Green Ideas

Over 6.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide are emitted globally every year. Most of this comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Most scientists agree that this huge amount of CO2 being dumped into the atmosphere is leading to climate change, the greatest environmental challenge threatening society today.

The responsibility for reducing CO2 emissions is falling to the government. International organisations such as the G8, United Nations and the European Commission are all laying strategies, setting targets and making demands, yet in reality it is down to us as individuals to make the necessary changes.

Transport is one of the biggest contributors to global warming in developed countries. Planes come in first as the most inefficient and dirtiest forms of transport. However, you have a few options here, the first is the best – choose other means of transportation. For instance, getting the Eurostar to Paris instead of flying will save you 273kg of CO2. However, getting the train isn’t always a practical option, so you can choose to offset your emissions. EasyJet for example give you the option when you are booking your flight to offset your carbon emissions. This will cost you extra, but can cost as little as £1 more and will make a huge difference.

Cars – there are many ways to make these gas guzzles greener. Firstly, think about how you are driving and don’t break or accelerate too hard. But most importantly don’t drive when you can walk or cycle. Most of the emissions from cars come from journeys of under five miles.  The car is not warm so is even less efficient so pollutes more, relatively speaking, than long journeys.

Did you know that 60% of the stuff that goes into your rubbish bin could be recycled? By recycling and using recycled products we are saving energy because it is easier and more efficient to make items from recycled goods.

Lastly, your homes are big polluters. Think of all the electrical gadgets in there. TV’s left on standby, mobile phones left plugged in but not charging and lights left on when no one needs them. However, the biggest offender, making up 60% of household pollution is your boiler. Therefore make sure you have the most energy efficient one possible, such as a combi-condenser boiler, available from British Gas. Then once it’s installed make sure it continues to run effectively by taking out British Gas’s boiler insurance, so if anything goes wrong it can fixed straight away without wasting any heat or power.