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  The Independent 14 Aug 06
Seven days to green your life
We all know global warming is a fact. And we'd all like to do something to make a difference. But where to begin? The answer, of course, is in our own homes and daily routines.

Donnachadh McCarthy, one of Britain's leading expert in green living, believes seven days is all it takes to cast aside the bad habits of a lifetime. Here he explains how to change for the better - starting tomorrow

THE SEVEN DEADLY ECO SINS

1. Transport Modern lifestyles have given rise to a huge increase in demand for travel, whether it is to work, to visit relatives or to take holidays.

In the 19th century, few people travelled much beyond their own village or market town. While modern methods of transport have transformed our horizons, they nearly all come with a high CO2 price. Transport accounts for 25 per cent of CO2 emissions in the UK, and this figure is steadily rising. However, by reducing car use, cycling and walking, we can cut our transport emissions significantly.

The really radical step you could take would be to look for a job closer to home. Every day, millions of people commute to jobs in places from which others have made their way in the opposite direction to do the same jobs. Would it not make more sense if we worked in our own communities, instead of wasting our lives commuting?

2. Energy The energy we use for heating and lighting our homes and offices is a major source of CO2 emissions, with coal, gas and oil power stations emitting 56 million tonnes of the greenhouse gas every year.

While renewable energy sources such as domestic wind turbines, solar panels and micro-hydro schemes have a role to play in tackling climate change, it is important to realise that energy efficiency can be seven times more cost effective. For example, the fashion for installing halogen down-lighters in our homes has led to a catastrophic increase in the energy used for lighting.

Thus it makes sense to first identify how to cut the amount of energy you are wastefully consuming and then if you have the capital and suitable property, to invest in renewables to deal with your remaining energy requirements.

3. Water Climatologists predict that climate chaos could bring extremely heavy bouts of rain, with longer periods of drought.

Southern England is now experiencing one such drought and the upheaval is causing havoc for the privatised water companies, with drought orders and hosepipe bans in force.

The companies are easy targets, with their inheritance of leaking Victorian pipe-work built under roads unable to protect piping from the huge growth in traffic, and needing profits to justify borrowing to invest in leakage prevention.

However, our homes waste 100 per cent of the rainwater that falls on our roofs and 100 per cent of the "grey water" produced by baths, showers and washing machines.

Cutting water waste would reduce the need for expensive investment in new capacity by the water companies, which drives up our water bills. The current system, where rainwater is pumped away from our roofs, and fresh water is extracted from rivers and aquifers, chemically cleaned and pumped through kilometres of what will always be leaking pipes, only to be flushed down our loos, is insane. It not only wastes water, but creates as much CO2 as is produced by four power stations.

By using and re-using your rainwater and grey water, you can start the move to a saner water system - and even cut your water bills if your home is metered.

4. Waste UK homes produced 27 million tonnes of domestic waste in 2005.

It is predicted to rise another 11 per cent by 2011. Britain's recycling rates have finally started to rise in response to public and EU pressure but landfill sites, where the bulk of our waste has up to now been dumped, are rapidly filling up.

Instead of developing a decent waste-reduction strategy, the Government has opted for a quick fix, by increasing the number of incinerators by more than 1,000 per cent. This will increase CO2 emissions and toxic waste. The imperative for us as individuals is to dramatically reduce our production of rubbish.

5. Work In recent years, many of us have learnt how to become more environmentally responsible at home.

Millions of people now recycle their domestic rubbish, 75 per cent of us buy some sort of organic produce and tens of thousands have installed water butts during the current drought.

However, these practices are often not taken into the workplace, despite the fact that offices normally consume far more resources, energy and water than most homes. It is now crucial that people take environmental action at their places of work, having found the confidence to take action at home.

6. Pollution One of the gifts of the Industrial Revolution was the extraordinary surge of knowledge in chemistry.

Advances in medical pharmacology transformed the lives of millions of people, but the release of a vast array of artificial chemicals into the atmosphere has led to the pollution of even the deepest oceans, threatening the world's fundamental chemistry.

Pesticides, according to the World Health Organisation, poison more than 3 million people worldwide every year and the number of chemicals in the home, whose combinations have never been tested, is now startling.

Using natural products cuts the number of unnecessary chemicals we and the workers producing them are exposed to, and reduces the levels of poisons escaping into the environment.

7. Food Sustainable Energy Action estimates that up to 30 per cent of the country's CO2 emissions are attributable to food.

The planting, harvesting, processing, transport and packaging all consume vast quantities of energy. As our food markets have globalised, the distance travelled by the average family meal now regularly exceeds 10,000 miles, where formerly it would have been less than 10, when most of the world's population lived on subsistence farms.

The variety sown of particular crops such as rice has plummeted as supermarkets only buy the most economic varieties, endangering the genetic security of our major food crops. The fewer varieties of a particular crop there are, the more exposed it is to being wiped out by disease.

The introduction of GM crops by the US has further increased the dangers facing food production, with multiple pesticide immunity already emerging in Canada.

You can help markets move towards healthy food production by buying low-packaged, local, organic foods.

TUESDAY - DAY 1

Transport Book your car in for a service today to ensure it is running at top efficiency.

Water Have a shower today and not a bath. A shower uses about 25 litres of water, whereas a bath uses from 80 litres upwards. Get rid of the power shower if you have one.

Energy Write out a pledge to yourself and date it, resolving never to leave the lights or heating on in rooms that you are not using. (It costs nothing, but is the most effective way of slashing your bills.)

Food If you are not vegetarian, go veggie for the week - but buy an organic roast for a special treat on Sunday. If you are already vegetarian, try having a vegan meal (ie without dairy or egg products) once a day for the week.

Waste Place a spare plastic shopping bag into your bag before you leave the house today and enjoy counting the number of bags you are able to refuse as you go shopping through the week.

Work If you work in an air-conditioned office, see if you can use natural ventilation instead by opening doors and windows that allow a natural air circulation. Alternatively, experiment with the controls to see what is the highest temperature you are comfortable with. Every degree lower of cooling uses up to 10 per cent extra energy.

Pollution Start eliminating noxious chemicals from your home, buychemical-free natural washing-up and laundry liquids from your health store.

WEDNESDAY - DAY 2

Transport If you've already had a holiday, have booked one or are booking it this week and it includes a flight, buy carbon offset credits which will be used to install renewable energy in developing countries or to plant trees that will absorb the CO2 emitted. You will be surprised at how cheap they are. www.woodland-trust.org.uk www.carbonneutral.com

Water If you do not have a fairly new lavatory, chances are you are wasting water every time you flush, due to the cistern being too large. Place a filled plastic bottle in the cistern this morning before going to work, to reduce the number of litres used with every flush. If it still works perfectly, experiment by adding more. Also, order an Interflush system for your WC. This flushes only as long as you keep your hand on the handle, and so reduces waste. www.interflush.co.uk

Energy Go online and switch to a renewable energy supplier. These companies can supply your home through the national grid with 100 per cent renewable electricity from installations such as wind turbines and solar electric panels. www.good-energy.co.uk www.ecotricity.co.uk

Food Check on www.alotoforganics.co.uk website to see if there are any organic box schemes in your local area and sign up to get your organic fruit and vegetables delivered to your home. Saves shopping time and ensures your food is pesticide free.

Waste Stop buying disposable products. Using cotton handkerchiefs instead of tissues, toothbrushes with replaceable heads, kitchen cloths instead of paper-towels, mooncups instead of tampons or sanitary towels, terry nappies instead of disposable nappies etc can all help slash the amount of waste going into your rubbish bin every week. Replaceable head toothbrushes are available from www.naturalcollection.com.

Work Take a walk around your building and turn off lights and air-conditioning in rooms with no one in them. Use your computer to make labels asking people to "Please Switch Off When Leaving" stickers and put them in bathrooms, store-rooms etc.

Pollution Pop in to your local charity shop or go online and buy from organic clothes websites if shopping for clothes this week. Cotton production accounts for more than a quarter of the world's pesticide use. www.greenfibres.co.uk

THURSDAY - DAY 3

Transport Get your bike out if it is at the back of the garage (or buy one) and use it for all your journeys under five miles. Having large baskets front and rear makes shopping a doddle and avoids the hassle of finding that elusive car-parking space.

Water Buy a water butt today. Special offers are currently available online from most local water companies or from your local hardware store.

Energy Go around your house and see where you lose heat. Keyholes, letter-boxes, window-frames and doors are common sites where heat escapes. Pop into the DIY centre on the way home and buy basic insulating materials to block these draughts. Your chimney is another hole through which heat is lost. Stuff it with reused bubble wrap or buy a chimney-balloon which seals off 99 per cent of the escaping air. Grants are available for loft and cavity wall insulation. The Energy Savings Trust website has a postcode search engine that lists energy efficiency grants available in your local area. www.est.org.uk www.chimney-balloon.co.uk

Food Buy real fruit rather than processed fruit juices, whose increased production is leading to the destruction of forests in developing countries and consumes huge amounts of precious water in many dry countries.

Waste Switch back to traditional benign methods of cleaning your home. Mix one part organic vinegar to six parts water in a spray-bottle for an eco-friendly and cheap window-cleaner. Try out Eco-cloths, which require almost no scouring powder for cleaning sinks and tops. Sodium bicarbonate is also an excellent all-round kind cleaner around the house.

Work If you have a water fountain at work that uses large plastic bottles or you use bottled water, ask your facilities manager to change over to a mains-supplied water cooler, which purifies and cools mains water. They are easily installed almost anywhere as the water supply can be connected by flexible narrow plastic tubing to wherever the water pipes are.

Pollution Buy a battery charger in your local electrical goods shop today and switch to re-chargeable batteries. Batteries cause toxic pollution if dumped in landfill sites.

FRIDAY - DAY 4

Transport Look up the free car-sharing website www.liftshare.org and cut your transport emissions to work by up to 75 per cent by sharing the journey with up to three others.

Water Buy a downpipe diverter to channel your bath, shower and washing machine water (so-called "grey water") from the drain into watering the garden or washing the car. They cost about £30. www.naturalcollection.com

Energy Go around the house, and where you have too many lamps take out the unnecessary bulbs and replace the others with energy-saving bulbs. Energy saving bulbs can now be bought that fit candle bulb and halogen bulb fitments. They use up to 80 per cent less energy than tungsten or halogen bulbs. www.yourwelcome.co.uk

Food If you or your family eat fish, resolve to eat less and ensure that you are not buying species of fish whose stocks are under threat. The website www.fishonline.org has an excellent list of over-fished varieties to avoid buying.

Waste Avoid Tetrapaks, which are hard to recycle as they are a mixture of aluminium, cardboard and plastic. Soya milk packaging can become a thing of the past if you buy a soya milk-maker. www.soyafresh.co.uk

Work Suggest to the purchasing department that you buy recycled paper for photocopying and marketing materials. Include the fact on your artwork when you have switched.

Pollution IT equipment and mobile phones contain numerous heavy metals and lead to serious pollution if dumped. Look online to see if you have a local computer recycling service and post the details where your family or work colleagues can easily find them when needed.

SATURDAY - DAY 5

Transport Look at www.carfueldata.org.uk to check your car's CO2 emissions and go to the car dealer to swap your car for the smallest car compatible with your needs and with the lowest emissions in its class. Even within the same class, car emissions can vary by up to 40 per cent.

Water A huge amount of water gets wasted when we allow the tap to run, whether brushing our teeth, shaving, washing vegetables or simply to get the water colder for drinking. Water is precious, so stop running the tap, put a bottle of tap water in the fridge and capture any run water in a bowl for other uses around the house.

Energy If your fridge or central-heating boiler is more than 12 years old, it probably needs replacing as it is consuming too much energy. Ensure that any replacement is A-rated for energy efficiency. Ensure that you get a fridge that is not too big for your needs. I have visited homes with three fridges, all of which were half-empty, thus wasting energy 24 hours a day, all year round. If replacing your boiler, consider including a solar hot water system. www.est.org has details of grants for solar hot water systems.

Food Pop down to your local garden centre this Saturday and buy food-producing plants, such as soft fruit shrubs or herbs. Even if you have no access to a garden, with a window box you can produce plenty of herbs such as mint, basil and chives, eliminating the need for buying supermarket packs - and deliciously fresh when you need them.

Waste Organic waste such as vegetable peelings and hedge clippings can make up to a third of our waste. Check online today to see if your local council supplies subsidised composting bins or has a community composting scheme for people in flats.

Pollution Do not burn domestic rubbish in your garden, and report people burning rubbish to your local council's environmental health department.

SUNDAY - DAY 6

Transport Instead of using the car today for a family outing, go by train instead. Rural train stations provide a gateway to a host of wonderful walks, bicycle rides and rural pubs. This is a great way to relax without having to worry about the traffic or the stress of driving.

Water Look up the Rain Harvesting Association's website www.ukrha.org for information on professional rain-harvesting systems. These automated and pump-powered systems can cost from £2,000-£3,000 although simpler manual systems can be installed for less than £600.

Energy If you have an open gas fire, resolve today never to use it again! They waste up to 85 per cent of the gas used and should be outlawed immediately! Alternatives include wood-burning stoves, some of which are compatible with smoke- free zones, or flueless gas fires which are 100 per cent efficient, but suitable only for homes that already have background central heating.

Food Find out where your local farmers' market is and take the family for a fun Sunday morning outing. Locally produced food helps the local economy and slashes the amount of food miles travelled and therefore CO2 emissions. www.farmersmarkets.net

Waste If you need something new for the house, whether it is curtains, hi-fi or crockery, check first in your local paper's classifieds section, at car-boot sales or on websites such as eBay. Buying second-hand eliminates all the CO2 involved in producing new products.

Pollution Stop using any pesticides in your garden. Organic gardening using natural fertilisers makes your garden less toxic for your family and is good for wildlife. www.gardenorganic.org.uk has loads of information on how to go organic.

MONDAY - DAY 7

Transport If you have a diesel engine that takes low-sulphur fuel, visit the www.biodiesel.co.uk website. My electrician uses up to 30 per cent supermarket vegetable oil in his car. Gordon Brown, however, insists that you must pay excise duty on this vegetable oil. If you want to be even greener, use organic vegetable oil.

Water Buy an aerating head for your shower, which reduces water use by mixing air with the water. Spray-attachments for your taps also reduce water use in bathroom basins. www.aqualogic-wc.com

Energy Visit the Energy Savings Trust website for information on renewable energy and the grants available. If you have not got the money now to invest, it does no harm to develop dreams for the future. Buying now helps create a mass market so that they can become economic for those less well-off. www.est.org.uk

Food Include as much raw fruit and vegetables as possible in all your meals. More minerals and vitamins are present in raw food than in cooked food and so are healthier and they cut down energy used on cooking.

Waste Rather than buying new furniture in the future, resolve today to buy good-quality second-hand or antique furniture instead.

Work At the staff meeting this morning under "any other business" suggest that your company gets an eco-audit done to get a list of recommendations on how to make it more eco-friendly.

Pollution Decide today to only use environmentally friendly products in future for any DIY or decorating. Put the Green Building Store and the organic paint company Ecos Paints websites on to your computer's list of favourite websites so that you can find them easily when decorating. www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk www.ecospaints.com

Donnachadh McCarthy is author of Saving the Planet Without Costing the Earth and is a home and business eco-auditor. (www.3acorns.co.uk)
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