to ask if anyone fancies joining a mumsnet climate crisis club

[areyoureadytobestrong]

Hi all, I've got a few "soft" resolutions about changing behaviours and I could do with being part of some sort of community to help me keep them.

I've broached to my family the idea that we should get the train on future holidays rather than flying (except for seeing grandparents in the US which I can't really do much about). It's doable but will take a bit of planning and determination.

Also I found out that my pension is invested in British American Tobacco which absolutely ridiculous and I'd like to change it (I'm self-employed so if I can just get round to it I could change this).

Lastly I left Ecotricity when I was on a savings spree a while ago and regret it. I ought to go back to them......

I was fairly active in campaigning about climate change back in 2009 but we gave up on our local group because people wouldn't engage after the recession. That seems to have changed now and I no longer feel like it's a lone battle round here.

Will wait and see if anyone turns up on the thread! It is a crisis that's going to affect our children after all.....

I've done the nighttime riviera a couple of times as I live in Cornwall, but I've done it the 'cheap' way ie buying a seat and just kipping on the floor! It's ok. Apart from the time I was sleeping under the seat using my bag as a pillow and someone tried to nick it from under me :-)
Better than driving, as long as the line doesn't get closed or swept out to sea or so on; have been on bus replacements and taxis back down home as well which is a nightmare.
Cheaper and more frequent train journeys to the sw, and better car share and public transport when you're here, would be a fantastic gain.

"or swept out to sea" :)

I am trying to book trains more in advance so they get more affordable.

we were also saying yesterday that our car costs £600/year to run but we barely use it so it's a waste of money really. But it's easy to say that when the weather outside is nice....

Can you start with all the people on the "I use my tumble dryer 100% of the time" thread please! I was (metaphorically) banging my head against the wall at that one.

I've not flown for almost 7 years, not eaten red meat for over 30 years, don't own a tumble dryer, save water and electricity and only put my heating on rarely. Oh, and I don't eat bananas,. Not terribly smug, but I'm doing my best.

I'm on the Management Committee of the local village community shop and we are actively pursuing a green policy - removing plastic bags, recycling, not selling single use plastic stuff. Any more ideas for our shop would be gratefully received too.

for me (given the timescales) it's about changing hundreds/thousands/millions of people's behaviour at a time. So one person changing their life is inspirational but for me that inspiration is most powerful as a pointer towards how we could change the systems that govern us.

I know from my own campaigning mistakes in the past that everyone responds badly to being told off but yes let's try to suggest alternatives to the tumble drying thing.

Ooh, I will join in.
Always looking for more ideas.
Currently, I do;
Recycle
Upcycle
Save energy where possible
Walk to work
Kids walk to school
Packed lunches are in reuseable pouches and bento boxes
Reuseable water bottles
Eco cups
Eco friendly cleaning products
Soap and shampoo bars and deodorant
Reuseable razors
Meat free meal for half the week
Buy from refill shop when possible
Buy from fruit and veg market
Buy secondhand clothes where possible
Batch cook
Grow fruit and veg on allotment
Have chickens for eggs
Educate my kids to be resourceful and responsible
Make own wax wraps
Refuse single use plastic where possible
Eco egg for laundry
Moon cup for periods

Need to do better;
Tumble dryer use. Just put up a new washing line today as use dryer far too much.
Shop more locally rather than at big supermarkets
Find a decent butcher
Meal plan and batch cook more
Change energy supplier

I am sure there is loads more I dont do and could improve.

Sitting in the breast clinic today having a lump checked and discovered a magazine called Resurgence&Ecologist which really spoke to me (its very positive). I'm asking for a subscription for my birthday....

Pensions and investments, banking etc is a good point.

Aside from the stuff already been said, we keep any little bags (e.g. bread bags, cereal bags, bags from veg) if/when we have them and use them for freezer bags, bin bags for small bathroom bin & bags for food waste bin (they don't need to be the compostable bags in our area).

Also use the gazillions of "charity" bags which come through our door as bin bags rather than buy new.

Also went back to using soap rather than shower gels and I find it somehow keeps me smelling fresher too. Am trying the solid shampoo from lush and rather like it. Crystal deodorant is good and lasts ages (years!).

Using green cleaning products, ecover cream cleaner is good in the bathroom as is the Method bathroom one, we also use normal vinegar in spray bottles for most cleaning which works really well and can be used everywhere (and doesn't leave a smell, honest!). Super cheap too.

And I've bought washable cloths rather than the disposable blue type ones. And we use loofah washing up sponges, last absolutely ages and don't go manky like other ones, and can be put in the compost at the end of their life. They are easy to keep clean and work out no money at all as they last so long.

Any other little tips which people have - keep them coming!

areyoureadytobestrong hope you had good news re the lump.
Will check out that mag!

I'm the main driver for environmentally friendly stuff in our family but DH is mainly onboard and his company has a focus on the environment which is good.

Things we do that are good:
Walk or public transport everywhere, except for going on holiday
Recycling
Have seriously reduced single use plastics
Fruit & veg shops
Unsubscribe lots of emails to reduce servers usage
Limit the amount of new clothes
Use washable sanpro
No more kitchen towel etc.
Teaching DC about the environment and pollution - they've accepted no happy meals or kinder surprise eggs for example
Charity shop old toys etc.
Blankets on top of duvets instead of putting up the heating
Reducing meat consumation

Bad stuff
Using planes to fly to the UK to see family (not every time but sometimes)
Tumble dryer - not every wash but we live in a flat so no outside drying space. I don't excessively wash towels, sheets and clothes though

We don't fly, don't buy "stuff" etc...

but can anyone explain to me how becoming vegan in the Highlands of Scotland helps the environment. 6 months of the year the sheep/goats/cows/deer are grazed on hillsides that grow bog all but rough grass. the other 6 months they are fed on silage/draff nuts - the first from green lush grass which grows abundantly in sloping fields on the sides of the hills (I cannot eat grass!) the second a waste product from the whisky industry.

The hills need grazing to maintain biodiversity, the waste from the whisky industry needs to go somewhere, people can't eat grass cut from where nowt else grows.

Sometimes meat is good for the environment.

BeyondMyWits - I don't think the hills need grazing to maintain biodiversity. Sure, there will be a particular assemblage of species present as a result of many years of grazing, but biodiversity would probably be much higher if some of the land were rewilded and native forest allowed to return. For example: treesforlife.org.uk/about-us/

also: www.monbiot.com/2017/01/04/the-hills-are-dead/

There's certainly an argument for reducing livestock numbers in certain environments and rewilding is a good theoretical tool.
But cattle (and sheep to an extent) are a means of maintaining grassland which supports certain assemblages of wildlife, protects soil health & sequesters carbon as well as providing a sustainable source of protein for human consumption.
It has to be the 'right' type of livestock farming, but there is definitely a place for it in building an environment resilient to climate change.
In the UK we have the right circumstances to produce climate-positive beef & lamb; much harder to rear chicken & pork than isn't dependent on imported soya etc. And indoor-reared livestock doesn't support healthy grassland ecosystems either.
So I say properly reared red meat & dairy can contribute positively to our environmental footprint.

In my opinion upland 'rewilding' is compatible with meat production - we could eat a lot more venison than we do.
If we want to use land more sustainably, let's rewild the golf courses first.