50 ways to save the world
21. Make the most of nature. Light-coloured walls, ceilings and floors reflect daylight, making maximum use of natural light and reducing the need for artificial lighting.
22. Use infrared. If you have exterior lights, ask your electrician to fit infrared sensors so the lights only come on when you walk past them. Find out more at www.foe.co.uk/living/poundsavers/diy_outside.html.
23. Resist standby! If every household in the UK turned off the TV at night instead of leaving it on standby, we’d save enough CO2 to fill the Millennium Dome 38 times every year.
24. If it’s fully charged, unplug it. Mobile phones, shavers and electric toothbrushes keep drawing electricity even when the battery is full.
25. Keep fridge and freezer doors closed. For every minute a fridge is open, it can take three energy-intensive minutes for it to cool down again. Similarly, it can take up to half an hour for a freezer to regain its temperature once a door has been opened for just sixty seconds.
26. Keep your freezer full. It takes less energy to keep a full freezer cool than it does an empty one. If you don't have enough food to fill it, use plastic bottles filled with water or even scrunched up newspaper.
27. Think before you cook. Pressure cookers and steamers are both energy efficient; steamers are also easy to use and very healthy.
28. Chop finely and boil smart. The smaller you dice your vegetables, the less time they take to cook. Boil only the amount of water you need, and match the size of the ring to the size of the saucepan.
29. Keep your cool when washing. Almost 90% of the energy washing machines use goes toward heating the water, so switch to a cooler wash: today’s washing powders are just as effective on 30°C programmes.
30. Do a Home Energy Check. It could save you energy and cash! The online questionnaire takes a couple of minutes, and you'll be sent a free evaluation of how you could cut costs – and energy consumption – at home: www.est.org.uk/myhome/whatcan/hec.
At work
31. Use less paper at the office. Office paper consumption is rising by 20% a year, according to a government report. Each worker uses 50 sheets of A4 a day, on average. If you have to print, do it double-sided.
32. Switch office equipment off at night. A photocopier left on from dusk ‘til dawn uses enough energy to make 1,500 photocopies.
On holiday
Aviation is the fastest-growing contributor to climate change: emissions from air travel are expected to account for more than a tenth of UK totals by 2020. Cutting down on the amount you and your family fly makes a huge difference to your carbon footprint.
33. Holiday at home! Flights abroad might seem cheap, but when you factor in taxes and the cost of getting to the airport they often work out much more costly than a trip within the UK. You’ll save emissions as well as money: one long-haul return flight produces more carbon dioxide per passenger than the average UK motorist in one year.
34. Go by bike. If you’re exploring locally, hire a bicycle instead of a car: it won’t produce a drop of greenhouse gas and helps burn off that holiday excess. Local Tourist Information Centres can tell you where to hire one.
35. Cut down on business trips. Why travel to meet with colleagues when you could use phone or video-conferencing? And if you really do need to travel, go by train rather than car or plane – it’s often quicker and you’ll be able to get some work done. Find alternative ways to get from A to B at www.seat61.com.
36. Spare your towels. Staying in a hotel? Ask for your towels to be washed every other day instead of every day to help save water – the planet’s most precious, and rapidly disappearing, resource.
