Forum Topic

What are you doing to become a greener consumer?

There was a very good You and Yours on this this morning following the latest IPCC report.Very inspirational and well worth listening to if uou missed it.  There are a lot of people working towards this despite the fact that the situation has been ignored and brushed under the carpet for so long.  Definitely worth listening to if you missed it:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00162tt

Philippa Bond ● 1632d18 Comments

Every time I feel I am being lectured at - which seems to happen more and more by those who seem to think they have the moral high ground - I become less and less inclined to bother to continue the activities I already undertake to be 'green.'

Claire Moran ● 1632d

Claire, you're spot on ! Personally I cannot abide being lectured at as those lecturing us assume we are incapable of making the right decisions.

Loraine Pemberton ● 1632d

No lecturing.  It was a catalogue of different actions by different people who called in.  Many different ones.

Philippa Bond ● 1632d

I read that the best thing some people could do was to sell their large energy inefficient and high maintenance Victorian houses, and move into smaller modern eco efficient abodes. Should we be encouraging people in old energy wasting houses to sell and become greener consumers? Can’t see the full logic tbh, but can see some inconsistencies..

Russell Pearson ● 1632d

I believe a lot of people only have the money when they buy a new (to them) home to make extensive alterations before they move in.  Victorian and Edwardian homes can be quite complicated to retrofit and it can be disruptive and it can take time.

Philippa Bond ● 1632d

I agree Philippa, it was a very interesting and balanced programme.

Anne England ● 1632d

There were people talking about what ghe had done to their homes snd sbout building new passivhaus style homes.  There is a lot of disagreement over whether what developers are doing now is the right thing to do.https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/retrofirst

Philippa Bond ● 1632d

So is it correct to say that some people are being very ungreen in their leaky old energy inefficient houses, while hectoring others on tiny energy efficiency measures?

Russell Pearson ● 1632d

If we follow the logic of the green lobby most of the old Victorian homes should be demolished (even though many have considerable architectural merit) and replaced with modern homes with all the "right" green tech built in to them.Of course the problem is that the modern houses are often very bad built, a lot of the green tech has been so badly installed that it causes more problems than it solves, and sadly for the green lobby, people actually prefer the Victorian houses.For myself, when finances permit I will install solar panels and a battery storage system not just to mostly replace electricity from the grid but also to ditch my gas boiler

Justin Stephenson ● 1632d

I do my bit but I'm afraid that it is becoming harder and harder, especially when one looks at the total demolition of Ukraine and the unbelievable waste of money, resources and human life. It makes me wonder if any amount of 'green thinking' is worth it when others seem to be doing their absolute best to trash everything.

Chris Blackwell ● 1632d

" when finances permit I will install solar panels and a battery storage system not just to mostly replace electricity from the grid but also to ditch my gas boiler"And that's the point. People can bleat on about being green in everything but it costs a LOT of money. So, ok for the wealthy to preach and sit comfortably in their overheated houses. EVERYONE should seriously look at REDUCING energy use and the government should look seriously at fining corporations for waste. Tonight for instance, it is totally unnecessary to have any heating on.

Steve Taylor ● 1632d

" when finances permit I will install solar panels and a battery storage system not just to mostly replace electricity from the grid but also to ditch my gas boiler"Not a choice for poorer people. But those wealthy greens in large energy wasting houses could easily sell and buy a greener alternative. They would save so much energy in doing so, and help save the planet. Their old house could then be repurposed, insulated, and replenished with better heating as a greener home, with in some instances homes for 3 families.

Russell Pearson ● 1632d

My Victorian house is probably leaky but I never have heating on in the bedroom and sleep with the windows open.  One thing that should be tackled are those 'ghost' flights: can they not be virtual somehow?

Vivienne Cox ● 1632d

"One thing that should be tackled are those 'ghost' flights: can they not be virtual somehow?"It's criminal that the Government allows Heathrow Airport to force Airlines to have 'ghost' flights just to keep their slot. They are wasting fuel and ruining the environment and our MP's allow it.

Steve Taylor ● 1632d

Ghost flights - I can't believe they still do those - that's pure craziness!I think that the lack of VAT on new build was to deliberately encourage new builds while those retrofitting have to pay VAT.  That's a point of contention.  It seems that this isn't the latest thinking though as the Architect's Journal's Retrofit First campaign shows.  Have a look at the architectural work of the winners of the prestigious Pritzker prize 2021 - Lacaton & Vassal.I believe there are also shortages of construction workers and materials at the moment which doesn't help.

Philippa Bond ● 1632d

Philippa is on target with her Retrofit and Pritzker examples.Lacaton & Vassal retrofitted council housing as a development strategy to improve efficiency and improve quality of life which has evolved since these building first were built, now even more so with COVID and how it will further influence how we use our homes.Look at White City. It is a vast sea of bland sameness. Across from it is Grenfell and the neighboring towers (I'm not sure what they're called). No reason why these remaining towers couldn't be upgraded to match the quality and efficiency of the new White City clones. At that, they could even be better designed, not that that would take much.

David Lesniak ● 1631d

One little thing that gets me is that smaller shops still give out plastic bags and I'm sure still for free - please correct me if I'm wrong. Just about every time I've bought something in a smaller shop there's been an automatic reach for the bag or I'm asked if I need one. Do I need one to carry a pint of milk or a loaf of bread? Ridiculous although at least half of the other customers I see go right along with it. Something I have done for years is to carry one of those little fold-away bags. It is something easy which anybody can do.

Anne England ● 1631d

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/rishi-sunak-vat-government-mps-stephen-crabb-b2042289.html?ampVAT removed from solar panels, insulation and heat pumps.

Philippa Bond ● 1630d