Climate Change - what you can do

Small changes made by one person or one family can add up to big differences in helping to reduce global warming. Here’s how to get started on making our planet’s future brighter…

 

Climate Change	Bathroom	Kitchen
General	Garden	At Work
Around Home	Laundry	Shopping
Getting Around	Spread the Word

 

What is Climate Change?

Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping heat from the sun in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet within a temperature range that enables life. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests, we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere. Temperatures are rising. Our climate is changing.

The world’s scientists agree that global warming is real and it is already happening. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable. Changes are happening already. Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and threatening the homes of millions of people, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, disease is spreading into new areas, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing dramatically.

If global warming continues we can expect disastrous consequences including devastation of coastal areas across the world, more frequent and intense heat waves, more droughts and bushfires, mass species extinction, an ice-free arctic region by 2050, mass refugee crises and nations with fossil fuel reserves becoming increasingly powerful in the world political arena unless the world accelerates a switch to renewable forms of energy.

 

Give coal the flick

Switch to alternative energy sources where power is generated from wind, sun, water or waste. Choose an energy product from a supplier that has been endorsed by the Australian Government’s GreenPower accreditation scheme, visit  www.greenpower.gov.au

• Find out how energy and water smart your home is by getting a free home audit done or do your own by visiting www.nabers.com.au
• When renovating or building, keep passive solar principles in mind. You can keep your home warm in winter and cool in summer without resorting to air-conditioning. Ensure that you are using energy efficient lighting and environmentally friendly building materials as much as possible. See www.energysmart.com.au.

 

Around Home

 Flick the switch – turn off the lights.

 - Replace regular light globes with compact fluorescent light globes now available for a range of light fittings including downlights.

 - Install ceiling fans – they are the most economical to run and the most energy effi cient form of cooling.

• Avoid air conditioning – the worst form of domestic greenhouse gas pollution.
• Heat and cook with gas – gas is cheaper to run and produces less greenhouse gases than electricity.
• Only heat the rooms you are using. Close doors to unused rooms.
• Don’t overheat your home – every 1°C can add 10% to your energy bill.
• Before you switch on the heater, put a jumper on or grab a cuddly blanket.
• Don’t heat up the whole world – close the curtains and trap up to 50% of the heat inside.
• Turn off electrical appliances from the powerpoint when not in use. Items on standby still churn up the energy and cost you money. Even when turned off, things like hairdryers, mobile phone chargers and televisions use energy.
• Insulate your home - properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating.
• Keep track of your energy bills. Notice the dollar savings when you reduce the energy used.

 

Bathroom

Bathrooms account for around 65% of your household’s hot water use, so being energy smart in the bathroom is a major way to save energy and money.

 - Take shorter showers or bath with a friend.

 - Install water saving shower heads.

• Convert your hot water system to solar and save energy and money (seek advice from Council if considering installing a solar hot water system).
• Turn your hot water thermostat down. This will save you money and be safer for your family.
• Convert your toilet to dual fl ush – they use up to 70% less water than single flush. The half flush is good enough most of the time!
• Use unbleached, recycled toilet paper that is packaged in recycled paper.
• Clean yourself and your bathroom with environmentally friendly products.
• Consider water saving techniques like putting a brick in your toilet (reduces flushing water volume) and taking a bucket into the shower (saves water for your garden).

 

Garden

Plant local native trees and shrubs – a single tree will absorb one tonne of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 15%!

 - Install a timer or sensor security lights – don’t leave flood lights on all day or night.

• If you swim in winter, heat your pool with solar heating or a solar blanket.
• Cover your heated swimming pools or spa when not in use.
• Grow your own food – even in a unit you can grow some of your own food. This reduces the energy needed to transport food all around the world.
• Install a rainwater tank to use on your garden, in the washing machine or to flush your toilet.
• Think twice before dumping old furniture in general cleanups. Is it really useless? Consider donating or giving away your unwanted items.
• Have a compost bin or worm farm for food scraps. A big 50% of our waste is food that produces the major greenhouse gas methane when it breaks down in landfill.

 

Laundry

Wash your clothes in cold water.

 - Smell like the sunshine and save electricity – dry your clothes on the clothes line or inside on a clothes rack on rainy days.

 - Front loading washing machines use less energy and less water, and rebates are available.

• If you must use a dryer, spin dry the clothes first and keep the lint filter clean.
• Choose a phosphorous-free washing detergent.
• Save the laundry water for your garden.
• Wait for a whole load before washing – this saves water and electricity.

 

Kitchen

Have a special bin for food scraps and use them in your compost or worm farm.

Choose a 5-star energy and water rated dishwasher and only run the dishwasher when there is a full load.

Check the seal on the fridge and keep it away from the stove.

• Get rid of the drinks fridge – it is costing you up to $200 each year to keep those drinks cold!
• Don’t buy a huge fridge if you don’t need it – fridges work most effi ciently when full.
• Thaw frozen food in the fridge – no need to microwave it.
• Cook on the gas bbq – impress your family and save electricity.
• Cook as many organic, unpackaged, unprocessed and meat-free meals as you can. Good for you and good for the environment.
• Recycle, recycle, recycle. Remember containers numbered 1,2,3,4,5 or labeled R can be recycled in Warringah.
• If you use bin liners – choose biodegradable ones or use newspaper instead. Remember to leave garbage bags untied so they break down quicker in landfill.

At Work

Install motion detector lights in rooms used infrequently.

 - When you leave the offi ce for a while, switch computers, monitors and lights off.

 - Email rather than faxing or posting.

 - Reuse paper, and print on both sides.

• Purchase appliances such as photocopiers with energy-save buttons.
• Buy green stationery and recycled paper.
• Check if your purchasing department is purchasing recycled toilet paper and paper towels, and green cleaning products. If they are not, ask them why not?
• If you have a work car, choose one with low emissions and good fuel economy.
• Consider having a worm farm at work.
• Where possible use refillable or recyclable ink cartridges and toners for photocopiers, printers and fax machines.
• Use laptop computers – they use up to 90 per cent less energy than a standard desktop computer.

• Already doing all that at work?

Go the extra mile with these steps:

• Start or improve an environmental management system or green purchasing policy.
• If you manufacture products in your workplace, undertake a product life cycle analysis. This will show any stages from product manufacture to disposal where you could reduce energy consumption and other environmental impacts.
• Talk and think about the environment and sustainability with your work colleagues, managers and staff. Think about how to reduce your workplace’s impact. Are your work operations and products sustainable? And how can YOU make a difference?
• Put environmental issues into your company’s aims or objectives.
• If you are already an environmental leader in your field – make some time to inspire and mentor others.

 

Shopping

Take your own bags when you go shopping! You remember your wallet. Remember your bags too.

Look for the energy star rating when buying appliances – more stars on the label indicate higher-energy efficiency.

 - Buy recycled paper products – it takes 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

• ? Buy locally grown and produced foods – this will save energy and pollution from transporting food, and keep money in your community.
• Buy fresh foods instead of frozen – frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
• Buy organic foods as much as possible – organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans
• organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!
• Avoid heavily packaged products – packaging makes up around 1/3 of our waste and its manufacturing uses up energy!
• Eat less meat – cows are one of the greatest methane emitters and methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas. By eating less meat you are also saving precious water – one kilogram of beef takes 50,000 litres of water to produce!
• Buy items that can be repaired.
• Buy secondhand where possible – second hand is the new black!

 

Getting Around

Walk, bike, carpool or take public transport wherever possible

 - Buying a new car? Purchase one with good fuel economy and low emissions. Consider a hybrid vehicle, alternative fuels such as biodiesel and ethanol enhanced petrol, and carbon offset schemes.

• Keep your car serviced - regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions.
• Fly less - air travel produces large amounts of emissions.
• Keep learning and sharing solutions with friends, organisations, the media and government. Great new ideas on how to help limit climate change are being created every day – maybe even by you?

Spread the Word

Tell your kids, friends, colleagues, politicians and neighbours how simple it is to care for the environment. Together, we can all make a huge collective difference.