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 :)

Honestly guys I hate to sound negative but these small changes are like pissing in the wind.

It's going to take major government changes to fix this situation. Until then may aswell carry on as you are it really isn't going to make a difference

Also it's developing countries that cannot afford to make changes and developed countries that are too greedy to so not sure where we go from here

What @enoughforme said.

Small personal changes and large government changes are all needed and the later will be more likely if the government sees people taking action

I've got some jumpers and throws and plan to keep the heating down
Reduced meat and diary
Walk /train wherever possible
Avoid buying stuff

@enoughforme

Honestly guys I hate to sound negative but these small changes are like pissing in the wind.

It's going to take major government changes to fix this situation. Until then may aswell carry on as you are it really isn't going to make a difference

Yes WE KNOW governments need to act.

Feel free to do as little or as much as you want to in your own time and please let those of us who would like to make small changes in our own lives do that? Consider it a hobby if that helps you move on by.

@Iusedtobesoooomuchfun they are more like washable cotton wool pads.

We are using / have a:
Toothpaste tablets
Bamboo toilet paper
Bamboo toothbrushes
Smol cleaning products
Soda stream
No cling film
Smol washing tabs and dishwasher tabs
Soap
Shampoo and conditioner bars
Buy lose fruit and veg.

It's a start.

@enoughforme

Honestly guys I hate to sound negative but these small changes are like pissing in the wind.

It's going to take major government changes to fix this situation. Until then may aswell carry on as you are it really isn't going to make a difference

I get this. But isn't it worth trying? We are all responsible, we can't blame 'others' for not doing anything if we don't bother ourselves.

I'm under no illusion that my small changes will make the slightest impact. But if I don't change, and my neighbours don't, and the town doesn't, then we stand no chance of the country changing or other nations.

I'm trying to be a positive example to my DC. To lead by example and to practice what I preach.

And all the other cliches 😂

@StripeyDeckchair

I'm in.

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

I wanted to do this but they are soooo expensive!!

Love this idea for a thread, I’m in

I’ve made a lot of small changes already so will look through the thread for some inspiration.

I know few people who do lots of small things. Trouble is they then fly off long haul for their holidays and change their large car every 3 years.

Doing a few small things will ease your conscience. If you want to make a difference you have to make significant sacrifices.

Honestly I don't think small changes will make a jot of difference.

I think if you're want to make changes to feel like you're making a positive difference that's one thing / but if you're making them believing it's actually going to impact the situation I think you'd be deluding yourself.

Sorry! Just real talk lol, I'd love to feel differently but I just don't.

Okay, well, Mumsnet is full of other threads you can scoot along and post on. Perhaps try that?

I've just chosen not to buy some cool t-shirts that realty I don't need.

That's my big thing now, having gone mostly veggie and going by public transport, I'm slimming down what I purchase from new.

As well as stuff , can you think about less Heating in your home
Space heating is huge issue in the uk

And I'm all for sounds small things and constantly changing your habits slightly. It all helps and quite often leads onto other bigger things.

Yep, I wear jumpers more, brings the heating costs down.

Changes need to be bigger than just using shampoo bars or changing energy supplier.

People need to give up their apparent need for a foreign holiday or 3 every year. In fact the pandemic has probably made a difference purely because of the reduction in air travel. But people seem to think they need a foreign holiday when it’s an extravagance not a necessity.

We have a greengrocer here but they don’t sell loose veg, everything is in plastic packaging, so tbh it’s no different from going to sainsburys.

I buy all my meat from the butcher, will never be veggie.

But the truth is that a lot of these changes are expensive which is why so many people don’t make them.

Butcher meat is better quality but is more expensive.

Milk delivery comes in glass bottles but costs about 3x milk in plastic bottles.

until things become more affordable many people are just going to find it impossible to make the changes.

Stop buying anything that is made in China. They currently (nothing to do with cumulative emissions etc) contribute the most to global warming but we all buy what they produce so are culpable. Put pressure on Governments, companies etc to stop buying/selling what is produced there.

Not using straws, plastic cotton buds and what not isn’t going to save us at all, not remotely. Even if every single person in the UK turned everything off and lived as we did 500 years ago it wouldn’t matter. This is a global issue and has to be sorted out on a global scale.

@GoldenOmber

Okay, well, Mumsnet is full of other threads you can scoot along and post on. Perhaps try that?

Because it's an open forum - if my post offends you perhaps you could just scroll past it.

Great idea OP - I've been feeling really down about this for ages, and although I know huge changes are needed I think it'll help my mood to be at least doing something.

I've been looking into whether there's a good option for replacing my gas boiler yet, but I haven't found anything that seems do-able at the moment.

So this week I'm starting quite small and I've ordered a local vegetable box to reduce the amount I buy from the supermarkets, to reduce packaging and to support local businesses.

So to those of you saying that individual efforts won't make any difference, only government ones would.... What exactly would you say they need to do? And what impact could that have on climate change?

We're doing meatless Monday. And Fishy Thursday. Definitely eating a lot less red meat.

I've told the girls they can't preach at me about climate change unless they put the ruddy loo rolls in the recycling, rather than in the waste bin. That may sink in eventually - they love preaching.

It's amazing how our general waste has gone down since we got food waste bins. And we're actively seeking to reduce our general waste.

The girls (and we) have wised up to disposable clothing. I'm thinking of hitting the second hand shops, although, to be honest, most of what is in my wardrobe is older than my kids.

Anyone have any good experience of switching to a green energy supplier/tariff? I've considered it before but had such a miserable experience the last time I tried to swap suppliers it put me off for years.

A few things I do.
Grow my own fruit and veg.
Never buy imported fruit or veg. I've done this for 20 years. This is hard in winter, I miss my salads and fruit but my freezer is full of home grown beans, raspberries etc.
I use shampoo bars, just finished one that lasted 2 years.
Soap bars not liquid.
Re-use containers and jars.
Buy locally, farm shop, local butcher.
I eat less meat since DS went veggie but not giving up meat.

Everything makes a difference but I think you need to change more than one thing a week.

Some ideas for those looking for them:

Change your energy to a green tariff
If you have the ability, look into solar power
Showers not baths
Bar soap not shower gel
Use up what you have before buying new
Buy furniture second hand
Grow as much if your own food as possible
Keep bees/chickens
Install lots of Water butts
Compost as much as you can (but only if you aerate it properly)
Reuse before recycling
See if others want what you don’t use (Facebook marketplace or freecycle)
Insulate your house as much as possible
Reduce the amount of heat escape by minimising the amount you open doors in cold weather and draught proofing
Only heat the spaces you use and wear suitable clothing.
Turn everything off standby when not in use
Delete old emails and messages and eveything else taking up server space. Don’t send unnecessary emails or cc people in if they don’t need to be. Don’t send attachments if you don’t have to and don’t send whole chains for no reason.
Don’t go near Bitcoin
Install blinds and shutters and use them in hot weather
install a green roof on garages and garden buildings
Don’t buy fast fashion and pointless “stuff”
Reduce flying to an absolute minimum
Use public transport if you can or if you are rural get an electric vehicle and share journeys
Try to maximise every car journey and plan your route efficiently rather than making multiple small trips.
Watch TVs on a laptop rather than on big TVs
Share resources with friends. It isn’t necessary for everyone to own a drill they use twice a year
Don’t waste food at all. It’s one of the worst things you can do.
If you drive to the supermarket switch to online deliveries.
Don’t buy air freighted food
Eat seasonal food
Batch cook to use all of the heat you generate
Don’t buy cut flowers
Plant a wildflower patch
Don’t drink cows milk
Use old textiles to make dishcloths etc if they can’t be donated to charity
Think twice before getting additional pets
Buy second hand books and toys for children.
Buy quality items that will last and can be repaired.
Swap fizzy drinks in cans and bottles to a soda stream
Don’t buy bottled water ever
Dont buy cling film
Don’t have bonfires
Choose the loose or misshapen fruit and veg
Plant a tree (or donate to the woodland trust who will do it for you in a place where it won’t be dug up again)
Look into carbon offsetting but only with reputable companies like the woodland trust
Switch “things” for activities when thinking about kids birthdays
Learn to repair clothes.
Stop going on overseas holidays
Don’t assume paper packaging is better than plastic from a carbon perspective. It often isn’t.
Don’t buy cotton (it uses a massive amount of water). Denim in particular is really bad.

This is just a few - there are hundreds of things you can do to help.