So what are we going to do about climate change?
I think we can all cut back on the carbon, but without serious muscle from government, if may not be enough.
So what can we do each one of us? Here is my list:
Low Energy light bulbs – they really do work. The ones I fitted two years ago are still burning brightly. The ordinary ones just blow and blow, and when you read the box, they are all D RATED of worse!
Eco appliances. There are now double A rated fridges, freezes, washers, driers, and for not much more money, you can save a lot of electricity. Upgrade as you go. I have just done the freezer, and it now consumes half the power of the old one, which was taken away by the Council for recycling. We need to lobby Government to take VAT off such appliances, as an incentive to buy them.
If you are an American, you could consider a SMALLER fridge/freezer, which I know is like asking Barbie to give up wearing PINK, but we have to try.
Turning things OFF seems amazingly efficient – the stand-by and remote are killer carbonisers, so stop using the juice when you don’t need to use it. Everything OFF than can be OFF, is OK.
Cut back on the water, big-time. The water wars are going to make the fight for oil look like squabbles over chocolate. No water. No life. We are short of it where we need it, and in danger of rising sea levels where we don’t need it.
I tried an experiment last week of only using water essentially – doing less laundry (hard for a Virgo), letting the car stay dirty, only taking showers, and not baths, cleaning my teeth with water in a jug. I used loads less than usual, and so now I am just trying to stay conscious about it.
Rubbish – Home is where the waste is. How can we cut back? Of course this brings us into the tricky territory of SUPERMARKETS, and their endless packaging. TRY and use markets and TRY to buy unwrapped or less wrapped goods, and of course, cook your own food whenever and wherever you can, and if you can, RECYCLE everything. Tins, bottles, plastic, compost. You know the mantra!
The car – oh god, the car! I realise that I have to sell my Porsche. I need those nice men in Munich to design an Eco-Porsche. Why not? Can somebody forward this mail please?
The great thing about Porsches is that they last a very long time. Mine, which is a modest 911SC, never breaks down, and is joy to own, but even with the modest mileage that I do each year, I guess I have to go for something much more fuel-friendly.
I’ll let you know what I find.
My friend Ruth Rendell has a hybrid car, which is great if you live in the city, not great if you live in the country as I do. Car manufacturers are lagging well behind on what we need for towns and cities. Maybe they could hurry up on more Smart cars and hybrids, and then tackle the question of the genuine need for a 4x4 or some such, when you are not the traveller of well-made, smooth roads. In the back of my Landrover today I had 3 bags of cement, two doors, a dog, and a Georgian fireplace.
But I always take the train to London, always cycle to the gym, and any distance two miles or less. But
STILL I have to improve.
No Porsche, no Landrover. Unbearable, but not unthinkable.
And the answer is, around 8,000 miles a year in the Landy, and no more than 5,000 in the Porsche. Yes, I can do better than that…
One thing I am about to do is install an ICE energy heat pump that heats the house and hot water using heat stored in the ground. This is amazingly efficient, and I am told, will reduce my emissions by 75%. This system was developed in Sweden, and is beginning to be used over here. It’s a wet system, so you keep your radiators etc, but it’s a great alternative to oil and gas. Within three years I will be able to connect it to a genuinely workable solar panel system. For now, it will cost around £200 a year to generate all my heating and hot water – which quite apart from the emissions is a big saving. Check it out at www.iceenergy.co.uk
INSULATION. Very good idea, so if you are having work down, pack in the woolly fleece stuff, and keep in the warmth.
BREEZE BLOCKS! How I hate breeze blocks. When your builder comes round, tell him or her you will use a timber frame instead. I am just doing that now, and cladding it with Cotswold stone, and it will look perfect, but without the block work so beloved of the building industry. Breeze blocks throw out a lot of carbon in their manufacture. They are not an eco-friendly material, and they are UGLY. Just say no.
LOCAL. Yes Yes Yes. If it hasn’t travelled far, it hasn’t put in the air miles and road miles. We can’t source everything locally, but we could probably achieve at least half – especially where food is concerned. Try it anyway.
BUDGET FLIGHTS. This is easy – don’t take them. Whatever you do means nothing if you just fly aimlessly around the world. Take the train, boat, whatever, but stop the weekend dashes that cost you less than a meal out. If this is a sacrifice – make it.
AND. This is really about thinking differently, and acting differently so that our kids have a planet they can call home, not a trash-yard that their parents trashed.
AND. For the big picture, start lobbying Government. We have unique problems right now, and a unique chance to change. We can do it but it won’t be easy, painless, or quick.
But that won’t stop us, will it?
Don’t forget the PEN FESTIVAL in New York City. I will be there, having flown British Airways and paid my carbon tax.
The festival begins on April 25th. Contact PEN for details.
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