Will you take the pledge?

Chewbacca

^people need to stop breeding^

This.

Exactly.
And yet it’s rarely mentioned.

I don’t have kids and have been vegetarian for nearly forty years; so I shall have as many pets and dresses as I damn well want! (Stamps foot)

SueDonim

What’s the point of making a pledge? People who want to do these things will do them anyway and people who don’t, won’t. There are no new ideas in their list, either, it’s just a rehash of what we already know.

This

Many of us do what we can as a lifestyle choice. We do not want, or need, a lecture

Seems really strange to me, as a child, I walked most places, public transport was good and regular, then came the car, people stopped using public transport, the few that needed to use it were faced with reduced timetables, because guess what, you can’t run empty buses, not viable. So now people keep complaining about lack of public transport, who is to blame, the car users. I have had a European made fridge freezer for 21 years, do not buy more than three items a year, as hold on to my clothes, as long as they are serviceable, don’t really care about fashion trends. Made a massive pot of bean and veg soup which will last at least three more days, do not and will never require a pet to fulfill whatever purpose they do fill. Use car sparingly, for food shopping mainly, I have been with a green energy company for the last four years. Oh and I recycle as much as I can, So no pledge for me, my life anyway.

karmalady

SueDonim

What’s the point of making a pledge? People who want to do these things will do them anyway and people who don’t, won’t. There are no new ideas in their list, either, it’s just a rehash of what we already know.

This

Many of us do what we can as a lifestyle choice. We do not want, or need, a lecture

I agree!
So it takes academics at university to come up with what we already know?

I'm not going to become vegetarian but we do eat less meat and there's very little waste. My little food bin takes a week to fill up.
I need my car for work, there's no way I could get public transport to do a 40 mile journey to arrive at 6.30am. I bought mine 2nd hand in 2016 and have no intention of replacing it. It's only a 1L so as cheap as possible to run. Our other car is 25 years old and, again, no intention of replacing it. I walk to the shops etc.
I hate flying so try and find alternative ways of traveling if possible but I didn't travel much when I was younger so have no intention of staying put until age and health stop me.
Only replace electrical items when they break and am not gadget minded so don't have many.
Most clothes I buy are second hand from ebay or charity shops, I will continue to buy what I need or want, I wear a uniform for work so am not a big clothes buyer anyway.
Can't change my pension scheme, it's an NHS pension so not under my control.
I will never get rid of my dogs, for mental health they are a lifesaver.

I dont know that we do know it to be honest. Or we certainly dont know the consequences of it as demonstrated with some of the results of the plastic bag charge.

FannyCornforth

Chewbacca

people need to stop breeding

This.

Exactly.
And yet it’s rarely mentioned.

I don’t have kids and have been vegetarian for nearly forty years; so I shall have as many pets and dresses as I damn well want! (Stamps foot)

I enjoyed this a lot, thanks FannyC

We eat meat about 3 times a week but I do have chicken nuggets in the freezer for those emergency ‘can you pick the children up from school and give them tea’ occasions

Clothes - bought none during the covid years, just got new jeans, jumper and warm coat. I’ll wear them 10 years or more providing I’m still here

Electrical items - antiques here and only replaced when beyond repair

Flights - I’ve flown to Greece every year for 15 years. I don’t want to give it up

Cars - we have awful public transport. My car is 6 years old I’ll run it till it dies.

Our savings are with ethical companies. Im not moving to green suppliers. Several have gone bust leaving clients in a right pickle

I do what I can without signing up to any Academics pledge

I don't know if it matters whether they do it all, tbh. It's a bit like doctors giving advice on alcohol units whilst knocking it back themselves - it doesn't make the advice wrong.
Nothing wrong with offering advice, but my brother was a great practitioner of “ don’t do as I do, do as I tell you!”
So I’m interested whether they practise what they preach.

Hmm: the stop breeding suggestion ( commands?) might not be such a wonderful idea, in the West, at least. The population rise here is not due to births, which are well below replacement levels, but due to older people living longer. Yes, that'll be me, CLG,
and maybe a few other posters. If the birthrate continues the future maybe a West full of old, and very old, people and very few young workers. Hungary has been wrestling with this problem since they broke from Soviet rule, and it has proved very difficult for them.

Even small changes can make a massive difference - if we get the right information out there for informed choices. For instance, the meat eaters in my family have given up the two worst types for environmental damage - beef and lamb.

My son lives in Australia. Should I not see him more than once every 8 years ?

3 items of clothing a year? No I’m sorry I can’t do that either,

I’ll do what I can but no pledging.

Good point Lucca - I’m not pledging either. I know a few people who say they won’t fly (to Greece for example ?) they’ve done endless long haul holiday flights for decades. I haven’t so feel ok with my plan

I already do some of these, but I fear a lot of people will balk at the idea because of the extravagances of the rich and famous. If they were to set an example more 'ordinary' people might be persuaded. I watched Inside Dubai for the first time last night, and some of the extravagance on display was jaw-dropping. One woman had a room full of expensive designer bags. I mean what one person can possibly need or use that many bags?

lucca I’ve just been on a carbon calculator site.
I may have got my calculations incorrect but the site did most of them
If I go to Aus for 2 months, fly economy then I am responsible for 4.98 tonnes If I stay here and have heating on I use 5.42tonnes to keep warm. For the last calculation I divided the annual tonnage by 12 then x by 2 so didn’t take into account the weather. We do tend to use more oli in January and February than in July so the difference may be even greater.
Hope that makes you feel better.

No pledge from me either.
We are quite frugal already, live with the environment in mind and try to pass on our gardening and make-do-and-mend knowledge to our GChn.

We live moderately, and with considerations to others all the time.

Whatever we do will make no difference in the long run. This world’s not forever.

DiscoDancer1975:

'This world’s not forever.' - true, but I think slowing down the destruction of our planet is a very worthwhile cause.

Galaxy

I dont know that we do know it to be honest. Or we certainly dont know the consequences of it as demonstrated with some of the results of the plastic bag charge.

I don’t think we do know, either. I think it’s another of the areas where people defend their own choices (sometimes smugly), and choose to ignore inconvenient truths about what they want to do.

I’m not being holier than thou here - there are lots of things I don’t know about what choices to make, and I can’t say hand on heart that I would always make the best ones if I did. The devil is in the detail anyway. Three items of clothing is suggested because it is easy to remember and count; but if those clothes are acrylic they won’t biodegrade, for instance, and if the come from somewhere like Bangladesh they have a huge carbon footprint. It might be better to buy six items if they are made from natural fibres in the UK (if that’s where we live) - I don’t know.

Little things like is it better to bleach dishcloths, boil wash them or throw them away? I don’t know that, and with that and similar examples unless someone is an expert who has done the modelling their choices are going to be based on guesswork too.

I didn’t see the report as ‘lecturing’, and neither will the research have been done to write a newspaper article - it will be part of a bigger project, I’m sure. The report will be the layman’s version- simplified for those of us who are not environmental scientists, but who want to do our bit.

Of course there will be those who sneer - that’s always going to happen when people are asked to do what they don’t want to do - and of course there will be things that we do already and those that are easier for some to do than others. But I do think that boiling it down to basics at least shows that what individuals do matters. I have often heard people say things like ‘until China is forced to cut emissions there is no point’.

PamelaJ1

lucca I’ve just been on a carbon calculator site.
I may have got my calculations incorrect but the site did most of them
If I go to Aus for 2 months, fly economy then I am responsible for 4.98 tonnes If I stay here and have heating on I use 5.42tonnes to keep warm. For the last calculation I divided the annual tonnage by 12 then x by 2 so didn’t take into account the weather. We do tend to use more oli in January and February than in July so the difference may be even greater.
Hope that makes you feel better.

So impressed with your maths ! Thanks

Clothes - bought none during the covid years, just got new jeans, jumper and warm coat. I’ll wear them 10 years or more providing I’m still here

The new jumpers (not cheap) which I bought in the last three years are all rubbish, went to the charity shop labelled "Rags" so I am wearing old ones, some of which must be 10 years old but still look ok.

make-do-and-mend knowledge
DH is an expert!

I suppose I'd better forget about a new kitchen

Our DD in Australia is planning a visit home this year. I won’t be telling her not to come.

I have to limit my veg. /fruit intake. Too much makes me ill.

The Pledge is nothing I haven’t been aware of for years and I will continue doing what my conscience allows.

Is it just me that can't get their head around They are asking us to sign up for one, three, or six months, when most of the challenges except the diet one require commitment for years?

I've not seen my son in Canada for 3 years because of Covid, I am restarting my one long haul flight per year this summer. I would absolutely not be prepared to (voluntarily) go 8 years between visits. I don't do short haul flights.

Already with a green supplier, can't do anything about pensions. Eat an omnivore diet, but only small portions of meat on those days I eat it. I don't have a pet so am not using any meat there.
Run electrical appliances and cars (bought secondhand) until they die and can't be repaired or it's uneconomic to do so. Don't have a tumble dryer. Use public transport where it's practicable but even in London some journeys are ridiculous, involving travel into the centre to come out again rather than just transversing.

Clothes? Well it rather depends. Haven't bought much at all since the start of the pandemic, but a warm coat was a necessity for the open air meet ups we were permitted during lockdown.

I think it's a good idea to promote small easily achievable changes in the hope of encouraging larger more impactful ones. These suggestions get people thinking, but some will be too drastic and may actually discourage.

I've recently had a leaflet delivered promoting solar panels, endorsed by the London mayor and my local council.........it will have been sent to all 1400 homes in my conservation area where we are not allowed to change even our front fence without planning permission, and solar panels are a huge no-go. Now that was a complete waste of money and paper resources.

Doodledog

You can never have too many knickers?

And It will be unpopular but owning luxury animals is very bad for the environment. Working dogs have their uses but people will have to learn not to own a dog or cat just for a lifestyle choice. We have never owned animals apart from a couple of rescue goldfish years ago.
Ooops! Puppy has so far chewed about 6 pairs of knickers, and socks and slippers. Plus a leather purse, glasses case, and 2 hardback books. Plus a rug and 2 doormats. He needs a motor vehicle to get onto the moor daily for his run. The list goes on. He needs to sign a pledge! Sorry!
I rarely eat meat.

Are we permitted to buy a new item of clothing if we promise to send three to the charity shop?