OK – so we know you aren’t going to spend your hard earned dosh on loft insulation but there are things you can do to reduce the effects of climate change. Here are a few ideas:
Turn OFF not standby. Even when your TV is on standby it’s sucking up the juice.
Turn off lights when you're not using them.
Don't overfill the kettle. Heat just as much as you need.
Putting a brick in your toilet cistern (carefully) means not so much water is used to flush but still gets rid of all the nasty bits.
Take a shower not a bath. Showers use nearly half the water of baths and therefore use less energy to heat up the water. If you really must take a bath share your bath water or take a bath with someone special.
Recycle your waste. Loads of rubbish which could be recycled into new stuff is thrown away everyday. Reusing the materials uses less energy than getting new materials.
Switch off your chargers when the batteries are full. Most chargers use electricity even when your gadget isn’t attached.
Turn down your heating. Just by one notch/1 degree you could save loads of energy and you won’t even feel the difference. Hug for warmth!
Clothes swap - it's much more fun stealing a friend's top than shop, FACT. (ditto bags, jewellery, etc etc)
Re-use. Be Creative with junk.
Eat with friends. Reduce waste, packaging & energy used for cooking. In practice you eat like pigs.
Walk or cycle to school/college/Uni/work. And produce zilch carbon emissions. (Keeps you fit too.)
Take the bus or the train to get to further away places. Using public transport is great because you share your emissions with loads of other people.
Share a lift. If you have to go by car share it with friends – it’s much more friendly for you and the planet.
Try not to fly. Aeroplanes are really good at producing loads of carbon emissions, which makes your impact really high. Not good. Only consider a flight at all if it’s absolutely essential, and don’t let it be short-haul.
Together we can tackle climate change. Join local groups and organisations that are environmentally conscious. Work together with others, collective power is enormous.
Become a ‘cyber activist’ write emails, sign petitions to put pressure on corporations and governments.
Send a letter to your MP or council pressuring them to campaign for climate change with you and to make your area more carbon neutral.
Boycott high street clothes shops and shop ethically.
Boycott school/college trips that involve short haul flights.(and explain why, to teachers/friends.)
(If you don’t have control over some things... Don’t shut up. Your parents/landlord may actually listen to you... if you nag them over and over and over again. Tell/demand that they...)
Green energy. Switch to a supplier that generates electricity through wind, water and solar power.
Low energy bulbs
give out the same amount of light but run on a third of the power. They last for a lot longer too.
Insulate your loft, walls, pipes and boiler. Draught-proof your doors and windows.
30°C. Wash your clothes at a lower temperature, say 30 degrees rather than 40 or 60. It will still wash your clothes – it just won’t use as much energy to heat the water.
Eat and buy local. Food travels miles and miles around the world before it reaches your plate. If you buy food from nearby it might have come by just van rather than truck, train, aeroplane, truck, van etc… It tastes good too.