10 things you could do to become more green and ethical

Jo138

Maybe I've just been a tad too altruistic then. I CHOSE not to have children after SERIOUS sensible thought.

I guess you do realise that the world is overpopulated? So who do you think should help stop the population rising? Not you I guess. Your genes are EXTREMELY valuable I suppose. Mine aren't.

CopperPlate_2

Perhaps. But that is your choice - whether one that was imposed or not. I don't know your circumstances and I'd never be one to say whether someone was right or wrong to make such a decision. At the end of the day, no-one on these boards knows anything of any substance about another, so shouldn't pass judgement. If you are telling me that you have chosen not to have children because you believe to do so is bad for the planet, then that is your choice. I have an opinion on that, but this is not the place to get into such an emotive discussion.

Yes, I'm aware the population is rising, and I've just contributed to that too. Shame on me for wanting to lead a fulfilling life. How selfish.

I think you'll see my posts on this thread have remained non-personal - something which you appear to feel isn't necessary. I don't agree with your arguments, nor do I agree with your views, but I at least have a little respect for them. Sorry, did.

artybee

HLK wrote:

My OH just won't believe this ( very intelligent guy that he is normally )- he says when they aren't plugged into a phone they are not using energy .. how do I convince him .. ?

Try this:
1) Plug in the charger but not the phone
2) Leave for about 15-30 minutes
3) Feel the charger. If it's warm to the touch then you can be satisfied that it has been consuming power and can be used to demonstrate to your OH that he is wrong. If it is not noticeably warm then you'll just have to trust the scientists when they say it has been consuming power.

Another test is this:
1) Plug in the charger and keep the wall socket switched off. Do not connect the phone.
2) Balance a compass (i.e. a thing that points north) on top or very close to the charger.
3) Note the needle position of the compass.
4) Turn on the charger.
5) Note how the compass needle moves.
6) Where did the electricity to create this electromagnetic field come from?

Remembering back to my A level physics days, there is a transformer coil in the charger, which will draw a small amount of current even with no load on the secondary coil.

tr3mor

CopperPlate wrote:

Yes, I'm aware the population is rising, and I've just contributed to that too. Shame on me for wanting to lead a fulfilling life. How selfish.

To be fair, the population has risen from around 2 billion in 1900 to around 6 billion now. This isn't because westerners are having 1.8 kids per couple.

We have no qualms about culling badgers or deer when they're damaging their habitat. It's hypocritical to say that every child born unto the world should have a happy and fulfilling three score and ten.

dolly_day_dream

tr3mor wrote:

To be fair, the population has risen from around 2 billion in 1900 to around 6 billion now. This isn't because westerners are having 1.8 kids per couple.

We have no qualms about culling badgers or deer when they're damaging their habitat. It's hypocritical to say that every child born unto the world should have a happy and fulfilling three score and ten.

methinks tr3mor that you like winding people up. How can you equate your chosen profession of teaching with a statement like that? Then of course it is very easy to make inflammatory remarks from behind the mask of anonymity. I do hope that no possible future employers manage to discover your true identity.

Ken-Dodds-Hairy-Knodule

dolly_day_dream wrote:

I do hope that no possible future employers manage to discover your true identity.

Why? s/he made a valid remark. There are too many people in the world, and humans are happy enough to kill of animals if they think there are "too many" of them.

So humans ARE hypocritical.

tr3mor

Why am I winding people up? I just state my opinion, many people disagree with me, that's fine. I don't see what teaching has to do with it - the job is to pass knowledge to the class not preach about the environmental effects of population growth!

I'm just saying that population growth is unsustainable and that our population cannot be growing since we're having less than one baby each.

In the UK we have 11.76 births per 1000 head of population. Some countries in the developing world have over 50 births per 1000 head.

Growth like this will just exacerbate problems in the future.

esthomizzy

Drummergirl wrote:

Here's an idea, a bit obvious but here goes. Peel your spuds with a peeler - not a knife. You remove less of the flesh, the vitamin C is just below the surface of the skin. More money in your pocket, and better for you.QUOTE]

I'm so lazy so I never peel potatoes, I just ignore the bits in recipes which call for peeling, I have skin in my mash too. I'm delighted to find this makes me greener and without trying too hurray - there's lots of good stuff in potato skin too I think.

Ted_Hutchinson

Stompydebs wrote:

My daughter who is now 17 has followed a vegan diet for 2 years, She is 100% healthy, and full of energy. My 10 year old is vegetarian and i eat meat on occasion. I have let my daughters make there own choices. I have actually found as well that buying vegan food is cheaper,,depending what you buy of course! I often cook vegan recipes,, also think that vegan and vegetarian food can be more tasty as well! I remember telling my mums partner who is in his mid 50's that my daughter was now a vegan ,, his reaction was " She needs looking at,, you dont want to mix with those wierdos",,,, Why are some people so ignorant??? GRRR!!!!

There seems to be a direct connection between the "Vegi" fashion of the teenagers and eating disorders which start typically in adolescence. Many surveys point to the abuse of vegetarianism as a mask for weight control. The vegetarian diet, a selective way of eating, might precede different eating disorders and increase the risk of developing anorexia nervosa.
You may also be interested in thread Cattle raised for beef cause more damage to planet than emissions from cars. and noting the link to the Mediterranean diet.

Justie

if every Briton bought a recycled wool item (jumper presumably) a year instead of a new one it would save 4,571 days of an average family's electricity needs...
and 371 million gallons of water :eek: just goes to show that natural isn't always that green...
(source Eve magazine's eco quiz - and I'm not sure how average an average family's electricity needs are either... all the following is also from the same quiz...)

a tonne of recycled paper takes less energy to make than a tonne of non-recycled paper - not rocket science - but how much less? Enough to power an average 3 bedroomed house for a year...

the average person produces 7 times their body weight in waste each year... (and we're not talking bodily waste)

one of the key ways to be greener and more ethical is to use everything you buy - we throw away on average 20% of the food bought from supermarkets each year