Will you take the pledge?

An interesting thread, and I don't think we all have to do every one of the items listed, it just makes us think a bit.

We eat vegetarian, very little food waste as have a (rescued) dog, plus our LA collects food waste weekly for composting.

Electrical goods only replaced when necessary, not just to have the latest model.

One car, used as little as we can, shops locally so don't always need to drive.

Clothing? Bit more difficult, but I am cutting back on what I want/need.

Flights: none for past 2 years, but may be back on a plane this year, sorry

Heating; house very well insulated, zoned, thermostats, double glazed, fuel provider is 100% green.

Wow this makes for grim reading for most replies! An outright NO is selfish! Think of the children and their future! It is NOT a lost cause but it will be if we all take the stance of a lot of these replies! Wow just wow AND you can all come back at me but it won’t change my mind! There are a lot of selfish people on here!

I do keep electrical appliances until they are no longer cost effective to repair. 3 items of clothing, doubt it, I need new lightweight shoes already. Give up car! With no public transport other than walking on a busy A road with a footpath of about 30" wide for 2 miles to get to a shopping centre I'd never be out. Don't mention access to GP, dentist, hospital, airport for flights to visit family twice a year but no holiday flights.

Impossible to keep older motor vehicles in Greater London. We moved back here 18 months ago and had to sell our two elderly cars as we would have been fined for driving them in the ULEZ. They were both over 25 years old but in good working order and regularly serviced so not very polluting. I feel its far more polluting to scrap working cars and replace them with new, the manufacturing process is very polluting.

We never fly anywhere. Watching planes flying overhead towards Heathrow the other day we were appalled to see so many of them were dumping fuel prior to landing - both polluting and wasteful.

I hardly ever buy more than 3 clothing items a year, haven’t been on a plane since 1984, all electrical kept until they are unfixable and my car is a 17 year old Corsa.

Mostly plant based diet - please don't cut meat, fish, eggs and dairy from your diet without making sure you replace the protein and vitamins you will be losing.

I’m still think about a new kitchen, Callistemon - ours is well over 30 years old!

Witzend some houses in our road are on their 4th kitchen! If someone moves in they don't like the one that the previous owners put in so it gets replaced.
Ours is older than yours!
And I have so much yarn in my stash I could keep myself in enough jumpers to 'see me out' but at the moment I am making blankets which will probably go to charity.

We recycle, grow some of our own fruit and veg and don't travel far but we will be going to visit our DC and DGC overseas.

Knittyintrovert

Wow this makes for grim reading for most replies! An outright NO is selfish! Think of the children and their future! It is NOT a lost cause but it will be if we all take the stance of a lot of these replies! Wow just wow AND you can all come back at me but it won’t change my mind! There are a lot of selfish people on here!

Knittyintrovert

If you could list what you are doing, it would be helpful and positive as your post is rather negative and doesn't give us any helpful pointers of how to change our lifestyles in meaningful ways.

Looking at some of the children and how they live I think our carbon footprint is smaller.

However, any helpful tips would be good.

sorry - no. the only thing i will do is to keep electrical "stuff" for longer than 7 years ...... unless it breaks.

Don’t drive and don’t fly, well I haven’t since 2015 and never will again, I rarely buy new clothes, I buy clothes from charity shops, last buy was two jumpers from the air ambulance Charity shop, so I think I’m doing my bit…?

I can tick some of those:

I eat very little meat but unfortunately have to cook it for the rest of the household.

I buy 90% of my clothes from charity shops, but so far have had to buy a new pair of jeans as the lady pair (charity shop buy) had gone on holes in unmentionable places), couldn't find any more suitable charity shop replacement, and have also bought a new pair of thick wooly tights. 1 new item left for my quota then!
I haven't flown anywhere since the 1980's, and don't intend to.
Mt car is 18 years old, my motorcycle 24 years old, and I intend for both to see me out.
I keep electric items until they break down and can't be used (unfortunately I think washing machines and fridge freezers are deliberately built not to last) but my microwave is over 30 years old and ditto my cooker.
Too late for the pension I'm afraid but I'm also trying very hard with cutting down on energy use, turning off every light in the house, turning the heating down and huddling into my thick charity shop jumpers!
Also have been using reusable toiletry items such as bamboo fibre make up wipes, and thinking carefully about things I can reuse rather than throw away.

No I won't be signing. We don't eat as much meat as we used to & we grow our own vegetables but I can't see us going veggie or vegan any time soon. We have virtually zero food waste & vegetable peelings are composted. Electrical gadgets go on til they die, with the possible exception of the washer which is about 2 years old & I hate it it's rubbish & I want a new one but that's another story. We live in the middle of the countryside, 15 minutes drive from shops & other services so we have a newish car & DH has an elderly van. We won't be giving these up. We like going abroad & have really missed it so we're hoping to fly to Italy in June. We live in a 500 year old house with very thick walls but lots of drafts. We have oil fired heating which we thought of changing when the 30 year old boiler died last year. However, the much lauded heat recovery system is a non starter for houses like ours, according to the research we've done so we'll use oil til we can't afford it or it runs out.

Do these 'academics' think they're above us and treat everyone like brainless idiots. They're very overpaid!

Callistemon21

Knittyintrovert
Wow this makes for grim reading for most replies! There are a lot of selfish people on here!
You know nothing about the posters except what they choose to tell you. Maybe they have already cut back, as some have said, but prefer to keep their virtues private.

I’ll go with what Callistemon21 says below.

If you could list what you are doing, it would be helpful and positive as your post is rather negative and doesn't give us any helpful pointers of how to change our lifestyles in meaningful ways.

Looking at some of the children and how they live I think our carbon footprint is smaller.

However, any helpful tips would be good

How do you know what they’re paid?

I doubt this kind of thing is effective. People vary. My petrol car is 18 years old and still going well and meets MOT criteria: I have no intention of wasting money on an electric car, for example. I prefer low fat meat like venison. As a rural dweller I could not get by without a car. We can't afford lots of air travel. When Prime Minister Johnson stops wasting money on his expensive flat refurbishment, Liz Truss stops wasting public money on a private jet to Australia and our overpaid MPs stop wasting resources on a massive refurbishment of Parliament then I'll think about this again.

That was to sawsage.

We’ve cut down a bit on meat but having had a third of my bowel removed, I was advised to eat steak for iron! Our cars are old - we are unable to go to the shops without a car - or anywhere else for that matter. Appliances stay with us until they break down - they are repaired if possible. Didn’t buy any clothes in lockdown but recently have bought a few things - just to update myself. House has 9 inch solid walls - we have some original windows and some double glazed. Attic is so full - it is insulated enough. We have had a letter from the water company, thanking us for our careful use of water!! ?? this was a surprise. I have Swedish relatives so we will still fly to Stockholm to see them . We’ll do our best to be careful.

Well I only eat white meat couple of times a week. I only use public transport and I’ve not flew anywhere since pre covid. I don’t replace electric things until I need to and clothes I’m fine on that one. Just took few bags to British heart shop. I would like to see if they don’t change their mobile phones in 3yrs after they contact have ran out in 2yrs. lol

OK, I googled and googled and no evidence of this "pledge" online anywhere.

What's the origin Doodledog?

PS DH was an academic for a while. They're definitely not overpaid

No. It’s very worthy but no.

I tried being a vegetarian for some years but gave it up again, and although I am happy to eat vegetable dishes regularly, there is no way I will give up pork, chicken and rabbit again.

I can exist well without beef, though.

We don't have a car, keep electrical equipment for seven years, unless it breaks or uses too much electricity.

On average I imagine I do only buy three items of clothing a year, and often second-hand, not new.

Until it becomes much easier to see how utility companies are generating electricity or heat, there is little point in moving to a new "greener" company.

I have only flown twice in the last twelve years.

So know, I shall not be signing any pledges, just keeping on as I am, I think.

Perhaps these academics would like to adhere to their ideas .

Sounds like my ex son in law-who gave non stop lectures on saving the planet. He drove everyone mad with boredom .
I bet that these are his recommendations !

No I'm not taking the pledge - I've tried being a vegetarian .
I got bored with it .
I do limit my meat ,but sometimes I long for a steak or a burger

Three items of clothing a year -no .Not realistic . I buy from charity shops .

Appliances are used until they can't be repaired .

I try to water my many plants with recycled water .

I recycle avidly.

I walk if I can and use public transport .

Doing my best !

Sawsage2

Do these 'academics' think they're above us and treat everyone like brainless idiots. They're very overpaid!

No.

The academics (why the quote marks?) will have reported to whoever it was that commissioned the study, and the Guardian journalist wrote the article I linked to.

As for being overpaid, it is 'academics', as you call them whose research finds cures for disease and made it possible for you to sneer at them on the Internet, as well as too many other inventions and innovations to mention.