Changing habits to meet changing society

The elephant in the room, which no government wants to address, is that there are simply too many people. And I have no idea how that can possibly be fixed.

Referring to both points:
People will move inland and to higher ground and habitable areas of the planet will become more densely populated.

Without some kind of drastic population control (or a series of natural disasters) Earth will become a very unpleasant and stressful (and stressed) planet.

Antonia
Your right. We are past the point of no return.
What I do is a personal choice.

Sinking cities.

www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/09/11-sinking-cities-that-could-soon-be-underwater.

MissAdventure

I boil myself in a bucket with some pieces of old cloth, then throw in some lentils to turn it into a nutritious soup when I've finished.

It's interesting to see what different people do.

The only thing I actively do is try to cut down on food waste. It all goes on the compost heap.

The problem that I can see, is that even if everyone on the planet took all the measures already mentioned, the effect on the climate would still be close to zero.

Also, it's a small number of people who actively take measures, and when they do, it's more about personal preferences or saving money than about the earth. We are past the point of small gestures.

The elephant in the room, which no government wants to address, is that there are simply too many people. And I have no idea how that can possibly be fixed.

I very much doubt anyone has caused themselves deliberate hardship to save the planet.
Most is circumstantial.

Has anyone actually stopped flying out of choice? Stopped eating meat? Got rid of a big car for a smaller one, again out of choice rather than financial necessity?

You seem to have a very well developed sense of smell, grandtante.
Menstrual blood, whether urine is fresh or stale.

I think my nose must be destroyed by many years of smelling these whiffs.

Dear MisAdventure, ???! Best in thread!

MissAdventure

I've never smelled anything other than cigarettes in others, and I've used buses for the whole of my life.

How nice for you!

I have sat beside the elderly and incontinent who stank not of fresh urine but of stale.

The old and young unwashed who stank and whose clothes if dampened by rain or snow stank of dirt too.

On one horrible occasion beside a young woman who stank so of badly stale menstrual blood that I and others nearby felt sick.

I don't know where you live, but you have certainly been very fortunate in those who use the same public transport as you do.

I have also ever day of an entire school year come home with fleas, that had jumped for children to me, their teacher. Happily head and body lice don't seem to care for my personal odour.

So all in all, I devoutly hope that no-one will seriously consider washing themselves less in order to save money!

Wash more quickly, or in cooler water, but please do wash yourselves and your clothes.

merlotgran

I do all those already and nobody’s putting heating on at the moment are they?

Perhaps not in the UK, but my heating is on, and staying on, until the outside temperature is over 25 degrees Centigrade .

Otherwise neither DH nor I would be able to move for pain.

We save by
1 not having a car, only bicycles
2 Only have a light on where we are actually sitting or working
3 cooking food that can be cooked quickly and thus cheaply
4 washing clothes only when there is sufficient to fill the machine and drying clothes outdoors
5 taking very short showers, turning the water off whilst we soap ourselves
6 Re-using washing up water for cleaning bins, door-steps etc.
7 Always going to the charity shops first when looking for new clothes or shoes
8 not wasting food or water

in other words: basically living as our parents and grandparents did.

Plenty of evidenc for that marionk, including 'Which?

I saw a washing machine expert explaining why short washes arent as eco friendly as long ones, a while back.
Shame I can't remember any of what he said.

I can relate to most of what you say. I have been cutting back on plastic use for a long time. I use an eco egg for laundry and only do short 30 degree washes. I shortened time immersion is on for hot water. I didn't use the halagon heater over winter....blanket over knees instead. I collected kindling for burner along the river bank instead of buying chemical firelighters or bags of kindling. I hang washing to dry on line on sunny day. I buy preloved clothes on ebay and I sell what I don't wear anymore. Amazing good labels to be found if you look I use shampoo bars for hair which are brilliant. Oh and I dig all those bits of stick antiperspirant that get left out and press them onto the new one. I also cut open tubes. You would not believe what gets left in them. My car is purposely small...I live in rural area so can't be without one. Oh and I have joined local community allotment to grow own veg. Not sure I can do anymore...

According to the ‘experts’ using a dishwasher once a day uses less water than washing up after each meal so I am going to believe them and continue to use mine!

I don't have a dishwasher or a tumble drier. The 7 minute daily shower is a necessity. It keeps my skin in good condition. It stops bacterial growth on the skin. It washes away germs picked up on skin. It's important to stop old lady smells.

Rameses, research has shown that less water is used in a dishwasher than washing up by hand. Surprisingly it is greener and has the added benefit that it can wash in higher temperatures so is more hygienic. I have a tumble dryer, which is useful in the winter as I have very little radiator space and I like to dry towels in it as they come out fluffier.
I have used eBay and charity shops for years. Much of our furniture is second hand. I have long thought that someone setting up home on a limited budget could almost completely furnish their house and buy crockery and utensils from charity shops. We try our best.

Trying to cut out single use plastic,.
recycle as much as I can.
Buses are a nightmare so sadly still use the car a lot! But we use it for helping 2 of my DD out as one heavily pregnant and other still learning, so its not frivolous jaunts!
Line dry as much as I can and use heated Lakeland drying wrack too but sadly sometimes the dryer is on (3 DGC children here two of whom are under 5!)
Foreign travel- sadly I love travelling so wont be stopping! But we do go by train when or ferry when we can.
Baths/showers. Kids every other day, their mum is a nurse so its daily after shift for her, me a bath once a week as a treat and a shower twice with washes in between. Like many others baths were a once a week affair when I was growing up! My DD’s are all super critical of this as I did the same with them! and they claim it was unhygienic ?
Barely if ever put heating on.

We do most of the above. Never had a tumble dryer or dish washer. I hate food waste. I even crisp up potatoes peelings in the oven to make little tasty snacks. I put them in when I have the oven on for something else.

We are trying to do everything on the list!
I’ve not been in an aeroplane for 4 years so that will cut down on my personal carbon footprint.
In the next few weeks we a getting rid of our second car.
I rarely use the tumble dryer,only when desperate now.I do have a dishwasher which is used daily, they say it takes less water and heat than doing it after each meal in the sick,that’s what I choose to believe!

Buy British meat and dairy..our grasslandd sequestors as much carbon as any rainforest etc

Cutting down on the ironing. It's only shirts and pillowcases now. All washing dried on the line outside or on the landing. We don't have a car now, but the one I got rid of was 21 years old, and still going strong.

I do everything else.

The thing I do need to tackle is food waste.

My son buys most of his clothes from charity shops, Mollygo and he much prefers the affluent areas where he can get good quality, hardly or never worn items. So many have the price label still dangling!

I’m a fan of charity shops, second hand and sites like Freecycle. I’m really grateful to all those who buy things new and pass them on. What would we all do if no one bought new?

All the things previously mention, plus growing my own fruit and veg, and about to reseted my lawn with clover, when we put a new shed in the base was hardcore, eco grids then pea shingle, no concrete

Pepper59

People don't use tumble driers properly. Ive had one for years and didn't have big bills. I only use it really for bedding and towels. I always line dry things first.

Exactly what I do Pepper59. I would never tumble dry straight from the washing machine, but I do love fluffy towels

I haven't read every post so apologies if others have already said this: dishwashers are more energy efficient than washing up at the sink. You can find this info if you Google it i.e. dishwasher versus hand wash. The Which report confirms that "Our tests show even the least water-efficient dishwasher still only uses half the amount of water compared to hand-washing" and "The most water efficient full-size dishwasher uses almost 10 times less water to wash the same amount of dishes as washing them by hand."
I never run my dishwasher unless it's absolutely full.