Simple ways to be greener

Like Kermit the Frog, you could sit back and say that “it’s not easy being green” and just do nothing about it. After all, you might say, what difference can I make by myself? If nobody else bothers, why should I?

But the fact is that millions of people ARE bothering, and if more people did so, then a real difference would be made. And all the small things you can do will produce a huge cumulative effect, as well as saving you money along the way.

For a start, you could have a good look around you and examine absolutely everything that consumes energy or resources. Start with your house or apartment; start right now with the room you are sitting in as you read this. How many lights are you burning? How many do you need? What kind of bulb is in the light you are using now? If it is not a low-energy bulb, why on earth not?

When you last watched TV, did you leave it on standby when you finished or turn it off at the mains? When you last boiled the kettle for a cup of coffee, did you boil the whole kettle just for one cup? I take it you got the milk out of the refrigerator, but what setting is it on? Do you really need it that high? And how full is it? It’s wasteful to cool just air if you don’t store a lot of food. Maybe a smaller fridge would suit you better.

What about your hot water supply? Are you using the most economical settings or are you heating water that you don’t need and will only cool down again? Did you shower or have a bath today? Would it make a heap of difference if you didn’t shower every morning? By the way, a power shower is hugely wasteful of both water and energy; what’s wrong with a normal shower unit?

What about your toilet cistern? You could save water by placing a house brick in it so that it takes less water to fill it. Remember not to leave taps running when cleaning your teeth.

To make your central heating more efficient, make sure that the heat doesn’t escape through open doors and windows. If you have an open fireplace that you are not using, insert a chimney balloon; this is a simple device that you shove up the chimney and inflate so that you heat your room and not the air above your house.

And, of course, recycle everything you possibly can. You can compost even small amounts of waste non-meat food in an enclosed digester “powered” by worms. This will produce not only excellent compost for your garden but liquid feed for your house plants. There is no reason why glass, metal, plastic or card should go to incinerators or landfill; it can all be recycled.

Other resolutions can include the purchases you make. With motor fuel increasing in price, the incentive is there to avoid buying a gas guzzler and instead go for something that consumes less fuel and thus pumps fewer pollutants into the atmosphere. And when you have the car, why not resolve to use it less? Do you really need to take all those short journeys by car? Why not walk or cycle instead, or use public transport? Also, did you know that the way you drive your car can make a huge difference to your fuel consumption? Exceeding the speed limits is not only illegal but also expensive.

When shopping for food, don’t buy more food than you are actually going to consume. A huge amount of the food we buy, often as a result of taking up special offers, goes to waste. Also, avoid buying food that is out of season; it has either been grown under artificial conditions that consume energy unnecessarily or it has been transported across the world, probably by air, causing greenhouse gases to be released in the process.

And don’t expect the foodstore to provide the plastic bags in which you will take it all home. Take your own cloth bags when you go shopping or – a less satisfactory option - buy one of the store’s “bags for life” that you can use them time after time. Better still, order your groceries from home and get the store to deliver them. The road miles covered by their delivery van will be far fewer than would have been travelled by all the people whose food is being delivered at the same time.

When it comes to making vacation plans, think very hard about the environmental consequences of jetting off to the sun. Atmospheric pollution, leading to global warming, is far worse when delivered high in the atmosphere than at ground level, and therefore the fewer flights we take, the better. You can have an enjoyable and relaxing break much closer to home than you might imagine.

Going completely green is not always easy, but it is amazing what you can do on a small scale that will save you money and make a real difference to saving the planet as well.

Oh, and if you are reading this on your computer, don’t forget to switch it off when you’ve finished, will you?