To ask how many of these you will do to stop global warming?

[LadyinRead]

Apparently if all indivisuals do these six things, we'll be 25% of the way to stopping global warming.
Are we doomed, then? I do most of these but (3) is impossible as appliances aren't built to last that long, and (4) would probably mean never seeing my parents again.

1. Eat a largely plant-based diet, with healthy portions and no waste

2. Buy no more than three new items of clothing per year. (Unlimited second-hand clothing allowed.)

1. Keep electrical products for at least seven years

1. Take no more than one short haul flight every three years and one long haul flight every eight years

1. Get rid of personal motor vehicles

6. Make at least one life shift to nudge the system, like moving to a green energy, insulating your home or changing pension supplier

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/07/six-key-lifestyle-changes-can-help-avert-the-climate-crisis-study-finds?fbclid=IwAR2llmcsBWVwzzdF0kzuW2tVPAnUbrMUn2hatbfIsrUQ1Awi1EI5XSe1lF0

Mostly that sounds fine. I would struggle with 5 until public transport improves. I’m going to write to my MP, as if there was a decent bus route to my parent’s house I could probably manage without a car.

No to plant diet. It made me really poorly last time I did it.

Already do 2-3 and 4

Incidentally, my footprint is around 7 tonnes or so. Roman Abramovich has a carbon footprint of 33,000 tonnes - largely due to his yacht. So the biggest difference I personally could make to the planet would be to buy a speed boat, load up a few AK47s and confiscate it from him.

Just eat the rich.

[quote LadyinRead]Apparently if all indivisuals do these six things, we'll be 25% of the way to stopping global warming.
Are we doomed, then? I do most of these but (3) is impossible as appliances aren't built to last that long, and (4) would probably mean never seeing my parents again.

1. Eat a largely plant-based diet, with healthy portions and no waste

2. Buy no more than three new items of clothing per year. (Unlimited second-hand clothing allowed.)

1. Keep electrical products for at least seven years

1. Take no more than one short haul flight every three years and one long haul flight every eight years

1. Get rid of personal motor vehicles

6. Make at least one life shift to nudge the system, like moving to a green energy, insulating your home or changing pension supplier

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/07/six-key-lifestyle-changes-can-help-avert-the-climate-crisis-study-finds?fbclid=IwAR2llmcsBWVwzzdF0kzuW2tVPAnUbrMUn2hatbfIsrUQ1Awi1EI5XSe1lF0[/quote]
1 - I do but my DH not so much. Working on it.
2 - Do - and when I do buy it’s to last. My oldest item is a big baggy jumper I was given at 16. It’s now 30 years old.
3 - yup. As long as they are still working.
4 - harder. Don’t do short haul at all but DH is from New Zealand so we try to go there every three years or so.
5 - no. Live very rurally with no public transport at all. Nearest local shop for a pint of milk would take around an hour to walk to down roads wide enough for one car, no pavement and high banks either side. I do try to be efficient with journeys though. I pick stuff up if I am passing - we don’t just pop to the shops if we can help it.
6 - yup. Hoping to sort solar panels soon too.

I’m not doing enough but it’s a start.

Always a bit dubious about these lists. As has been pointed out it assumes no rural living (I don’t think we want everyone living in cities). What do I do when my 3 year old washing machine breaks, after I’ve spend £80 quid to be told it can’t be fixed? I don’t have a tumble dryer though.
I ran a workshop about reducing waste in school packed lunches but the long and the short of it is the packaging comes from the manufacturer/retailer.
If we all do this though, what is the other 75% and who is doing that?

With russian problems energy wise expect coal mine to reopen and fracking to get the go ahead. We're at a standstill now and will go backwards for a time

. Eat a largely plant-based diet, with healthy portions and no waste
No- happily eat meat & dairy, BUT rarely if ever throw food away and grow lots of own veg..

2. Buy no more than three new items of clothing per year. (Unlimited second-hand clothing allowed.) Well I'd happily do this other than underwear as I rarely buy clothes. I don't throw clothes away unless unwearable (holes from use) and have lots of clothes older than 10 years

1. Keep electrical products for at least seven years- I'd do this if they didn't break. And work won't let me use computers that old.
2. Take no more than one short haul flight every three years and one long haul flight every eight years

Total fail on this one sorry.

1. Get rid of personal motor vehicles NO The nearest public transport is 3 miles away. How do the kids get to school? How do I food shopping? Am I really expected to pay for daily taxis??? My car is OLD. I drive efficiently.

1. Make at least one life shift to nudge the system, like moving to a green energy, insulating your home or changing pension supplier

Well I have masses of insulation, solar panels and a woodburner in which I only burn local, dried, seasoned wood. My electricity bills are half the average for my size of house/family. 100% renewable Electricity company.

@DdraigGoch 'we need to wean ourselves off motoring'

Well that sounds lovely. If I walk to the (local) shop it takes an hour. To get the kids to primary school would take 1.5 hours walking.

Yes they could cycle to secondary schools- but dual carriageway which doesn't allow bicycles. So route is 10 miles. Hilly miles.

Yes, they'd get very fit. And be totally knackered every day.
Not everyone lives in cities.

To do my standard supermarket shop by public transport would take 1 hour walk, then a bus for 20 minutes, then a 10 minute walk, another bus for 15 minutes. So 1 hour 45 to get there.
Or I could drive for 20 minutes.

If everybody only buys 3 new items of clothing per year very soon there'll be very little second hand clothing around.

Tbh though I buy very little clothing. I've had lots of things for 8-10 years.

I would struggle with 1 but have reduced meat consumption. Portion size and waste we are good on now.

We keep electrical items a long time and don't fly anywhere near as much as we used to.

We would struggle without a vehicle based on where we live.

But when our kids are a bit older our options for cycling will increase. Government etc forget that not using cars means having to have more facilities nearer people's homes. Instead of reducing public leisure facilities and expecting everyone to drive 30 mins to swimming pools etc, there'll be a need to have more closer to home if you want to tempt people out of cars.

I already do/have done all of those except I may have to buy more items of clothing as I wear my clothes until they wear out and sometimes several items wear out at the same time. I have started to buy clothes from charity shops now though.

When will people separate environmental protection from global warming? Globalisation, planned obsolescence, over production and consumption are all contributing to environmental destruction but global warming is part of a natural cycle and has happened many times in the earth's past - well before humans were around

1. We eat veggie food about 80% of the time.
2. No. 3 items a year is unrealistic. Pants, socks, bras, shoes, I won't buy any of those second hand. But I have never bought disposable fashion. I wear clothes for decades so am probably years ahead of people who have suddenly turned green.
3. Of course, if they last. Who wouldn't? Manufacturers need to be fined for in-built obsolescence.
4. No. I have waited years to be free to travel. I'm travelling now.
5. I don't drive. I have spent nearly 60 years using public transport or walking everywhere. That offsets the few years flying I plan to do.
6. I don't remodel kitchens and bathrooms just to be fashionable. If they work, they stay. I hate seeing kitchens ripped out every 10 years. That's the sort of conspicuous waste that turns my stomach.
7. I'm very unmaterialistic. We just don't buy loads of stuff in our family.

4.

1. Eat a largely plant-based diet, with healthy portions and no waste

No , we eat healthily with a good mix of fish and veggie and have very little food waste

1. Buy no more than three new items of clothing per year. (Unlimited second-hand clothing allowed.)

I don’t buy loads of clothes and keep things a long time but I will not buy second hand

1. Keep electrical products for at least seven years

Mostly unless they are faulty / break

1. Take no more than one short haul flight every three years and one long haul flight every eight years

I don’t fly at all

1. Get rid of personal motor vehicles

No , driving is one of life’s pleasures

1. Make at least one life shift to nudge the system, like moving to a green energy, insulating your home or changing pension supplier

We are on a green energy tariff .

[quote poshme]@DdraigGoch 'we need to wean ourselves off motoring'

Well that sounds lovely. If I walk to the (local) shop it takes an hour. To get the kids to primary school would take 1.5 hours walking.

Yes they could cycle to secondary schools- but dual carriageway which doesn't allow bicycles. So route is 10 miles. Hilly miles.

Yes, they'd get very fit. And be totally knackered every day.
Not everyone lives in cities.

To do my standard supermarket shop by public transport would take 1 hour walk, then a bus for 20 minutes, then a 10 minute walk, another bus for 15 minutes. So 1 hour 45 to get there.
Or I could drive for 20 minutes.
[/quote]
Not everyone lives in cities.
But more than 80% of people do live in urban areas. A large proportion of that 80% own at least one car. In many cases that car will primarily be used on lots of very short journeys. I went to a secondary school with a very small catchment - about a mile in radius. Loads of kids were still given lifts in by their parents in spite of the fact that they could have walked or cycled in.

If one were to take Mumsnet to be representative of real life, you'd think that the entire population of the UK lived in the Outer Hebrides from the proportion of posters who apparently live "ultra rurally".

Frankly cities need to become absolutely inhospitable places to drive. Not just a token congestion charge, make roads and parking such that you'd never take a private car into a city unless you really had no choice.

I do 1, 2, 3 and 5. Can't do 4 because I have family overseas. That wipes out the gains of the rest. BUT I do them more because it suits my lifestyle and always has rather than trying to be green, I think.

3- yes but only because I’m cheap not really because of the environment. And because older appliances are better IMHO. All the ecofriendly BS is just that if you have to scrap something after a couple of years of use because it doesn’t bleeping work anymore.

When we bought our house it came with the original 1950’s stove and oven. Still works great!

Hmmm- I feel I’m in the wrong thread for this soapbox.

Already Vegan and have been for over a decade.

Most of my clothes are second hand-does that include tights, underwear etc though? I also use cloth pads for periods. I think I probably buy about 6 new items per year but I could cut that down, It's just when you need something specific and can't find a decent second hand item that I fail.

Mobile 'phones tend to begin to fail on me before 7 years :( I rarely buy new electrical items apart from that though, things are used until they die a death.

I haven't flown in nearly a decade and had no plans to, partner really wants me to go on holiday though and I relented. Not a problem for me to not do it again for a long time after that

Ugh, I need my car though! It's second hand, is that more acceptable?

Not sure about 6. We can't move energy companies easily at the moment and I can't afford solar panelling although I'd love to. Pension through work-I'll have a think about what else I can do.

I already do all of those but keeping something electrical alive for 7 years is a bit tricky. Never had a dryer last more than 2 and if mobile phones are counted in this then no chance.

1. No. I have attempted this in the past but I don't do well on a vegan or even "plant based" diet. I don't overeat or waste much food.
2. Thereabouts. Most of my clothes are second hand or many years old.
3. Yes, provided the appliances continue to work.
4. Maybe, though I don't see why I should do without a winter trip to somewhere sunny or travelling to visit family abroad while politicians, royals and celebs are jetting around as much as they fancy.
5. No, unless I move to a city with good public transport. And even then, maybe not.
6. I'm dipping my toe into ESG funds for my pension but their performance isn't good enough for me to commit 100%. I have made a decision to live with my existing kitchen, which is sound but not what I'd have chosen, rather than sending a load of plastics to landfill.

1. No, I have tried this before and was very unhealthy.
2. There is virtually no quality clothing sold in my size. I would rather buy clothing to last, but it just isn’t available.
3. I keep things until they wear out if they are mechanical. Tech is much more problematic. 7 years just isn’t realistic on some of it but I don’t replace just to replace.
4. I rarely fly, but this would be a hard pledge as I would like to travel more. It’s something I am definitely willing to consider and something I could see happening simply from rising prices.
5. If I want to leave my home, it has to be by car. There is nothing else accessible by foot. Even if I walked or biked several miles, there is only 1 bus a day and the odds of your destination being on the route are slim. I take care of my car and drive it forever. My last car I drove for 14 years.
6. We want to install a solar roof asap. We need to get some legal issues worked out first as there are some local covenants standing in our way. Several of our neighbors want to make the switch as well so we have a good chance of getting a rule change.

None. I don't care about that stuff. Highly unlikely the world will survive the next war so let's just start living a life for now rather than virtue signalling. Incidently op, do you have children??

I won't do 4 & 5. We have electric cars which is our best option, but living rurally and not WFH means cars are essential. We are on green energy tariffs too and hoping to get solar panels.
I won't limit my flights either. We don't fly often (once, maybe twice a year) and try to drive to the continent when we can but I'm not prepared to limit myself to the UK forever more. I don't take long haul however as I'm not a good flyer.

I'm not eating a plant based diet, but I don't eat a lot of meat.

Trying to buy less new clothes.

Use electrical products until they die, which is usually a lot longer than 7 years!

I don't fly and I don't drive.

I do everything but the car (and I only use it once a week to do the shopping/go to the pharmacy)