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 :)

Posted too soon

I only had 2 children even though I really wanted 3
I hang my washing out to dry and try to limit tumble drying
Husband really wanted to fit a log burner in our house I point blank refused.
I recycle as much as I can and try to limit stuff sent to landfill - rehome as much as I can

We don't eat meat, ever.
We only buy local vegetables and fruits
We don't eat processed food or ready meals except maybe once every few months
We don't have a car.
I have 5 pairs of shoes and 2 pairs of jeans; the rest of my wardrobe is similarly capsule
We have to fly because family lives overseas but we don't do frequent holidays.

However,I would say that all the above is what I would do even if climate change wasn't real. I don't have more than two pairs of jeans because I don't need them. So not really a sacrifice.

I suppose I could reduce my plastics further and buy bar soap.

Oh yes, I only have 2 children but that is because I do not want any more. So I guess that is not for climate change either.

@boydy99 what is a guardian for solitary bees?

The problem is we all want to do things, paddle boarding, cycling (for leisure), go on holidays... these all add to our carbon foot print and we don't want to give them up!

I want to go to the Pyrenees for a cycling event - should i? the ferry will still run, as will the event but i didn't buy a new bike (well i did but a 2nd hand one) nor new kit and i haven't replaced my car and have moved my pension now.... so thats all ok.

But its not is it, just making excuses to justify what i want to do......

@DolphinFC

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.

This. I have lovely friends who only use bar shampoo and recycle a lot, but they drive massive Range Rovers and fly on holiday twice a year. It's those things that count.

Im going to try and phase out milk...comes in gigantic plastic bottles and cows produce methane. I have black coffee now as on diet.
Am going to try to buy 2nd hand.
Also boycott;
Macdonalds
Nestle
Monsanto
Amazon
Etc.

I love this thread!

I started to implement small changes at the beginning of 2020, and every time I fell confident enough I add a new goal.

• local and seasonal produce only
• local meat only, reducing also consumption
• reducing food waste by planning meals
• trying to buy as much "refills" as possible
• started my own garden with vegetables and fruit. Living off my garden during summer season.
• instituted a "fly cap". Max 1 flight/year, no oversea travels.
• started going to work with the train instead of my car
• buying only second hand clothes. No clothes allowed from "fast fashion" stores
• decreasing indoor temperature during winter
• we are currently getting offers to switch from our oil based heating system to an hybrid solar panel - heat pump

And the most difficult thing ever:
I buy only made in Europe stuff. For everything. This is honestly a huge pain in the ass and getting more and more difficult...how sad is this???
If I cannot find what I need made in Europe, I buy it second hand. (Only exception to this rules are medical items and drugs).

The fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions. Even if we feel we can't make much of a difference in other ways, we can directly as consumers in this and other industries.

@BahHumbygge that sounds really interesting, thank you for that.

The fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions.

I didn’t know that. Food for thought indeed.

It needs to be radical, though.
How many people are prepared to give up their cars and never fly again?

@Maireas

It needs to be radical, though. How many people are prepared to give up their cars and never fly again?

I am not sure we would need to if the big businesses, government and manufacturing changed radically. A greener life could be achieved elsewhere. They are looking at more environmentally friendly ways to fly.

I think that needs to happen, @cleocleo16.
Electric cars are definitely a way forward.
People are so used to flying abroad every summer. The aibu board is full of miserable people who've had to holiday in the UK and can't wait to resume the package and all inclusive holidays.

Anyone looking to go abroad but not wanting to fly so much, I can really recommend long-distance rail. Not as fast as flying but more pleasant in other ways too. www.seat61.com has routes for getting to most places in Europe with information on train/ferry options, where to stay for stopovers and how to buy tickets.

I buy from 'the company shop' which uses food on its sell by date or various reasons, which would otherwise end up in a skip. 3 packs of organic chicken drumsticks for a £1. Also helps my purse.
I use soap now instead of liquid soap.
I use freecycle as much as possible.

Trying to take a flask of coffee instead of buying one but struggling as I much prefer takeaway ones.
Have a compost bin and recycle via local council.
Hot water bottle instead of electric blanket in the winter.
House is heavily insulated.

No water in bottles and I have a soda stream.

Maireas, we've given up flying and have reduced from two to one car, which DH needs for work. I rarely drive now.

I’ve no idea how it would be administered, but I like the idea of a personal carbon allowance. That way, people can prioritise what’s important to them and make sacrifices they find easier.

I'd like to give up the car completely, but public transport is awful where I live.
I'm just looking at the amount of plastic in our recycling bin and wondering how to reduce it.

I despair at threads like this. If you care about the environment then you need to make changes that you find difficult or life-limiting. The point is if everyone makes small changes, the benefit will be very small. "DH needs car for work" or "I have medical condition so need to use tumble drier" or "I only have five pairs of shoes" (5! Got 10 feet then?). Give up the car even it means losing the job! Put up with damp clothes on an airer if you can't get outside! Own maximum of two pairs of shoes, one smart and one casual.

The report yesterday was quite clear - people need to understand it's a choice between irreparable damage to the planet, or serious changes to our lives that will affect our quality of life. I've chosen the former because the worst effects of climate change won't happen until after I'm dead. If people choose the latter course that's fine. But please: don't kid yourselves that "one small thing you do each week" will help tackle climate change in a meaningful way.

It needs to hurt.

@midgemagneto

Lots of single individuals asking for the right to vote lead to votes for all

Lots of single individuals asking for the end to slavery led to the end of legal slavery

Lots of single individuals led to the creation of our national parks

If they each had not tried these things would not have happened

For the first time , I see enough single individuals making real changes to give me hope . Some of my friends are steaming ahead.

The story at work has also changed , it's not about enhancing brand it's "is this the right thing ?"

It's really fantastic that people are doing things

True but all these changes seemed to pass China by. And it’s China that’s at the centre of this again. So nothing we do will make any difference to how China behaves.

@Maireas

It needs to be radical, though. How many people are prepared to give up their cars and never fly again?

Well this is a good point. ^

Not enough people care enough to give up their luxuries unfortunately.

And very VERY few people can afford to buy an electric car at the cost of £25k to £30K. And paying it 'in monthly instalments' (as someone suggested earlier,) is a terrible idea. Most people live paycheque to paycheque, and can't afford to have an extra £200 a month going out of their bank account for the next 11 to 12 years!

And the bloody thing will be worthless by then. That's if it even lasts that long!

@ChainJane

I despair at threads like this. If you care about the environment then you need to make changes that you find difficult or life-limiting. The point is if everyone makes small changes, the benefit will be very small. "DH needs car for work" or "I have medical condition so need to use tumble drier" or "I only have five pairs of shoes" (5! Got 10 feet then?). Give up the car even it means losing the job! Put up with damp clothes on an airer if you can't get outside! Own maximum of two pairs of shoes, one smart and one casual.

The report yesterday was quite clear - people need to understand it's a choice between irreparable damage to the planet, or serious changes to our lives that will affect our quality of life. I've chosen the former because the worst effects of climate change won't happen until after I'm dead. If people choose the latter course that's fine. But please: don't kid yourselves that "one small thing you do each week" will help tackle climate change in a meaningful way.

It needs to hurt.

It feels a bit rich for someone who has decided to do nothing because it won’t affect them to criticise me for using a tumble dryer because I am often physically incapable of hanging clothes up. How exceptionally judgemental and rude.

Small changes, made by many people, can add up to something big. Small changes can also lead to bigger ones, and be done alongside bigger ones. Nothing, on the other hand, is always just nothing.

“I am not sure we would need to if the big businesses, government and manufacturing changed radically. A greener life could be achieved elsewhere. They are looking at more environmentally friendly ways to fly.”

Stop buying from corporations & big business in the first place! The only way to a greener life is to cut out consumerism, don’t buy industrially manufactured goods and fuels. There are no environmentally friendly ways to fly (unless you are a bird, bat or insect). By all means take one or two flights for a trip of a lifetime while they’re still running, but all routine business, vacation and hen/stag party flights have to be curtailed. See my post above about why lithium batteries are a catastrophe for the environment... miniscule energy density capacity compared to fossil fuels, plus large regions of the planet have to be torn up to mine the ores, leaving desecrated heavily toxic landscapes in their wake. It’s just another form of colonialism that local indigenous peoples and peasant farmers have to endure.

Another documentary here - En El Nombre de Litio - In the Name of Lithium, about how indigenous Argentinians are being impacted by lithium extraction in the salt flats in the north of the country. Free, 75 mins & in Spanish with Eng subs.

vimeo.com/579971152

I think that threads like this (well meaning though they are) rather miss the point. The magnitude of the changes that will need to happen to achieve the reduction in emissions is way, way beyond anything that we as individuals can do. The danger of focusing on individual actions is that it lets the energy companies and the government off the hook. We feel like we are 'doing our bit' aided by British Petroleum's ever-so helpful carbon footprint calculator (ever wondered why they worked with Ogilvie Mather (massive advertising agency) to insert that into public consciousness?). So the number one thing to do is campaign and vote for parties / politicians that take this seriously because only they have the political power to impose change for the public good.

The best thing about individual actions is that it gives us a chance to voluntarily prepare for the changes that will come. So yes, voluntarily reduce the amount of meat that you eat? Great: that prepares you for the time when meat is in such short supply and so staggeringly expensive, that it won't be an option for the average family. Leave the car at home and cycle to work? Choose to live within a few kms of your workplace or to wfh? Brilliant: you are getting organised for when individual motorised forms of transport are banned, or are so expensive that very few people can afford to use them. Not flying abroad on holiday? Great: you are preparing for the time when mass, cheap tourism is simply not an option because the cost of flying has pushed it way beyond what an average family can afford.

At the moment lots of people are choosing to do the above as a lifestyle choice. If we are to achieve the emissions reductions that we have been told are required, all of the things mentioned on this thread and many many more are either going to be obligatory - i.e. not a choice - or will simply be priced out of reach.