Reduce Reuse Recycle

Like a lot of other people, I am trying really hard to reduce my "carbon footprint". I do all the usual recycling - paper, glass, cans etc. Most vegetable waste and peelings goes straight into the compost bin, or if suitable we feed them to the rabbits (though they are quite picky eaters!). All our lightbulbs are low energy (except the ones that operate on a dimmer switch). I'm lucky enough to be able to cycle to my office (though I do have to drive all round the county for meetings and am really conscious of those miles - Essex is a big county). I always take my own shopping bags with me - I used to use the "Bag for Life" type all the time, but am moving towards non plastic - I have about 8 calico bags, but am planning to make some more heavy duty ones out of remnants of upholstery fabric for heavier items. I try to buy food with less packaging. I'm the annoying person in the office who goes round other people's desks turning off their fans, lights, printers etc when they've gone home. Sad - I know.

So what else can I do to make a difference? I have registered with the mail preference service, stuck a sticker on my letter box saying no junk mail, told the post office to stop delivering leaflets (they make a lot of money out of getting the postman to deliver leaflets with the post - but that means it takes him longer to do his rounds!). I've told my credit card companies not to keep sending me credit card cheques (I hate them - it's such a worry that someone could intercept your post and use those cheques and you wouldn't know until your statement arrives). But I still receive lots of mail I don't want. So I have started returning junk mail to the companies that send it to me. You know the type of thing - somehow they know when your car insurance is due for renewal and you get six brochures offering you a "deal"; your credit card company sends you a letter reminding you that you can transfer a balance; your bank or building society writes to offer you a loan at a preferential rate... Everything I get that I don't want I put a sticker on that says "Return to Sender - Junk Mail - Sender: Please remove me from your mailing list - Save Money Reduce Waste Save Trees" and put it back in the letter box.

Gosh - that was a bit "Grumpy Old Women". I'm not normally so grouchy, but I do feel quite strongly about these issues. Other ways I am trying to make a difference: I use Freecycle (local groups can be found at www.Freecycle.org ) to give things away - the idea is to save putting so much stuff into landfill and this helps match up people who have something to give away with people who want it. So far I've given away 5 bikes, a sofa, an artificial Christmas Tree, lots of childrens games and videos, a big mirror, and lots of old garden stuff (plant pots, seed trays etc). I really want to have less stuff so although I read the local notice boards regularly, I don't often ask for anything. I also release books into the wild with Book Crossing www.bookcrossing.com.

I've been listening to Prof Jeffrey Sachs giving the Reith lectures on Radio 4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2007/ but find the scale of the problems he outlines quite terrifying. I feel that all the little things I'm doing to reduce my impact on the environment can't have any effect on all the huge problems the planet is facing - but I can't stand by and do nothing. How can I expect the people in positions of power to take action if I don't do something myself? When I read blogs by other people around the world who are also trying to do their bit, I feel there is some hope for the future. I like this quote attributed to the anthropologist Margaret Mead "Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has". The great thing is that due to the availability of information via the internet, people don't need to even meet each other to get ideas across.

Unrelated comment:
I'm new at this blogging game so I don't know if the etiquette is to reply to comments but I wanted to say thanks for the couple of nice comments I have received. I rarely comment on other people's blogs; though most people seem so nice and friendly, I feel a bit like a person who's gatecrashed a party and tries to join in established conversations between friends. I feel comfortable with continuing to "lurk" but may eventually build up enough confidence to comment and let other people know what I think!