Whatever your circumstances there are almost certainly going to be things you can do to help,. We are all in different situations and so what we as individuals can do differs immensely from person to person. The following suggestions are amongst the easiest and most obvious. We hope to add some more detailed pages at a later date.
| Action | Why this helps |
| Reduce plastic use. | Plastic does not biodegrade easily so when it gets into the environment it has long term pollution problems. It entangles wildlife and gets ingested by many creatures either directly or through eating prey, sometime with fatal consequences. |
| Replace any non-energy efficient light bulbs | This reduces the energy consumed which has so many benefits on top of saving money. Reducing energy consumption reduces pollution and reduces greenhouse gasses. It also reduces the amount of resources that get diverted into energy production, for instance we then need less green fields turned over to solar panels and windfarms and less electricity pylons. |
| Repair clothes if possible. | It uses much less of the planets resources to repair than replace, which means we have more water and more food to go around. In a country such as ours where we can only feed half our population this worth remembering. Pollution is also reduced by repairing. |
| Better insulation and draft proofing. | Has all the benefits of reduced energy use as for light bulbs above, plus your dwelling will be more comfortable, warmer in winter and cooler in summer. |
| Build new homes with modern standards of insulation and energy efficiency. | It is much cheaper to build properly in the first place than retrofit insulation. If buying new make sure the builder does not skimp, most do. If not buying new make sure your MP is prepared to back improving regulations on energy efficiency and home insulation. Whilst they refuse to act electricity prices are increased to pay for the extra gas needed and in the long term you will have to pay with more green fields lost to solar farms and wind turbines. |
| Avoid food waste, if it cannot be avoided dispose of properly. | Reduces food imports with associated high carbon cost. Reduces pollution from fertilisers and machinery used in food production and improves food security. Disposing of food waste in landfill causes methane emissions, methane being a greenhouse gas that warms the earth more than CO2. |
| Reduce meat consumption. | Modern global meat production has expanded so much it has resulted in forests (needed for oxygen production) being destroyed and land being given over to the production of crops to feed animals which are kept in too small an area to be able to graze their own food. This results in less biodiversity, more pollution, the production of more greenhouse gasses and a reduction in the size of the human population that can be supported. We can live perfectly happily (doctors advise , actually more healthily) with much less meat in our average British diet. So we are likely to be healthier, happier, live in a less polluted world which can support more human lives by consuming less meat, sounds like a no brainer to do this. |
| Use re-usable or recyclable material for present wraps. | Paper production causes the felling of trees and also uses large quantities of water and energy. Far better to use wrap that can be recycled, even better if it can be re-used, then you also avoid the recycling costs and associated pollution. |
| Recycle if you cannot repair, re-fill, re-use or re-purpose or sell/give to someone else who needs. | We are using far too much of the planets resources. This is causing habitat destruction and pollution on such a scale that extinctions are happening at record levels. If we live more efficiently not only can we reduce the number of mines, quarries and power stations that cause scars on the landscape, but we can also enjoy more green fields and woodland. Recycling a bottle can save 400Wh (enough power to light a standard 8W (800 lumen) bulb for 50 hours continuous) and metals can be recycled eve more effectively. Re-using saves even more energy. |
| Use your vote for the environment. | There are only so many changes you can make as an individual whilst staying part of our society. Many politicians are funded by or scared of big business. They need to know that you will only vote for politicians that are prepared to make the changes we need so that we can live in an environmentally friendly way and thereby pass to our children an inheritance that is worth leaving. |
| Promote active travel. Use public transport. | Roads are one of the biggest drivers to habitat splitting and loss. Motorised transport is now so over used that it prevents many from getting normal healthy amounts of exercise as part of daily routines and is one cause of high avoidable NHS expenditure combating the resulting health problems. Too many of us are forced to over use (and is some cases have in the first place) private transport because our infrastructure has developed over the past century to make it dangerous or incredibly inconvenient to use any other method. In addition to the problems highlighted above this also causes substantial pollution and massive green house gas emissions which need to be curtailed. The effect of electric vehicles increases many of the bad environmental issues although it does help enormously when it comes to global warming. Enabling active travel gives people the freedom to use whatever mode of transport is best for them so improving their health, reducing NHS costs, reducing pollution, reducing the need for solar panel and wind farms plus associated pylons and helps us all by reducing congestion on roads. Public transport is also a solution for many and works well when integrated with active travel. |
| Avoid flying | There are still no feasible green choices for airlines to use on a large scale. No true short or medium term solutions have emerged. Future technologies for greener flying are either just less polluting or too immature to be available any time soon. Minimising flying and definitely not increasing the amount you fly is essential to cut your carbon footprint. All resources are needed to make the energy we currently use and can make sustainably, sustainable. Increasing the amount of energy we need to generate using unsustainable methods is throwing away all that good work and endangers our ability to maintain current living standards. |
| Provide wildlife access to any green spaces you have | Cutting habitats into smaller parts causes death by preventing access into large enough areas for creatures to find enough food all year around, prevents them finding shelter when they need it and can also prevent them from finding breading partners. Letting wildlife in though gaps in fences, holes in walls or tunnels can open up more urban green areas, which become more effective the more gardens they can utilise. Even better to ensure there are some "wild" areas in your green space for wildlife to shelter and find food. |