1. Lead by example and don’t proselytise - how boring is it to listen to someone who is that self-righteous....
2. sign up to 10:10 - please...... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/01/10-10-launch-ian-katz
3. walk and cycle as much as possible – enjoy being outside - it's a beautiful world
4. Fly less - sorry but it's true. Can you handle that meeting with a conference call? Why don't you go on holiday by train and delight your kids (and yourself?)
5. ‘Let the train take the strain’ -oops, a bit repetitive.....
6. Run your car into the ground, and once it’s in the ground, replace it with a second hand one
7. exercise outside rather than in a gym - it smells better
8. Use low energy lights - there are better ones about now
6. Avoid leaving electrical goods on standby - that's pretty much everything - microwaves, kettles, TVs, everything...
7. Move your switches so that you can access them easily
8. Make sure you have good home insulation
9. Enjoy good personal insulation – jumpers and boots - it feels good! And dries you out less than putting the heating on which WILL make you look like a wrinkly prune...
10. Keep a warm blanket on the sofa for late nights in front of the telly
11. Turn off radiators in rooms when they are not being used - yawn - how obvious is that...
12. Dry your clothes outside when the weather allows, (smaells so goood) and over clothes’ horses inside when it doesn’t – but try not to use your dryer
13. Excel at one pot cooking
14. Value food and try to avoid waste as much as possible
15. Buy cloth napkins and save on kitchen paper
16. Use tupperware lunch boxes, and try to avoid cling film and foil
17. Use greaseproof paper instead of plastic bags
18. Enjoy the clothes that you have, and wear them out
19. Enjoy the possessions that you have - maybe more isn’t better
20. Grow some veg in your garden or in some pots
21. Sign up for an allotment
22. eat more veg and less meat
23. Buy fish from sustainable sources as recommended by the RSPB or the Marine Stewardship Council
24. Only eat dolphin- AND albatross-friendly tuna, if you eat it at all
25. Buy biodegradable cleaners
26. Use natural cleaners – vinegar, soda crystals, lemon juice etc
27. Buy biodegradable soap, shampoo, etc
28. Compost compost compost
29. Buy secondhand books on Amazon rather than new ones
30. Look for book publishers that use paper produced from renewable sources
31. Buy as little plastic as possible
32. Holiday in eco-friendly B&Bs, hotels, etc. They do the best breakfasts...really...
33. Campaign! Write to M&S, Tesco, Budgens to complain about ‘bad’ packaging, lack of local produce and so on
34. Take a bag to the beach or on a walk and pick up plastic bottles and tins to recycle
35. Use your economic muscle: use supermarkets that adhere to a strong ethical policy
36. Buy products that don’t contain palm oil
37. Buy from farmers’ markets or other local sources
38. Try to avoid non-recyclable wrappings
39. Ask your supermarket to put out paper bags, rather than plastic, in their vegetable section
40. Buy from Oxfam – they have a fab range of solar powered stuff, recycled stuff and biodegradable household cleaners
41. Ask your butcher whether the meat is sourced locally
42. Ask you greengrocer the same, except for vegetables
43. Go a bit green at Christmas – Oxfam do excellent, ethical crackers, the Ethical Superstore do a good range of stuff that would makes good gifts
44. forsake plastic bottles FOREVER!!
45. Plant trees.....
Tuesday 27 October 2009
What we can all do…..to change our community
1. Ask our local schools to join the eco-schools scheme http://www.eco-schools.org.uk/
2. Join us in Chalfont St Peter in Transition http://www.transitiontowns.org/
3. Ask our local schools and to increase their recycling, energy conservation, and reduce paper and other waste. In particular, ask them to turn off their computers, at the wall, every night
4. Do the same with local businesses – contact the Chamber of Commerce..
5. Ask our local schools to cultivate an allotment or build raised beds and grow stuff
6. Ask our PTAs to be environmentally friendly, and not buy cheap plastic goods to repackage and sell
7. Lobby our local authority for more and better recycling facilities
8. Lobby our local authority to recycle more things, such as tetrapaks
9. Tell our MP that this is the way her constituents expect her to go
10. Join the local branch of political party that has a serious commitment to environmentalism
11. Ask local shops not to provide plastic bags
12. Buy food at local farmers’ markets
13. Lobby our local supermarkets, veg shops and butchers to source their produce locally
14. Ask schools, fairs and fundraisers not to release balloons – they get into the sea and cause all sorts of havoc
15. Lobby our local authority to upgrade pavements and provide crossing points so that more people, including children, feel safer walking
16 Slow down the traffic, so that cars use less gas, and people feel safer walking
17 Have a toy swap scheme so that we all buy less plastic
18. Clean up rivers, fields, our environment generally
19. Engage our local authority to only give planning permission to houses built in a fuel- and water- efficient manner
20. Get our local community to plant trees, on grass verges, on dual carriageways, in the corner of the school field - everywhere. Trees are fabulous.
There is so much – let’s get out there…..
2. Join us in Chalfont St Peter in Transition http://www.transitiontowns.org/
3. Ask our local schools and to increase their recycling, energy conservation, and reduce paper and other waste. In particular, ask them to turn off their computers, at the wall, every night
4. Do the same with local businesses – contact the Chamber of Commerce..
5. Ask our local schools to cultivate an allotment or build raised beds and grow stuff
6. Ask our PTAs to be environmentally friendly, and not buy cheap plastic goods to repackage and sell
7. Lobby our local authority for more and better recycling facilities
8. Lobby our local authority to recycle more things, such as tetrapaks
9. Tell our MP that this is the way her constituents expect her to go
10. Join the local branch of political party that has a serious commitment to environmentalism
11. Ask local shops not to provide plastic bags
12. Buy food at local farmers’ markets
13. Lobby our local supermarkets, veg shops and butchers to source their produce locally
14. Ask schools, fairs and fundraisers not to release balloons – they get into the sea and cause all sorts of havoc
15. Lobby our local authority to upgrade pavements and provide crossing points so that more people, including children, feel safer walking
16 Slow down the traffic, so that cars use less gas, and people feel safer walking
17 Have a toy swap scheme so that we all buy less plastic
18. Clean up rivers, fields, our environment generally
19. Engage our local authority to only give planning permission to houses built in a fuel- and water- efficient manner
20. Get our local community to plant trees, on grass verges, on dual carriageways, in the corner of the school field - everywhere. Trees are fabulous.
There is so much – let’s get out there…..
Combating Climate Change - what we can all do….at national level
1. Give money to charities preserving the rainforest or campaigning against climate change – look at Cool Earth, for example. Fab, ethical charity.
2. Lobby our MPs – if they don’t start taking this seriously, the Thames will rise and they will be the first to go (actually, this might be a reason to promote climate change – hmm….)
3. Sign petitions and put our names to campaigns – The Princes Rainforest Trust, the RSPB campaign, etc
4. Go on marches – 5 December 2009 in London – be there!
5. Write to newpapers and comment on what the politicians are doing (or not doing, inert bastards)
6. Write to Tony Blair and make him work for you on change. He’s trashed the world through war, now it’s pay back time.
7. Write to Ed Miliband. He gets it, just doesn’t have enough power at cabinet level. Public opinion could help him.
8. Vote for a party that is committed to taking climate change seriously. Particularly if the election is by proportional representation….you know who I green – er, mean…bear in mind that elections to the European parliament are by proportional representation.
2. Lobby our MPs – if they don’t start taking this seriously, the Thames will rise and they will be the first to go (actually, this might be a reason to promote climate change – hmm….)
3. Sign petitions and put our names to campaigns – The Princes Rainforest Trust, the RSPB campaign, etc
4. Go on marches – 5 December 2009 in London – be there!
5. Write to newpapers and comment on what the politicians are doing (or not doing, inert bastards)
6. Write to Tony Blair and make him work for you on change. He’s trashed the world through war, now it’s pay back time.
7. Write to Ed Miliband. He gets it, just doesn’t have enough power at cabinet level. Public opinion could help him.
8. Vote for a party that is committed to taking climate change seriously. Particularly if the election is by proportional representation….you know who I green – er, mean…bear in mind that elections to the European parliament are by proportional representation.
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