10:10 is an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together we can achieve a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions in 2010.
It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of a huge problem like climate change, but by uniting everyone around immediate, effective and achievable action, 10:10 enables us all to make a meaningful difference. The plan is simple: we work together to cut our carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. 10:10 is an idea whose time has come. Sign up on the 10:10 website www.1010uk.org
I’ve just signed up now and got a few tips to get started:
1 Fly less, holiday more – not a problem for my family as no plans to go abroad this year. I have been known to fly up from Devon/London to relatives in the north east but if I need to visit relatives in 2010 – I’ll get the train instead.
2 Save 10% on heating – Turn down your thermostat we don’t have one! turn off radiators in hallways will do and more jumpers all round got Granny on the case knitting them for all of us!. Then apply for a grant to insulate your loft & walls will need to look into this Use your bill to see whether you cut 10% in 2010 and tick if you succeeded can do Don’t use gas or oil? we live in the middle of nowhere so use oil to heat our water & central heating.
3 Save 10% on electricity – Save big cash by changing lightbulbs, replacing old fridges & freezers ours is not too old and always turning stuff off getting better at this now! Use your bill to compare 2009 usage to 2010. Produce your own electricity from solar or wind? Can’t afford solar or wind!?
4 Drive less – Leave your car at home one day a week. Walk, cycle or take public transport. Join a car-club rather than owning your own and share your ride to work with a colleague or two. Difficult as we live miles form the nearest town, with no access to public transport – but we are shopping at the local farm shop now rather than always going to town and I do cycle the 8 miles into town when I can. We also have a small economical diesel car.
5 Eat better – Local, in-season fruit & veg produce the least emissions – and the less processed the better. Have one meat-free day per week – but don’t replace with just-as-bad cheese. Three of our 4 person family are vegetarian – the 4th eats meat occasionally. We are striving to eat locally produced in-season fruits and veg.
6 Buy good stuff – Less stuff made = less emissions = less climate damage. So buy high-quality things that last, repair broken stuff rather than chucking, buy & sell second-hand and borrow your neighbour’s mower. We are all coming round to this as a family, personally I love retro & antique things so it could be fun rather than a bind.
7 Dump less – Avoid excess packaging trying to and buying pointless stuff that goes straight in the bin, recycle everything possible we are improving every week and compost your food waste our chickens eat our scraps
8 Don’t waste food…The average British family throws away £50 worth of food every month. So don’t buy or cook more than you need and eat up those tasty leftovers. Chickens eat ours or it’s our lunch next day
9 … or water – Your tap water uses lots of energy – and then heating it in your home uses loads more – so take showers rather than baths, be careful when watering plants and only run full dishwashers & washing machines.
10 Feel happier – It’s Dec 2010… you’re healthier for walking & cycling, you’ve made new friends from swapping stuff & car-pooling, you’ve saved a big chunk of cash… and you know that you’re part of the global effort to prevent castastrophic climate change… Tick the box?
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