Warning: UK Fuel Price Hike

If you go down to the pumps today, you're sure of a big surprise.
 
A combination of an oil refinery closure and tanker driver strikes means that UK fuel costs are set to rise over the weekend to the highest ever prices. If you have a little spare money, you might want to fill up your tank this evening to save a few pence over the next few weeks.

I will fill up at the cheaper prices today because I seriously begrudge paying any more than I have to!

Ten Ways to Save the Planet for Free

Buy this energy saving gadget, eat extortionate organically grown vegetables. 

 

We are constantly being sold expensive products in order to try and reduce the enormous burden we place on the planet. Whilst I would definitely recommend some of these (low-wattage light bulbs, for example), there are many ways we can reduce waste and minimise consumption for free, which may well have more of an impact anyway! It is one of my New Year's Resolutions to implement all of the following methods wherever possible, and I hope you'll join me.

1. Recycle – Yes, yes, you can recycle your paper, cans, clothes and plastic at home, but recycling goes deeper than that. Can you repurpose things that you no longer want into something else? Frugal Down Under is amazing at turning old things into beautiful new gifts and items for the home. You can find a home for a lot of unwanted possessions on Freecycle. Use a comparison website to see who will give you the most money for recycling your old mobile phone, either for yourself or for charity.
2. Re-use plastic bags! – Shops in Wales charge a fee for plastic bags even at supermarkets now and it's only a matter of time before the rest of the UK follows suit. Re-use plastic bags you already have (for free), or invest in a few Bags For Life which can be replaced when they wear out. I travelled to Germany about six years ago and I was so impressed to see that people take along their own containers to buy fruit and veg, rather than using the little plastic bags we have. I can't believe this hasn't caught on here yet, so let's start doing it today!
3. Grow your own – Fresh, organic vegetables can be easily grown. The initial outlay for seeds and tools will be easily compensated by the amount you save later in the year by eating your own crops. Plan what you are going to grow – there are multitudes of websites to help with this (use one based in your own country). Dig out a vegetable patch, or turn over the soil of last year's patch if you already have one. You can begin planting in March. Use your waste vegetable matter (raw) to begin composting for a great fertiliser in a year's time. (See my beginner's guide to composting).
4. Turn it off! – Leaving a laptop on standby overnight uses 15-40 watts an hour, depending on whether the battery is charging. This alone will cost you a pound or two a week, which soon adds up when you think of all the other red lights blinking in the dark in your home.
5. Print sparingly – Print only when you have to, and always use both sides of the paper. You can even set documents to print two sheets per side, which is usually easily legible.
6. Don't buy bottled water – The Mother Nature Network states that bottled water results in 1.5 million tonnes of plastic each year and less than 20% of bottles are actually recycled. With prices of up to £1 per litre, bottled water can be nearly as expensive as petrol!
7. Short showers – Showers are viewed as less wasteful but try putting the plug in one day to see how much water you actually use. Aim to halve it.
8. Look after your possessions – Perform the required maintenance tasks, keep items clean and learn how to fix it when it is broken. Cars can actually use significantly less fuel if the oil is changed regularly and they are looked after properly. (See my post on hypermiling, the art of making fuel go further).
9. Get on your bike and ride – How long does it take you to drive to work? If you live within five miles of your workplace it will take less than 20 minutes to pedal yourself there. That is INCLUDING that great big hill on the way there, and think how much fun it'll be whizzing down it on the way home!
10. On-line banking – Stop the unread bank statements from cluttering up your home. You can keep a real-time eye on what's going in and out of your account using online banking. Make sure you have up-to-date anti-virus and firewall software installed. For more security advice, read this website.

Ten small ways to save money, reduce waste and save energy. Ten easy ways to make a difference. Join me in my mission to reduce my impact on the planet in 2012!

Will the Recession Save the World?

Humanity is destroying itself. We're lopping down forests, burning through fuel supplies and we're polluting the planet to a point where crops will start to fail. I don't personally believe humans as a species will last for another 1000 years, or even 500 years.

Yet there is still a glimmer of hope. We still have time to rectify the situation. To stabilise greenhouse gas levels at a safe level would cost 1% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the Stern Review published in October 2006. The alternative is struggling to pay for failing ecosystem processes. Our planet is fantastic. It provides a huge range of habitats to support teeming millions of creatures and plants. We benefit from food, clean drinking water, pharmaceuticals from plants, regulated climate, pollination of crops, nutrient cycling, waste decomposition and disease control, not to mention all those processes we do not fully understand yet! If carbon emissions continue at the current rate we will lose some of the most vital things that Earth provides for us. The cost to the global economy will be 5-20% of the GDP, or 20 times more than the cost of acting now to prevent the loss.

Do people want to go green to save the planet? Can they be bothered? Until recently the answer was “no” in most cases.

The recession has been rubbish for everyone, with millions of people unemployed in the UK and a huge hike in the cost of living. In the news the other day they reported that people weren't planning to turn on their central heating until it gets colder because of the 18% rise in energy costs. As long as people are staying safe, surely this is a good thing! People feel that they should be able to walk round their home in shorts and a t-shirt, even in the middle of winter! By putting on a few extra layers instead of flicking on the heating you are saving yourself money as well as cutting down your carbon footprint. I'm currently writing this from the comfort of a blanket and shawl, with fluffy woolly socks keeping my toes toasty. A safe room temperature is about 16°C (61°F), which isn't warm but it's not uncomfortably cold (older people and young children may need a slightly higher temperature). If you're only going to be in one room (for example at night), just heat the one room instead of your entire house!

Another “benefit” of the recession is the ridiculous price of petrol/diesel. The cheapest prices in our area currently are 133.9 pence per litre for petrol and 138.9p/L for diesel. (It's quite harsh that Cornwall has some of the highest fuel prices in the country, yet some of the worst public transport and lowest wages to boot!) The days of going for a drive for something to do are over. A year ago, The Boyfriend and I would occasionally drive to the 24hr Tesco (~25 mile round trip) to get a DVD to watch, but lately we've said “ehhh.. fuel costs too much”! I'm sure a lot of people are reducing their weekly miles to save money, which has got to have a good impact on the environment!

The question is how much of a reduction will be enough? The Government has pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 12.5% by 2012 (from 1990 levels) and by 80% by 2050. Will we meet these targets, and will it be enough to stop global climate change from escalating?

The recession is causing people to live more frugally and environmentally friendly. Will the recession save the planet?