Day to day, what small actions are you doing to help climate change?

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Reply 20

the bear

i set fire to my farts to eliminate the harmful greenhouse gas methane

Reply 21

RF_PineMarten

Original post by the bear

i set fire to my farts to eliminate the harmful greenhouse gas methane

And I bet you'll be defecating in a wooded area instead of the toilet, to save water.

Reply 22

Okorange

I walk almost everywhere I go, but then again this is because of necessity and convenience rather than for climate change. I guess it benefits climate change a small bit though.

Reply 23

MatureStudent36

Original post by RFowler

My car is supposed to do around 60mpg and has such low emissions that I only pay £20 a year tax.
I recycle when possible.
I turn lights off when not in the room.

You mean those poorer countries who are going to suffer the worst effects of climate change more than most other countries, despite them currently contributing very little to that climate change?

Fossil fuel sources are very expensive in a lot of African countries, while renewables work very well because of the climate. A single solar farm in Ghana increased generating capacity by 6%, for example. The idea that environmental damage is necessary for increasing living standards is pure fantasy.

Which poorer countries would be affected? The ones we're holding back by penalising them for attempting to develop by using inexpensive fossil fuels to develop?

Reply 24

viddy9

* I'm a vegetarian - the meat industry is responsible for at least 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.

* I take public transport or walk.

* I recycle all items in my house that can possibly be recycled.

* I rarely purchase anything that's not necessary.

* I turn all the lights off in my house when they're not needed (in fact, I rarely even turn them on, even in the dark). Same applies to any electrical appliances.

I'd say my biggest problem is the computer, which I'm currently typing on.

Reply 25

MatureStudent36

Original post by viddy9

Although some would hate you for using a computer. I'll
Let you off.

I'm surprised the methane output is so low.

Reply 26

RF_PineMarten

Original post by MatureStudent36

Which poorer countries would be affected? The ones we're holding back by penalising them for attempting to develop by using inexpensive fossil fuels to develop?

Many African countries, for example. Things like desertification and issues for food security will have a huge impact on the poorest countries - the ones who currently contribute very little to climate change.

A lot of the renewables which climate change deniers are forever claiming are "too inefficient" work very well in some African countries countries due to their climate being different to the UK.

In a lot of African countries, the fossil fuels used for electricity generation are very expensive and that is only going to get worse. Also, many don't have decent national electricity grids - off grid renewables are useful in those situations.

Reply 27

Balloon Baboon

I try to hold farts in.

Reply 28

Wade-

Putting everything in the normal rubbish instead of recycling, using unnecessary electricity, driving journeys I could easily walk but I'm no hero in just doing my bit

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Reply 29

Unkempt_One

Quite frankly I don't care much. I obviously try to save energy by turning things off when I don't need them, but apart from that the onus is on governments and industry to find cleaner sources of energy, increase the efficiency of engines and so on and so forth.

Reply 30

MatureStudent36

Original post by Unkempt_One

Which is what they're already doing.

I don't drive

Original post by MatureStudent36

Which is what they're already doing.

Yeah, but I don't think the current avenues are going to provide enough energy. Much more work needs to be done which entails much more investment.

Reply 33

pane123

Nothing and I won't be changing it soon.

I don't really care if Earth ceases to exist, nor does the universe.

Reply 34

democracyforum

What I do is this :

Drive around in a van at 3am in the morning,
with a giant megaphone,
shouting at people to recycle,
telling them that the world is going to end,
and we are heading into a new ice age,
whilst quoting studies by Al Gore.

What about you ?

Reply 35

MatureStudent36

Original post by Unkempt_One

Yeah, but I don't think the current avenues are going to provide enough energy. Much more work needs to be done which entails much more investment.

Which ultimately is financed from the great British public.

Reply 36

e aí rapaz

Original post by MatureStudent36

Although some would hate you for using a computer. I'll
Let you off.

I'm surprised the methane output is so low.

The real output as a percentage is low but it's effect on climate change is very high because on a molecule-for-molecule basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

The Environmental Protection Agency uses a ranking called Global Warming Potential (GWP) to assess the threat posed by various greenhouse gases. GWP measures how much heat one molecule of a gas will trap relative to a molecule of carbon dioxide. Methane has a GWP of 21, which means it's 21 times more effective at preventing infrared radiation from escaping the planet. (http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2007/11/the_other_greenhouse_gases.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global-warming_potential)

On the plus side, methane has a relatively short atmospheric lifetime of 12 years, vs 50-200 years for CO2, so if we reduce our output, change can be affected fairly rapidly.

So objectively, climate change is damaged more by the global meat industry than by all the cars, planes, trains and trucks in the world.