How to live a Greener Life

14/02/2023

ELECTRIC CARS – PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES PART I
The NISSAN LEAF E TECHNA

My post this time is the first in an occasional series of personal perspectives on electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid cars. I have put it together from an interview with the owner and hope that it gives you a better understanding of what it’s like to own an electric car.

The Nissan Leaf E Techna cost £37,000 (which sounds like a large amount of money) but it was bought on a hire and lease arrangement so the owners didn’t have to fork out that amount!). Basically, after four years, they’ll be able to buy it outright if they want to, or they can then decide whether to keep it or not. There was quite a long waiting list to get the car, which presumably shows that they’re pretty popular. The owner really agonised over getting it as she’d long loved Citroens, which she’d had for years. The other issue was getting used to the fact that all EVs are automatic.

It’s really important to be able to charge EVs at home, so this factor alone will mean that they’re prohibitive for people who don’t have the facilities for this. When she bought the car, the owner was eligible for £300 off the cost of the home charging unit from Pod Point but did have to wait for their availability to be able to come to her house and then when they did come, there was another wait because the electric box in the house wasn’t modern enough to take the extra high voltage charging required. Eventually, this was sorted out, but it’s obviously something else to consider, plus the fact that home chargers aren’t as fast as the ones available in public.

One good thing is that the owner gets a special tariff between 12.30am and 4.30am in the morning which only costs 7p per kilowatt hour. It means that it’s pretty cheap to charge the car at this rate (much the same as some of the electric clothes airers being advertised!). The owner said that if you have a Tesla EV, however, you get an even cheaper charging price. One can only wonder why these really expensive cars would be given preferential treatment – it seems very unfair as the people able to afford Teslas in the first place are obviously in a higher wage bracket.

The owner was keen to stress that she and her husband did actually need a new car so they weren’t buying the EV on a whim, but rather because they felt that it would be good to have one because of the reduced environmental impact. Whilst this is true to an extent, it’s a fact that the lithium batteries EVs use aren’t green at all and mining of these metals causes pollution – it’s becoming a highly political issue, especially as China currently dominates the market.
Regarding the car’s range, the owner said that she had wanted a car with a big enough battery to take them to her sister’s house in Devon (which is about 200 miles from Cranleigh). The Nissan Leaf has an approximate range of 260 miles but in the winter, if everything’s on in the car (for example, the heater), the mileage does drop so it’s quite an interesting exercise to see how these factors may affect your mileage on a longer journey (and probably not something you want to leave to the actual journey itself before finding out!). Driving around Cranleigh on the other hand, uses hardly any charge at all. The owner also said that she could drive to London and even Luton without using much charge.

A great feature is that the car flags up when there’s a charging point nearby but the real difficulty is the infrastructure over distance (something that has been well documented in the media). The owner said that in order to do a longer journey you need to get a special pack called “Zap” (there are other brands available) which will tell you where there is a charging point, whether or not it’s working and whether or not somebody’s using it. Another point to consider is that different charging points charge the EV faster, some charge them slower so you may find that your car can be charged within an hour whereas somewhere else it may take quite a bit longer.

The problem with charging points is that there are numerous companies who have charging points (the owner said it was a bit like the Wild West!), and they all charge different fees. You need their app, sometimes you have to have a proper account with them too which all sounds a bit annoying or at the very least, sounds like you can’t really just get in the car and head off into the sunset without doing your EV homework! The charging points aren’t always on main roads and another annoyance is that on motorways the charging points are only for Teslas! What’s that all about?!

The Nissan Leaf comes with two heavy leads and you may need them to plug into an electricity point on a journey (although sometimes the charging points do provide the leads which you then put into your car). Unfortunately, not all leads are compatible as the industry doesn’t currently have a universal charging socket etc. so it is problematic and certainly a bit easier if there are two of you travelling! It really sounds like government need to sort this all out, standardise charging sockets, standardise fees and also of course increase the number and power of charging points.

Regarding the car’s performance, the owner said that it was just fantastic and she loves driving it. She soon got used to driving an automatic and because it’s electric, it means that it accelerates fast (this is because the electricity current is constant whereas this isn’t the case with an internal combustion engine). It’s also very responsive, so if you need a boost to get past somebody etc. it’s really great. It’s very smooth, easy to keep to the speed limit, very easy to control, acceleration is easy. It has cameras on the back and front and can even drive itself although the owner said that she hasn’t used this facility yet (the upgraded model can also park automatically). There’s an eco-pedal facility and different gears etc.
She said that it’s in a different league from her previous cars and she would definitely buy another one as it’s been such a joy to drive. She also said that it’s had a positive impact of the quality of hers and her husband’s driving. She even said that she can’t think of a car she’d rather have (a big recommendation indeed) and it’s great knowing that she’s not polluting the environment when she’s driving.

03/12/2022

WELL, IT'S OFFICIAL - BURNING GARDEN WASTE IS BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND FOR HUMAN HEALTH

I can actually say that I’ve never had a garden bonfire. This is because from the time I got my own garden, I’ve gardened organically and this has meant either re-using stuff I’ve cut back or just letting it rot down (which is fantastic for the living creatures in the garden – I sometimes put it at the back of flower beds where it can’t be seen, or in a quiet corner. Then of course there’s the composter which will take a certain amount of stuff and finally, I pile all the fallen leaves (my garden is surrounded by deciduous hedging as well as having some trees) onto the flower beds which provides a wonderful mulch and food for the plants there come the following Spring.

As for garden bonfires, quite apart from the fact that it’s really annoying coming back to a line full of washing which then smells of smoke, or finding that your house is full of a smoky smell (which immediately hits the back of my throat and makes my eyes sting), it’s an issue that apparently causes frequent complaints to local UK Councils, and in some places four times as many complaints were received about this issue during the 2020 lockdown.

As it happens, there has now been a detailed study of the effects of garden bonfires on both the environment and us. The scientists built a special fire chamber with instrumentation in the extract ducts – then they burned leaves and hedge trimmings.

It seems that we’ve all assumed that garden bonfires produce pollution similar to home fires and wood stoves but actually, for each kilogram burned, garden waste on bonfires produced up to thirty times (yes, thirty times!) more particle pollution (smoke to you and I) than burning logs in a stove, however, smoke from wood burning stoves contained up to twelve times more cancer-causing hydrocarbons. The pollution from bonfires more closely resembled wildfire smoke which is increasingly being linked to health problems. The Bottom line: DON’T BURN GARDEN WASTE – COMPOST IT, SHRED IT, OR PUT IT IN YOUR GREEN WASTE BIN (or on your flower beds like I do).

This latest evidence lends more weight to something else I’ve been concerned about for many years - why on earth, during a climate crisis, we still think it’s okay up and down the country to build huge bonfires on 5th November or thereabouts to “celebrate” the violent deaths of some people four hundred and seventeen years ago…. Bonfire Night is, after all, a carbon dioxide mega-event. Perhaps it’s time to re-think?

Details of the study can be found here (but you have to sign in to access the full study findings):
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969721044405?via%3Dihub

17/08/2022

https://www.soilassociation.org/blogs/2022/august/8/soils-take-centre-stage-as-experts-gather-in-glasgow/?fbclid=IwAR1VPHktTv7oDc-KAq5la59pRZkC7if55XDYgPwCl8xzZrk3kgj8XK02EpI

I'm really pleased that the health of soil is really gaining momentum now after the damage that we've done to it over centuries....

Our Head of Policy in Scotland, David McKay, attended the World Congress of Soil Science 2022. Here are his thoughts on the event.

16/08/2022

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Well, the obvious thing to talk about this month is the extreme heat we experienced towards the end of July and for half of August – it really wasn’t funny, was it?! As somebody who tends to feel warmer rather than colder at the best of times during Spring/Summer/Autumn, I found it exhausting and it takes me a while to then feel that my energy has returned (it hasn't yet!). I should add that I am not a newcomer to high temperatures. My father was a Captain at sea and as a child, until my early teens, I spent a lot of time at sea in places like the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and up and down the Suez Canal. I remember crew members frying eggs on the deck………

Back to now: seeing all those wild fires and houses burning in our own country on TV has been really upsetting and scary, a bit like a scene out of a disaster movie and certainly not something you’d expect to see in the UK – and yet, here we are.

Whilst I despair as to why successive governments worldwide didn’t invest in renewables decades ago (and of course we wouldn’t be in the situation we are regarding energy prices, if they had) and chose to ignore the pleas of many non-governmental organisations like WWF and Friends of the Earth, there’s still plenty that they can do.

It has taken the war in Ukraine (which has shone a light on the reliance of Europe etc. on Russian gas supplies), the extreme heat that’s been experienced across Europe and the soaring fuel prices (these will only get worse over time as oil eventually starts to run out; estimated to happen by about 2050).

I should also mention that I am still struggling financially following on from the pandemic. My business took a body blow during the lockdowns (singing being a super spreader and the cost of living/energy price rises have just compounded that, so I understand only too well what it’s like to struggle).

On a positive note though, being green does save you money , partly because I just don’t buy as much in the first place, never buy disposable food, make everything from scratch and only what’s in season and lots more (I've written about a lot of it on this page): everything from energy saving to food and indeed, this is not the time to think that there’s nothing we can do and become complacent.

What we don’t want to do is pump yet more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The latest guidance says that we shouldn’t be flying long haul more than once every three years and that we should only take a short haul flight once a year. We are as responsible as governments for how we shop, how we eat, how we travel locally, how we take holidays (if we’re lucky enough to be able to afford them at present!), how much waste we create, how much energy we use (and at least we’re all much more aware than prior to the energy price rises about that), how many electrical appliances we actually need and how many we can dispense with - the list goes on.

The bottom line is that we’re in this together and it’s only by changing OUR ways as well as pressurising government to change theirs too that we can save our planet. It sounds so dramatic and yet that’s where we are. A recent Netflix speech by Sir David Attenborough provided the following statistics:

• 96% of the mammals on our planet by mass are now human, our pets and livestock. This means that there are only 4% of wild mammals left;
• 70% of all birds on our planet are now chickens….
It’s a stark illustration of the damage that we’ve done, but which we can put right (but it's about 11pm on the clock....).

The best advice I can give is that for every decision we make, we think about its impact on our environment first, not last or not at all.

05/08/2022

TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY - BUT THIS ARTICLE IS IMPORTANT, NOT JUST FOR THE OBVIOUS REASON OF HOW MUCH ENERGY IS NOW COSTING, BUT ALSO BECAUSE OF HOW DECEPTIVE THE BIG ENERGY COMPANIES ARE BEING. (I apologise for the reference to the current government, the truth is that all previous governments have been guilty of ignoring climate change and failing to invest in renewables). Read on..........

Taking back governmental control would be a long-term solution to a broken system, says Guardian columnist Owen Jones

05/08/2022

WINDOW CLEANING MADE EASY (AND MORE ECO FRIENDLY)

Recently I saw this as it came up on my phone. I've tried it and it works really well. All you need is a paint roller on a long handled pole, a squeegee on a long handled pole plus water and eco-friendly washing up liquid.

You then use the paint roller to get the soapy mixture onto your windows and then use the squeegee to get rid of it. Result: clean windows although do get a good quality squeegee!

Obviously, this means that you're not getting through plastic bottles of window cleaner (in fact, I only use eco-friendly washing up liquid for most household cleaning along with bicarb, borax and lemon juice). I should also mention that I get my washing-up liquid refilled using the same two bottles!

Another benefit is that I only needed to use a very small amount of water, whereas some of these window cleaners have water constantly pouring through their brushes etc. As such, it's saving water too - and that's really important at all times, not just during the current conditions.

Give it a try anyway. I am delighted with the results!

15/06/2022

HOW TO USE LESS ENERGY

Trying to be economical with our energy use is something that some of us have been doing for a long time, some of us have never done before (!) and some of us have done some of the time!

Right now though, we’re all having to consider how to reduce our energy use given the huge hikes in energy prices and further big increases on the way. For some people it’s a real worry wondering how to cope with this on the tail of loss of business due to the pandemic (I'm one of them).

With the privilege of hindsight, governments could have avoided this crisis by phasing out the use of fossil fuels and done more than just pay lip service to the level of increase in renewables that are needed to halt climate change. If there had been greater investment into renewables, we wouldn’t be in this situation (and it's not like we haven't been a metaphorical broken record, regularly reminding governments around the world that it's in theirs and everybody's best interests to invest in renewables. You know the rest.....

On the positive side, increased fuel costs leave no one untouched so even people who would never have considered it necessary to reduce their energy consumption, are having to do so. The outcome is that we’re all starting to use less (this has recently been recorded by the Office for National Statistics) and that’s better for the planet. In the process of doing so, we will hopefully adjust our way of living generally, and get used to using less of everything for the long-term. For those people who have never thought about their energy use though, this article is for you!

Ways to reduce your energy consumption in the home:

• Gradually replace your lights to LED light bulbs. They use up to 90% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.

• Turn lights off as you leave a room. Once you've managed to turn this into a habit, you won't forget to do it!

Basically, the Energy Savings Trust has said that £80 of an annual energy bill is as a result of leaving devices on standby. So…

• Turn off your television set top box if you’re not using it, (but obviously keep it on standby if you want it to record something). Get into the habit of turning it off as they use up more energy than you think.

• Turn off your television overnight too.

• If you have a microwave, washing machine, tumble dryer, dishwasher, television, games console etc, kettle - turn them off at the wall socket.

• As the weather improves, hang wet washing outside to dry if you have an outdoor area or garden. Tumble dryers use a lot of electricity so try not to use them if possible or use them sparingly (the equivalent of turning on 225 ordinary incandescent light bulbs per hour! For help with how to use your tumble dryer more efficiently, see my article of August 2020).

• It’s worth reviewing garden equipment and where possible reduce the use of electrical equipment such as lawnmowers, hedge trimmers and leaf blowers. The age old manual tools may take more time and strength but save on electricity. If you have a small garden, however, manual lawnmowers are brilliant (I've had one for a very long time and love it) and require very little effort contrary to perhaps the perceived view.

• Consider the amount of hot water used per head, per family but appreciating that there are some situations where this is unavoidable (eg. farmers!). It has become a trend to have frequent showers, however, and given that power showers will use more water that a medium sized bath, this is not something to be overdoing (quite apart from the fact that it’s not good for our skin to wash more than is actually necessary!) If you have a bath, have a small one and don’t just keep the hot water on all the time. If you’re able to (some people in rented accommodation may not be able to change the settings of their controls) see how long your water will actually stay hot before you need to turn it on again – it will be an interesting exercise. Obviously, for those of you with smart meters, you will already know how much electricity you’re using.

• Heating our homes during the cold winter months is obviously a real worry for everyone for the foreseeable future, but we have to learn to use less energy. Some utility companies recommend turning the thermostat down by just one degree but the latest evidence has proven differently and suggests that instead we should be using our room thermostats (if we have them) to adjust temperature, for example, in rooms we are not using, it is better and more cost effective to turn the heating off and turn it back on when we need to (obviously adjusting the level of temperature is also important). Fortunately the most recent winter has been milder and in some instances I haven't needed the heating on at all during the day. Obviously if someone has health issues or has a young baby, a constant warm temperature is required. But generally if we alternate long periods of sedentary activity with exercise we’ll feel warmer. On extremely cold days, adding another layer of clothing can have a good impact.

It might not be necessary to have the heating on a timer, but instead turn it off and only turn it on when the house feels cold if it’s comfortable to do so and won’t lead to health issues. It’s an interesting exercise to note how long your house stays warm before you need to turn the heating on again. If your house is well insulated then it’s longer than you might think.

• Considering how well your home is insulated is really important as it can save money in the long-term and keep the house warmer during cold weather. There are Energy Savings Trust schemes to help low income families with this and other schemes around for installing solar panels, heat pumps and so forth. However, take good advice before installing any of these measures as people have been caught out by rogue installation companies.
All in all, there are lots of things we can do to reduce our energy footprint and save money in the process.

16/04/2022

Well, it's been a bit tricky writing on this page since I started organising the Cranleigh Eco Festival and schools competition "What Nature Means to Me". We're nearly there though now and I'm looking forward to what promises to be a good day! After that, I'll be back to providing more regular posts for you all.

If you're local to Cranleigh, do pop along to the Festival on Saturday, 23rd April from 10am - 4pm. It's only £2 entry on the door and there will be lots do see/buy/learn.

It's also that time of year again (I'm referring to the picture) when the bluebells dazzle us with their magic!

15/03/2022

Well, it's been a huge amount of work to get Cranleigh's Eco Festival off the ground, but we're nearly there! We've got lots of voluntary groups from our community taking part, along with some great eco-friendly artisan businesses and plant based food providers. There will also be some interesting talks and music throughout the day. Hope those local among you can come along.

16/02/2022

https://www.livekindly.co/vegan-school-lunches/?utm_campaign=subscribers-vegan-school-lunches&utm_medium=subscribers_push_notification&utm_source=subscribers

VEGAN SCHOOL MEALS?

Well, this is an interesting article with a lot to think about in terms of the future sustainability of our diets.

NYC’s vegan school lunch program is a strategic move for the city's health and sustainability. But could it influence how kids eat for life?

02/02/2022

THE DANGERS OF MAINSTREAM WASHING-UP LIQUID
..don't take my word for it, take theirs (see the ingredients list below!). I think I've mentioned in a previous post about Fairy Liquid, but I'm pretty sure that all mainstream washing up liquids will be the same!

"Harmful to aquatic life with long lasting effects" - point made I think and if you do think about it a bit more, you're pouring it down the drain into the water system and probably then into rivers etc.

It's also well known that diluted washing up liquid is good for controlling aphids in the garden, so if you do want to use washing up liquid for this, it's much better to use an eco-friendly washing up liquid - well, it's better full stop! I doubt that it matters that it's diluted. Are you willing to take the risk?

Talk about "greenwash" though (forgive the pun!). Fairy Liquid's advert on TV shows how much further it apparently goes than a leading eco-friendly brand, conveniently forgetting to mention about what's actually in it! Don't believe what you hear in adverts and always read labels..........

26/01/2022

DEAD HEDGES - HOW TO CREATE ONE!

The title of this post is probably a bit confusing! Seriously though, about a month ago we cut the pear tree down to about a third of its height. My mother had given it to me years ago and it was labelled a "dwarf" pear tree. Somehow I doubt it as until recently it was about thirty feet high - I couldn't even reach the pears so we reduced it.

I'd been looking at the huge pile of branches etc for a while and then last week I saw something on the TV about making a hedge from dead branches and twigs.

I have deciduous hedging surrounding my garden and it's wonderful, but inevitably bits of it over the years have got a bit threadbare. There are two gaps in it that were bothering me. I've meant to plant new saplings of hawthorn or whatever but haven't got round to it and then I thought I'd have a go at filling up the gaps with the pear tree bits and pieces (I hasten to add that the pear tree is still very happy, just a lot shorter!).

I put in some uprights with straight pieces of old branches and then just started laying various bits across the gap and the result was amazing. What really surprised me was how much of the branches and twigs that it used - a lot more than I'd expected and the beauty is that whenever I'm cutting the hedge in the summer months, I can just lay more onto the dead hedge which really looks a lot like my willow hurdles the other side of the garden. It's also surprisingly secure tucked into the existing, living hedge.

All in all, it's a brilliant and sustainable way of re-using branches and smaller wood cuttings. You can make it look as perfect (or not) as you want and of course, creeping plants like ivy, honeysuckle or jasmine will have a nice framework to clamber over. It also gives you privacy whilst your new hedging is getting established.