WOLVERHAMPTON
AND WALSALL GREEN PARTY
A list of things you might consider in playing your part to save the planet. Some are easy and might well save you money, some are not so easy and will take more commitment. Most things are quite possible for most people. Save energy, Save lives.
1. Transport - most important of all, do not fly unless its absolutely necessary; check out alternatives by train for vacations; try using your car less, and car share if you can; using public transport where you can; walk and cycle for your health. (25% of the energy we use is in transport).
2. Space Heating – insulate your home properly; wear layers of clothing and turn down the thermostat; think about heating the space you are using rather than the whole house. Double glazing, cavity wall insulation and condensing boilers will save energy and money, if you can stretch to that. (Another major factor in the energy we use).
3. Electricity – switch to energy efficient lighting; switch off appliances rather than leaving them on standby; if possible, switch to a green energy supplier (e.g. Good Energy, Ecotricity). In time there will be savings and a market for selling back to the grid energy you might generate yourself (through microgeneration).
4. Food – try and buy as much of your food sourced locally; if possible, don't use supermarkets, which clock up hundreds of thousands of food miles and may exploit workers in less developed countries; think about growing your own (!) Up to 10% of the energy we use comes from food production (marketing and transport).
5. Recycle as much as you can. It costs a lot to dispose of waste by landfill as well as being bad for the environment. Psychologically, recycling is important in helping you appreciate the value of what you consume. Recycling also reduces emissions from incinerators (which councils often promote as 'energy from waste'). Think about the embodied energy of the stuff you buy – the energy used in its production and disposal.
6. Inform yourself – the conventional media and the internet is filled with news on the environment now. Think about signing up to Friends of the Earth (which is apolitical) or other campaigning organisations for regular newsletters and magazines. There have been any number of programmes on BBC radio and TV recently; the parliament channel has especially good coverage of various select committees. You can also sign up to various emailing lists for regular news.
7. Money – Spend it carefully in the choice of what you buy and try and buy only what you need (!);invest your money with social enterprise initiatives e.g. Triodos bank; support campaigning organisations and charities working for social justice, fair trade rules and protecting the environment; find out how your pension contributions are used to make sure they are invested in a socially responsible way.
8. Get involved – probably the biggest difference you can make is to get active in making your voice heard and supporting political action for addressing sustainability issues (climate change, food and energy security). You can do that by writing to / visiting local councillors and MPs or writing to the press, calling into radio talk shows and engaging in surveys. Also, with a party of your own choice, but as we said before, the Green Party believes the other parties policies are seriously flawed, being too closely wedded to business interests and conventional economics. The Greens want to put people before profit.