One person CAN make a difference...

[Alice]

Hi Tigerella, I just don't use the car if public transport will do the job. It's not always possible and it's not as convenient or comfortable but I'm sure it helps.
And you're right NOG, we do create the world we live in , and it might be a circular argument, but that world then creates us. There's no use expecting "them" to do everything. We are "them".

[Tigerella]

Hi

I have signed up with a green electricity tariff ( I think about 6% from renewable).
My lotty is the biggest effort, but next year I need to grow more, feeding slugs is a no-no next year.
Its my ex who is against me getting rid of the car, she thinks its too hard and cold for a young girl not to have use of a car.
It is peoples lifestyles that is difficult to overcome, my council mini-bus has a heater for the passengers, it uses a separate diesel heater, that will use alot on these cold mornings. I try not to use it, but that is what it is there for!

T

[Two_Sheds]

Tigerella, You don't have to play the game that way. If you need the car then it is ok to use it. You can save in other ways. If you are popping down the corner shop and you can...then walk... One Trip Less

Absolutely agree. If you NEED to use the car, of course you should use it. Trouble is, most people these days are confusing NEED with WANT. I NEED to drive to the shop for a pint of milk and I don't WANT to go to the effort of walking half a mile ... (and I will end up walking half a mile anyway trying to park the darn thing)

Problem with the car is, if its there you will use it. Its just too convenient and too cheap/expensive (cheaper than the bus/train, and expensive to insure/tax/MOT/service so you might as well get the use out of it...)

You have to reorganise your life if you become car-free ... more things locally (entertainment, shopping, schools, home) which isn't a bad thing necessarily. You need to be more organised generally, combining trips, using shopping lists, stocking up on things etc, planning in advance.

Plus side is you'll be a whole lot fitter, and you whizz thru traffic if there are (un-parked on) bike lanes.

[Flummery]

I've never driven a car. Consequently I do get involved in many more things on a local level. In a village this means most of my weekly activities are in walking distance. Yes, in some ways it's restrictive but involvement in your community has loads of benefits.
I also read yesterday that people who consciously do one thing each day to benefit someone other than themselves live a happier life and improve their personal and psychological wellbeing. So our little action aimed at a greener and more sustainable world is not only helping our world and its future inhabitants but is also directly making us healthier and happier people.
I like that!

[beefy]

Hi


my council mini-bus has a heater for the passengers, it uses a separate diesel heater, that will use alot on these cold mornings.

T

Tigerella the heater your talking about is the same kind of heater that I used to have in the lorry to heat the cab at night .I can assure you the amount of diesel that it uses is next to nothing , it would not use a pint of diesel a day if you had it on for 8 hrs a day.

My veiw is that it dosen't matter what you do - as long as you do something your helping.

[pigletwillie]

Our main achievement in lowering our carbon footprint is to fit an open fire and a multifuel stove in the kitchen diner and lounge respectively instead of gas fires. On cold nights or days one or tother is lit and warms the whole house up, and via the room stat, turns off the gas central heating making the heating carbon neutral as we only burn well seasoned wood. When using the central heating no upstairs radiators are used except the bathroom as this is the most wasteful with heat naturally rising from the downstairs.

Our second best achievement is reducing to virtually zero, food miles, packaging and any processing required by growing most of our own fruit and veg.

Finally most of our lights are energy savers and we compost virtually anything that can be from cardboard to tea bags including taking grass clippings from neighbours.

By doing that I can take my bi-annual long haul holiday safe in the knowledge that I have ofset most, if not all of its carbon.

[Two_Sheds]

I think that's the healthy thing to do, PW.
and not to say, well nobody else is bothering, therefore I will do what the heck I like and to heck in a handcart with it all

[pigletwillie]

An added bonus is that when Putin turns off the gas or oil, and he will I am sure at some point, I can keep warm, eat and even cook bread in my clay oven.

[NOG]

making the heating carbon neutral as we only burn well seasoned wood.

Is that carbon nutural? Cos if you left the wood long enougth it would turn to coal then Oil. so you are effectivlay stopping England becoming a OPEC member.

I don't take Foreign holidays its not cos I am green its cos I am cheap and don't like foreign lands. England must be the best country to hoilday in cos people are queing up from all over the world to live on our council estates.

[Two_Sheds]

they must love our sunny climate and friendly welcoming disposition, NOG ...

[NOG]

they must love our sunny climate and friendly welcoming disposition, NOG ...

What any welocming locals.

[Sue]

Re the car thing
I can't drive (wonky eyesight) so have always had to take this into account in my life, and that means not living somewhere isolated or difficult for public transport. What I'm trying to say is that trying to give up the car when you live in the "wrong" place is a real problem and can only really be tackled by increased public transport or moving?
If you live in the "right" place then being carless isn't a problem. I live in the centre of town, railway down the road, buses at the end of the road etc so not having a car is not a major problem, although won't enjoy a winter's worth of bus stop waiting to get home from the allotment.

And I agree with the thought that you can plough a lonely furrow at times. And when it all gets very frustrating think of Victorian women with no rights, women like Caroline Norton whose wastrel husband took her money and her children, leaving her high and dry, think how incredulous they would be that one hundred years later....

Things do change, sometimes too slowly but each of us can help make the change. one by one etc...and when I'm in a rage over something or other, I find it therapeutic to come on the forum and read of likeminded people.
Sue

[valmarg]

Public Transport, its only a myth round here - if you haven't got a car you go nowhere!! Except on shanks's pony.

We could do with a congestion charge for the vehicles going to Alton Towers during the Summer months. It really can be a nightmare!!

Being north of Watford Gap we don't stand a snowball in hell's chance of a much needed bypass.

valmarg

[Two_Sheds]

We're planning to go into the city tomorrow (well, it'll be today now won't it). By car, 40 mins.
By public transport: 2 bus rides and a train ride - if there are no delays at all - nearly 2 hours, and £15. There used to be a direct train back in the days, but cutbacks, privatisation...
If you're interested, knowing I am a psychlist: To get there by bike takes me 3 hrs, but it is hell with the current level of UK Driving Skill and aggression. Bike lanes are few and far between, covered in glass and debris, not joined up, and seem to be provided mainly as extra car-parking.

[Winged one]

I think that you can only do what is reasonable and practical for yourself at any point in time. I know this is long, but I debated cutting it and felt it would be useful to leave as it is, as some of the things I do may seem very small but as the ad says “every little helps”.

We have composted since about 4 months after getting our own house. So when all we had was the ordinary bin, between composting and recycling, we reduced it to being put out about every 6 weeks only (long before pay by weight/frequency was brought in here). I have been recycling glass since I was a tiddler, and when OH was renting we could recycle plastic bottles (had to stop for a while after we moved to our own house, and are back at it again now). We also recycle paper, cardboard, drink and food cans, most plastic wrappings (1,2,4,5), tetrapaks, lightbulbs and batteries – between the green bin and the bring centre. And I had the toddler in cloth nappies as much as possible for a long time, but we are using all disposables for practicality at the minute (crèche will only do sposies, so always had some) – which is an extra bag a week in the bin. And we conserve water by having a dual flush loo, being prudent in the amount of flushing at times when we know it’s only us at home (mellow yellow, brown down), turning off the taps while washing teeth, using a basin for the washing up and veg etc.

We use public transport where feasible. I had an annual ticket for a number of years before the toddler arrived. Since then, we have had to become a 2 car family, but both are very fuel efficient (I have a little Fiesta and OH has a very efficient Volvo), and we still use PT when possible.

We have done a lot to our house to make it better, some when we arrived and a lot is going on as we speak. We changed the single glazing for double glazing with a good gap between the panes. We fitted a programmable timer to the gas boiler, so it is only on at times it’s needed and can be easily boosted for extra heat. We wear lots of layers or throw the rug over us before putting on the heat though. We use energy efficient bulbs, and only leave lights on in rooms we are using and the hall. I have interlined the curtains in the sitting room (large, north facing windows) to retain the heat. We keep rads off and doors closed in rooms we don’t use. The outside lights are on sensors (partly for security and partly for energy reduction). The intake for large airvents was reduced, and controllable covers were put on them.

As part of the current works, we are getting a very well insulated extension, with lots of solar gain through loads of south facing double glazing. A solar panel is going on the south facing roof for water. A few of the new lights will be LED’s. We are getting a very very efficient new gas boiler. I hope to replace the open fire in the sitting room with a solid fuel stove.

2 more things – both food related. We have grown some veg for ourselves in recent years, but this year got our plot and had a lot more. We will even have some through the winter. I am hoping that next year we should get towards being almost self sufficient during the summer (apart from potatoes, will have to buy some) and a fair amount of our own veg in winter.

The other thing is the food shopping. Even before the plastic bag tax came in here, I was reusing permenant bags because of the “superscan” system in our local shop (use a hand held scanner as you go around adding food to your trolley and packing the bags, and this is just handed over at the checkout with the money – with occasional spotchecks), which also reduced the need for small bags for fruit, veg and meat. And I also like to shop for raw ingredients, making the majority of my food from scratch rather than buying processed foods. There tends to be less packaging, and it is more recyclable. When it is possible, I go to a greengrocer and butcher, or the farmer’s market. But with a busy lifestyle, that isn’t always an option.

As I said at the start, it’s about doing what each individual can for themselves. There are times when we are more green than others. We have to use the kitchen lights all day at present due to the building (there’s a wall blocking all sunlight for another few weeks) for example. But by doing what we can whenever we can, it is making a small difference to the planet. And that’s the important bit.

Wings