ONE SMALL STEP
…for humankind can be a giant leap for the planet. So what simple changes can we make to help create a greener world?
The climate crisis is arguably the greatest threat the world has ever faced. But there’s plenty we, as individuals, can do to make a difference. Whether it’s changing our buying habits, our diet, the way we travel or just remembering to switch off lights and appliances when we leave a room, it all helps to mitigate the damage.
Sir David Attenborough has called global warming ‘the greatest threat in thousands of years’, and we’re running out of time to fight it. Here are seven changes we can make today to help prevent further impact on the lives of future generations.
1 Eat less meat and dairy
Livestock requires land and water, and the animals produce large volumes of methane, so reducing your consumption is an effective way of reducing your impact on the environment.
Going vegan could reduce your dietary carbon footprint by 50%, but even going meat-free one day a week will have a positive impact – and manufacturers are rising to the challenge of meeting the growing demand for alternatives.
Consider the sustainability of the fish you eat, too. Check the Marine Conservation Society Good Fish Guide (mcsuk.org/goodfishguide) to see which fish are most at risk.
2 Speak up
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg warned politicians at last year’s COP summit that they need to do more to reduce carbon emissions. ‘They’ve now had 30 years of “blah, blah, blah” and where has that led us?’ said the 19-year-old.
World leaders need to take the biggest steps, but we can do our bit by refusing to accept the ‘blah, blah, blah’. Read up on climate change and take action to demand more of those in power. If public transport or recycling could be better in your borough, let the council know. Write to your MP or check out Friends of the Earth (friends oftheearth.uk), which has a long list of petitions on everything from reducing plastic pollution to local climate action plans.
3 Buy less stuff
Every single item we buy increases our carbon footprint. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, come from the production, transport, use and disposal of products and services. These emissions trap heat in the atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise, glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise. Cut down on the clothes you buy that are hardly worn, and gimmicky plastic gifts you give, knowing they will soon be in a bin. Consider the packaging that accompanies each individual mail-order delivery. If we all stopped buying so much stuff, we’d have more money and a cleaner planet.
Take steps to make a difference, and feel good that you’re doing something rather than despairing that others might not be.
SETTING YOUR THERMOSTAT JUST 1°C LOWER COULD SAVE YOU £55 A YEAR IN FUEL BILLS
4 Travel better
First and foremost, clean up your car usage. Before they even hit the road, cars have a carbon footprint caused by the materials needed to build them. That footprint increases with the fuel they burn and the emissions they produce. The impact grows bigger still when they need to be disposed of. Sales of electric cars are growing in the UK, but in the first half of 2021, they accounted for just 11.4% of registered vehicles. If we want to live a greener life, we must do better. In this country, over half of all car journeys could be made on a bike in less than 20 minutes, while a bus full of passengers negates the need for 50 car journeys, and a full train makes several hundred vehicles unnecessary. Better still, why not walk!
5 Recycle, recycle, recycle
If you sent every bit of your household waste to landfill, it would stay there for generations, leaving a terrible legacy for future generations to deal with. By recycling well, we put less in the tip and repurpose materials, reducing demand on resources, saving energy in the manufacturing process and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But if you get it wrong, you could be doing more harm than good. Rogue items ruin entire batches and increase waste sent to landfill. Local authorities have their own rules. To discover yours, go to recyclenow.com/ local-recycling.
6 Save energy
Unless you use 100% renewable energy, the more you burn, the more fossil fuels are needed and the more greenhouse gases will be produced. So take steps to reduce your use of gas and electricity. Thermostats are typically set to 18-21°C, but just one degree lower could cut your heating bills by £55 a year and reduce your annual CO² footprint by 300kg. Insulate your home and check your boiler and appliances are energy efficient. Switching to a renewable energy supplier is easy on comparison sites like Big Clean Switch (bigcleanswitch.org).
7 Throw away less food
Globally, we produce enough food to feed everyone, and yet people are still going hungry. But this injustice is not the only problem. A third of the food produced globally is never eaten and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions when it’s sent to landfill. It’s estimated that the average UK family throws away more than £800 worth of food every year but, by living a zero-waste lifestyle and shopping more mindfully we can change that. Here’s how:
✣ Transform: Make croutons from stale bread and banana bread from overripe bananas.
✣ Preserve: Make jams and pickles with leftover fruit and veg.
✣ Freeze: Cheese, ginger, chillies and more are fine in the freezer and can be grated while still frozen.
✣ Experiment: Use everything. Veg skin and leaves are nutrient-rich, and roast carcasses make delicious stock. ✣ Buy imperfect fruit and veg:
Between 20-40% of crops in the UK don’t reach stores because they’re considered less than perfect. Look out for misshapen fruit and veg in some supermarkets – they may not be lookers, but they’re cheaper and just as good.