Navista

You would think that A Green and Rosie Life might be the last place you'd find a post about Christmas jumpers, wouldn't you?  After all they pretty much sum up everything I stand against ... an unnecessary item, bought because everyone tells you you should have one (and who wants to be the ONLY person who doesn't have a Christmas jumper?) and quite possibly made from man-made fibres.  They are a bit of short term fun, worn a handful of times, maybe a social media post or two and then the poor old thing get consigned to the back of the cupboard or worse still the bin.  You've guessed it, I am not a fan.  However, the truth is, that for the foreseeable future they are probably here to stay and when I recently heard that some schools now have "Wear a Christmas jumper to school days", more people than ever will be buying them. With that in mind here's 6 ways you green up your Christmas jumper and make it more sustainable.

6 ways to Green up your Christmas Jumper

1. Make you own. If you are no good at knitting you could decorate or upcycle a jumper you already have.  Hobbycraft have some brilliant ideas to try out. 
2. It's nice and warm so you can turn the heating down a degree now.  
3. If you are really going to buy a new one make sure it is in natural materials and made ethically and choose one that you'd be happy wearing all through the colder weather.
4. Buy a secondhand one.
5. Get as much wear from it as you can and remember to wear the same one next year.
6. Swap with a friend - an easy way to get a new jumper without buying one.

What do you think about Christmas jumpers and can you think of any more ways to make them as green as the Christmas trees on them?

Are you some-one who is outraged at the banning of the Iceland (supermarket) advert outlining the plight of orangutans in the face of increased deforestation for palm oil plantations ?

Were you even aware of the issue before seeing this advert that is now so prevalent across social media?

Now let me ask you 2 more questions ...

• Are you planning to buy anything in a  Black Friday sale event, either in a shop or online?

• Are you busy wondering what Christmas gifts to buy all your family and friends, searching online lists of what to buy a difficult teenager or elderly relative etc or grabbing the latest ideas from slick TV adverts?

It is all very well to be angry at deforestation for palm oil plantations but each and every one of us is a part of the problem through our insatiable appetite to buy more and more things, many of which we don't actually need and many of which can be directly linked to deforestation.

Quote from WWF Global:

What is causing forest conversion?

• Rising demand for soy, palm oil, cocoa and coffee is translating into expanding plantations for these crops worldwide. Many of us unwittingly contribute to forest conversion in our consumption of everyday products. For example, palm oil is used to make a whole range of cosmetics, detergents and food products including shower gel, margarine, and ice cream. Soy beans are used to make cooking oils, bread, puddings and sweets and are used in the manufacture of paints, adhesives, fertilizer and insect sprays. And for paper products, pulpwood plantations clear acres of forest to satisfy demand. This human 'footprint' on the Earth shows how our behavior in one part of the world can have negative impact on tropical forests and the people living in other part of world.

Rain forests are not only being cleared for palm oil plantations.  It is used to grow things that we all buy on a regular basis.  Then along comes Black Friday with its associated frenzy of consumerism and for me it encapsulates everything that is so wrong with our consumer led society.  Leather goods, spice racks, bags of nutty sweets, new clothes and toiletry packs, the list goes on and on - we may buy them and think we are doing so well because they are palm oil free but in reality many can be directly linked to deforestation.  We may not actually have taken the chainsaw, ourselves, to the rain forest but we are all responsible for the loss of Rang-Tan's home.  We could plead ignorance (fair to a point) and we could say we had no choice but in truth we do have a choice. The choice to reject a culture of "Stuff".  It is not possible in either the short or medium term to put back the forests that have been cleared but we can strive to prevent further deforestation.  Now is the time to accept that we must all make some big changes to the way we lead our lives.  Changes that mean:

• we must reject a lot more than just palm oil.
• we move away from buying single use products and things we don't need.
• we must question the effect our purchases have on the environment
•  we must actually buy a whole lot less of everything and that what we do buy may be more expensive .... but better quality and longer lasting ie sustainable.

Advertisers would have us think happiness is born out of shopping carts full of the supposed best new products promoted as the best thing to make your life more convenient, the latest fashion, the newest phone or some fancy foodstuff from far flung places.  May I beg to differ and say it probably isn't.  Short term happiness perhaps. Long term? Don't think so. So before you grab those so called bargains on Black Friday or panic buy online before the last delivery day before Christmas can I ask you to spend 3½ minutes watching this video:



And if you agree with its message, please share the video or this post.  It will be more than orangutans who will thank you. It will be your children and their children ... and every other creature on our beautiful planet.  Maybe together we can change the fact that on Instagram #buy appears almost 6 million times but #buyless is only there 25,000 times.  Be a part of the #BuyLess culture.

Leaves, the temperature and rain are falling. Summer has gone and autumn is here. As the season changes read on to find out how you can make your autumn Eco-friendly.

How to have an Eco-Friendly Autumn

1. Clothes

It can be all too easy to buy new clothes for the new season but even sustainable fashion items come with a cost to the environment, especially if you don't actually need any new items.  First of all head to your wardrobe and see what you already have.

• Get out your sewing machine and re-purpose existing clothes into new ones.
• Make your own clothes - learn to knot, sew or crochet.
• Get together with a group of friends and have a clothes swap party.
• If you do need new clothes then buy "new to you" from second hand stores and online.
• If buying totally new go for quality clothes made from natural materials in a timeless style that will last the test of time.
• If you have clothes you really don't want and can't give to friends downgrade them to something else such as cleaning cloths. T-Shirt bags or use them in the garden to protect plants.  This post has 7 ideas to keep clothes out of landfill.

2. Food and Cooking

• As the temperature falls you'll probably find you want to eat more warming meals so as you swap summer salads for steaming stews do try to cook using as little energy s possible.  This post gives you 21 ways to cook efficiently.
• Choose produce that is in season and locally produced.
• Eat healthily to help stave off bugs and colds.

3. Heating

• Keeping your home warm can use large amounts of energy but there are plenty of simple things you can do to reduce your energy use. I covered this in more detail here - 21 ways to reduce your heating bill.

4. Home

As well as keeping your energy use down there are other things you can do to make your home eco-friendly in autumn.

• Keep your gutters clear of fallen leaves and debris to prevent potential damp problems.
• Clean windows to allow the maximum amount of natural light to enter and use the natural cleaning power of vinegar.
• Fix minor problems around your home before they become major ones - check for loose tiles, damaged window frames, draughty doors etc.
• Install water butts on down pipes.
• Get your chimney swept if you plan on having an open fire or using a woodburner.
• If you have room install an overhead clothes drier to reduce dependence on your tumble drier.

5. Garden and wildlife

• Autumn is the ideal time to prepare a vegetable garden ready for planting in the spring.
• Plant wildlife attracting plants. How about some of these 7 bee attracting plants or these 7 plants loved by birds.
• If you are planning to feed the birds provide a variety of food in different locations to help as many species as possible and remember you need to feed them all through the winter and into early spring, too.
• When heading out to feed the ducks bread do not feed them bread. It's bad for both them and the environment.  This post explains why and what else is good to feed them: What to feed the ducks.
• Make a log pile in a quiet corner of your garden.
• Rake up leaves and make leaf mulch from them.
• Set up wildlife homes such as bug hotels and hedgehog houses. These are easy to make yourself and a great project for children.

6.  Children

• If you have children or grandchildren relate any art, crafts, science projects you are doing to autumn so you can help them see the changes in the natural environment.
• Use autumn's vast array of natural materials for craft projects rather than buying plastic supplies in plastic packaging.
• At home maybe your child could become lights monitor to help the whole family switch off lights.
• Just because the weather isn't so nice still spend plenty of time outside. We all need fresh air and nature makes a great playground in all seasons.  
• Have a look at my series of Nature Games for some inspiration.

7. Halloween

• It can be all too easy for Halloween to become a time of excessive plastic thanks to all the  Halloween "stuff" manufactures try to get us to buy, from costumes to Trick or Treat paraphernalia and from plastic decorations to plastic packaged sweets. It doesn't need to be so do read this post on how to have a Green Halloween without losing any of the fun.

8. Christmas

• I know Christmas isn't in autumn but use autumn to plan for a more eco-friendly Christmas. 
• Make presents such as preserves, get sewing or use your DIY skills to make gifts.
• My Green Christmas Pinterest board is a good place to look for inspiration.

9.  Holidays and Days Out

• Seek out eco-friendly holidays such as our holiday home in France - Eco-Gites of Lenault.
• When out and about take a reusable coffee cup.
• Join a conservation organisations that runs work days for volunteers to help with countryside maintenance.
• Oct 21st is Apple Day so search and join in with apple related events near you.

Whether you embrace autumn or dread the shortening days there are plenty of ways to make sure your autumn is still as green as summer's leaves were!

Do you have any more ideas on how to have an eco-frienly autumn?


This is a post in collaboration with a group of other bloggers, I know, who all write about issues around smallholdings/homesteading, self sufficiency and green/natural living. All the linked up posts below are autumn related so do pop over, have a read and if you leave a comment let them know if was from here that you found their blog.

If there is ONE thing we can all to to help reduce our impact on the planet is is to BUY LESS ... and that includes so called green or eco-friendly alternatives.  Let me explain using one commonly used item as an example:

** Wet Wipes **

The first wet wipes appeared in the late 1950's but it is in the last few years that they have really taken off - our supermarket shelves and online shops are groaning under the weight of wipes for everything - for bottoms from the cradle to the grave, for every surface in your house and beyond, for make-up removal, for hands and faces, for screens, for pets ... wipes for pets??  That was a new one on me!






Whatever the wipe they have many factors in common:

• Most come in plastic packaging
• Many include synthetic cleaning fluids within them
• Many are made from synthetic materials
• Many are not biodegradable, compostable or recyclable
• They are one of the main causes of fat bergs in our sewers
• They are single use

Some are however marketed as eco-friendly and they purport to be compostable, biogegradable, flushable not harmful to the environment etc etc.  But like non eco-friendly they are still invariably packaged in plastic,  they are still single use and their ability to degrade or compost varies greatly depending where they go after being used so many still end up in fat bergs.  They also still take energy to produce and transport before being used just once for  matter of seconds.  Some eco-friendly wipes are made from bamboo fibres but the process to turn a bamboo cane into bamboo fibre is far from eco-friendly being very high on energy and using some less than nice chemicals. You can read more about the process here - Is bamboo fabric as eco-friendly as bamboo?

For any product, so called eco-friendly or not, you should take account of all these factors when you buy it:

• How much energy was needed to make it, including any packaging?
• How much water was used?
• How much land was used to?
• What chemicals have gone into the production process and the product/packaging?
• Is it a natural or synthetic product?
• How far has the product travelled to get to you?
• Is it a single use product?
• Can it and its packaging be recycled, downcycled, upcycled, composted or is it easily biodegradable?
• If it has to be thrown away what happens to it?

All this for a wet wipe. A single-use wet wipe.

Now does that eco-friendly wipe now seem less eco-friendly than before you started to read this?

The solution is not to make wet wipes even more eco-friendly (is that even possible?) but to say goodbye to them altogether.  Turn back the clock a few years and return to using a washable cloth, ideally made from some old clothes, towels etc you no longer need.

LESS is MORE

Not just wet wipes but everything new especially single use items. Instead, buy second hand and reusable things.  Share and borrow.  Repair what is broken. Grow and make your own.  Upcylce things. We do not need to be buying more new products, eco-friendly or otherwise ... we really need to be buying less of everything.

Do more for the planet by buying less.

... but not wasting food, changing what meat we eat and altering our lifestyles will certainly help.

Some proponents of a vegan lifestyle state that if the world's population were to turn vegan we would save the world from climate change and cite the following reasons why they believe this is the case:

1. Livestock farming (especially for beef) produces methane (a greenhouse gas) via the natural digestive process of the animals ie cow farts. Methane is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO₂.

2. Areas of rainforest are being felled at an alarming rate with the cleared land used for cattle farming.  The forests previously would have absorbed CO₂ and when the soil is cultivated before being turned to pasture, it releases nitrous oxide and methane that are both stored in the soil. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more potent than CO₂ as a greenhouse gas.

3. A hectare of land can feed many more people if it produces plants as opposed to animals.

Sounds convincing but there is another side to these arguments.

1. Methane from livestock

It is estimated that livestock produce 5.5% of all greenhouse gases, although in Argentina where livestock farming is the main land use this rises to 30% . But what other processes produce greenhouse gases and in what percentages?

Power plants - 25-30% ie using fossil fuels to produce energy.
Residential buildings - 11% through heating, air conditioning and power consumption.
Road transport - 10.5% and although cars now have lower emissions car numbers are rising rapidly
Deforestation and land use change - 10.3%. The land is not only cleared for livestock but also for palm oil plantations and other crops.
Losses during energy production - 8.3%.
Commercial buildings - 7% mainly through air conditioning, electrical devises and power to run computers.
Production of cement, ceramics, glass - 6%. To produce these new materials from raw materials uses a lot of energy with the associated emissions.

Then we get to livestock at 5.5%.  What these figures don't show is how much of each type of greenhouse gas is produced. For livestock this is primarily methane which is 20 times more potent than CO₂. This does make this 5.5% figure appear worse until you realise that methane does not last as long in the atmosphere and breaks down into CO₂. Yes, this is still a greenhouse gas and yes, methane production from livestock is a huge problem but it needs to be in the context of other emissions.  Livestock farming certainly produces high amounts of greenhouse gases but other processes, as detailed above, produce far more.

2. Rainforest clearance for livestock farming

Forests are not only being cleared for livestock production.  In Asia and increasingly in Africa virgin rainforest is being cleared for palm oil plantations.  Palm oil is deemed a wonder oil as it produces higher amounts of oil than any other oil producing plant. It is used extensively in processed food, including vegan food.  Other areas of cleared forest are used to grow soya beans which are also used widely in vegan food.

If farmers were no longer raising cattle they would have to shift to some form of crop growing on land that was previously pasture.   At present ploughing existing agricultural land releases 4.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, mostly in the form of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more potent than CO₂.  Furthermore to produce consistently high yields, crops have to be fertilised. Without animals to provide manure (the pre-industrial method of maintaining soil fertility levels) farmers will have 2 options - to either grow plants specifically to be composted or to use artificial fertilisers. In reality farmers will not turn over a percentage of their productive land to make  plants for compost when they can buy artificial fertilisers.  Animal manure is not without its problems but the production of artificial fertiliser produces large amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

And there's more. Microbes in the soil convert fertilisers (manure and artificial) into nitrous oxide and this rate has been seen to increase in an exponential manner when farmers add more fertiliser. Nitrous oxide also gets into the atmosphere when there is surface run off of polluted water and soil erosion. So whilst livestock, especially cattle, produce methane, farming crops results in high level of the more potent nitrous oxide being produced.  

Livestock are also fed soya, a crop that is increasingly grown in recently deforested land.  However if livestock farming were to stop it is likely that this soya would be used for other purposes, such as biofuel, human food in greater amounts and a variety of industrial processes.  If not soya, farmers would grow other crops, perhaps those to be used to produce plant based plastics to replace plastics made from fossil fuels.  Even if the land were not to be farmed, it is not possible to replant rainforests in the way that temperate woodlands can be due to soil degradation and other factors. Land that previously supported rainforest can regenerate into a form of forest but which supports less diversity (plant and animal) and it is estimated that to return to its original form could take hundreds or thousands of years.

3. A hectare of land can feed many more people if it produces plants as opposed to animals

Livestock that are intensively farmed do not simply graze on the grass underfoot and are fed additional food such as maize and soya.  It is argued that this maize would be better fed directly to humans or the land used to produce food for humans.  This in itself is a very simplistic statement and does not take into account that humans would not only want to eat maize but would want a variety of plants, many of which produce much lower harvests than maize, especially those that provide the protein needed in a balanced diet.

Any agricultural practice when undertaken as a large scale monoculture comes with much greater environmental damage than traditional small scale mixed farms.   There is a loss of local natural habitats and monocultures rely heavily of pesticide use.  Pesticide production releases emissions and there are many problems of pesticides affecting natural ecosystems and human populations. With the world's population eating a vegan diet there would continue to be monoculture agriculture.

One final point, not all land can be used to produce crops. This land however can sustain populations of animals, especially sheep and goats which are vitally important food sources for populations in  many parts of the world such as sub Saharan Africa.  Even in temperate regions there are many areas such as moorlands and wetlands that cannot produce crops but are farmed successfully for livestock.

Summary

Whilst is is beyond doubt that livestock farming produces large amounts of methane and rainforests are being cleared for more livestock to be raised, switching to an all crop based agricultural system would be accompanied by its own problems of greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, deforestation etc.  Eating less meat overall and switching to pork and chicken would lead to fewer emissions as these animals produce lower levels of methane.  Wasting less food would be hugely beneficial. It is currently estimated somewhere between 30-50% of all food produced is wasted both on the farm, in transport, during processing and in the home.  Landfill produces 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, almost all as methane from rotting wasted food.

The reality is we need to radically re-assess how we eat and more importantly how we live.  There are other more damaging processes such as energy production, road transport, buildings that have more negative effects than eating meat.  We certainly should be eating less meat, especially intensively reared beef and we need to be much less wasteful of our food. Switching humanity to a vegan diet may be less harmful overall but it will not solve the world's environmental problems and will result in a shift from one set of problems to another.

Further reading and sources:

• Nitrous Oxide 
• Environmental and social impacts of soy
• Why veganism isn’t as environmentally friendly as you might think
• Nutrition per hectare for staple crops 
• 15 sources of greenhouse gases

Earlier today this image from Instagram was brought to my attention via a Facebook Group I am in (Eco-Influencers | Sustainable Living Tribe).  The account is that of an American singer who is launching a series of clothes (merch) under the banner Sustainability Gang.  Other phrases to be used include "Who tryn save da ocean" and "puck flastic" and it is stated in the limited information available that all profits made will be given to a charity fighting plastic pollution in the oceans.

Well known singer using her influence to spread the green message and raising funds to fight plastic pollution.  Sounds like a good move, right?  Hmm, I am really not so sure.

Image from Instagram

If you look at the sweatshirt you'll see the logo of the company making the clothes - Champion and if you do a little research on them you'll see their sustainability record is very poor with the organisation Rank a Brand giving them a ranking of "E - Don't buy".  How can a product purporting to support sustainability be made by an organisation with such a poor eco-record?

On the the singer's instagram page this image has hundreds of thousands of likes and many comments with people saying how great it is what the singer is doing and they absolutely must have the sweatshirt.  It is driving consumerism encouraging people to buy a product that before seeing this image they had no desire to buy.  That is not sustainable.

More worrying though is the number of people who claim to be eco-friendly (including one lady who calls herself a "Sustainability Consultant") also applauding this idea.  No mention of how much pollution will be created when these products are made and transported.  No mention of increasing consumerism. No mention of globalisation. No mention of the poor eco-record of the company making the clothes.

As yet there is no information as to what the clothes are to be made from but anything less than organic cotton or better still organic linen, hemp or even wool isn't going to get any approval from me and even then I don't agree with the product.  As it stands the clothes are giving off contradictory messages.

From the fans' point of view it may seem like a great idea and having bought a sweatshirt they will feel they have helped the environment.   They will believe they have bought into an ethical fashion brand but this is not true.  You could argue that it will help spread the message about sustainability but I believe there are far better ways the singer could have used her influence to achieve this.  I would be very interested to know exactly how much money they raise as I am not sure it will be a large enough amount to make any significant difference.  Could she not have been seen wearing clothes from a sustainable brand and encouraged her fans to search out similar brands?  Or if she really wanted to sell clothes, at least have them made by a sustainable company.

Celebrities have huge influence over their fans and I believe this was a well thought out exercise in raising the profile of the singer whilst Champion will be only too pleased to be able to jump on the eco-bandwagon to appear more sustainable than they are.  The profit being donated to the organisation fighting plastic pollution is simply done to add the thinnest of extra green layers to a not at all green initiative.

> The singer will gain - increased fan base and more record sales etc
> Champion will gain - a greener image (not merited)
> The sustainability message will be weakened.

This is a classic and very good example of Greenwashing.

What are your views on Sustainability Gang? Good idea or greenwash?

I am sure we have all heard the term Climate Change but do you really know what it means and what effect it will have on the earth?  Are each of us really responsible and is there anything, as individuals, we can do to minimise its negative effects?


If you search for a definition of Climate Change you will find various ways to describe what it is and this one is typical:

Climate Change

A change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.

Our atmosphere contains carbon dioxide (CO₂) which is a so-called greenhouse gas.  It allows sunlight to pass into the atmosphere but traps it on the way out. Therefore the more CO₂ there is in the atmosphere, the more heat will be trapped and the hotter global temperatures will be.



CO₂ levels have been increasing at a fast rate since the start of the Industrial Revolution when man first started to burn large amounts of fossil fuels.  Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of animals and plants that died millions of years ago.  These remains built up and under heat and pressure from the earth were transformed into natural gas, oil and coal.  All living creatures contain large amounts of carbon and thus gas, oil and coal also contain high levels of carbon and when these are burned they release CO₂.

Other causes of Climate Change

Burning fossil fuels is not the only way Climate Change is being accelerated.  Most plastics are made from fossil fuels and large amounts of CO₂ is released in their production.  CO₂ is also produced by all animals through the process of respiration but the reverse happens with plants who take up CO₂ and give off oxygen.  The Amazon rainforest is known as The Lungs of the Earth as it (and other large areas of rainforest) provide much of the oxygen needed by both man and the earth's animals. With large areas of forest being clearly the result will be less oxygen being produced and less CO₂ being absorbed by plants.

CO₂ is also not the only greenhouse gas.  Others include water vapour,  methane (CH₄ ) and Nitrous oxide (N₂O).  With higher air temperatures the atmosphere will be able to hold more water vapour further adding to its heat trapping capacity.  Methane and N₂O are both many times more powerful as greenhouse gases than CO₂ although, thankfully, both are found in lower concentrations in the atmosphere (but still far higher than is desirable).  Methane is around 30 times more powerful and as a greenhouse gas than CO₂ and N₂O is 300 times more powerful.  Methane is produced both naturally and by man through processes including the decomposition that takes place in landfill, in rice production and from ruminants (cows and sheep).  It means that where rainforests are cleared for animal farming (most likely cattle) the effect on increasing Climate Change is even greater than the forest clearing alone.  N₂O is produced by soil cultivation, commercial fertiliser production, burning of fossil fuels and burning of biomass.

Negative effects of Climate Change

Whilst some people may love the idea of longer, hotter summers the overall repercussions of Climate Change are much greater than the odd summer heatwave.  Increased global temperatures will have many and far reaching effects:

• The elderly, young and infirm are at risk of increased illnesses and even death in periods of hotter temperatures.
• Diseases of hotter climates will spread, especially those that are water-borne such as malaria.  
• Warmer temperatures will cause the polar icecaps and mountain glaciers to melt leading to higher sea levels. Coastal areas will flood.  Millions of people live in low lying areas close to coasts and vast areas of fertile agricultural land will be lost.
• With coastal areas lost to the water, millions will be forced to flee seeing mass migration of displaced communities.
• Oceans temperatures will also rise and warmer waters will expand further increasing the risk of coastal flooding.
• Higher temperatures will lead to more droughts resulting in desertification ie more areas becoming deserts and thus unable to be worked as agricultural land.
• In other areas higher temperatures will leads to more severe storms, hurricanes and tornadoes with associated flooding and damage.
• The number of  lethal wildfires will increase destroying land, wildlife and habitation.
• Higher temperatures both on land and in the oceans will adversely affect natural ecosystems and the wildlife that lives in them. Some species will be unable to adapt or move and will become extinct.  
• Drought, flooding and changes in seasonal temperatures will mean farmers having to cope with either too much or too little water and increased levels of pests and diseases.  These negative effects on agriculture will result in increased food prices globally, food shortages and more famines.
• Flash floods and more severe storms will damage infrastructure such as roads, bridges, buildings etc.
• Ironically in some areas, including northern Europe, Climate Change could well see much colder winters.  Here winter temperatures are kept warmer than expected as The Gulf Stream draws warmer water across The Atlantic from The Gulf of Mexico. Climate Change could disrupt The Gulf Stream and even stop it completely so western and northern Europe would get much colder winters.  When you realise that New York is on on the same latitude as Madrid you can understand the warming effect of The Gulf Stream. London is actually 11° further north than New York and only 4° further south than Moscow.  Without The Gulf Stream winters would be MUCH colder.  
• Even if The Gulf Stream does not switch off, the warmer air will mean the air above it can carry more moisture to be released when it hits land resulting in wetter winters.

Summary

Climate Change used to be termed Global Warming but because some of the effects on increasing greenhouse gases could actually lead to colder winter weather in some places, the term Climate Change is now used.  Many man-made factors contribute to the increase in greenhouse gases that trap the incoming sunlight including burning fossil fuels, making plastic, clearing forests and agricultural practices.  As individuals we may seem powerless to do anything about Climate Change but this is not true.  There is one thing simple act that will help and that is to buy less.  Less of everything:  Buy less food so we do not waste what we have, buy less stuff overall from clothes to cars and everything in between especially if it is made from or packaged in plastic and use less energy for heating, cooking and transport.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Re-purpose, Refuse, Repair, Reject and ... Remember:

Just because we can buy something does not mean we should.  Think before you buy and ask yourself if you really need it.

If we all re-evaluate how we live and how much we consume it is within our power to reduce Climate Change.  But it needs everyone to do this.  Climate Change is a problem for all of us and a problem that together we can all solve.

Are you with us?