Master Grazia’s life skills

Angela Terry, environmental scientist and consumer expert Environmental damage may seem like an overwhelming problem, but you can make a big difference – and save money – with some small lifestyle changes:

1. Invest just 20 minutes in making the change to green electricity (energy from renewable sources, rather than sources like oil or coal) – on average you save about £150 every time you switch. There are lots of dedicated companies out there, but most of the big providers offer a green option too. The new company will even sort out the switch.

2. Try to avoid long-haul flying – a holiday in Cornwall or the South of France will have much less of an environmental impact than going to LA.

3. Farming animals for red meat and dairy produces a lot of methane, which is among the worst of the greenhouse gases. Introduce meat-free Mondays, or swap meat for fish on Fridays; shifting even slightly towards a plant-based diet is a good thing to aim for.

4. When the central heating kicks in, keep your thermostat at 19 degrees. Heat is the main use of energy in the UK, so the best thing you can do is to get your home insulated.

5. Cars are the biggest source of CO2 emissions in the UK, so cycle, walk or take public transport whenever possible – or get an electric car. You can even lease it, which works out cheaper and makes sense, because the technology behind them is changing so quickly.

6. A third of our food is thrown away; it’s a huge waste because it takes so much energy to grow food. See if your council operates a food waste recycling scheme. This means that rather than going into landfill (where, trapped underground, rotting food produces methane), it will go to a processing plant and be transformed into low-carbon electricity or compost. Visit onehome.org.uk for more tips