Many people find it hard to comprehend Global Warming and environmental destruction. It can seem overwhelming or irrelevant yet nearly all scientists (except those with vested interests, employed by some oil companies) agree that we are facing a great challenge with greenhouse gases increasing the temperature of the world, causing ice caps to melt, the sea level to rise and contributing to more extreme weather conditions.
Greenhouse gases come from emissions when fuels are burned, ie from electricity production except renewable e.g. solar, wind, tidal and wave; heating, especially coal and oil, driving and any manufacturing/transport process which uses these fuels.
However instead of worrying about it and feeling powerless there are very easy things to do in the home and in our choices about what we buy and where from:
CONSERVING energy is the most important act we can do, it can save a lot of money on our bills too:
If we all turned TVs, computers, lights etc right off when not in use (leaving them on standby uses nearly as much - 80% - electricity as when fully on) a whole power station could be closed down.
We can also buy energy saving electric bulbs, cheapest from Poundstretchers and Brian Fords.
We could turn the central heating down a few degrees, again it saves money and is healthier - you'll catch less colds and allergies and your skin will be less dry. This is hard for young people who don't wear many clothes for fashion reasons! Are there any trendy jumpers out there? Fridges and freezers can also be turned down, avoid tumble dryers, they absolutely gobble electricity. Wash clothes when they're dirty - not automatically every time you wear them - saves water too as does showering more often and not always flushing the toilet! That can be a hard one for us civilised people but think of all that wasted water and though it rains a lot in the winter our reservoirs are getting emptier If we shared a lift to work it would halve the traffic. If we walked, caught the bus or cycled (safer biking routes are slowly being implemented) we'd save parking charges, pollution, petrol bills and get fitter. It's being able to give up the convenience of the car, could we just consider if the trip is really important or could be tied in with something else later? Surveys have shown that the majority of children would prefer to walk to school when they live nearby.
SHOPPING - The best way to buy fresh and tasty food is to buy locally produced groceries, organic if possible though this can be expensive - vegetables, fruit, cheeses, meat, cakes…and to use our local farmer/pannier markets and shops where these things are usually cheaper and less packaged too.
Supermarkets are convenient but they pay farmers low prices, transport products vast and unnecessary distances eg apples from New Zealand when there might be delicious local ones, insist on fruit and veg being 'perfect' shapes and sizes which isn't necessary, we don't know how many chemicals they contain from spraying.
POLLUTION - Again there are easy ways to reduce pollution and to save money - Go organic in your garden! It's OK for your lawn to have daisies in it! Also dandelions, moss etc… and it doesn't have to be I mm long. In fact it'll die in the summer if it's too short. It's OK to have 'weeds', they're just plants in the wrong place, and they might produce seeds for birds - eg teasels for goldfinches and moths - eg groundsel for cinnabars. Leave an uncultivated area for wildlife. Compost heaps are great and save rubbish to the tip as well as making nutrition for your soil. Only put uncooked waste comestibles on but you can add cardboard and used envelopes (if you're not re-using them) If we didn't use poisons to kill insects, slugs etc they would provide food for birds. We have sparrows eating blackfly in our garden. Slug pellets can kill birds and hedgehogs and you only need about 3 for each plant but copper tape is just as effective.
Inside the house the old remedies of lemon, vinegar, and bicarb of soda are great surface cleaners and newspaper for windows. They are cheap and don't have any of the very toxic chemicals that the sprays and polishes you buy have which can cause asthma, excema…as can biological washing powders, room fragrancers - use pure lavender oil…DON'T BELIEVE ALL THE ADVERTS FOR THESE THINGS - REMEMBER THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY!
RECYCLE, REDUCE AND RE-USE is the maxim to help your wallet and the environment. Car boot sales, charity shops, and adverts in the local paper all help with this. We can be drawn to new things, again because of the advertising and also because of our need for rewards and treats because life can be hard. Have you ever noticed that it's wonderful for a while but the magic wears off and then…we want something new and off the cycle goes again.
Use recycled toilet paper, re-use paper printed on one side for scrap, and buy recycled paper - sadly a lot of basic paper comes from illegal felling of rainforests.
Maybe if we realised that we don't need to spend so much money we wouldn't need to work so hard and there would be more time to spend with our families and friends and to rest or go for a walk and appreciate what a beautiful world we live in which might make us want to look after it more….
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If you want to be more involved in environmental issues you can join charities Devon Wildlife Trust, Friends of the Earth, the RSPB, Greenpeace, the Woodland Trust…they all contribute a lot to making our voices heard and counter the voices of the big companies.