A life on our planet - what can individuals do?

[Anniemabel]

I’ve just finished watching David Attenborough’s latest documentary. It’s very well done and I recommend watching it.

It’s clear that major change can only take place on a global level and we have to rely on our politicians for that. But what can we do as individuals (other than voting and signing petitions to influence the politics)?

So far, I use only green energy for electricity in my home. My next car will be an electric one (but I think it’s greener to run my current one into the ground first). I also use beeswax wraps / Tupperware for packed lunches, cloth nappies and reusable wipes and mainly eco friendly cleaning products. What else can we do? There must be other easy small changes.

I’m thinking of the following: going veggie; only buying sustainably sourced fish for the kids; avoiding palm oil; and sowing some wild flower seeds in my garden.

Any other ideas?

I agree it was excellent
he was very clear that having fewer children is important
other than that I think the main things are eat no/less meat and dairy, consume less all round and don't fly
I think we have to be careful about our consumer choices. It's good if manufacturers turn to more sustainable processes and materials. But as consumers what we need to do first is consume less and consume better only when necessary. Use public libraries, pass down kids clothes and toys, share tools with neighbours, shop at charity shops, learn to mend stuff. When my kids were little we had a welly bank. More stuff like that and less buying new cool stuff that is branded as sustainable.

Those are really good things you do and plan to do already.
On top, if you have any charities you donate to think about donating to wildlife conservation type charities.

Something else he mentioned was that most of our pensions are invested in fossil fuels. I’m fairly sure you can tick a box to instruct the pension company to invest “ethically”. I might double check if I need to tick that box or whether I’ve already done it.

Great ideas. For me I find that it’s easier to stick to green ways if I can find a way to turn them into a creative opportunity. For example I’ve learnt to sew and am enjoying making visible mends on my holed knitwear...sewing a patch of flowers for cutting instead of buying air freighted flowers...making tasty fajitas from fridge leftovers. Stopping flying is a big deal for me so I’ve told myself I will use the money saved on flights to treat myself to a special sailing trip. I can’t just ditch my car but will use it until it stops working and not replace it. In the meantime I’m walking and cycling more (although not as much as I probably should!)

Excellent ideas already.
My list below is from another, related thread, and I think the only point that hasn't been covered so far is our buildings' energy consumption and pollution - both in terms of our use of them (heating, air conditioning)... and embedded (i.e. the building materials and methods used - if cement were a country, it would be the third biggest polluter behind the US and China). Buildings are a huge emitter and the public as well as the building trade are largely unaware.

1. vote for politicians who understand and prioritise these issues. Lobby your current representatives, at all levels of government. 2) stop buying things that are not necessary and look for the greenest possible version of what you do need to buy (and that you are able to pay for, of course), avoid next day delivery that might mean transport by airplane. 3) stop flying (sorry). 4) isolate your home, preferably using more environmentally sustainable methods, turn down the thermostat, switch to a green energy supplier. 5) replace car journeys by bike journeys to the extent possible - electric bikes now make commuting by bike much more realistic over longer distances, and allow you to transport children/carry shopping. 6) eat plant based, seasonal and organic as much as possible. 7) plant things for the local bees and other wildlife - even herbs on a balcony help, grow some of your own food (this really helps put you in touch with nature and it's therapeutic too), stop mowing the lawn short (or replacing with astroturf!)...

We've done a few things over the years, and have stuck with them. We use Bulb for our electricity and gas, try to only buy our clothes from charity shops, cycle most places (we're lucky we live in London), we've only just turned the heating on for an hour yesterday despite the weather (lots of jumpers!). Our most recent one has been to buy seasonal, organic food and from small farms. We've started using Tend Revolution recently which has been great. They allow us to get everything delivered from small farms and everything is seasonal and organic