Green tips are all well and good, but are they just a salve for our conscience? Can they really make an appreciable impact on climate change?
No, says George Marshall, an environmental campaigner type who is founder of the Oxford-based Climate Outreach & Information Network.
This is a fantastic article of his about how there can’t be any real action against climate change without political change.
So forget about those top ten eco tips you've been following (or Wandworth Council's top 32).
Forget recycling carrier bags: "Their contribution to climate change is vanishingly small. The average Brit consumes 134 plastic bags a year, resulting in just two kilos of the typical 11 tonnes of carbon dioxide he or she will emit in a year. That is one five thousandth of their overall climate impact," says Marshall.
Or turning TVs off standby: "The electricity to keep a television in standby mode for a whole year leads to 25 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide. It’s more than plastic bags, but still very marginal: one fifth of one percent of average emissions."
Or even boiling the correct amount of water in the kettle: "According to the government’s own figures even if you are constantly boiling full kettles this will save all of 100 kilos of carbon dioxide a year, less than one percent of average emissions."
Well, actually don't forget about doing all these things. But don't expect them to save the world.
And be aware that thinking you are eco-good could allow you to turn a blind eye to the much more carbon-heavy lifestyle choices.
But the point really is that the burden of slowing down carbon consumption cannot be carried by individuals alone. It needs collective action. And what is really sinister about the government offering us "eco tips" is that it gives us the idea that they are proactively helping the environment, when they are actually foisting the blame onto us and sweeping things like aviation taxes back under the carpet.
"No major social or economic change has ever arisen from volunteerism and the suggestion that it can is a deliberate strategy to prevent any real challenge to business as usual."
Links:
* Abolish plastic bags - an admirable aim - plastic bags as rubbish are ugly and the production of a new plastic bag for every time we shop is wasteful but the campaigners energy could be better directed elsewhere, says Marshall. Although I have to admit I'm really attracted by plastic bag crochet. Pretty non-plastic bags that encourage you to shop green by giving you a discount in certain shops.
* Marshall has written a book called Carbon Detox. "Don't despair and don't give up," he concludes as he tries to combat "Eco denial".
* Eco blogs
No, says George Marshall, an environmental campaigner type who is founder of the Oxford-based Climate Outreach & Information Network.
This is a fantastic article of his about how there can’t be any real action against climate change without political change.
So forget about those top ten eco tips you've been following (or Wandworth Council's top 32).
Forget recycling carrier bags: "Their contribution to climate change is vanishingly small. The average Brit consumes 134 plastic bags a year, resulting in just two kilos of the typical 11 tonnes of carbon dioxide he or she will emit in a year. That is one five thousandth of their overall climate impact," says Marshall.
Or turning TVs off standby: "The electricity to keep a television in standby mode for a whole year leads to 25 kilogrammes of carbon dioxide. It’s more than plastic bags, but still very marginal: one fifth of one percent of average emissions."
Or even boiling the correct amount of water in the kettle: "According to the government’s own figures even if you are constantly boiling full kettles this will save all of 100 kilos of carbon dioxide a year, less than one percent of average emissions."
Well, actually don't forget about doing all these things. But don't expect them to save the world.
And be aware that thinking you are eco-good could allow you to turn a blind eye to the much more carbon-heavy lifestyle choices.
But the point really is that the burden of slowing down carbon consumption cannot be carried by individuals alone. It needs collective action. And what is really sinister about the government offering us "eco tips" is that it gives us the idea that they are proactively helping the environment, when they are actually foisting the blame onto us and sweeping things like aviation taxes back under the carpet.
"No major social or economic change has ever arisen from volunteerism and the suggestion that it can is a deliberate strategy to prevent any real challenge to business as usual."
Links:
* Abolish plastic bags - an admirable aim - plastic bags as rubbish are ugly and the production of a new plastic bag for every time we shop is wasteful but the campaigners energy could be better directed elsewhere, says Marshall. Although I have to admit I'm really attracted by plastic bag crochet. Pretty non-plastic bags that encourage you to shop green by giving you a discount in certain shops.
* Marshall has written a book called Carbon Detox. "Don't despair and don't give up," he concludes as he tries to combat "Eco denial".
* Eco blogs
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