Sustainability issues, and particularly Climate Change, affect just about every aspect of our lives, and the current furore can make it seem confusing and scary. However, there are many simple things we can do as individuals to be more sustainable and protect our beautiful planet. We can also consider some bigger issues, for example how we heat our homes and the kind of vehicles we drive. Beyond that, much of the current and planned actions of government and industry, designed to encourage a move from ‘dirty’ fossil fuel to clean low carbon electricity, are confusing. Resources are offered here to help in understanding the various issues and options. The following series are offered:
- Life Hacks.Simple daily actions that we can all take now (e.g., eating and travelling differently).
- Burning Issues. Bigger one-off changes (e.g., replacing gas and oil boilers, considering an electric vehicle).
- Energy Issues. Other things to be aware of (e.g., the future cost and adequacy of electricity supply, and use at particular times of day).
These pieces contain information compiled from multiple sources, with cross referencing to maximise accuracy. Key sources are cited in ‘Further Reading’. Please recognise that these pieces are in no sense to be regarded as specific advice. After all, every one of us is in a unique situation with regard to such things as our home, work situation, family, lifestyle, aspiration, timeline and financial resources. The intent is rather to provide a generic, up-to-date summary of key points to help everyone make their own, individual, informed decisions about how best to play their part in living more sustainably.
These issues are all far from straightforward, and to minimise overload and confusion, all the key points can be obtained from reading just 'The Quickie Version'. Relevant issues are then explored further in ' The Longer Version'. Those with a greater appetite for detail may want to tackle 'Details, Details' section, which provides what it says on the tin. NB. There will not be a test afterwards.