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?

The world will survive with piles and piles of plastic consumerist and radioactive oceans of rubbish clogging and polluting it up, I wonder how long it will take for new humans to classify our age 'The Polluting Plastic Age'

Jaheirah- it is already effecting your little piece of the world. Don't you watch the news? These extreme weather conditions we are having are the cause and effect, species dying out are the cause and effect, flooding is the cause and effect. Just because you haven't been flooded or think you've had no effect so far, doesn't mean you won't be effected before you die. What about your extended family? Nieces and nephews?

Interesting how no-one has answered my point about no matter how many little things individuals do, it's not going to be enough to make a difference to the huge change we need to make throughout the world at top level.

We have;

• our milk delivered in glass bottles
• recycle what we can
• reuse wasted packaging from deliveries
• no tumble dryer
• grow own fruit and veg
• stopped buying clean film
• use eco cleaning products where we can
• use shampoo bars and bars of soap
• have food waste compost
• refill hand wash bottles so not single use
• going to stop buying red meat
• reuse bags and water bottles
• shop where I can buy loose fruit/veg
• mostly don't buy or have plastic tat
• try not to buy single use clothes- like dress up days for school

mummyrocks1 - no, it will not be enough. But how do WE make a change at world level.

Do we tell the developing world that they need to stop developing now? That they are not allowed their "industrial revolution" - they need to stay in the dark ages?

WE are wonderful and clean and holier than thou - YET getting them to make all our cheap tat with their dirty power in factories with lower standards than here (which is how it is cheaper for them to make it and ship it rather than for us to do it here!).

Will we pay double? triple? - or for a simple T shirt actually 5 times the cost to make it here in a factory with high standards, minimum wage and cleaner (not clean) power? What happens when our economy crashes? It is fuelled by spending. What happens when THEIR economy crashes? - it is fuelled by our spending.

The changes needed worldwide are too big, too discriminatory - who the hell are we to pull up the drawbridge behind us saying you cannot use coal power (we did for hundreds of years), you cannot have more fossil fuel driven transport (we did for 100 years), you cannot but we did

What Beyond said.

Beyond- no of course we don't tell them
They can't have their industrial revolution or have to stop developing BUT they need to have a greener industrial revolution. Power doesn't just come from fossil fuels, let them maximise the natural ways of producing power they have, heat, wind, wave power. They can have their revolution with natural products, glass, paper products. The demand is certainly there.

How? I personally think governments need to MAKE large corporations accountable, they need to make laws on the type of packing they can use, how much, recyclable packaging, ethical ways of destroying waste, not producing or selling unnecessary plastic tat. They need to hold supermarkets accountable for their food waste, make them not wrap everything in plastic. They need to invest more in greener ways of generating power, public transports systems, reduce wastage at all levels of governments, in the NHS. Make laws about palm oil production, deforestation. Fine people for not recycling properly, make them pay more for the less environmentally friendly conveniences. When they started charging for plastic bags the useage reduced overnight, that could be done with other things. They need to make regulations to make companies have to label packaging/products clearer- I didn't know how much plastic there was in baby wipes. It needs to become a way of life for everyone.

Those developing countries who ship that plastic tat will adapt and make money shipping something else if the public demand wasn't there for it.

• given up beef and lamb (the 2 meats with the highest carbon footprints)

• reduced plastic use drastically

• driving less

• don't shop at primark anymore

• not a change as such as this is something I naturally enjoy: charity shopping! Love buying second hand.

The reason I do it is so that when I look back on my life I can know in my heart that as a mother I at least tried to do something to reduce the impact I'm having on the planet. I do it because I have a son and want him to know that I at least tried (I'm far from perfect though).

However, sadly it all feels completely pointless. Even if everyone in the whole of the uk went green would it really make any difference to anything in the grand scheme of things? The five biggest polluters in the world (USA and the like) are still stuck in their ways. Carbon emissions are still going up. Plastic is still being dumped in the ocean. You tubers are still trotting out primark haul after primark haul. It's really sad so like I said while I try to do my bit, ultimately I try to not think about the state of the planet too much. I'm sorry to hear your dd is upset op

Does giving up beef mean anything if you don't give up dairy as well? I have cut down on beef (well all meat actually) massively, for a few reasons really, but I just don't think I could cut out dairy for me and my family long term?

Oh yes, the other thing I have started doing a bit more is buying second hand off ebay. I mainly do it for shoes, coats and dresses at the moment, but would like to do for other stuff as well.

I find ebay better than charity shops because you can really hone in on what you want, whereas I just walk into a charity shop and think that I'll never find anything I like, it's too overwhelming. Also looking at second hand sites like 'Manifesto Woman'.

Does anyone have any suggestions for any other second hand fashion sites?

@Propertyofhood I think so but not 100% sure. I gave up all meat and meat products for well over 16 years straight and there's no way I could do it again!

Most recently emailed my MP.
It’s coming to my attention that what I recycle really isn’t being recycled most goes into the dump due to low commodity prices, including cardboard.

We aren't clean though beyondmywits - the carbon footprint of an average "westerner" is far higher than anyone in extreme poverty who walks everywhere, and never buys new stuff. Also, by adding efficiency, which reduces energy use, wto renewble technology like wind etc, we can do the same with much lower emissions than the old 5% efficient coal-fired steam engines.

I agree that it may all be pointless though. But only "may" - so I am acting on the "just in case it isn't pointless" possiblity, doing what I can just in case it works - and I think acting, and being a bit visible about it (like here for example) is all part of nudging the overall range of opinion. Change can happen very suddenly (look at smart phones for example) if the tipping point is reached. In both bad ways, obviously, but hopefully with human society, also good.

I mentioned politics earlier upthread. I heard a civil servant talking a few weeks ago, who was very clear that the "weekly climate protests in Westminster" meant that her minister had told her she had to do something about the emissions in the sector she was responsbible for. Who knows if it will be enough, but we have to try. It is this we need the WWII spirit for, not bl**dy Brexit!

Giving up beef is certainly better than not giving it up! Dairly is "bad" too of course but I have not been able to give it up yet either, though I can cope with 50/50 cow and almond milks in my coffee, and soy yoghurt is fine in smoothies. (can also chuck cashews in for extra creaminess)

Candy- I hope you're right and agree, if more and more people talk about it, get other options out there and change opinions it could be the tipping point. Got example supermarkets don't do much loose fruit and veg because they sell more of the items wrapped in plastic, fast food places give away plastic tat because there is a demand for it. Primark sell cheap food because there is a demand for it. Take that demand away and it could change, without government intervention.

I also don't think there's enough information unless you look for it.

I only read yesterday about beef/livestock production being one of the worse polluters. I must admit I didn't know that before and didn't know why.
I didn't know there was 96% plastic in a baby wipe.
I didn't know things that I was happily recycling were going to landfill or being shipped abroad until recently.
I am probably not alone?

Information about how to make changes and what we are 'doing wrong' how much plastic there is in things needs to be in our faces more. People hear about climate change, think oh yes I recycle, use car less etc but don't think about the other bigger changes they can make.

Almond milk is another triumph of ironic consumerism over environment. People want to drink milk, but instead of cows milk, local, home grown, they go for almonds, most of which are grown in California which is in turn suffering from drought due to watering of almond tree farms , one gallon per nut.. Oat milk is at least home grown, why is almond so fashionable

I used to work at M & S foodhall as a student. Got great bargains at the end of t by e day, my shared house ate like Kings! So much was wasted though and chucked away if it wasn't bought by us. Food, wrapped in plastic, perfectly edible, put into landfill.

I think almond milk is more popular than oat because of the carbs which a lot of people are trying to lower for various reasons. You aren't wrong though.

Yes, the almond milk (it's not milk by the way!) thing is crazy! See also things like quinoa and avocado.

If you buy organic almond milk, you ' re supporting the change to a greener world ( I know how terribly almond tree's fields are treated in California), I buy locally grown organic quinoa. They're growing it in England too.

People used to spend a decent amount of their budget on food, the rush for everything to be cheap, cheap cheap , affects the producers, our health and is degrading our farming practices too.

People used to spend a decent amount of their budget on food, the rush for everything to be cheap, cheap cheap ,

Maybe because so many of their other basic living expenses - housing, transport to and from work and in life, utilities, etc. - have gone up up up.

Eat seasonal fruit and vegetables. Vote Green and push the other parties on environmental issues.

I try to reduce my plastic usage as much as possible.
Switched from body wash to bar soap
Use containers to store leftovers in rather than putting cling film over them.
Bought a reusable coffee cup

I have also tried to use the clothes dryer less frequently (though we are currently in winter in Melbourne which makes that a bit tricky.

Recycle/reuse as much as we can and only buy what we need. We make a detailed food menu each week before shopping and always designate one or two nights to use up leftovers in order to minimise our food wastage.

I haven't used the tumble dryer for years and years, in the winter we just have those indoor dryer racks which we put next/near to the radiators.

I cut down on buying new stuff and travel rather than on good,local organic food. Though we are lucky in that we live in Fr. and are retired.