Introduction
If every individual makes just one lifestyle change, no matter how small, collectively we can help to slow down or even reverse the effects of global climate change.
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Listed below are some simple lifestyle suggestions which we can all adopt and the really good thing about these changes is that they not only help to reduce climate change, they also help to reduce your overall household bills.
- Don't leave appliances on standby. Up to 10% of household electricity used is due to standby wasting £740 million a year and creating 4 million tonnes of exces carbon.
- Don't leave the tap turned on when you brush your teeth. Turn it off or put a plug in it!
- Use the energy saving settings on your washing machine - washing clothes at 30 degrees C could save up to 40% on the running costs of you machine.
- Bank online and cancel paper statements - save paper, save trees.
- Don't use a hose pipe to wash your car. Use a bucket of water instead or even better, wait for rain and wash your car the natural way.
- Recycle as much household waste as possible (plastic, glass, clothes and cardboard/paper). Making drinks cans from recycled materials uses only 5% of the energy required for new aluminium cans. And recycling one plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a 60W lightbulb for 6 hours!
- Buy locally grown, organic fruit and vegetables to prevent the demand for produce to be shipped in from overseas. This will reduce pollution at sea and energy use.
If you have a garden, invest in a compost bin to recycle other household waste such as fresh food waste (fruit and vegetables, tea bags and eggs). This will reduce the use and demand of man made fertilizers, in turn reducing pollution of our fresh and salt water systems. - Install energy efficient light bulbs in your home or office. They use 75% less energy than standard bulbs.
- Reduce your car usage. Share a lift to work with a family member or another work colleague, cycle or walk to the shops. If you must drive your car, purchase a car charger and charge your phone whilst driving.
- Hang your washing out on the line or on an airier rather than using the tumble dryer.
- Only boil as much water as you need. If we all did this, we could save enough electricity to run half the street lighting in the country.
