Alan’s carbon bugbears
When you’re trying to come up with great new ideas, the best place to start is with the problems. Here are some of my carbon bugbears…
- As a cyclist it surprises me just how many people use their cars to get about – particularly for short journeys. Then they’re surprised when they get stuck in traffic from the school run. There must be new ways to encourage cycling or walking – and these are healthier for you too.
- I can’t believe the amount of food we waste as a nation. About half the fresh food we buy gets thrown away and when people just throw this waste in the bin instead of composting it, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas. It’s even more worrying when you think how far it’s travelled to get to your bin!
- Do we really need everything wrapped in so many layers? From ready made sandwiches to electronic toothbrushes everything seems to be packaged up to excess. What’s more, we’re typically only using a tiny fraction of what we buy six months later. What can we do to reduce waste and encourage recycling?
- And how do we get people – particularly teenagers - to switch off lights? Now that would really reduce energy use in the UK.
