Climate change - what actions have you taken?

[SoTiredNeedHoliday]

HI, Can everyone tell me (and all of us) how your family is a tackling climate change and trying to help the environment.
My DD was crying this morning saying that people aren't doing enough and it is her and her children (if that happens) that will be extremely affected. It made me feel very sad to see her so upset about something we never thought of as children.
Over the last year we have implemented:

• Stated eating vegetarian 4 nights a week
• Only buy certified free range organic meat
• We now ride to work whenever possible
• We are changing to an electric car
• We don't buy bottled water at all now & use our waterbottles when going out.
• Using eco cleaning products where possible
• Recycle everything we can properly

What else should I be doing?

See here for someone who is going to give living on 1 tonne carbon/yr a go:

rosalindreadhead.wordpress.com

I have changed my attitude to shopping. Its going really well and I'm not buying stuff for the sake of it anymore.

Christmas this year is going to be things the DCs NEED. A pack of pants each (only things apart from shoes that I buy new for them), second hand books in perfect condition, sleeping bags that I know they will use for residentials, and a few small second hand but nearly new games. Plus theatre tickets. No plastic tat in stockings.

Now to try and dissuade the wider family from buying tat... We don't buy for adults which is great. For children I'll mostly give second hand books or clothes in immaculate condition or wooden toys for babies. We have a gorgeous felt advent calendar which comes out year after year. My mum usually sends enough plastic tat toys to fill the pockets but I'm going to ask her not to. I'll put coins in the pockets (real money) instead.

I'm having a go at sewing some reusable festive gift bags as wrapping paper (and sellotape) is so wasteful. We have all our decorations in the loft so no need to buy any more.

Sorry to mention Christmas already but a lot of us like to get organised with looking for things in charity shops, carboots etc and from looking on one of the festive chat threads I'm definitely doing a less commercial angle this year.

No kids, that saves enough we can not worry about the rest.

In all seriousness we are stingy on heating, don’t drive huge numbers of miles and what we do is mostly biofuel blend in old landrovers so very low environmental impact in all, but we do fly a lot for work, generally ten to twenty flights a month between us almost all short haul.

A good month might only be six flights to be fair, though we did hit eighteen in one week once. That should reduce with my next contract as I should only be flying for work a few times a year.

It's great what everyone's doing and individuals should certainly do their bit. however, from watching the news tonight in the UK-scary, unfortunately people using bars of soap, cutting down on single use plastic and walking more, is simply not going to be enough to stop or even make a significant impact on the changes to the environment we are experiencing.

The only hope I can see that we have to slow down and minimise the impact (stated from the expert on the news) so we re not even talking about being able to reverse this now! Is for governments of all counties to make radical laws on big businesses, shops, farming so they are forced into acting more environmentally friendly. They have no choice but to reduce their carbon emissions and act more responsibly. While it's a choice it won't happen on the scale it needs to.

That's not going to happen I don't think, especially by the deniers and the developing countries who don't have the money or means to do it.

We eat lots of eggs so 6 years ago got our own chickens. Haven't flown in years. Went down to one vehicle. Buy local produce. Grow our own herbs. Only use reusable glass containers. Never buy bottled water.

between us outsourcing pollution to the developing world, flying for leisure, and installing more and more air conditioning units to "beat the heat" over here (one and a half hot summers and air con installations have more than tripled!) we are not doing great as a nation.

Recycling and avoiding single use plastic seem to be the cornerstone of our efforts whilst we buy more and more "stuff" to make us happy and comfortable - or ironically, to replace stuff that is not environmentally friendly.

People seem to think that if they do a lot of the little stuff, they are doing enough, and then they can fly to Florida on holiday or have 3 cars on the drive and still feel warm and fuzzy about their efforts.

Beyond I don't feel warm and fuzzy about the world's degradation, I feel upset and unable to think happily about much. (i'm not the depressive type either) believe me.

if there was much less globalisation, more countries being self sufficient and organic (which of course is important, it saves wildlife and trees) no scientist can tell me we don't need trees and wildlife!! I would begin to feel that we might have a chance but at the moment there are far too many govts, people and countries with their heads in the sand.

Beyond- I don't feel warm and fussy, I am worried. Worried for now but mostly worried for my children and my children's children future and the world they are going to inherit.

Recycling and everday environmentally friendly practices are not ingrained enough in our everyday lives. Our council don't take a lot of the things we put in the recycle boxes, it's very hard to go plastic free at the supermarket- I have tried. I would like to take the bus more, it's expensive, there's not a route going directly to where I want to go, I need to go to multiple places, it's going to take too long, so I end up in the car. There is not enough to make being environmentally friendly easier. For example in my city they have just opened a new scoop wholefoods shop, it's like this new fad and been widely reported about how brilliant it is. It is brilliant but it shouldn't be such a minority thing, it should be in our everyday lives.

As I said though, a few holidays to Florida and three cars isn't going to change the world, governments and big businesses being forced to change practices is. So whilst that's not happening I think people will continue with their holidays etc as they know as much as they reduce their carbon footprint in other areas It is not going to have the desired impact,

I think the other thing we all have to do is use our votes - and the threat of removing them, to change what politicians (local amd national) think we will and won't put up with. So yes I write to my MP and also attend council meetings (occasionally!) because we need to show our faces on this. Also we need to talk, talk, talk. Look a bit :/ when people tell you they are flying somewhere if you can! (without being pious or preachy of course, leave them to make themselves uncomfortable!) It is an additional good reason for going on holiday by train - gives you the chance to get no fly into a positive friendly chat about holidays ime!

Should be doing more but:
Soap bars
Don't eat beef, slowly becoming veggie
Grow our own fruit and veg
Reusable bottles and coffee cups
Walk instead of using the car as much as possible
Will be getting an electric car as soon as they're more affordable
No food waste and lots of recycling
Buying clothes made from recycled materials
Pick up any litter whilst on walks etc

I have also stopped buying new clothes, except, to encourage organic farming, the odd organic cotton T shirt; the Charity Shops are brilliant; I bought a lovely linen jacket last week for £10 it would've been approx £100 new.

I'm doing much more mending and sewing than I ever did too. Oh and reusing old clothes when they're completely trashed.

A lot of stuff I have always done but recently we have increased our attempts. We don't have a car.I don't eat meat. I haven't flown for 20 years and not planning on doing so. I am gradually going plastic free in the home - no more shower gels, deodorant or hand soap in plastic bottles. No more plastic puffs in shower or plastic sponges etc.Switching over to environmentally friendlier cleaning products. No more cling film , limited foil and no buying plastic bags. I do buy clothes but they last for decades. Have always mended and no probs with second hand stuff in the home. Will do more as the suppliers allow us to buy better stuff as the supermarket shop is my biggest problem.

I'm looking for a cling film alternative for lunchboxes. We have the fabric zipped lunchbags. I tried using recycled paper bags to store sandwiches in but they dried out... Any ideas please?

Beeswax wraps work well or put the sandwiches into a smaller Tupperware type box which although still plastic isn't single use.

• intentionally have no car (occasionally hire one if absolutely necessary)
• increased vegetable consumption and decreased meat
• no plastic water bottles/coffee cups
• reusable shopping bags
• who gives a crap paper free loo roll
• planting trees and bee friendly garden plants
• reusing bath water on the garden
• water butts
• decreasing flying in favour of ships and trains (but not actually travelling so much)
• no purchasing of new clothes for the children except knickers and socks. Everything is second hand.
• reusable cloth nappies for the children as babies
• Monitoring water consumption and working to reduce
• trying to convince DH that we should have solar panels and a battery installed
• make my own packed lunch.

The main thing though is that I don’t buy in to consumer culture. My work clothes haven’t changed in years. I have two pairs of jeans, one summer dress and a pair of shorts for non work days, plus 6 T-shirts. My phone is old and won’t be updated (though the battery will be replaced). My kids know not to ask for plastic tat (and have learned the phrase ‘thats Tat’). I also try to on-sell it donate everything we no longer need.

No car at the moment. No tumble dryer. Fly a lot less than I would if it were consequence-free, carbon offset if I do. Cut down on meat and dairy, eat meat about once a week. Try to buy second hand clothes and furniture, fruit and veg grown in the UK, gradually reducing plastic.

So far:
Eat vegetarian a few times a week
Meat we buy is extremely local and free range
Never fly
Reusable water bottles
Reusable sandwich wraps
Never buy cling film any more and rarely use single use plastic
Buy things in glass bottles where possible
Try to eat as locally and seasonally as possible
Reusable nappies (though I need to be better with this)
Bio D cleaning products
Use soap bar (however, I cannot find a shampoo bar that agrees with my hair)

Things I want to focus on, especially as my kids get older:
Growing own fruit/salad/veg
Buy only when needed
I have another half a stone to lose, and when I buy clothes, I'll check out eBay for some things and UK made stuff for the rest
Use cloths instead of kitchen roll

I'm sure there's a lot more but brain not working at mo!

Nothing - and I don't intend to.

I fly long haul 2-3 times a year on holiday.
Drive a 3,0 litre diesel car
Do what I want in a way which is most convenient for me - a 10p plastic bag is not going to break the bank

I'll be long dead before it affects us in our little piece of the world.

Why does it not bother me? I haven't had and won't be having children which means I've more than done my fair share.

Yes why should anyone be concerned to save this beautiful world Jahira ? The North and South Poles are melting, for all you know we could be flooded out tomorrow.

I'm not saying our caring will make a HUGE difference but most of the posters on here are being unselfish. No all of us though.

Yes why should anyone be concerned to save this beautiful world

the word will be just fine. The world goes through many cycles, warm, cold, icy, waterfilled, flipping the poles etc, the dinosaurs came and went, neanderthals, even the bloomin dodo - the WORLD will survive just fine.

WE may not.

*world

I get my energy from Good Energy. I don't fly. Last year I went to the south of France on the train. I plant trees via One Tree Planted or Trees for the Future.