All of the countries are discussing climate change. But what can we do ?

wort

Just to say I recently watched the earth shot prize : repairing our planet. With David Attenborough and Prince William, I found it really interesting they were showing the damage we are doing to the planet then showing the things people are doing to reverse it. Very often people you wouldn’t expect a 12 year old girl, or someone with next to nothing of their own , to inventors . I would like to think that is inspiring for all to do our bit.
its on iplayer if you want to watch it. 5 episodes in all.

Apintplease

tooldle said:

JIL said:

My dad asked my son over the weekend. Why should we bother doing the small things, when Russia and China just carry on as they are. My son answered because it's our world and our responsibility.
Something I hadnt thought about, is we meet our targets better than some other countries because we are happy for other countries to make the white goods and phones and computers and import them to use and chuck away when we want an upgrade.
We still import fossil fuels, we still contribute to the deforestation by stealth.
I feel that ultimately governments have to ALL work together but in the meantime we all have to do our bit.

I agree. As I understand it the  UK doesn't currently count emissions relating to goods and services imported from overseas, in our figures. Our consumption drives emissions across the globe.

For anyone who is interested in 'calculating' their own carbon footprint, there are many calculators available on the internet. If nothing else it gives a measure of the degree of change required from us as individual to reach net zero. Keeping the status quo will not get us there.

Ive tried a few of those calculators and they are pretty confusing.

First one I tired was only interested in the use of fossil fuels in running a home and travel, and the 2nd, whilst it asked for how many in the household, seemed to only divide the fossil fuels used by the 3. When I put in the total expenditure for the 3 of us for food, entertainment, furniture, clothing etc, it came back with a footprint the size of the Isle of Wight 

The first one came back at 3.5 tonne for me for the heating and electricity for the home, and all travel taken last year, by car, plane, ferry or PT

I cant cut the heating down any further. Being rural we have to use oil, we have no gas and electricity here is a lot dearer then you pay on the mainland, We also have to supplement the oil with smokeless and wood

Im lucky that I work all day in extremely cold conditions during the winter so I personally dont like a hot house. However Mother is sat all day at home, she needs the heating on. We have put in electric heaters in her rooms so she can boost the heat in the room she is using, but she doesn't understand why she cant have the CH on all day. For her - being 83 - shes done all there scrimping and feels very hard done by having to wear a jumper and socks in the house for most of the year

florianatwobob

I’m be been reading this thread with interest and I do think that frugaldom has a definite cross over with being more eco friendly. 

I’ve never driven which whilst inconvenient at times hasn’t stopped me doing anything or going anywhere I really want. I started a new job in 2019 for my local authority who had declared a climate emergency. I was, much to my amusement, hailed as some kind of eco warrior. 

Regarding white goods when I have to replace them I try to find the most energy efficient and then try to keep them running for as long as possible. I was also fortunate to work for a
company that wanted to be the first carbon neutral insurance company and made grants available to help their staff to upgrade heating systems, windows, white goods etc. I took full advantage! My house is now very toasty. 

My family all give me ‘a look’ when I launch on a new recycling mission and then roll over when I mutter ‘think about the turtles’. Our local Sainsbury’s has now extended their plastic recycling and we now have a new recycling crate. 

Kerbside recycling here is pretty good overall and we’re working on our reducing landfill waste. We’re also trying to reduce recycling or make better choices e.g metal and glass rather than plastics where possible. 

On a personal note I’ve also switched over to reusable sanitary products, closed loop recycled razor blades and now natural deodorant in reusable tins. Closed loop recycled tooth brushes are next but I have a few heads to use and recycle first. 

I also think having older parents and money being tight when I was little helps me. Mum & Dad both lived through WW2 so there was a make do and mend mentality and at times the ‘Dunkirk Spirit’ was a bit much but as I’ve got older I do realise just how eco friendly both my parents were just because of the way they grew up and that has rubbed off on me and some of it is just simple things like clothes going out on the line to dry. 

Oh that was more of an essay than I expected!

tooldle

A useful article from this morning's Guardian. It references the GIKI Badges App, which delivers info on the sustainability of a food product through scanning its bar code. 
The article is here Sustainable gin and family-sized crisps! My week eating a climatarian diet | Food | The Guardian

KxMx

Plastic use is something I've been addressing more this year.

I've found laundry products and facial tissues that are plastic free.

I've started using refills on three household products (conditioner, all purpose spray and washing up liquid) and plan to add another 2 (bubble bath, white vinegar) next year when my current containers are empty.

Switched to bio degradable, plant based face wipes.

Switched to a shampoo bar and bar soap.

Use tupperware and foil over cling film and food bags where possible, which is most of the time. Swapped disposable baking foil trays for a metal dish, though I'm keeping cake tin paper liners for now. 

Considered reusable sanitary products but I've a huge pile of disposables and I don't have many periods so not worthwhile for me, though I know I could donate them to a food bank. 

Hair removal I now have battery & mains epilators so no more creams. 

Didn't like the 100% recyled toilet paper my brand offers (and ended up using more!) so didn't keep that change. 

I recycle everything I can in blue bin, plus take glass, textiles and batteries to other recycling points. 

CapricornLass

Martin has been talking about water services and reducing costs of that today.    However, its also about reducing the amount of water that you use. So here are some things that I am doing to help reduce my water use.

First off, hair does not need to be washed every day.  I had a scalp problem a couple of years ago, and was told off by my doctor for washing my hair several times a week.  Once a week is ample, she said.  It took a little while (if you are wash your hair once a day, then extend the time between washes by half a day each time), but yes, my hair is quite happy with once a week.  Interestingly enough, I found war-time literature which suggested that hair was being washed once a fortnight.  It has a knock on effect of course, on the amount of shampoo/conditioner/other hair products you use.

Secondly, you don't need to have a shower every day either.  You can use a basin of water and have an old-fashioned strip wash instead.  You can go further - you can follow the example of our ancestors and use a rubbing cloth - i.e, a flannel.  Rub it briskly over your body, and you will be left feeling fresh and clean.  I admit to using a mixture of the two on the days when I don't have a shower.

Thirdly, you can use vodka, a sponge and airing stuff on the line to help with with cleaning clothing.  I use this particularly with jeans.  Go over the jeans carefully and sponge any marks or stains on them.  Then turn them inside out, peg them out on the line, and then spray them with vodka .  Leave them to dry and to air for a while.  This is a tip I learnt from people in the theatre.  Its AMAZING just how many costumes are non-washable, and they use vodka to keep them clean and fresh between perfomances.  It would probably work well on other things - jackets?  I would do a little test spray somewhere inconspicous first though.  Vodka doesn't need to be the expensive stuff - the cheaper stuff is perfectly fine!

mumf

Do everything you can. However,without diesel,the world will starve. Everything runs on diesel.Electric won’t power a 40’ articulated lorry full of bricks

tooldle

mumf said:

Do everything you can. However,without diesel,the world will starve. Everything runs on diesel.Electric won’t power a 40’ articulated lorry full of bricks

Manufacturers have electric offerings, Volvo trucks immediately spring to mind. Tesla have been working on similar for a good few years, although i believe their launch has been delayed. 
https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/trucks/alternative-fuels/electric-trucks.html
Battery technology is improving with much research targeting potential super capacitor materials. Technology is not standing still.

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
Well this week I’ve still not needed the heat on. The weather it weird, it’s not even cold enough to be autumn, never mind winter. We did have flood warning because there were really high tides, but this is expected at this time of year.
I’ve made cleaning cloths from a couple of my really scruffy skirts. They were too far gone to donate. I also handed on some dressy clothes to my nieces, I bought them in the sales a couple of years ago but then realised that lots of sequins aren’t really me.

kacie

On my to do list for ages is to find a replacement for the green scouring clothes. I've seen plenty of softer ones but I need something rougher. I'm wondering if a loofah would work?