cotton tbh. 😉
Whereas i don’t even have heating (different climate so don’t need it).
But do you have air con? Australian homes are generally energy pits, the cars are energy pits and Australia manages to be well up there amongst the highest CO2 per capita countries slightly ahead of the UK.
Marginal gains aren't what we need, we need a complete change of mindset in which people eliminate fossil fules from their lifestyles by one means or another.
Don’t have children.
Nonsense. We need more young people not fewer. How about we remove health care from the over 80s and make euthanisa much easier?
Almost mid-year, and I have still not used a single disposable cup.
I haven't used one in probably 20 years...
This is controversial, but I’m going to say don’t wear cotton t-shirts. Synthetic ones last many many years, far longer than the cotton ones I have,
And synthetic ones start to smell after a few uses, i haven't bought a synthetic T (excepting sports wear) in decades. Much like not showering daily, you can't smell yourself. And your biome might adjust, mine certainly doesn't.
I am currently wearing a cotton t shirt from the 1996 National MTB champs. It’s indestructable! Most of my cotton t’s are 10-15 years old.
I moved mine into the rag bag a couple of years ago, along with half a dozen of my sponsors (of the time) cotton T's. They've been through half a dozen moves and probably a thousand washes each.
But do you have air con? Australian homes are generally energy pits, the cars are energy pits and Australia manages to be well up there amongst the highest CO2 per capita countries slightly ahead of the UK.
No. We have an extremely well insulated house.
I believe we're tenth highest emitter per capita. 30+% of energy produced here is from renewables now (as it should be). Really high rates of solar panels but a legacy of cheap coal.
Because we have too much shade at our place (we grow trees!) we buy our electricity from renewable sources.
How about we remove health care from the over 80s and make euthanisa much easier?
Posted 2 minutes ago
I hope you're not serious. I'm sick of old people bashing atm.
Anyway back to the Op.
Reuse, recycle, mend, buy from charity shops, buy secondhand. If buying new then buy the very best you can afford, it will last so much longer.
Disabling the stop/start system on your car should be banned.
I took the decision and did the work to delete it from an entire range of cars about 4-5 years ago. Customers went absolutely mental, they didn't like the lack of control. So some markets it's been put back in. Against my wishes.
Madness.
(It's not even like the cars have a starter motor or ring gear to "wear out". They have a continually connected, and continually running integrated starter generator.)
I hope you’re not serious. I’m sick of old people bashing atm.
About as serious as the suggestion that not having kids is a solution to anything. To be honest this whole thread is a waste of time. The only people who can 'save the planet' are politicians and governments and all you need to do is vote for the right ones and put pressure on them in any way you can to do the right thing. Anything else is just virtue signalling, and I say that as a veggie/vegan of 30+ years.
Well said.
Well there's an honest debate to be had about the pros and cons of keeping people alive as long as possible at all costs but it's not really the subject of this thread. In terms of carbon though I reckon young people probably produce much less than their elderly relatives.
the average 80+ year old probably has a fairly small carbon footprint as they just don't do much. Better get rid of the boomers who are flying around everywhere, living in big houses and driving fancy cars 😉
I'd actually be interested to see footprint by age - does it just go directly in line with income?
I don't know what 'saving the planet' means? Save it from what.. humans?
We look at things a bit different to bunnyhop, we buy as much if not more crap we just try to buy greener crap. The world is built with money, want a greener world then spend as much as you can afford on green crap.
Edukator
...Australia manages to be well up there amongst the highest CO2 per capita countries slightly ahead of the UK.
If by slightly ahead you mean "triple" ? Even looking at consumption based emissions (i.e. including imports), Australia is roughly double the UK.
Or am I missing something?
I’d get a couple of independent honest opinions on whether not showering every day and wearing nylon t shirts doesn’t result in a degree of ‘agricultural’ aroma.
I don't wear nylon t-shirts, these are polyester being what are loosely termed 'technical t-shirts' now.
And as for the allegations that I smell - cheers, but I'm not so ignorant that I'd be unaware of it. The fact I complain that cotton t-shirts smell in hot weather (not all the time) shows I am quite aware of it. Maybe it's because I don't shower every day and I don't use sticky traditional deodorant that messes up your skin biome and needs reapplying every day.
And synthetic ones start to smell after a few uses
These don't.
Much like not showering daily, you can’t smell yourself.
I can assure you I most certainly can and I'm very self conscious of it. It happens when I use normal deodorant or wear cotton t-shirts in hot weather. It's not just me, by the way - there's a lot of discussion about over-washing and skin micro-biome, which is what I wanted to draw attention to given the thread.
If I use a normal roll-on then the following day I absolutely stink, and then if I go back to Pit Rock the stink lasts for about a week until it settles down. Pit rock needs a good long rub, not just a wipe, but even then it's marginal after about 10hrs. Wild deodorant is only good for about 6hrs, but in combination with pit rock it works well (sodding expensive though). However my homemade stuff works for days, I only need to apply about twice a week. How do I know if deodorant is working? Because I can smell myself.
does it just go directly in line with income
Essentially, yes. More money tends to equal bigger houses (more heating etc), buying more stuff, travelling more. Even savings in a bank use more and may be invested in 'bad' things. Obviously if you grow your own carrots, keep your cash in a sock under the matress in your sustainably built eco house and never leave your garden, this doesn't apply to you.
The only people who can ‘save the planet’ are politicians and governments and all you need to do is vote for the right ones and put pressure on them in any way you can to do the right thing. Anything else is just virtue signalling
This is true but they aren't going to do anything unless they're perusaded to do so. And a shift in the attitude of the population will do this. It's how women got the vote, how slavery was abolished in the UK etc.
It depends where you look, multi21. Having read a few different figures and how they were calcualted I reckoned that "slightly ahead of the UK" was fairer than "triple". You can do analysis by production versus consumption and consider the embedded carbon on imports and exports, exported potential emissions... I felt the fairest analysis puts the impact of each Australian as only slightly higher than a Brit.
I don’t use sticky traditional deodorant that messes up your skin biome and needs reapplying every day.
TBH I haven't used deodorant since COVID times. I threw away my last stick at christmas, it was completely dried out and rattly.
I have one (very) marginal gain that I can whole (...hole?) heartedly recommend for those of the more hirsute trouser regions.
Wype toilet gel instead of wet wipes. You put a dollop onto toilet paper and it turns it into the equivalent of a wet wipe that can be flushed.
The squirty plastic bit of the bottle is reused each time, and the rest of the packaging is recyclable (aluminium I think). A refill lasts over a month in our house.
Dickyboy
I’m the exact opposite, anything synthetic & it gets stinky way faster & obnoxious than cotton 🤔
I have the same problem with synthetics. And I find it's also harder to get them clean in the wash. They need a hotter wash and a sports detergent otherwise they come out still with a slight scent of eau de onion bhaji.
Edukator
Free Member
It depends where you look, multi21. Having read a few different figures and how they were calcualted I reckoned that “slightly ahead of the UK” was fairer than “triple”. You can do analysis by production versus consumption and consider the embedded carbon on imports and exports, exported potential emissions… I felt the fairest analysis puts the impact of each Australian as only slightly higher than a Brit.
Okay fair enough.
Being a non driver, I reckon im ahead of the game. So if lifestyle and diet are going to play a part in any carbon footprint, I'm not going to be making any difference.
Eat less meat (or give it up altogether) reduce food waste, buy fewer things.
We do a fair bit of stuff, well insulated house, thermostat turned down, bucket water for use flushing the toilet, reasonably economical cars, refillable plastics, buying second-hand and not renewing stuff because it's no longer fashionable but like most we don't do anything actually detrimental to our lifestyle (extended holiday took 10 flights earlier this year - first time in 20yrs to see my sister in Oz). Even my evangelical brother who cycles everywhere & has pledged not to fly - only does so because he loves cycling & has the time as he is retired, plus he's already travelled most of the world in his younger days.
It depends where you look, multi21. Having read a few different figures and how they were calcualted I reckoned that “slightly ahead of the UK” was fairer than “triple”.
IIRC cars, a/c, long distances to transport people and power are an issue. But the lack of nuclear power in Australia is a big impact. It is not viewed favourably at all.
