Will you take the pledge?

Doodledog

Academics at Leeds University have come up with six pledges that they say would make a big difference to the environment if we all signed up to them.
Already do some of them. I won’t replace my car when I stop work, but a choice of 20 minutes by car or over an hour with 2 bus changes and a walk each way, means I’ll carry on driving for now.
What I’d be interested to see is whether these academics are really doing the pledges they’ve come up with.
Cynical, moi?

1) I m vegetarian
2) I buy way more than 3 items but 90% come from the charity shop so recycling anyway
3) just replaced my white goods that I had second hand 10 years ago plus a gas stove I had second hand 20+ years ago so hopefully they ll last
4) not sure about that one I normally do one short haul a year and a long haul every five but the older I get the less I want to do anyway
5) never had a car
6) don’t know what that would be I can’t do solar as
I m in a conservation area I don’t have a pension provider only the government my energy provider advertises as green

No I cant tell you how wary I am of things like this. The law of unintended consequences. Article on radio 4 today about the impact of the plastic bag charge, more people buying fabric bags etc which guess what have a high environmental impact due to production, transport etc. What could be the unintended consequences of limiting flights, in a world where we struggle to understand other cultures.
It's just not simple. I have depressed myself now

The point was to show people that they can make a difference, as they found that a lot of us think that it should be down to governments to make changes, or we just don't know what we, as individuals, can do that will matter.

I agree that there is no real point to a pledge - and I don't think they meant a pledge where you solemnly swear in front of an audience - but asking people to make minor changes in the knowledge that it will make a real difference seems to me a good idea.

Not everyone will be able to do all of it - as I've said, I would miss the car, even though I don't drive, and the country is not equally well-served for public transport. Asking someone who lives in the sticks to give up their car is a much bigger deal than asking someone in a city - particularly if they get a free bus pass. The three items of clothing a year would work for me just now, but I'm not going very far, and already have full wardrobes. I will be buying clothes for my son's wedding, though, and that could easily use up my 'allowance'. Similarly with electrical items that break down.

I think it's good to know the things we can change, and do them when we can, but not to see them as commandments set in stone.

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.

Why is assumed always that plane travel is about holidays? I was on a plane in December to care for my three year old granddaughters to enable Mummy to work.
My son in law will be on a plane this weekend to work on a project ( you can't construct the infrastructure of a factory
via Zoom )

JaneJudge I completely agree but people need to stop breeding so many more animals. The ones which are already born deserve all the love and care their owners can give.

No, we have already cut down on meat and eat fish at least twice a week and I'm not even keen on it and as many pulses as possible.
I suggest any of them with a hiatus hernia should try uping their veg intake, I think I would buy out the stocks of Gaviscon.
We are not allowed to recycle our veg peelings etc. in the garden waste bin so would be driving for miles to find a recycling plant using fossil fuels. We have nowhere to put a compost bin or I would.
I think they should give it a trial run for at least three years and see if they still agree.

Well, point one, I will fail dismally regarding waste. Three children live here, and the amount of waste is shocking.
But we only eat poultry and fish no red meat, love salads, but do have a stash of chicken nuggets and pizzas.

Three items of clothes a year? Both my granddaughters have far exceeded this already. I haven’t, but I will, that’s way too strict.

I’m not a gadget person, so I keep electrical items till they give up.

I haven’t flown for fifteen years, and don’t intend to. My husband normally does a few short haul flights each year, but none since covid.

My car was new four years ago, I will change it this year, but for something smaller. Completely impractical not to own a car where we live.

I bought some heating oil at the weekend, now £1 a litre, I had an email from our electricity supplier today saying we can expect our electricity to cost £700 more this year. So will definitely be consuming less.

One last thing JaneJudge, I am very interested in your washing line. I have been searching for the king of all washing lines but haven’t found one yet, please tell me about yours.

Doodledog, easy peasy - I already tick all the boxes, so I don't need to make any changes. I'll have to find some much harder challenges!

A pet is not just a luxury, to some it’s a lifeline, some lives would be intolerable without a pet.

my poor beaten and abandoned rescue dog doesn't think she is luxurious animal

Oh, and it is seven years since I had a holiday and we went by train not plane.

I haven't eaten meat of any sort for over 50 years. Over half my diet is raw fruit and veg.

We rarely go abroad and I may never do so again. The car is used sparingly as we are fortunate to be able to walk and cycle locally. Three items of clothing is tricky though.

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.

I do all of that above anyway except I am not totally vegetarian. There is zero waste in my kitchen and some of my equipment is virtually antique, an electric mixer bought in 1975 and a coffee maker.
Can't remember when I last bought a pair of shoes but have bought some trousers as I have lost so much weight that I couldn't keep my others up.

I’m definitely trying to eat less meat, the last 7 days I’ve eaten white meat twice, we have very little waste, raw veg goes onto the compost heap, small amount of waste food goes to be collected and then the Counci, makes it into compost (or somebody does).
I rarely buy clothes, I have plenty and I’m determined to wear them all out.
I can’t remember when I last bought anything electrical, unless something stops working, we will keep using it.
The flights might be a problem , but this year we are driving to France. Next year w e will probably go back to a couple of short haul flights. This will of course negate all the other good things we are doing!
We are with a Green Energy Company, are fully insulated.
We live in a very small village, no public transport at all, but my car is 16 years old and I’m hanging onto it.
So, no I won’t be taking the pledge, but I’m doing the best that I can, I’ve cut right back on single use plastics, using Grocery deliveries rather than use the car, so hopefully every little helps, until I fly off on holiday of course ?

If a reliable public transport system was available, I'm sure more of us would be more than happy to use it and leave our cars at home. As it is, in my area we have no buses after 19.00 and none at all on a Sunday.

NO NO NO NO NO NO

I don't think I could do 3 items of clothes a year, I would wear through them faster than that. I work with children and always on the ground with them or getting messy. I am very picky though and nothing sits unworn.

I already gave up my own car as I can walk

I can try to eat less meat, this is probably a huge factor for us. Also many pets which I think aren't green? All adopted except the eldest to be fair so needed the home.

House fully insulated and we keep the thermostat down, I'm always turning off lights and use all LEDs. Not having loft storage is a pain but I suppose does stop us buying what we don't really need.

Fly less than that already.

Appliances... I agree they don't always last 7 years but we do insure the big ones so that they are repaired.

We waste very little food, hate food waste, it really bugs me

Sorry if I forgot any or in the wrong order

Those are some pretty tough requests! I'd have to say no to most of them, except for the electrical appliances. I never replace them unless I need to and DH is good at repairs.

I can act in smaller ways to reduce waste, use less energy in my home and vehicle. Come April I will start to ride my bike to work as often as possible.

I'm afraid I've already bought 3 items of clothing so far this year.

I have also bought the most expensive washing line in the world so hmm I better make the most of it with all my washed knickers

Most of us on GN I would assume already do as much as we can.
But three items of clothing..couldn't do that.

Lost cause I am afraid.
I have just replaced my 9 year old car with a new one - not an EV as they are still too expensive but 2 weeks without a car in a village with only one bus an hour was a nightmare- minicabs don't take dogs and its £15 to get anywhere. No post office in the village or access to a cashpoint either.
I am an omnivore but don't eat meat more than once or twice a week at the most. But again, to save money I have to try to live off the contents of my freezer for a bit.
The new car means I won't be buying clothes anyway except perhaps on ebay, but if possible not even then.
However I do have solar panels and try to run any electric appliances either overnight or when the sun is shining. Not least to try to bring my energy usage down when the bills go up.
So the "pledges " might all be a move in the right direction but one size doesn't fit all

You can never have too many knickers?

I've not been on a plane for almost 3 decades so I think I'll buy more knickers