Following on from another thread who is the 'saintliest' environmental mumsnetter?

[Lauriefairycake]

I don't fly anywhere (last time 5 years ago)

Have two old, crappy cars (1.2 engines) only used if necessary (luckily live in town centre)

Have hideous low energy bulbs in every light fitting

Have allotment (got it at end of last season so not grown anything yet)

Keep chickens

Try to buy less stuff (not great at this)

Buy local wherever possible and use independant shops wherever I can

Buy meat only twice a week at most(and always free rang)

Don't buy imported fruit/veg

Recycle whatever I can - green bin always totally full

also, never throw any food away (has to get through dh/dog/chickens)

DH picks up discarded bottles/cans and takes them home to rinse and recycle!

can I nominate my mum's friend who gathered all the compostable waste used on holiday and brought it home with her

There must be someone who lives in a tree.

No-one with an Aga can win - according to George Monbiot in the Guardian they are v v bad.

Well following on from another thread - not me.

I do my bit in pllaces, working on other areas this year too...but I admit I do plenty that is still not great environment wise such as driving and using planes.

I am certainly not cleaner than clean but I try to do "my bit". Have flown twice in fifteen years; don't run ac ar so use a lot of public transport or walk a lot; low energy lightbulbs throughout; recycle as much as possible; always, always take cloth bags out with me and avoid plastic bags as much as humanly possible; veggie. BUT manage to kill even cress if I try to grow anything; have a baaaaaad Starbucks addiction and own a tumble dryer.

I'm giving up trying - have been religiously cycling to school & not using car despite horrid weather, then got shouted at this morning for not having a bell on my bike because the woman concerned had nearly been hit by 'a man' coming down the hill really fast (she couldn't shout at him because he wasn't travelling at half a mile an hour with a 6 year old in tow). She actually said she thought cars were safer because you can hear them coming. GRRRRRRRR

I've got an Aga so I'm not a contender.

But I am trying very very hard to offset the Aga with other Green things.

Also, Aga means I don't need some electrical appliances such as tumble drier, toaster, kettle, iron ... and minimal central heating.

Haven't seen the thread you are referring to but

I don't drive so use public transport or walk

Wear my clothes until they are almost falling apart (much to dh's irritation)

Recycle or give away wearable children's clothes/shoes/toys/books

But I am crap at cooking so eat rather more ready made stuff then I would like. My NY resolution has gone wrong already!!

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Ooh yes: no dishwasher here either! Only Ecover cleaning stuff.

good
organic box
only buy organic meat for son - none for me
try and buy fair trade
try and buy some organic clothes and use charity shops and ebay
dont use any cosmetics or household products that test on animals and try to use organic and bicarb and lemon etc for cleaning
try to recycle as much as poss

Bad
have a car and use it for short journeys [ trying not too]
love my dishwasher
use a tumble dryer in winter
have long deep baths
like my central heating on - hate a cold house

I cycle my 2 DSs to nursery at my work...2 mils each way...I look like a right lentil weaver...but god id wap for a car in a flash if i didnt have no other reason for a 2nd car at all...plus it would take longer to drive than cycle!

not me for sure even though I try.

I don't know about you but I think this guy wins.

Does anybody know about this book? It is utterly fabulous. It explains, in relation to energy usage, what there is actually some point in doing and what is just drivel to make yourself feel better.

Thanks for the book recommendation - that looks really useful.

DH is a hippy vegan organic grocer and Guardian ethical award winner...do I win ?

We don't fly or drive, cook from scratch with seasonal organic food, use cloth nappies, eat very few animal products and buy second hand or organic clothes, but house is big and full of junk that needs tipping . I think we fall down on waste in a major way so tackling that is the plan for 2009.

Not me! but I do a bit to help

I use reusable nappies on dd and will use them on the new baby when it arrives
Use washable sanitary pads and/or mooncup
Use a slow cooker rather than oven for stews/casseroles etc
Use 'green' cleaning products - soapnuts for laundry, soapnut multi-surface cleaner, bicarb & white vinegar
Compost
Recycle everything our council will take (pretty good but don't take glass and we don't have much so never seems to justify the drive to the tip)
On an eco-tariff for utilities
Use natural skincare products

Bad things:
Use the car to go shopping a bit much
Don't buy organic (can't afford to)
Buy lots of meat
Go abroad on holiday
Use the heating far too much (I'm such a cold person!)
Have a tumble drier
Dh drives to work every day

I am pretty bad as most of the 'green' things I do are because I like them, not because they are good, eg.

compost
free range/organic meat
grow some of own veg

and some of them are actually quite dubious, eg the home composting cuts down landfill but produces more methane than large-scale composting would (apparently).

I also just got a lot worse as I passed my driving test so now we are a two car family, and we use disposable nappies which is a landfill crime whether or not it's an energy one.

However in energy terms it seems the worst thing we do is to live in an old and hence badly-insulated house. All the light bulbs in the world would not make up for that one.

Oooh, didn't know that about composting...feel less guilty there now....difficult in a rented house. Don't understand why peelings can't go in the green wheely bin though as it says they take windfall and whole fruit/veg.

I use eco sanpro by preference too.

We are good on some of the main things but fall down a lot on a few others which cancel out our good points.

Good:
One set washable nappies for 3 children.
No tumble dryer.
One car, rarely used during the week.
2 cycling to work, children walk to school.
Vegetarian.
local organic veg box.
Lots of local organic shopping.
Good on recycling. insulating. composting.
Haven't flown for a year.
Use mostly eco cleaning and washing products.

Bad:
Absolutely addicted to travelling in hot countries and taking foreign holidays. Have managed to not do this for a while but I know I will crack.
Job which, some years (though not last year) involves regular flying.
3 children. An eco-crime. 1 or 2 should be sufficient.
Cats. They murder wildlife.
We do shop in mainstream supermarkets and high st shops, haven't cut them out totally though would like to.
I don't like eco shampoo or shower gels.

I hereby nominate my inlaws.

They are in their 70's, don't consider themselves 'green', just live a very, very green lifestyle, mainly due to a very low income.

Most veg is grown on their allotment, meat is mainly from a local farm. Jam etc is home-made from hedgerow fruit / swaps with other allotment holders.

New clothes are a very occasional luxury. Shirt collars and cuffs are 'turned' when worn out, everything possible is homemade - blouses, handbags, even a hat once!

They have no interest in 'stuff' - buying for them at christmas is a nightmare tbh as they just don't value 'things'. FIL is a skillful carpenter and has made a good proportion of the furniture in their house.

And they have no concept of the media push to get you to 'buy green'. They reduce and reuse first, recycle second, buy green - not really, but then they don't buy much at all.