Unless you have been living on the rapidly shrinking ice floes of Antarctica
for the past decade you will be at least on nodding terms with concepts such
as emission levels, carbon footprints and greenhouse gas. But how do you
know the size of your personal footprint and what can you do about it? This
week Jeremy Clarkson has explained his solution — putting a hosepipe into
space — but there are less ambitious ways to save the planet. Small changes
to your lifestyle can reduce the amount of harmful emissions you produce.
And it is not just in headline-grabbing pollution such as long-haul flights
and cars where the difference can be made.
All forms of energy consumption count, from light bulbs to groceries. A few
small changes can make big inroads without giving up your car or summer
holidays abroad. And the web is the perfect resource to tell you how.
1 THE BIG PICTURE
You can calculate your personal carbon footprint by visiting www.carbonfootprint.com.
The average UK figure is 9.43 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person, and by
plugging your lifestyle details into the site’s calculator, you can find out
your contribution to the damage.
Next, head to www.greenfacts.org
for a clearer view of the big picture. Here you can read arguments for and
against the idea of global warming, presented by a diverse group of
scientists, politicians and even industrial groups. Last year the site drew
2m visitors and it’s easy to see why — all items are in layman’s terms, in
an easy-to-digest Q&A style and supported by facts, figures and graphs.
One of the many side effects of climate change is the threat of rising sea
levels. Check http://flood.firetree.net
and play with the sliding scale for rising sea level to see whether your
home is at risk of disappearing. For a more dramatic and, in truth,
polemical angle, http://worldcoolers.org/co2map
is an interactive global pollution map. Moving the cursor shows the amount
of carbon dioxide each country and its citizens generate per year.
2 GREEN WHEELS
Emissions of carbon dioxide from road transport have risen by nearly 10% since
1990, according to Transport 2000, the lobby group, and reduction is a
cornerstone of the government’s climate change programme. One way to
contribute is by driving efficiently.
The Environmental Transport Association (www.eta.co.uk
) is a kind of green RAC and it offers tips on cutting emissions and saving
money — harsh acceleration and braking, for example, can use up to 30% more
fuel and cause increased wear and tear. Go one step further and use
Liftshare (www.liftshare.org)
to organise lifts with people who work and live nearby.
With no petrol costs, no road tax, no congestion charge and free parking in
London, an electric car is an appealing option — £9,097 will buy the
well-rated Reva G-Wiz online through www.goingreen.co.uk.
3 ECO-TRAVEL
Aviation accounts for only 3.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions, but is one
of the fastest growing sources of pollution, and the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, which produced its report last week, estimates it will
increase to 15% by 2050. This doesn’t mean you need vow never to step aboard
a plane ever again. Instead, you can offset your travel by paying to
neutralise the carbon dioxide you create.
At www.climatecare.org a
neat animation explains the reasoning behind offsetting and a flight
calculator helps you work out how much to offset — two winter-sports fans on
a return flight to Canada, for example, should reimburse the planet £29.52.
Conscientious holidaymakers can opt for travel firms that provide
environmentally sound travel. Both www.responsibletravel.com
and www.ethicalescape.co.uk
have a huge range covering tiger safaris in India and activity holidays in
France. These breaks are designed to minimise environmental impact and
support local communities by employing local guides, keeping groups small
and avoiding areas deemed private.
4 IN THE HOME
There are plenty of small steps you can take around the house to make your
life less polluting — and none means forgoing the creature comforts. The
Energy Saving Trust website (www.est.org.uk) brims with helpful ideas such
as better insulation, buying a high-efficiency condensing boiler (which
could knock as much as 32% off heating bills) and turning down your heating
by a degree. Follow its advice and the site claims you could save £300 per
year and two tonnes of carbon dioxide in the process.
Many homes can be fitted with solar panels to power a system that can heat up
to half of your hot water.
Low Carbon Buildings (www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk)
is a government grant scheme promoting the use of renewable energy sources
in the home with up to £15,000 available for householders. GreenEnergy (www.greenenergy.org.uk/sta)
will help you find a local installer.
You can even apply for a green mortgage offered by various lenders, including
the Co-Operative bank. Either the lender will make a donation towards the
environment on your behalf, or it will lend only on properties it deems
ethical. The Ecology building society (www.ecology.co.uk)
specialises in mortgages on properties and projects that respect the
environment.
5 DO THE BUSINESS
Carry out a green audit of your office with the Carbon Trust website (www.carbontrust.co.uk)
and discover ways to make the business more efficient. These include saving
resources and applying for loans to upgrade wasteful machinery.
Switching to a genuine green energy supplier that uses water, wind or sun is
another option. Both Ecotricity (www.ecotricity.co.uk)
and Good Energy (www.good-energy.co.uk)
welcome businesses via their colourful, informative and unfussy websites.
You can make a point of using only like-minded green businesses. These are
listed in the directory at www.ecofirms.org.
Finally, if you want to work for a green employer or in the eco-industry,
search for a job at www.guidemegreen.com.
6 STYLISH SHOPPING
Being environmentally friendly no longer means you have to dress like a hippie
or settle for ethnic homeware fashioned out of bat droppings. The online
store www.ecocentric.co.uk offers a range of high-end products for the home
such as an organic duvet set for £120 or contemporary cutlery made from
recycled steel from £69.
Fashion houses are also getting in on the act. Katharine Hamnett’s online
label (www.katharinehamnett.com)
sells T-shirts, shirts and dresses made from organic, pesticide-free
fabrics.
A range of footwear made from recycled and sustainable raw material can be
found at Terra Plana and its sister company United Nude (www.terraplana.com
). The Aqua trainers (£85) are a hybrid shoe/trainer, cleaner as a mode of
transport even than the hybrid Toyota Prius.
