|
  |
|
|
How can I be green?
By Peter Simmons
You'd think from some of the articles you read that acting to solve the problem of global warming and mitigate the effects of climate change is really difficult. But it isn't, it's actually quite easy. Let's start with the house, since we all live in one, apart from nomads, and have control over how it works as a machine for living in. First you have to have loft insulation since a large percentage of heat loss occurs through the roof. In the UK, grants are available from the government for this, so there's no excuse to not do it. Despite which many houses still have uninsulated roof spaces. Double glazing is another useful way of cutting down energy loss, but can be expensive if not already fitted. It is well worth the investment however, and will recoup its cost in reduced energy bills. Cutting down on energy use is a little mentioned subject, yet substantial savings can be made with a little attention. 'Standby' mode is a fixture on most electronic equipment these days, and until the government makes it illegal, it will continue to waste energy at an alarming rate; most people who use standby don't realise it can still be consuming as much as 60% of the energy it uses while working normally. Still more to add to your energy bill! So switch off applicances when not in use, and you'll save both carbon and energy. Turn the heating down by a degree or two and that's yet more power saved and carbon not expelled into the environment. Air conditioning also uses large amounts of electricity, so unless it's so hot your health might suffer, open a window instead! Driving: one of the major causes of individual carbon emissions, and one where the chance of reducing can be limited, especially if you have to commute to work and there is no public transport alternative. If public transport is available, use it instead of the car. If not, drive carefully; avoiding harsh acceleration and braking, anticipate other road users and traffic lights and slow down in time, get up into top gear as quickly and smoothly as you can and stay there as much as possible. Walk or cycle those short journeys which are so easy to jump into the car for. Remember, walking helps keep you fit as well as cutting down emissions. Install energy saving lightbulbs in every socket. Some people complain about these as being 1) slow to come to full brightness - this was once the case but is no more 2) too blue and not 'friendly' enough - there are now 'warm' light energy saving bulbs if you prefer a light close to the red end of the spectrum, but the normal energy saving bulbs are very close to daylight which we have no problem with, and in winter they can help avoid Seasonal Affective Disorder [S.A.D.] by providing more daylight spectrum light.
As councils and other bodies are giving energy saving bulbs out to everyone these days, the price is no bar to using them, and even if you buy them, they pay back the price in their long lifecycle, around 25-50 times that of an incandescent non-energy-saving bulb. I have energy saving bulbs that are fifteen years old, how many incandescent bulbs would I have bought in that time? Eating meat, especially beef, adds hugely to climate change since methane, the gas cows fart a lot of, is a principal greenhouse gas. Add to this the forests, including rainforests, which are being cut down to use the land for short-term cattle rearing, and you can see that eating beef is a very damaging thing to do. Further, meat eaters get more diseases than vegetarians, and are generally less healthy. Bowel cancer is common with meat eaters and virtually unknown amongst vegetarian populations [for instance Indian Hindus]. The British aristocracy, always big meat eaters, have traditionally died of bowel cancer more than any other cause. Stop buying so much. Every item bought has a carbon price from the raw materials and energy used to make it and the fuel used in deliveries to shops. If you make things last, avoid replacing perfectly good items 'because they're out of date' and re-use, as well as buying second hand from charity shops, you are not only saving carbon emissions, but also helping charities. None of the methods of reducing carbon and becoming more green as listed above are onerous or difficult. All they take is a degree of commitment, a determination not to rely on others to make changes but to shoulder your own responsibility to the planet. Each one of us, acting individually to reduce our own carbon footprint can begin to make a difference, and together we can really start to tackle climate change. If we don't, chances are our species will become unviable and will be made extinct by an ecosystem which can be unforgiving and ruthless; warming means raised sea levels, which means flooding and dislocation; extreme rainfall floods houses as well as food growing areas; higher temperatures encourages disease organisms and parasites and threatens the future of indiginous species. |
http://www.sada.org.uk/
| http://www.bbc.co.uk/climate/
| http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/ENVIRONMENT/EXTCC/0,,menuPK:407870~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:407864,00.html
| http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/climate_change/index.html
| http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/climate-change
| http://www.ecotopia.co.uk/wl.aspx?40000091&req=63-dd0036
| http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/
| http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5j3ddskQn9x4dDRCf2CyRqcN4s_6Q
| http://www.graphicghana.com/news/page.php?news=2531
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
No reactions yet.
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
Really strong article, I greatly appreciate the information.
Hi Peter,
This intel is loaded with many common sense ways to help save our planet.
Thank you for taking the time to write in such depth.
Have a Healthy, Happy New Year and beyond.
Frederick
The copyright for this content entitled "How can I be green?" has been specified by the contributor as:
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Details 
This content may be copied, distributed, or modified as long as the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://foolonthehill.qondio.com/
|
 |
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
