Flow gently, sweet Afton, among thy green braes,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream.(From Afton Water, by Robert Burns)
There is plenty of advice from estate and travel agents, car manufacturers, governments, health websites and others about how to live well or better. Get another house, go on a holiday, buy a new car, recycle more, take more exercise, and plenty more.
Our western lifestyles, and many of the industries and activities which support us, are making the planet warmer and the climate worse for us, so that eventually nature won’t support us. This is an existential threat to the human race as we know it. Something must be done, not least the transition from fossil fuels to a carbon neutral world. Governments, collaboratively or otherwise, are not doing enough, quickly enough, to achieve this.
But in free societies, governments can only do so much through their policies, regulations and agreements, and they need help and pressure from their citizens and businesses, individually, to achieve the biggest goal of Net Zero that we all desperately need.
Some of the fundamental drive towards devastating climate change comes from authoritarian regimes like Russia, which prioritise the sale of their fossil fuels and the production of armaments to invade neighbouring countries like Ukraine, and from India and China which prioritise the building of their economies. The drive has been massively accelerated with the arrival of Donald Trump. But a very great deal of the drive comes from the lifestyles and choices, reasonable or otherwise, of citizens the world over.
My own life, like most people in western countries, now includes access to a car, warmth through central heating, a bath and shower with running hot water, carpets throughout, fridge/freezer, washing machine, electric vacuum cleaner, electric kettle, microwave, bed heater, TV, and hair dryer. I have enjoyed many holidays, including many abroad.
Growing up in the 1940s I had none of these things.
I learned a degree of care and economy, which was fairly common then, from my grandmother. Clothes were often self-made, always mended and only rarely bought new. Furniture lasted a lifetime. Food was purchased daily, without plastic containers or packaging, and not wasted. Electricity was used sparingly. Holidays were few and far between. Buttons, rubber bands and string were all saved and re-used. Cardboard was recycled. Envelopes which arrived through the post were re-used.
So, what can we do now? Here are some ideas, some very simple, others more difficult or expensive, which might help to reduce your carbon footprint.
Housing
Do you live in a house bigger than you need? Is downsizing an option for you?
Is your home insulated and draught-proofed? If not, consider getting it done. There are grants available to ease the cost.
How is your home and water heated? Consider eco-friendly options like solar panels, a heat pump (grants available), or electronic monitoring or control of times and temperatures.
Is your home conveniently located for your outside activities like work, school and leisure? Are there bus routes or cycle lanes nearby? If not, are you really in the right place?
Do you really need that expensive kitchen or bathroom upgrade?
Do you minimise your use of harsh cleaning products and replace them with eco-friendly products where you can?
Garden
If you have a garden, can you grow food in it? Does it have wild areas? Can any hard surfaces like drives, paths, patios or landscaping be changed to something more permeable?
Can you plant a tree?
Transport
If you own a car, can you do without it, or change it for a smaller or electric one?
While driving, do you practise smooth-driving techniques to minimise emissions?
If your household has more than one car, can you reduce the number of cars you own, and consider renting or sharing or using a taxi for those more occasional uses?
Do you consider using transport other than the car for your journeys?
Do you walk, cycle, use the bus or train when you can?
Fly if you must, but must you? There are options to avoid flying, such as choosing a closer destination and using the train or coach. For business, remote meetings via the internet can sometimes substitute for face-to-face meetings to avoid flying.
Food
Do you eat fresh, seasonal, unpackaged fruit and vegetables when you can?
Do you try to limit your consumption of meat, particularly red meat, if you can?
Do you try to avoid products with single-use plastic containers such as small yoghurt pots, takeaway food and coffees?
Do you avoid as much ready food, fast food, take-away food, pre-prepared food as you can?
Are you careful not to waste food, and to recycle properly if necessary?
Clothing
Do you really need those extra garments?
Can you survive on last year’s fashions?
Can you repair that tear or dirty mark or repair those shoes?
Furniture and Household Appliances
Can you make do with the stuff you have, and repair or clean it? *
If it has to go, can you consider selling, gifting or recycling it?
Vacations
Do you have a bucket list of outlandish must-do things like climbing Everest or Kilimanjaro, visiting Antarctica or the Galapagos Islands, driving a car round Africa or cruising the world? If so, can you reconsider, and perhaps replace with some other less-ecologically-damaging but still inspiring idea?
Do you consider the environmental impact of your planned trip before confirming your plans?
Investments
Do you consider where your savings and pensions are invested? There are perfectly good places to put money which do not support the fossil fuel industries.
Conclusions
The dangerous climate crisis is quite substantially caused by an excessive quantity of consumer demand by the public for certain types of goods and services, which is satisfied by an equally excessive supply involving the use of fossil fuels.
The two necessary ways in which that climate crisis can be averted are:
a) to transition away from using fossil fuels in the creation of energy sources, which is the responsibility of governments acting separately and together, and
b) to reduce the demand for those goods and services which require excessive use of fossil fuels to supply. This is the responsibility of consumers, every member of the human race, but most particularly those most responsible for the problem, namely the better-off. As Oxfam puts it:
“Just as there is extreme inequality in who is responsible for the carbon emissions that have caused today’s climate crisis, there is vast inequality in how its impacts are felt. The deeply unjust reality is that rich people and countries are driving the climate crisis, while those living in poverty, marginalised groups, and low-income countries are paying the price”.
According to Oxfam, the richest 1% emit as much planet-heating pollution as two-thirds of humanity.
We live in a very consumer-oriented society. Capitalism relies on consumption. The government and the national economy almost demand it. Social status unreasonably often relies on it. It can be hard to resist.
This does not mean returning to a harsh life totally without modern conveniences. However, today’s citizens do though have a strong social obligation to be as moderate, careful and mindful in their consumer demands as they can reasonably be.
There are carbon footprint websites (e.g. Carbon hero) where you can check your personal contribution to emissions. Why not try them out?
It is way past time to wake up to the fact that we all have a responsibility for the planet.
See also the author’s recent series on climate change
* Ed note: And with AI now coming into day-to-day use, have you looked into its energy costs?
We want to hear your views. Please send any comments to editor@westenglandbylines.co.uk
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