Tackling Climate Change

As I guess many people in this community are worried about our future and the climate change emergency we are facing, I wanted to create a thread where we can share thoughts, ideas and actions we are taking in our daily lives to make a difference.
My first action was more than a year ago when I switched to Pure Planet. It literally took 5 minutes and they do everything for you. They are much cheaper than the big 5, their customer service is far better, they just use 100% renewable energy and also offset your gas usage. You can check them out here -> https://purepla.net/
I have now started to buy in bulk to avoid excess plastic too.
What are you doing to tackling climate change? :smiley:

Me: hereā€™s my thread about preventing climate change

Also me: hereā€™s my affiliate link to make me some money off the back of it

Seriously, youā€™ve only created this thread to cash in.

Also (genuine question), why would I possibly want to use ā€œPure Planetā€ over Bulb?

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Fair comment, I switched the link out to their main website now. This thread is not for making money on the back of a switch.
I choose Pure Planet firstly because itā€™s cheaper than Bulb and secondly because unlike Bulb they do offset your gas emission with green credits which means that your energy supply is virtually carbon free.

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Bulbs gas is 100% carbon neutral and 10% of it is from renewable/recycled sources. As far as Iā€™m aware thatā€™s better than pure planet?

Interesting, when I moved to Pure Planet that was the main reason and a feedback I gave them when I left. Do you know when they started to offsetting gas supply?
EDIT: they changed it a month ago :smiley: -> https://bulb.co.uk/blog/our-gas-is-now-carbon-neutral

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In any case there isnā€™t a whole lot we can do to make a huge impact at this point. The majority of carbon emissions are from other countries not ours, we actually do pretty well. A large portion of our energy is from clean sources, weā€™ve greatly reduced coal use and emissions are down year on year.

Individually we can clean up our act and stop littering our country and being so wasteful. It is rediculous how much we waste, but the actual impact of that will barely register on any ā€˜climate emergencyā€™

The real difference would be putting pressure on high polluting countries to improve, that will tackle the elements of man made climate elements of climate change.

We should be looking not to stop climate change (you wonā€™t) but to stop turning our country into a dump or polluting the seas with consumer garbage.

Best way to do that is to stop buying things you donā€™t need. And to buy things where your able to, locally. Local meat and veg not wrapped.

Bulk is useful but not for everything, it also depends on where it is sourced.

Composting, most councils have a compositing scheme where you can get money off a composting bin. You can put most of your food waste and garden trimming in their. You can then use it for planting some veg in the garden, or give it to neighbours.

But donā€™t think cutting back on plastic is you having done your bit. You made no impact. At least not until the big polluters are able to reduce their impact.

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Good catch. I knew they have had for a while a small portion of their gas from renewable sources, but hadnā€™t kept up on their carbon neutral side. (I donā€™t use gas)

One word: frugality.

Individually, by far the best way to make a difference is to not buy anything you donā€™t need. When you do need something, try to buy second hand.

Donā€™t go away on holiday, and certainly donā€™t fly anywhere.

Donā€™t drive a car.

Only heat your home to the bare minimum necessary for you.

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Totally agree but we can still push companies in the country to improve with simple steps like using green energy suppliers, be more mindful of the waste we produce, etc.
I have started buying produce from my local farmer market although the prices are a bit steep and switching now all cleaning products to green alternatives. I have a bulk shop close to my flat where I can fill up washing up liquid, laundry and fabric conditioner without having to buy new bottles.

Itā€™s a bit like turning up to help at an earthquake with a dustpan and brush.

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Definetly doing this already although my partner is hating it. :rofl:

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I do love what Apple is doing in asking their suppliers in Asia to pledge 100% usage of renewable energy. The problem there lies in a lot of waste produced by the yearly device upgrade.

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I didnā€™t. I said donā€™t go away. I think people should have more holidays. :+1:

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Yes. I should have made a more thoughtful, nuanced, point here.

I mean to say that if you want to do your best for a sustainable life, then donā€™t drive. If you need to drive, then drive. The problem with people owning cars is that once youā€™ve got one, it nearly always makes financial sense to use it for every journey (let alone logistical sense), in my experience.

If you want to change your gas and electricity company Iā€™d recommend Ecotricity - they arenā€™t the cheapest and thereā€™s no sign up bonus for me or anyone.

But they are genuinely concerned about the environment and they actively put money back into renewable electricity and green gas (anaerobic digestion). 100% green electricity and 14% (and rising green gas).

I have heard good things about them. I think all the new green energy suppliers care about renewable. I made my decision based on price and gas offsetting percentage. I might reconsider Bulb as they are now offsetting 100% of the gas used too.

Did anyone watch the documentary on the BBC last night?
Climate Change - The Facts: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00049b1 via @bbciplayer

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Also, Ecotricity have been going since 1996. So thereā€™s no bandwagon jumping or trendiness.

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Iā€™m with Ecotricity have have no plan to change for the foreseeable future.

But I did change my mum over to Bulb - my sister has power of attorney and we wanted to reduce her bills whilst having some ethical considerations too as thatā€™s what sheā€™d want.

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As long as the residents of continental Asia continue to walk around with face masks on I think we might just be fighting a losing battleā€¦

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