Would anyone be interested in trying to do one small thing each week to tackle climate change?

[riotlady]

I’ve seen a few threads on aibu recently with people panicking about climate change and I often find myself worrying about it too, especially in light of the report published today. Studies show that one of the best ways to combat anxiety is to feel like you’re doing something about the problem, so I’ve decided to challenge myself to do one small thing to reduce my impact on the planet each week. I’m wondering if anyone would like to join me? I’m thinking small actions like walking or cycling a journey when you would normally take the car, swapping shower gel for bar soap, switching to a greener energy supplier, etc. No judgement about what is and isn’t feasible for people- for example I have ME and am very fatigued, so often use my tumble drier instead of hanging things out as I just don’t have the energy. There’s no point guilting myself over that, so I might as well focus on the things that I CAN change.

I’ve just sent an email to my MP so that’s my start to this week :)

Didn’t mean to leave voting on, oh well

It's a nice idea. I don't know how much difference it will make. We need to be making major changes, though of course those usually start with small ones.

I'd love to join you OP, if every single one of us took just one step like writing to their MP, to tell them that they want more action taken over climate change, think of the good that could be done! It's the 'it's only me, what difference can I make' attitude that annoys me. So, I'm going to follow in your footsteps and am off to write to my MP too! Anyone else going to join us?

OP, let me know what you plan to do for your next move would you?

Lovely idea for a thread.

Not sure if this counts but I'm saying no to any new plastic toys. I have two daughters, both love cars, tracks and dinosaurs. eBay or second hand only for anything plastic is the new rule going forward.

I understand people want to buy them things but have asked they be second hand or books or experience type things.

I’m in. Small changes add up to big changes. In the last year we have:
Bought a soda stream
Switched from shower gel to soap
Shampoo bars
Use refill shops and take own containers
Reduced our consumption of meat
Banned cling film, bottled water and wipes
Tried to buy fruit and veg which is local and not plastic wrapped
Use Smol washing pods
Use washable make up remover pads and face masks
Buy in charity shops and reuse and recycle.

Still a lot of things we can do. My car is diesel so that needs to go. But every little helps. Please, just change ONE thing!!

We’re, as a family going to start by reducing our meat intake per week.

I'm in.

I recently bought beeswax wraps to use in place of cling film. Work well with cheese (we eat loads).

One easy thing most people could do which would actually have an enormous impact is stopping eating meat (or at least reducing it). Apart from not having children it’s the single most impactful thing a person can do to reduce their environmental impact.

If giving up meat completely feels too much, try keeping it for once or twice a week. It’s also much better for you to do so, so double win!

We only eat meat at weekends.

Yep, I'll do it.

I think this is such a good idea. It is so easy to feel helpless but actually what we do can make a difference.

Shampoo bar are really good I have also just switched to a cleansing bar too. Companies are producing more eco options now they know it is viable.

I am already veggie but including more vegan food into our diets and encouraging the DC to eat more vegan meals.

We already get loads secondhand and all our furniture comes from Facebook marketplace.

I would like to read the book how bad is bananas mentioned on the previous thread. It would be good to understand about the environmental impact of different everyday things.

A local veg box delivery might be worth trying too.

I’m in. I’ve been very anxious about climate change recently, and have decided that we can make changes as a family. I know this will make little to no impact, but if we all do our bit, then it can only be a good thing. Ultimately, it’s the world leaders that can make the biggest impact.
We had a chat as a family today, and discussed what changes we could make. I don’t eat meat, and the rest of the family eat much. One of the things we would like to do is reduce our plastic packaging. I will read through the ideas above and make all the changes we can.

I'm already not having kids - anything else I could possibly do will be a drop in the ocean compared to that.

Lovely to see what people are doing!

I think reducing meat is our next step. I was actually vegetarian for 12 years and started eating meat when I was pregnant because I had mad cravings! DD is 3 now and we are still eating meat several times a week.

I get a veg box from Riverford @Felldownabackdonhole and it’s great! Bit more expensive than shopping in the supermarket but the quality is lovely, no plastic packaging and encourages us to eat a bigger variety of veg.

Perhaps Felldownabackdonhole you/we could try growing our own fruit and veg, thereby cutting down on even more transportation? I realise that this isn't always viable, but my daughter lives in a flat without even a balcony, and still managed to grow a tomato plant!

Great to see others committing to this thread too!

Love this!
We use ocean saver house cleaning products. Great cleaners and it minimises the transport of water used in cleaning products (therefore less lorries transporting product), and you reuse the same plastic bottles

I've been doing this for a while now and I find if you change 1 thing a month, it starts to become habit after a month. So 1 change a month is completely manageable, not to daunting.

After 3 years our bathroom is 90% plastic free (can't get on with toothpaste replacement stuff), kitchen is mostly plastic free except reusable storage containers and the odd treat or emergency supermarket pasta bag if I can't get to a zero waste shop. Toys and clothes I've always been thrifty on ebay anyway. Electric car, green energy supplier and generally watching our energy consumption.

Great thread. I can easily lower my meat intake so will definitely do that.

I really want to get an electric car but just can't afford one. I suppose the obvious better action is walking/public transport. I need to get over the covid anxiety in regards to the public transport though.

I like this thread! Trying out shampoo bars instead of bottles and beeswax wraps instead of clingfilm.

What a positive thread. :) thank you OP.
I do these things also plus things like bee friendly organic gardening, have a rain tank to collect rain water for garden, etc.

To my mind it’s more about reducing resource use and waste so I’m low footprint on planet. We can ensure continued life on Earth by not consuming too many resources or creating too much waste. Sustainability is what we can all aim for and realistically achieve. So am happy to look and see what more I can do. Watching for new ideas.

-Buy secondhand where possible, especially clothes, shoes, electronics, household items (furniture, white goods e.t.c). I'm trying to be more conscious about just buying what I need and making it last as long as possible.

-Change to an energy supplier that uses renewable energy.

-Change investments to invest in more environmentally friendly companies/funds.

-Avoid buying products with palm oil.

-I'm a veggie but I try to minimise the amount of dairy that I eat but try to be careful about what I'm replacing it with.

-Trying to be more organised so that I can avoid trips in the car that could have been avoided.

How are you getting on with the shampoo bars @GoldenOmber? I tried a Lush one years ago when I went backpacking and it wasn’t great but assume things have improved since then!

@StripeyDeckchair

I'm in.

I recently bought beeswax wraps to use in place of cling film. Work well with cheese (we eat loads).

I love these! I bought some last year - a bit pricy initially compared to cling film but obviously last for ages (forever?).

I've been trying to make changes personally for a while now but this week I'm working on our office - we don't have recycling because the council are a pain in the arse (v small business, but still, 12 peoples' worth of lunches etc adds up to a fair bit of recyclable waste!), and we have a coffee machine with the pod things. I'm going to arrange a business recycling firm to do regular collections and I'm going to buy ground coffee and the reusable pods... it's a start :)

I buy fruit & veg from local greengrocers / market & take mesh bags to put it in. Already veggie, no kids, no car, I think the next steps are to move to buying seasonal fruit & veg as much as possible & using the nearest zero waste shop for pasta, oats etc.

Disclaimer: it’s probably a hell of a lot simpler to go green when it’s just me & I live in London.

Don't use the Internet for 1 day a week.

It uses up far more resources then you'd think.