Many of us are aware of the need to reduce our use of power – and it is not at all an easy thing to do. We depend on electricity for everything from communication and laundry to heating and lighting. So how can we use less?
What about making sure that the power you use is sustainably produced? Can you recommend a knowledgeable person who could give us a talk about that?
Indoor Lighting
Habits like switching lights off when rooms are unoccupied, only heating as much water as you need for your cuppa seem small – but they add up if we all do them. Replacing light bulbs with low energy ones helps too.
Outdoor lighting
Having outdoor lights makes sense for security and so that you don’t fall over the steps on your way home after dark, and can see to put the bins out. There is no need to flood your garden with light for much of the night however. Quite apart from the waste of electricity (however green it is), it is damaging to nocturnal wildlife. Animals and birds get disorientated as the light spreads outwards and upwards far away from its source. So, just switch on your outdoor lights when you need them.
CPRE (campaign to protect rural England) article on light pollution here.
Laundry
Many of our clothes contain at least some plastic – elastane, nylon, polyester and so on. This means that every time you wash them, tiny particles of plastic go down the drain and end up where? Very possibly in the sea where they damage marine wildlife or maybe in our drinking water.
How can you prevent this from happening? There is a Guppyfriend Laundry Washbag on the market which claims to catch those microplastics. You then have to remove them from the bag of course and dispose of them where they won’t get into the drains. If you have tried this, please send us a report!
Speak up for our Planet 