Green Talk

[GreenGirafe]

Is anyone interested in a thread to discuss what small steps we can make to be more environmentally friendly. The intent would be to discuss but accept others opinions if they differ.

I will start with the fact I have realised, as my family ages that we are all on medications and vitamins that come in blister packs. I have started saving them in a pot on the kitchen windowsill to take to be recycled.

It’s great that you are interested, I wish more people were but CoL impacts so many, it’s a difficult balance.

The most important and impactful thing you can do is eat local seasonal food. Air freighted fruits and vegetables produce 10 to 12 kg of CO2 per 1 kg of food! Doesn’t have to be organic (nice but pricey), distance is key. Get local fruits, vegetables and meat.

Look at labels for things we can’t grow here, I’ve seen huge difference in distance with, for example, lemons. Spain v Peru.

Natural fabrics are better than man made.

These things have far more impact than saving a few bits of plastic (which you can recycle easily in LA waste).

I taught Environmental Science for many years.

Move your money out of the high street banks who all invest your cash in fossil fuels.

@Sminty2 and @TheDandyLion have you recently made any resolutions to alter your behaviour for the better? I assume as a given you have followed the advice you have posted here.

I don’t have huge reserves but recently invested £15k in solar panels and batteries for my house. Is this the sort of thing you mean?

HSBC, Barclays, NatWest, Lloyds etc all invest in fossil fuels and if you have an account with them is your money they are using to do it.

No new resolutions but I have recently had solar panels & batteries installed too. I don’t waste anything, food is homegrown and homemade, excess is given away or processed for storage.

I buy second hand books and make my own clothes. I do splurge on skin care, that’s my vice but every body has one 😊

I do my best and can only hope that others will too.

Yes I the idea of the thread was a how can we do our best as opposed to sweeping statements about how we must not do X.

I avoid AI wherever possible - obviously it’s getting harder especially with rubbish customer service bots. I’m also trying to cut down on my digital / cloud storage as thats a carbon footprint issue that is easily overlooked.

Then the obvious try and do a lot zero waste food and toiletry shopping but harder since moving out of city centre.
I love my shampoo bars - i don’t buy ethical ones sadly but I’ve only found brand that doesn’t ruin my hair. Still have to use bottled stuff every few weeks but seriously cut that down too. It’s Garnier ultimate blends - but used to be everywhere on the high street but harder to find now.

I buy seasonal veg from riverford even their stuff grow abroad is ship freighted not air - and they worked out when/ where it’s better for the environment to grow food in a hotter climate and ship it rather than artificially creating a hot climate in the UK to save food miles. they’re very transparent about carbon footprint and still aeasonal. For me prioritising organic food is so important environmentally too.

i cycle and walk a lot but use public transport in bad or cold weather. We don’t have a car.

@Geronimode the IT issue is a really interesting one. I think back in the day we felt it was old fashioned and bad for the environment to have things paper based. It’s only now we see the amount of resources these vast data centre use that we are seeing the true environmental cost. I have recently been going back over old emails and trying to delete the ones no longer needed.

@TheDandyLion I was not aware that some banks are more environmentally conscious than others though now you say it I can see it might be true. Is this something you have looked into and do you know which are the most green?