| Campaiging - who to write to |
Sarah Clayton
08:13 26/05/09
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| Contact the decision-makers. Find the right person to talk to in seconds on http://www.writetothem.com/ - a fantastic campaigning website. Just type in your postcode and the site brings up a list of your local, district, MP and MEP councillors and contact details for them. It's also packed with useful hints and tips on getting your message across, and what you should expect. |
| Source:Friend |
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| Tooth brushing |
Sarah Clayton
20:56 25/05/09
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| You can waste up to 4.5 litres of water if you leave the tap running while brushing your teeth - instead, use a glass of water for rinsing, or short bursts from the tap, and you'll only need a fraction of this amount. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Coffee Shop cup |
Sarah Clayton
20:44 25/05/09
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| If you can't manage without your fix from the coffee shop on the way to work, why not make your own and bring it in a flask? At £2 or more per cup, just think how much you'd save over a year! Besides the cash, you'd also save a load of unnecessary packaging - plus a flask will give you at least another coffee mid-morning. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Child's Play |
Sarah Clayton
19:32 05/11/08
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| If you and your friends have children of a similar age, why not consider swapping a selection of your kids' toys with one of their friend's, for a month or more? It will give your children a whole new range of things to play with, at no extra cost to you or the planet. An added bonus is they'll probably enjoy their own toys much more when they get them back! |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| CD/DVD Recycling |
Sarah Clayton
17:46 04/05/08
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| Give unwanted CDs and DVDs a new lease of life. Your old CDs can be recycled into burglar alarms, street lighting and lenses, and unwanted DVD cases can be recycled into birdfeeders. Collect yours, or set up a collection point at work, and send to Polymer Recycling. Please only include CDs, DVDs and associated packaging, and nothing else. Find out more, including where to post them to at http://www.polymerrecycling.co.uk/ |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Reusing Plastic Bags |
Sarah Clayton
20:47 28/05/07
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| If you have plenty of old plastic carrier bags, use them as bin liners, drainage systems at the bottom of plant pots and hanging baskets, or instead of bubble wrap when packing. See if your local charity shops would like any surplus bags, and get into the habit of taking a re-useable bag next time you go shopping, to avoid picking up more carriers. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Make your fridge more energy efficient |
Sarah Clayton
20:46 28/05/07
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| Help your fridge waste less energy - and save you money - by trying these tips. Dust down the coils at the back of the fridge - dusty coils can waste up to 30% extra electricity. Defrost your fridge regularly. Let food cool down properly before putting it in the fridge. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Cycling - Save money and get healthy! |
Sarah Clayton
20:40 11/04/07
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| To save money, look for second-hand bikes in reputable shops. If you need convincing of the benefits of cycling - for the environment, your health and your purse - check out http://www.whycycle.co.uk Already cycling? Find out what else you can do to encourage more sustainable transport at http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/transport/press_for_change/ |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Ask Gordon Brown to change car tax rates |
Sarah Clayton
15:34 14/03/07
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| Over 1 million new cars are bought every year. Many of these are highly polluting gas guzzlers which are contributing to climate change.
Currently, the amount people pay in car tax depends on how much carbon dioxide their car produces. However, incentives to buy lower carbon emitting models are so small they are not encouraging people to buy them.
Email Chancellor Gordon Brown before 21 March and ask him to change car tax rates to help tackle climate change. Click here to find out how to do this.
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| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Do you have to drive? |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| The Environmental Transport Association aims to raise awareness about the impact of excessive car use and help individuals and organisations to make positive changes in their travel habits. If you can't avoid the occasional car journey, read their Green Tips to help you reduce your impact on climate change - see http://www.eta.co.uk/greentips/ |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Don't let cash leak out of your house |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Plan ahead for the winter and check that your loft insulation is topped up. If you don't have any loft insulation at the moment, you could expect to see annual savings of £80-£100 for an outlay of £170 upwards if you do the work yourself or £220-£250 upwards if it's done professionally (using a three-bed, gas-heated semi as an example). If you are topping up insulation to the recommended depth of 250 mm, the cost is likely to be from £140 if you install it yourself (£200-£230 if done by a professional) and the savings £20-£30 a year. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Fridges |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Help your fridge waste less energy - and save you money - by trying these tips. Dust down the coils at the back of the fridge - dusty coils can waste up to 30% extra electricity. Defrost your fridge regularly. Let food cool down properly before putting it in the fridge. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Slow cooking |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Invest in a slow cooker for delicious meals made using little more electricity than a light bulb. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Ovens |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Try these tips to make your oven more energy efficient. Switch your oven off a few minutes before your food is ready - it will stay hot enough to finish cooking the food. Avoid opening the oven too often to check whether your dinner is ready - by allowing heat to escape, it will end up taking longer - and more energy - to cook. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Toast |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Use a toaster rather than the grill to make toast - it uses less energy. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Don't waste energy cooking |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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Try these tips for energy efficient cooking.
* Keep electric hobs clean so the rings can work more efficiently
* Chop up your veggies in small pieces to reduce cooking time
* When boiling or steaming veggies, boil the water in the kettle first rather than on the hob; and don't use more water than you need
* Steamers are easy to use and allow you to cook loads on just one ring
* Read other no-cost ways to save energy at http://www.foe.co.uk/living/poundsavers/save_energy.html#cooking |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Save money on household bills |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| If you regularly add lots of cold water when running a bath or washing up, turn the thermostat on your hot-water tank down to 60 degrees centigrade. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Alternatives to flying |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Aviation is the fastest-growing contributor to climate change. As part of Airportwatch, Friends of the Earth is calling on the Government to rethink its aviation policy - you can make a difference by emailing the Secretary of State for Transport at http://www.rethink.airportwatch.org.uk/ You can also lessen your environmental impact by holidaying in the UK or finding alternative ways to travel at http://www.seat61.com (includes destinations in the UK, Europe and beyond). |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Turn appliances off |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Turn your appliances off if you aren't using them - items such as DVD players consume 85 percent of their total energy while on standby. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Radiators |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Summer is a good time to think about keeping warm in the winter months! While your radiators are switched off, put reflective material behind them - this will ensure heat is reflected back into your room and keep you toasty when the weather gets colder. You can buy radiator reflector foil from DIY stores (avoid those made from PVC), or you can make your own by wrapping tinfoil around cardboard. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Switch off before your holiday |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Going on holiday? Get into the habit of unplugging as many appliances as possible, to save electricity, before you leave. Even if you switch them off, appliances can still use up energy if they're still plugged in. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Heat your home more efficiently |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| If you are working regular hours, a simple solution to heat your home more efficiently is to time your heating to go off 30 minutes before you leave the house, and come on again 30 minutes before you are due to get back. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Invest in a pressure cooker or steamer |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Pressure cookers and steamers both save energy as they enable you to cook several different foods on one ring. Steamers are particularly easy to use. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Save energy and save cash |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Carry out a Home Energy Check to find out how to save energy and save cash. The online questionnaire takes a couple of minutes, and you'll be sent a free evaluation of the areas of your home where cost-saving, energy efficiency measures can be made - see http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/whatcan/hec/ |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Dress your hot-water tank properly |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Make sure your hot-water tank is dressed correctly. A British Standard lagging jacket costs approx £10 and the insulation for the pipe leading to the hot-water tank from the boiler costs £3 a metre. The yearly saving on your bill is £15-20. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Be a better driver and save money |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| If you can't avoid using the car every now and then, you can at least reduce its environmental impact. Clear the clutter, drive in the highest gear practicable and avoid using air-conditioning whenever possible can all help to save on fuel. For more ideas, see http://www.foe.co.uk/living/poundsavers/cleaner_cars.html |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Clocking up the watts |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| After use, switch off your microwave at the wall. It takes more energy to power the display clock than the oven. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Switch over and save |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Save energy and cash this year by switching to energy-saving lightbulbs as each bulb in your home burns out. Some use a quarter of the energy and can last up to 12 times longer. If all inefficient light bulbs in the UK were replaced with new super-efficient LED or compact fluorescent light bulbs, it would save almost as much energy as a nuclear power station produces. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Standby fuels climate change |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Tonnes of greenhouse gases are pumped into the atmosphere every year by appliances left on standby in the UK. The energy used is equivalent to powering around 600,000 homes every year, and is a significant contribution to UK emissions of climate changing gases. How many appliances around your home are on standby? Switch them off when not in use (check it won't reset the memory) - and unplug chargers once appliances are charged up. Just think how much money you could save! |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Cool it |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Switch to a 40 degree cycle when you use the washing machine rather than 60 degrees and you'll use a third less electricity. Go down to 30 degrees, and you'll save even more energy - not to mention money. Modern cleaning products work as effectively at lower temperatures, so it's worth switching the temperature down unless your clothes are exceptionally grubby. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Light up your life |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Keep your electricity bills down by making the most of natural lighting and relying less on electric lights. Opt for pale-coloured walls, ceilings and floors, as well as mirrors, to reflect daylight. You can also encourage maximum light in through your windows by keeping ledges clutter-free, pull curtains back during the day and keep plants trimmed. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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| Save cash with each cuppa |
Sarah Clayton
21:52 01/10/06
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| Boil the amount of water you need for one cup of tea, rather than half a kettle full. It will save time, energy - and money. |
| Source:Friends of the Earth |
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