“Negativity is mind pollution. They gave us a mystery? We’ll give them a solution!”
Daphne in Grand Scam from Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!
Taking climate action can be quick and cheap. It’s about everyone making good, smart choices in everyday life. Easy choices. Watching Bake Off live as it’s broadcast instead of later on catch-up is one – already you’ve saved the electricity that catch-up would’ve cost on Channel 4’s servers.
Taking climate action asks you only to think a little, and remember to do the right thing, right by you, yours and your neighbours.
Start with one simple thing, then move onto something else. Some of these ideas are things you can do right this moment – which of these changes can you make straightaway?
- Be less picky – it doesn’t matter if your spuds are a funny shape, or the colour isn’t quite right. Less picky means less waste.
- If it’s cold, put on an extra layer, not an extra notch on the heating. If it’s hot, take one off or open a window. Dress for the weather.
- Walk further and more often, it won’t take that much longer, and is cheaper than petrol or the gym.
- Cook bigger, so you have some left over for extra meals or to give to friends. (But don’t forget about it!)
- Carry reusables with you, like bags and cups.
- Sell, swap, share or donate the things you’re not using, and borrow or buy second-hand the things you need but haven’t got.
- Make the most of hot water, in kettles, washing machines, dishwashers, in washing yourself – heating water that travels dozens of miles to reach you eats power. Imagine how much more sparing you’d be with it if you had to physically carry it from its source.
- Eat locally-grown and in season – or even better grow it yourself; herbs, berries, tomatoes, rhubarb don’t need much space or looking after.
- Eat more veg and less meat and dairy, pay for better quality not more quantity.
- What you need is not the same as what you want, so shop smart and shop local, or even better rent, borrow or be creative with what you already have.
- Buy from people who care about the world as much as you do – buy sustainable, ethical, renewable.
And plant a tree. It’s a journey. We had an apple tree that struggled to grow, then finally it fruited (just the one apple) before getting broken in half. We thought it was a goner, but fed it and watered it and propped it up, and after a couple of years it fruited like crazy last year, though it’s still very short. Still, it’s getting there, and so will we if we all try.
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