Living a more sustainable life in a climate change emergency

cutelad

When you live in the country in Cork, Kerry or Mayo public transport not the solution. Try getting from Belmullet to Castlebar by bus for 8 am start and drop kids to school as no bus service for them. Greens will tax everyone to hilt and make bike helmets tax free so we can cycle 80 km a day to work

Water John

Twenty Grand, didn't know sex was so damaging to the environment.

Gangu

I just want to say that I started this thread looking for some suggestions for me and for others that might be worried about climate change. It’s a commentary on this life now that the thread could not be allowed to run its course. Let people who feel the same concerns answer the requests for suggestions. Instead I and others have had to listen to while noise in terms of quality of comments.

One question to those people. Why bother?

You have one life. Why pile in with your negativity and derision? Did those minutes sending the response make you feel good? Why not do something else with those minutes?

Boards is increasingly like this. It is sad.

Macha

[mod] OK, let's not go down a tangent discussion for why posters can be naysayers on boards (that topic could have its own forum..).

Please stay on topic about what individual changes need to happen to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises. Of course that can include comments about the limitations of relying only on individual changes rather than system change. [/mod]

Gangu

Macha wrote: »

[mod] OK, let's not go down a tangent discussion for why posters can be naysayers on boards (that topic could have its own forum..).

Please stay on topic about what individual changes need to happen to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises. Of course that can include comments about the limitations of relying only on individual changes rather than system change. [/mod]

Ok. Thanks

Graces7

Macha wrote: »

[mod] OK, let's not go down a tangent discussion for why posters can be naysayers on boards (that topic could have its own forum..).

Please stay on topic about what individual changes need to happen to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises. Of course that can include comments about the limitations of relying only on individual changes rather than system change. [/mod]

we can as individuals make changes that will have effect. We can as individuals ONLY make changes in our own lives that will have effect . we can as individuals follow our ideals and consciences .

There should not be ridicule of anyone doing that. It is our freedom as citizens.

Like many here I choose care of the world we live in in whatever way I can express and live that care. Not having a car . Not having oil heating.

Growing as much of my food as I can, and leaving some area wild for pollination.. Using as little electricity as I can.
Not supporting practices that are damaging eg beef farming

. Recycling as much as possible. Using thrift/charity shops. Wasting nothing.

Because I care about this world and do not seek to damage it further by practices that do that and by waste.

is_that_so

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Farce to move to electric cars? Eh. More like we should get rid of cars and improve public transportation.

Nature of modern living means that cars are required. We can reduce their use but not without the public transportation being fixed first.

blackbox

is_that_so wrote: »

Nature of modern living means that cars are required. We can reduce their use but not without the public transportation being fixed first.

For outside the main cities, public transport will only be viable when it can be provided by autonomous vehicles.

Stop buying in Penneys and Dealz!!

Its all cheap trash coming in from China and other 3rd world countries. Its disposable throwaway junk filling up peoples houses with clutter and stuff that ends up in landfill a year later. People buy cheap and then think "ah shure it only cost a fiver, I'll throw it out now".

You will NOT find one thing in Penneys that's made in Ireland.

One of the girls I work with buys new pyjamas for her boys and husband every single Christmas even if they don't need them, she buys green T-shirts every single Paddy's Day, cheap holiday clothing every Summer for their 2 weeks in the sun, new cushions and throws every single Autumn! She just doesn't think.
She throws out stuff like cushions just because she fancies a change of colour. She throws out her husbands and kids t shirts because she has just bought new ones. So many people live like this.

I have a sofa for the last 18 years, Its big and comfy but has seen me through cats, dogs, kids, their boyfriends and many other times. I have 3 good rugs which I rotate. They get washed and dried and switched around. Then the dog and cats get them in their beds when they get too old. Same with sheets. I buy good quality and keep them for decades. I buy staple quality clothes that wont date. I don't buy the latest fashion. Before I buy anything I always ask myself "do I REALLY need this"?

I hate throwing out stuff and buy in charity shops, you can get amazing labels in some of the Dublin charity shops. Or else I buy on ASOS Marketplace and make sure its recycled or vintage.

I buy plain candles, not the ones in glass jars that get thrown in the bin and go to landfill. Its alarming how much waste we produce, most of it is coming from an insatiable desire to buy and accumulate junk. This buying is filling an empty hole in so many people - but that's a thread for another day!

AlmightyCushion

There's nothing wrong with Penney's clothes. I've been wearing them for years and they're grand. Obviously not as good as some more expensive brands but they do last (and some of the more expensive stuff is similar quality or worse than Penney's stuff, I've found). I have stuff, I've had years that I still wear and it's holding up well.

The problem is that people treat it as disposable because it's cheap but that doesn't mean it is disposable.

endacl

denismc wrote: »

let some of your garden grow wild.

Easiest thing ever. Literally do nothing!

AlmightyCushion

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with Penney's clothes. I've been wearing them for years and they're grand. Obviously not as good as some more expensive brands but they do last (and some of the more expensive stuff is similar quality or worse than Penney's stuff, I've found). I have stuff, I've had years that I still wear and it's holding up well.

The problem is that people treat it as disposable because it's cheap but that doesn't mean it is disposable.

Yeah I know , some of their clothes are good .......but look at the shelves of products , tanning mitts, wipes, plastic bottles of cleansers, creams , makeup, all wrapped and displayed in plastic, all shipped from the far side of the world.

The availability and vast range of products is what encourages waste . We don’t need all this stuff in our lives! Cheap shops encourage this culture of mass consumer spending and waste .

Ubbquittious

There has to be something to be said for withdrawing all your savings and storing them as cash. Because of how the fractional reserve banking system works this will cause the brakes to be applied to the capitalist merry go round.*


*Though in reality vested interests will lobby the ECB to make more funds available

Graces7

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah I know , some of their clothes are good .......but look at the shelves of products , tanning mitts, wipes, plastic bottles of cleansers, creams , makeup, all wrapped and displayed in plastic, all shipped from the far side of the world.

The availability and vast range of products is what encourages waste . We don’t need all this stuff in our lives! Cheap shops encourage this culture of mass consumer spending and waste .[/QUOTE]

Interesting angle. Inexpensive shops enable eg pensioners to cope with a small income. I buy almost none of what you list but use "pound shops" rather than pay higher prices for my needs. Paying e1.50 for eg a casserole as against far far more in even tesco? Thankful for dealz; whose food is also far far cheaper than elsewhere.

Graces7

An interesting angle on thrift shops, from a UK forum

They send bales of clothing that will not sell here to Africa and the clothing industry there are complaining that this is destroying their livelihood,

people who buy the castoffs cannot afford new clothes.

Much the same as here

Macha

What role does growing inequality and wage stagnation have on the drive to produce every cheaper good and food?

Ubbquittious

Macha wrote: »

What role does growing inequality and wage stagnation have on the drive to produce every cheaper good and food?

One is probably the result of the other. If people all decided to turn their back on the mass produced stuff and the cheap food that lines the pockets of distributors and supermarkets we would be better off financially in the long run. The only place it might come back to bite us is pension. Lots of big companies are heavily invested in by pension funds

The J Stands for Jay

cutelad wrote: »

Let your garden grow wild? Ah here your mad.

What's mad about that? Your lawnmower is highly polluting, the bees will like it, and perfect lawns look weird. A lot less effort to pull the ugliest of the weeds than to be mowing every weekend.

Macha

McGaggs wrote: »

What's mad about that? Your lawnmower is highly polluting, the bees will like it, and perfect lawns look weird. A lot less effort to pull the ugliest of the weeds than to be mowing every weekend.

Blind Boy did a brilliant podcast on this not too long ago:
https://www.theblindboypodcast.com/episode/tiocfaidh-ar-lawn/

I'm mad keen on the seed bomb idea now.

Ubbquittious

McGaggs wrote: »

What's mad about that? Your lawnmower is highly polluting, the bees will like it, and perfect lawns look weird. A lot less effort to pull the ugliest of the weeds than to be mowing every weekend.

The lawnmower isn't inherently that terribly polluting the problem is ones that are badly tuned and running rich are spewing out unburnt fuel. But because of the race to the bottom nobody really looks after their lawnmower anymore, don't bother changing the oil, tuning the carb or cleaning the deck and just run to woodies every couple of years for a new one.

Graces7

Ubbquittious wrote: »

One is probably the result of the other. If people all decided to turn their back on the mass produced stuff and the cheap food that lines the pockets of distributors and supermarkets we would be better off financially in the long run. The only place it might come back to bite us is pension. Lots of big companies are heavily invested in by pension funds

.. that also enables folk on a very small income to eat.

PS someone was talking re dealz as if the products there were bad? There is also Mr Price.selling "branded bargains". good brands very inexpensive. I miss them now I am housebound.

Graces7

Ubbquittious wrote: »

The lawnmower isn't inherently that terribly polluting the problem is ones that are badly tuned and running rich are spewing out unburnt fuel. But because of the race to the bottom nobody really looks after their lawnmower anymore, don't bother changing the oil, tuning the carb or cleaning the deck and just run to woodies every couple of years for a new one.

We grew up with push lawnmowers and came to no harm..

Ubbquittious

Ubbquittious wrote: »

The lawnmower isn't inherently that terribly polluting the problem is ones that are badly tuned and running rich are spewing out unburnt fuel. But because of the race to the bottom nobody really looks after their lawnmower anymore, don't bother changing the oil, tuning the carb or cleaning the deck and just run to woodies every couple of years for a new one.

A problem that will disappear when battery electric mowers become common, the only problem is that manufacturers will play their usual trick of limiting their working lives to ensure a steady supply of repeat purchases.

This is of course something that affects all forms of consumerism.

Ubbquittious

Graces7 wrote: »

We grew up with push lawnmowers and came to no harm..

I wonder who came up with the daft idea first day of planting a load of inedible (for human) plants outside the house and spending a good bit of time and energy trying to keep it short

Ubbquittious

Ubbquittious wrote: »

I wonder who came up with the daft idea first day of planting a load of inedible (for human) plants outside the house and spending a good bit of time and energy trying to keep it short

Someone wealthy enough not to need to grow food in their gardens and could pay someone else to keep it. Just think about the gardens that are around many a stately home.

Graces7

Ubbquittious wrote: »

I wonder who came up with the daft idea first day of planting a load of inedible (for human) plants outside the house and spending a good bit of time and energy trying to keep it short

When I was born, folk were "digging for victory" .. I don't mind lawns as much as the modern "gardens" with a great huge ROCK sitting amidships...

Graces7

Deleted User wrote: »

Someone wealthy enough not to need to grow food in their gardens and could pay someone else to keep it. Just think about the gardens that are around many a stately home.

The "landed gentry " are the last people to think re sustainability :eek: and they all had kitchen gardens, walled gardens with espalier peaches and grew pineapples in pits etc. at least they provided employment...

Graces7

Graces7 wrote: »

The "landed gentry " are the last people to think re sustainability :eek: and they all had kitchen gardens, walled gardens with espalier peaches and grew pineapples in pits etc. at least they provided employment...

Yes, I forgot about the kitchen gardens to the side of the stately homes, I was just thinking about the formal gardens front and back.

Graces7

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes, I forgot about the kitchen gardens to the side of the stately homes, I was just thinking about the formal gardens front and back.

I used to visit Chatsworth and the other great houses in my youth
..
Kylemore Abbey are still rebuilding the garden complex there. In great and exact detail and employing many local folk.

we owe many of our native plants etc to these great gardens.

Just feasted here on early pickings of my garden greens... a great feeling... sustainable living is great

Del.Monte

Can't be bothered to start a new thread on this, but has anything positive been done by our government since they declared a climate emergency?

Apart from complaining about what's happening in Brazil(slash and burn farming), nothing from what I can see.

cutelad

I was listening on the radio the other week the Green guy Cuffe saying Galway does not need a bypass but folks from Barna should bus it to Oranmore and such places for work. Really shows the Greens are a Dublin party. They are an embarrassment.

ohographite

cutelad wrote: »

I was listening on the radio the other week the Green guy Cuffe saying Galway does not need a bypass but folks from Barna should bus it to Oranmore and such places for work. Really shows the Greens are a Dublin party. They are an embarrassment.

It isn't just in Dublin. Connemara's first green councillor doesn't want a bypass for Galway either, according to this:

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/connemaras-first-green-councillor-stop-600m-galway-ring-road-927357.html


I'm personally not against the Galway bypass, but I wouldn't call it an embarrassment for the green party to oppose this, since this article notes that only 3% of Galway car traffic wants to bypass the city, and suggests providing better public transport(including light rail) would be better.
It has a few fair points:

https://www.advertiser.ie/Galway/article/106009/climate-change-means-city-bypass-will-add-to-not-solve-galways-traffic-problems


Overall, I wouldn't say it would be a bad investment though. It's just understandable that the greens would oppose it.

ohographite

To return to the original purpose of this thread, here is a piece of advice on how to live more sustainably:

Attend protests for sustainability, which are held from time to time in Dublin City Centre, as this will help show there is public support to make society more sustainable.

The next one that will happen is called the Global Climate Strike.
The main Dublin branch of this protest will take place on 20th September outside the Custom House at 12:00 noon(with a march to merrion square involved).
It is considered a strike for schoolchildren, BUT anyone else is very welcome to take time off work(if they are working) and join in to support the school strike.

Here is a link to the other protests in Ireland which will be held as part of the Global Climate Strike:

https://www.stopclimatechaos.ie/takeaction

Benny mcc

LastLagoon wrote: »

My advice would be to travel as much as you can and enjoy the nice things petrochemicals have allowed us to experience. We are not going to turn it around ,it’s already too late and people will not be able to make the sacrifices required which are extreme and not even really being broached by the protestors as they know it will put the majority off. Any political party advocating what actually needs to be done (as opposed to making empty gestures like declaring a climate emergency) would be destroyed.
I’m going about my life as normal but fully expect to experience severe hardship and to see people dying of starvation in current first world countries in my lifetime.

This is the only post here that says it as it is.
There is no turn back I'm afraid and if you are very naive and think that we as a race would all get to the same way of thinking well best of luck to you my friends. We are human and that there is the problem, we want all the nice things and we want them fast . It's going and we're going with it and faster the trip is getting . When we're gon old mother earth will start to 're grow and best of luck to her. Enjoy what you have for now!!

ohographite

Benny mcc wrote: »

This is the only post here that says it as it is.
There is no turn back I'm afraid and if you are very naive and think that we as a race would all get to the same way of thinking well best of luck to you my friends. We are human and that there is the problem, we want all the nice things and we want them fast . It's going and we're going with it and faster the trip is getting . When we're gon old mother earth will start to 're grow and best of luck to her. Enjoy what you have for now!!

The school strikes happening worldwide show there is public support for a more sustainable society. A lot of inaction by governments(including our own) on this issue is, I believe, not supported by the general public, and I have reason to believe the inaction is caused by the fossil fuel industry's lobbying of governments(once again, including our own).

If we stop looking for any more reserves of fossil fuels, and forget about burning some reserves we've found already, then there is a chance to turn back.
The majority of our government support doing this, but a small group of its members has so far been successful in blocking a bill that would ban it.

However, I accept that the chances that we will turn back before it's too late are very slim.
We still shouldn't give up though, and there are plenty of people out there(myself included) who will keep trying for as long as they can.

To return to the original purpose of this thread, it is still worth a try to live a more sustainable life.
Nobody knows for sure if it's too late.

bilbot79

If every person in the world planTed one tree in their lives....

If every person complained to manufacturers about planned & perceived obsolescence and demanded products that were durable, repairable and long lasting, we would make huge headways into reducing waste at evert level of the production chain.

Capt'n Midnight

bilbot79 wrote: »

If every person in the world planTed one tree in their lives....

Would need to be a lot closer to 100 trees each.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76.full?ijkey=OxoPlV/Tcl1Ao&keytype=ref&siteid=sci

Ecosystems could support an additional 0.9 billion hectares of continuous forest. This would represent a greater than 25% increase in forested area, including more than 500 billion trees and more than 200 gigatonnes of additional carbon at maturity. Such a change has the potential to cut the atmospheric carbon pool by about 25%.

cutelad

Deleted User wrote: »

If every person complained to manufacturers about planned & perceived obsolescence and demanded products that were durable, repairable and long lasting, we would make huge headways into reducing waste at evert level of the production chain.

Yep. Lets all go to the manufacturers Saturday and do that. Yawn

Del.Monte

cutelad wrote: »

Yep. Lets all go to the manufacturers Saturday and do that. Yawn

What's your answer?

cutelad

cutelad wrote: »

Yep. Lets all go to the manufacturers Saturday and do that. Yawn

Stupid answer and not at all helpful.
The solution is to give negative reviews of products that have a short lifespan, refuse to repeat purchase and tell the manufacturers why and as manufacturers are driven by "consumer demand" challange them to react.

Reducing excessive consumerism, will be bad for business, so this is why the subject is always sidelined and ridiculed (as above).
But a reduction in repeatedly buying the same thing time and again will result in a significant reduction in greenhouse gases at all stages of production from, quarrying to filling landfill sites.


I challange to say I'm wrong.

Selenophile

Deleted User wrote: »

Reducing excessive consumerism, will be bad for business, so this is why the subject is always sidelined and ridiculed (as above).
But a reduction in repeatedly buying the same thing time and again will result in a significant reduction in greenhouse gases at all stages of production from, quarrying to filling landfill sites.

I actually think that we are just about to enter the new era, which will introduce a completely different business model and in fact support reduced production.
There are already some startups that are going into this new direction - renting goods instead of buying. The idea is that a final user doesn't need to own a product during its entire lifespan but only occasionally. So, the same product can be used by many users (time sharing). Similar to borrowing books from the library.
However, there is a question, how it can work for business and secure the steady income. Well, there is a simple answer. Software industry for example, favors subscription models. In some earlier times you'd pay hefty license to install MS Office package. Today, they prefer if you would buy subscription for their cloud based Office.
This model with subscriptions like with Netflix or Spotify, can be and is applied to some other types of businesses e.g. renting expensive clothes from famous designers. It makes it affordable for users, but it also provides steady income to the company that offers these items. Even when we are not talking about time sharing, than a product can be simply leased for some monthly or annual subscription fee.

Of course, if the producer is the one that offers products in this way, then it would be much more profitable to have durable and reliable product that will not need much maintenance. Take as an example a dishwasher. Wouldn't it be fantastic for the producer to provide a dishwasher to user for some fixed monthly fee of say 4 or 5 eur (or maybe less). In that case, the producer would want dishwasher to last more than 5 years, and it would bring much better profit in this scenario. I simplified the model, but I guess you can understand the idea.


Sure, we can say that many businesses will resist this change. But I think that there will be a huge pressure from the lawmakers, from consumers, and from new or transformed old competitors that will introduce these new, environmentally friendly solutions and models. Those that don't want to change will simply suffer loses and disappear from the market.

The other main points that would make these changes possible would require a change from "lending money into existence" which required infinite growth to "spending money into existence" which allows for zero growth without breaking the system. Such a financial system would put an end of the need for businesses to require growth infinitely.

The other requirement would be to set up Universal Basic income schemes in most developed countries to provide income for those who will be working fewer hours due to the production of durable goods, going "green" isn't going to be a free ride for anyone, but it does require some serious changes to avoid the total "burn out" the current economic model is heading.

magicbastarder

Deleted User wrote: »

If every person complained to manufacturers about planned & perceived obsolescence and demanded products that were durable, repairable and long lasting, we would make huge headways into reducing waste at evert level of the production chain.

a minor issue - but how about baking consumer law into warranties on goods?
a friend recently told me they'd replaced an oven after just over two years because it failed, and it came with a one year warranty. however, if they'd known about consumer law, they'd have been able to demand a fix or replacement from the supplier.

Selenophile

Deleted User wrote: »

The other main points that would make these changes possible would require a change from "lending money into existence" which required infinite growth to "spending money into existence" which allows for zero growth without breaking the system. Such a financial system would put an end of the need for businesses to require growth infinitely.

The other requirement would be to set up Universal Basic income schemes in most developed countries to provide income for those who will be working fewer hours due to the production of durable goods, going "green" isn't going to be a free ride for anyone, but it does require some serious changes to avoid the total "burn out" the current economic model is heading.

Form what we can read about this latest UN summit, it looks like that many in financial sector are aware of what is coming.
The Universal Basic Income is obviously becoming unavoidable reality for the near future. It is not only the question of going "green", but also automation.

I agree with you that is not going to be a "free ride", and I'm afraid that it may also trigger some violent resistance to change.

magicbastarder

magicbastarder wrote: »

a minor issue - but how about baking consumer law into warranties on goods?
a friend recently told me they'd replaced an oven after just over two years because it failed, and it came with a one year warranty. however, if they'd known about consumer law, they'd have been able to demand a fix or replacement from the supplier.

Yes, I agree, goods should be expected to last longer, not expire shortly after the warranty period. But is is more to do with the enormous waste of (non renewable) natural resources and the energy that is consumed in every step of the process from quarry to landfill that making these products entail.


It should be written into law that a manufacturer is prohibited from using life shortening "features" in their products, those products that have such features would be taxed at double VAT or similar penalty.


Similar penalties on products that are designed not to be repaired.

magicbastarder

Deleted User wrote: »

Yes, I agree, goods should be expected to last longer, not expire shortly after the warranty period.

that's pretty much what consumer law states, though - that a good should last a reasonable length of time. e.g. if you buy a cooker, you should expect it to last longer than say two years, otherwise it's not of merchantable quality.
if more people knew about this - and followed up on it, it might not be enough to change the way the manufacturers behave (or more likely how the retailers do).

as mentioned, it's a minor issue given the topic at hand.

Buy less stuff and save the planet!

Buy more stuff and save the economy!

The choice is yours

ohographite

A low waste shop, The Good Neighbour, has recently opened in Dundrum.
It has grains, spices, nuts, sweets, beans, etc. in large containers, and customers can bring their own containers and fill them with the things they want to buy, with no single use packaging involved!
You can also refill empty containers with handwash or washing up liquid from the big containers of them in the shop as well.
As well as these things, the shop has a lot more!

This shop is great to reduce your use of single-use packaging, so I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to live more sustainably, and who spends lots of time around the Dundrum area.

Its Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/thegoodneighbourdublin/

Its exact address is:
Unit 8,
Main Street,
Dundrum Village,
Dublin 14.

eircode:
D14 ET96