People more concerned about doing their washing quickly than the environment.

[Starryskiesinthesky]

AIBU to think it is totally depressing that people arent willing to make even small changes to try and stop the environmental crisis that is here. For example, not wanting to use an eco programme on machines because it takes longer, not prepared to dry clothes outside rather than use a dryer, driving everywhere rather than walking. If people who could, made small changes, it would all add up and we might be able to halt some of the damage we are doing to the environment and childrens futures.

@canigooutyet

I don't drive, own a drier or use planes.

What are you doing to encourage companies to use less packaging? Or to stop with the plastic bags they use?

The UK isn't even in the top 10 of the worst polluters
China
US
Russia
Japan
Germany
Iran
South Korea
Saudi Arabia
Indonesia

What are you doing to lecture them about reducing their pollution?

Nothing because that would be difficult. And everyone can look good while lecturing those at home for free.

In England, we get roughly 4 days a year to dry clothes outside. That doesn’t leave much time for the eco settings, I’m afraid.

Go away with your preaching

People do what they can, for the circumstances they live in. You have no idea what they can and can’t do from your ridiculous list, or if in fact they are already doing it

However, that’s no excuse for everyone else not to try and make small changes that do make an impact and delay the decline although they may not ultimately save the human species

Most people made small changes and are doing bits.
Just different bits to someone else. Doesn't make them wrong or too little. Just different

It taies the piss that we tell women (and it is usually women) need to dick about making their lives hellishly inconvenient by walking the school run, using cloth nappies and san pro, using eco spin cycles and drying out doors, arranging to shop locally, cooking vegan unprocessed food, cleaning windows with vinegar... meanwhile 70% of emissions come from just 10 multinational companies. And guess who profits most from those companies? Not the befannied among us, that's for sure.

And for what it’s worth I think washing machine manufacturers really don’t care whether people waste lots of electricity or water, they just want to tick the box of having an eco cycle that gives them a good rating. If you wanted to design something that would actually cut energy use across all households you’d make it much clearer and do some research with people who use them.

You made lots of broad statements. Are you basing them on research? Talking to people?
Because it's naive to assume any choice is made in isolation. For example, there are lots of factors that impact whether you use a dryer or a line outside.
You're presumably using a mobile phone or laptop to access MN. Have you considered not using social media since it's non-essential and the mining of coltan (for mobile phones etc) is creating an environmental and resource crisis in the DRC?
People choose their priorities.

You can't hand wash with modern detergents ime - they give me dermatitis - but somehow the argument is that using a washing machine and dishwasher is more environmentally friendly. Surely pumping those strong detergents into the earth (ok it goes to sewage works - but it's still in the environment) day in day out is actually bad for the environment. Detergent is not made from natural stuff. It's made from oil (correct me if I'm wrong) so we are putting that onto the earth without a thought.

What's the point? Until China, India and all the major smog cloud countries get on it. We are doomed!

I do my bit but I don't think encouraging people to do a eco cycle wash is going to have much effect.

@Feelslikealot

Do you have children? If so, congrats. You've already cancelled out any environmental benefit you might get from using eco cycles on your washing machine.

This!! I have no kids but I’m currently in my car and use an extra rinse on all my washes.

50 years time..

Hey grandma what did you do when you were younger to reduce your carbon footprint knowing that an environmental catastrophe was approaching if you did nothing?

Oh I did fuck all as India and China didn’t do anything.

Grandma, I am finding breathing quite hard and the water is making me sick but I need to drink as it is so hot

Yeah, this isn't entirely fair. We use the 3-hour cycle on our washing machine all day because that's the one designed to take a full 6-7 kg load (oddly enough, the "eco" labelled cycles on our washer only take 2-3 kg... not very practical for a family of five).

But we also drive SUVs because we need cars that large to take our entire family places, and they're older models because that is what we could afford to buy, even after taking out a loan. We each have a car because the public transport offering in our city does not meet our needs (in our case, the busses don't come frequently enough, all busses lead to the city centre, good luck if your office is in the suburbs on an industrial estate).

Our utility bills go to a company that supports renewable energy. But we use a gas boiler to heat the house. We do not have £10,000+ just sitting around somewhere that we could use to swap to a heat pump, hydrogen is years away from being rolled out, blue hydrogen is even worse in terms of total CO2e output, green hydrogen is still a concept rather than commercial, and the safety risk of hydrogen has yet to be communicated clearly to households. So... we could freeze, I guess? I already have the thermostat turned down to 17C, but eventually we need to burn hydrocarbons to heat the house and have hot water.

We can and have been eating more plant based meals. But we cook them on a gas hob.

Do our own personal habits need to change to make a better world? Yes, they do. But we also need to be set up for success, which AFAIK is part of the call for a "just transition".

I'd gut the house and put in a heat pump and associated pipework tomorrow if I had a grant for it. Or even an interest free loan with a long payback term. But at £10,000 minimum, that financial support has to cover far more than half the cost.

I suppose using a washing machine is not eco friendly. Maybe just use a washboard and soapy water on wash day

We shouldn’t be buying so much crap like soap. Just hang it up on a wet day, the rain will wash it.

An alternative pov is who the fuck am I to lecture an Indian or Chinese person living on under a dollar a day about their energy use? My own country went through an arc of consumerism and prosperity, if I can run a car and a tumble dryer so can they.

All I can control is the things I can control.

(Will happily lecture Americans whose condo rules state they can't even hang a washing out, however...)

You are free to make your choices and I’ll make mine. Don’t be sanctimonious and lecture others on how you think they should live.

I always feel like saying this when people moan about big families.
People moan about the population but funnily enough they don’t moan about their own existence/their children’s existence in that.

People choose their priorities.
Not really because they don't know - I'd never heard of coltan - but I did know that mines in third world countries destroy plantlife and poison people's environment.

I agree with some of what you have said, however:

My washing machine's Eco cycles are either 40 or 60C, which, together with their increased run time, seems less eco-friendly to me than the 30C wash I do with virtually all my washing.

The biggest shift that needs to happen in this country is the Reduce part of the 3 Rs. We all have far too much stuff and too many people update far too regularly when things don't need to be thrown away yet. Cars are a good example. I bought mine second-hand and will continue driving it until it falls apart. I know enough people who will (buy/ lease) a new one every 3 years to keep up with the latest trends. Now, even if the new models are slightly more eco-friendly, nothing can convince me that the small changes are enough to offset the huge amount of damage done by the production of said new car.

I hold the same thoughts on lots of things, mend before buying new, buying seasonal produce, use man-powered versions of equipment over electrical ones (e.g. lawnmower, manual treadmill, dynamo-powered bike lights). I hand-wash my car and I use second-hand clothes for young children and encourage second-hand fairs in my workplace.

The mind shift is difficult for some. And time-poverty is a real thing, which makes some of my own swaps unfeasible for those who are not as fortunate to be able to make that time (I am short of time, but prioritise in other ways). It requires skills, which are rarely taught these days, with many of those knowing how to e.g. produce and mend clothes, how to repair simple electrics and how to cook whatever entirely from scratch now dying of old age and schools too busy with their many other roles.

So, so much has to change. But we all can do our part.

@sst1234

Hey if you want to lecture, go ahead and lecture yourself. Before you do though, consider that UK accounts for less than 1% of global carbon emissions. Perhaps lecture the Chinese or American if you want actual results. If not, then you just want to virtue signal.

Well said. Seriously

When we all have to switch over to electric cars, where is the electricity going to come from? How are we going to generate all that?

Our solar panels charge our car and put electricity into the grid.

Where are the charging points going to be for terraced houses with no parking? Who is going to pay for all that?

Street charging posts are quite simple to fit. Some are connected to lamp posts. Electric vehicle companies actually fund fitting the chargers themselves in a lot of cases. There are other schemes in place and government money available as electric cars are actually being seen as part of the solution.

I cannot believe that even after the recent fuel crisis some people still refuse to say anything positive regarding electric vehicles. Electricity is flexible. It can be produced in a variety of ways with consideration for which has the least harmful impact on the environment.🤷‍♀️

International shipping and aviation has a smaller impact

climatetrade.com/which-countries-are-the-worlds-biggest-carbon-polluters/

CO2 in the UK has fallen and continues to do so

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/972583/2020_Provisional_emissions_statistics_report.pdf

We may get a lot from China, however, how much are we also relying on the other countries? Although trade links with China are slowly starting to be cut, which started off with some mobile phones and also includes a nuclear power station in the UK.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/972583/2020_Provisional_emissions_statistics_report.pdf

I have 12 hours between shifts and 1 uniform. I have to wash it every day, work 5 shifts in a row and need to eat, travel in-between oh and sleep at some point. Like bollocks am I waiting around 4.5 hours for my washer to finish, then wearing it damp because it's not had enough time to dry.
Go lecture the employer that won't get me enough uniforms.

I havent got time to wait 5 hours for an eco load to wash.3 dc me and dp we create alot of washing.
I dont see how eco mode is better anyway having the washer on for 1 hour is better than using it for 5

Can i just say that China has a population of 3 billion i think it is, the US has 300 million - I would guess that if you multiplied our pollution up to match their pops we'd probably be worse (being a cold wet country).

Our solar panels charge our car and put electricity into the grid

Are you in the UK, and even in winter??

The incentives to buy an electric car and install a charging point in our driveway are still not financially feasible for us. We've run the numbers already; the monthly payment after UK Gov grants still works out to far more than we can manage.

Hanging wet washing for five people on a rack in the middle of winter when it's raining sideways isn't remotely practical: we've tried it, it leads to damp. That's not an option for the asthmatics in the house; heat pumping tumble dryer it is. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The public needs to be set up for success; a lot of what's available today is only feasible for higher income families with more disposable spending and space.