10 things you could do to become more green and ethical

caroline1973lefty

the top 10 i am working towards are along these lines:

1. insulate the home (curtains & draught stoppers are easiest)
2. reduce electricity use - switch everything off when not in use/on standby
3. refuse carrier bags
4. cancel junk mail (use mps online)
5. turn central heating down/off and put on a jumper
6. eat less meat
7. buy mostly UK-grown, seasonal fresh food, and grow something - lettuce?
8. walk, bike or public transport, not cars and planes.
9. stop reading magazines and watching adverts that make you want more 'stuff'.
but most importantly....

10. get active! you don't have to be just a 'consumer' - you can also be an activist, or part of your local community. talk to your neighbours, join friends of the earth, or just join the library and read up on stuff that interests you.

heymylastnameislewis

u could also switch ur energy suplier to on that gives u 100% eco friendly electricity.

jonnyw_2

Unless its off the subject could someone explain to me why being "green" is the same as being ethical please?

heymylastnameislewis

becuase ur doing the right thing?

d.o.o.g

caroline1973lefty wrote:

7. buy mostly UK-grown, seasonal fresh food, and grow something - lettuce?

I read an article recently that said Lettuce is one of the biggest wastes of the Earth's resources. Yes it's essentially free food because it has no calories and goes straight through you, but growing it takes up a huge percentage of the earth and it has no real nutritional value.

DO_YOU_KNOW_DAVE

Is this true of Celery aswell? Somebody told me you burn more calories eating it than it gives you. So you could starve yourself to death by eating only celery!

Always turn the tap off when brushing your teeth!
Alot of this information is common sense, but I strongly feel it should be taught in primary school from day one.

ailuro2

If you find the local markets too expensive, grow your own organic veg, not necessarily in a vegetable patch, lots of salad leaves and herbs are pretty enough to go in the flower beds, or in a window box.
Check out church fetes etc. for cheap seedlings and plantlets, as they tend to be cheaper.

wigginsmum

Take on an allotment if there are any nearby - it doesn't take a huge amount of time (we work fulltime and have one with a friend). Grow organic fruit and veg, swop stuff you grow with other plotholders for a bit of variety, and get fit with all the digging and watering!

Can anyone suggest ways of recycling shower water? We don't have a bath but I'd love to use the water on the garden instead of seeing it go down the plughole.

chinup_3

allotments- exactly! how did we manage before the evil that is supermarkets?pretend they dont exist; now what will you do? same as your parents did and theirs before ie; grow their own food or find their nearest allotments and buy their IN SEASON [ now theres a novelty] surplus. growers always have a surplus, often organically or thereabouts grown and it will actually taste of food! cheaper than farmers markets by miles.
i bought second hand fridge size freezer last year. its full of rabbits from a local 'shooter' ,organic / free range, fish from a fish wholesalers and other bargains i have discoverd. point is make the freezer indispensible and save money and petrol and improve your diet!
oh yes; i recommend catching signal crayfish too; helps the enviroment and GREAT eating!!

ailuro2

wigginsmum, you can attach the drain from your bath to a pipe that will feed a soaker hose and water your garden with old bathwater. Make sure you use ecofriendly shampoos etc so they are not strong enough to kill the plants.Obviously this method works best when the bathroom is upstairs.

Keeping greywater (ie old bathwater or shower water) presents hygiene problems so the soaker hose deals with this nicely:D