It is so easy these days to despair of ever solving the climate crisis and what we do individually can seem very small - but when there are enough of us taking action it adds up. Even more importantly, doing things and talking about them demonstrates that we care, helps to motivate others and gives our political leaders confidence that when we ask for action we really mean it. I grant you doing things together is more fun, such as working in a community garden or with other repairers at a cafe. However the climate emergency challenges us to reconsider our everyday actions. So that is what we are doing.
Actions we are taking for climate change
There were five categories of actions: Home energy, food, transport, stuff we buy and influencing other people. Most of us ticked at least one item from every category. Here is the full list of actions with the most popular ones first.
- Eat less meat OR vegetarian/vegan combined (88%)
- Minimise food waste (82%)
- Minimise holiday travel (especially by air) (82%)
- Buy less new stuff - repair where possible (79%)
- Donating to environmental causes (73%)
- Buy local/organic food as much as possible possible (70%)
- Minimise car use (67%)
- Buy things to last (67%)
- Improved the energy efficiency of my home (for example with insulation) (64%)
- Buy pre-loved stuff (58%)
- Making a public stand - taking part in public campaigns (52%)
- Shifting my investments away from fossil fuels (including my pension) (52%)
- Grow my own food (48%)
- Installed renewable energy - at home or in a community scheme (48%)
- Optimised my heating controls at home (48%)
- Buy stuff from shops that allow me to bring my own packaging or minimise packaging (45%)
- Influencing friends and family to live more sustainably. (45%)
- Eat no meat - vegetarian/vegan (33%)
- Use an electric car (33%)
- Installed zero carbon heating (15%)
Actions we are planning
We asked you to tell us what you were planning to do next. Many of us mentioned things to do with home energy and home retrofits. This is not surprising given that these actions are not things you can do in a day: they do need a lot of planning. Insulation and zero carbon heating were most often mentioned. Zero carbon heating generally means heat pumps but one individual said they were interested in an electric boiler. That is likely to be expensive to run, unless the house is very well insulated or it incorporates storage to run from off-peak electricity. Another said they were interested in green gas such as the methane generated from sewage sludge in Bristol or a heat network. The energy group has advice on low carbon heating options, also advice on other topics too such as renewable energy and insulation. However do also feel free to contact the energy group directly.
Other actions in the pipeline including getting an electric car (though finding somewhere to charge it is a barrier for one), divesting a pension into more sustainable funds (over half of us already have done something about shifting investments from fossil fuels), getting a compost toilet, rainwater harvesting for the washing machine and toilet, solar panels and battery, getting an allotment and adopting a vegan diet.
Things we missed out and important messages
We are sorry not to have mentioned cycling and electric bikes explicitly as several of you pulled us up on that. We are reminded that: Bikes can also be used for the supermarket run. Also Derek Langley was very clear on this: E-bikes are the most efficient form of transport. We recently ditched our car and now use folding e-bikes to get around (with trains/buses). Electric car not a good option unless you use it a lot, as takes so much carbon to build.
Water saving is a topic of concern to quite a few of you, quite rightly as this whole region is water stressed and there has already been environmental damage to our local streams and rivers through over-abstraction Earlier this year Transition Cambridge produced some videos about this - you can find them from our Precious Water page. Also you might get in touch with Cam Valley Forum. Specific advice from you on water saving include: use shower regulator/aerating-head, and turn off shower eg when washing hair.
The pensions issue is a big concern for many. One said: For those with savings/investments/a pension, the single most significant & relatively painless action individuals can take to combat climate change is to move their investments away from fossil fuels - this dwarfs all other actions in terms of impact. This message needs to be emphasised much more!
Derek had specific advice on the related issue of who you bank with: Good to switch banks away from those investing in fossil fuels, especially Barclays and HSBC but also Santander, Lloyds, NatWest. Nationwide is a good alternative.
Another action we missed out was limiting your family size. One factor in deciding to limit the number of children to have in the family was the environmental impact of an additional child.
We should not restrict our vision to changes at home. Encourage changes in the workplace, e.g. getting your employer to join the cycle to work scheme."
And in the same vein, Dave Fox wants us to spend some time responding to the Greater Cambridge planning consultation. it’s really important to challenge the insane growth agenda and support only truly sustainable development. That is something to get cracking on - Here is a link to get you started. https://placebuilder.io/futureofthearc
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