Can we have a thread about what we have done this week to help with the climate crisis?

[Everylittlehelpsalittle]

I read over and over and over again about how dire things are, can we have a space to celebrate what we are doing to help?

Layering up when working from home, so as to avoid putting the heating on

Walking DD to school, although I have an electric car so no emissions from me (unless I have beans for tea...)

I have remained childfree.

We bought an electric car, have not used the heating yet and I've put putting my washing machine on the eco cycle. Oh and I subscribed to who gives a crap!
However we do have a wood burner and eat meat so long way off yet.

@BlueChampagne

Am annoyed that MN quickly set up a whole section for coronavirus, but climate emergency? Nope ... I have asked!

Bikes and train do more miles per week in our household than the car.

There is a climate change board but it's very quiet.

I am going to a conference on climate change tomorrow run by an organisation in my county. The venue they have chosen is 3.5 miles from the nearest train station . They held several public discussion forums over the past couple of months on topics ranging from agriculture to buildings, and the recommendations will be presented to councils tomorrow. I have also applied to join a citizens' panel run by my borough council.

Sat in a scarf and huge cardigan rather than use the heating. I am a cold person and it's only 18C in my house.

Started using a milkman for milk, oatmilk and orange juice. It's so great and quite exciting to open front door in morning to find it 'magically' just there!

@Ilovechocolatetoomuch

We bought an electric car, have not used the heating yet and I've put putting my washing machine on the eco cycle. Oh and I subscribed to who gives a crap! However we do have a wood burner and eat meat so long way off yet.

Wgac come from china.....i buy sainsbury recycled, made in the uk now in paper wrapping. Shipping it half way arouns the world is mad?

[quote BigHeartyTruffle]@poshme you do raise a good point… I do layer up including thermal under layers and have a blanket over my knees. I do feel the cold though and on a cold winters day it gets pretty uncomfortable sitting working all day with no heat source.

The heated throws use minimal electricity, especially if as PP said you only have them on for a short amount of time. Also I am on a 100% renewable electricity tariff, so it’s a lot better option than using gas which can never be renewable.[/quote]
Agree, I am pretty much always layered up and can sit under a blanket etc, but I do find there comes a point when the air in the room is just cold and uncomfortable to sit in, regardless of layers. My nose gets freezing where I'm breathing it in.

I think for me it's when it get below 18, which it hasn't yet, luckily. Trying to delay putting the heating (electric radiator) on for as long as poss.

I tried Who Gives a Crap but my DP rinses through toilet roll so fast so it was just too expensive. Didn't know about the airmiles at the time but glad now that I didn't continue.

Switched back to washing powder (briefly went over to the dark side with pods)
Put some more items in the clothes recycling bank
Investigated how to get printer cartridges recycled - drawn a blank on that one - would welcome ideas for HP953!
Put towels outside to dry
Always put the food in composting
Turned off all unneeded lights
Haven't changed beds/towels this week 😇😂

But .... I do drive, I have kids, I usually go abroad once a year, I have a tumble drier .......

Its not new, we heavily recycle, always have, it was instilled in me from a young age.
Not wanting to be part of a throw away culture, I offer everything to someone else if it is no longer of any use to me, you would be amazed at the odds and sods people are looking for, even nearly empty paint tins.
Planting wild flowers for bees and butterflies outside in our cul de sac.
Not running taps when brushing teeth, short showers with vegan soap, dont flush the toilet too often.
If you see rubbish on the floor, pick it up, put it in a bin.
Walking the DC to school.
Turning lights off, reusing water to water plants.
I could go on haha

@UsedUpUsername
its pretty sick that you purposefully go onto threads to upset people who likely start the threads, join the threads or read them to feel better about the terrible state of the world.
Giving people a 'dose of reality' actually means 'causing people more anxiety about something they can't change but are trying to come to terms with or deal with by changing their own environment/lives)
@starfro I know. We know, we all knew China would fuck up even more. Just like Brazil and the amazon. But thats not my battle.

I am trying my best to undo China's mess but in reality I can't even undo my own contributions from my own life. I can plant trees and flowers and wild patches in the garden. I can compost and grow food and eat local and blah blah blah but in reality I cant plant enough trees to even offset the nappies I wore as a baby. Never mind the rest. I know that, I do. But I'm not trying to focus on the world's battle right now. I'm trying to focus on MY GARDEN GATE and no further. If I can fix myself I can fix the world. Even if it is only my world. Why don't you just let people try to feel better.

@Mistressofnone

DH and I have stopped doing our own clothes wash separately. It's something carried over from having lived alone for years before we met. Unbelievable I know!

Also found out that instead of using gallons of water to wash out empty peanut butter or marmite jars (to be recycling-ready), you can microwave them and wipe them out with a paper towel.

You do know that cleaning out jars that will then go for recycling is absolutely unnecessary?

Slept with the cat.

She was on the top of the mattress, me underneath, just in case I'm accused of being catsphobic!

its pretty sick that you purposefully go onto threads to upset people who likely start the threads, join the threads or read them to feel better about the terrible state of the world

Giving people a 'dose of reality' actually means 'causing people more anxiety about something they can't change but are trying to come to terms with or deal with by changing their own environment/lives)

Nonsense. I’m actually telling them (you) that the world is not as bad as you think, that climate change is not apocalyptic. Fossil fuels are not going anywhere, so relax and do what’s best for your situation.

I hate people panicking over something that’s ultimately not going to affect their life very much. Nor their children’s. Or their children’s children.

What will change their life (and their children’s lives) for the worse is if we let eco-fascists win and enact some sort of ‘carbon allowance’ on everybody. Your life will be much worse and the climate will be barely affected either way.

Still not had a child and am one more week closer to menopause which rules it out for good

@IsleofRum

Slept with the cat.

She was on the top of the mattress, me underneath, just in case I'm accused of being catsphobic!

You slept underneath a mattress ?

So you used heat energy to cook the jam and then put it in the freezer which then used more energy?

Actually it’s pretty unfair to blame China. In terms of cumulative per capita emissions, China is way lower than U.K./US, plus as pp pointed out, a lot of what they produce ends up in the west. Additionally, they are global leaders in cost effective solar tech, have the first all-electric bus fleet ( Shenzhen), will have significantly reduced their population by 2100 and have certainly turned the carbon boat around far quicker than many western countries.

This week, at work, I've managed to persuade two of our biggest suppliers to take back all of the packaging they deliver product in and reuse it for future orders.

We've also switched one car to electric - which I know is only a drop in the ocean but feels like a step in the right direction.

Well, l I wouldn’t have said that that I was especially green or eco minded, but I watched a little BBC film of Prince Charles complacency telling us how committed he was to a greener life.
It made me look at my own life in comparison to his, and surprisingly I think I’m doing better than he is.

I don’t own any cars, not even ones running on waste cheese and wine.
I haven’t flown anywhere since 2012, and am unlikely to ever fly again.
I’ve never travelled by private jet.
I’ve had a moratorium on buying clothes since 2013, and since then have only bought replacement underwear.
I rarely eat meat, and I frequently have dairy free weeks.
I have a negligible amount of food waste, due to meal plans, portion control etc.
I’ve only had one child, and they also have only had one child.

@Insert1x20p

Actually it’s pretty unfair to blame China. In terms of cumulative per capita emissions, China is way lower than U.K./US, plus as pp pointed out, a lot of what they produce ends up in the west. Additionally, they are global leaders in cost effective solar tech, have the first all-electric bus fleet ( Shenzhen), will have significantly reduced their population by 2100 and have certainly turned the carbon boat around far quicker than many western countries.

China is not doing this as a free service. It is making loads of money from Western unwillingness to produce anything of worth. Chinese families are getting richer (a very good thing) and I’m very happy for it.

Chinese are also happy to produce solar panels for you to buy while they use reliable coal (not great for their localized air pollution problem but better to stay warm)

Also, they are now looking at ways to stop women from accessing abortions to stem the demographic decline (maybe not so great).

Also, I have to point out about emissions here: if you excuse China because they make everything you buy, why don’t you then excuse American historical emissions since they were the global export powerhouse of the 50s and 60s?

@Soontobe60 I did not know this! Do we not need to clean them for recycling? We have to for plastic containers and tins where I live but I don't know the rules on glass

This thread is hilariously middle class.

I don’t own any cars, not even ones running on waste cheese and wine

This is actually way better then buying a new electric. If we all held on to our old cars and converted them, the lifetime carbon footprint is tiny. Ditching a 5 year old petrol or diesel (which run very efficiently and have few emissions) for a new electric is smoke and mirrors.