is anyone else considering their carbon footprint?

Over 20 years ago I started a campaign: Please Don't Kill a Tree

Asking people not to buy and then discard, a few days later, a cut Christmas tree. I suggested they buy an evergreen with roots which could be de-potted and put into the garden at New Year.
Or purchase one of the many artificial trees in the stores.

It had a webpage with statistics about how many millions of trees were cut and then left on the kerbside, to be burned by local Councils.
What a sad waste of a beautiful tree.

I don't suppose that campaign, which ran for years, made any difference at all.

I shan't be having any sort of Xmas tree this year.

I would never buy a real one and all the others in the shops are plastic. I don't own the garden round my home so couldn't plant a potted tree.

But if you have room in your garden to replant an evergreen, you might consider a potted tree with roots, rather than one condemned to die after Christmas.

Potted trees look beautful, especially when decorated.
When the children were young, we used shells and inherited glass ornaments and folded paper butterflies on ours.

I hate to think how many trees are now being sacrificed as we move back to paper.

My husband and I are on a low income due to him being disabled - my husband flew once in his teens and I was a small child the last time I flew. On the rare occasions we visited Europe in the past we either went by ferry or coach/ferry. We can't afford a car so have to use public transport and we holiday in the UK, also using public transport. The screeching middle classes who are banging on about climate change are the worst offenders - did you know that one wood-burning stove bangs out more pollution than 6 arctic lorries? And don't get me started on what we call "Clifton Tractors" (others may know them as Chelsea Tractors) - 4 wheel drive vehicles used exclusively in the city centre! We recycle, re-use or donate everything we possibly can. The hypocrasy of the sort of people who embrace Extinction Rebellion is staggering!

72 per cent of co2 emissions are from road transportation
13.4 per cent of co2 emissions are from civil aviation. Just maybe if we shopped locally and didn't buy on line it might help. Lets try and get local shops going again. I also agree with Eccie53. Get the world population down and less of everything is used

I've been reading the latest posts on here and my immediate thought was WOW!! When I posted yesterday I thought I'd get a couple of replies but it seems like an explosion. Isn't this proof that we are waking up in our communities? Something is happening and though sometimes we despair, its good to know we appreciate eachother's efforts at frugality.

Although I get bogged down by my daily irritations such as plastic litter and why do people drive 2 minutes to the paper shop in their 4x4's , you have helped show me a bigger and better picture.
Don't give up!

I'm in Turkey at the moment and you can't drink the tap water so the only alternative is bottled water that is sold everywhere. Also plastic straws from coconut and fruit drinks also sold everywhere.

When my children were younger I couldn't afford to go abroad but now I'm retired I'm certainly not worrying about my carbon footprint.

I think carbon offsetting is disgraceful. It means those with money can pollute the environment as much as they like

I totally agree with you Eloethan . It’s fine for them, they are allowed to fly all over the world but think that paying someone to plant a few trees makes it all okay .
Their conscience is clear.

I spent 9 hours on a train to Scotland this summer in an effort to help the environment. It was overcrowded (I did reserve a seat but someone sat in it), noisy, uncomfortable and seemed to take forever. When it was time to come home I caught a plane..... sorry!

Get the boot in wherever you can Gillybob. Why not?

It's all starting up again tomorrow.

Shame we won't be around to see just how un-idiotic XR actually are.

Carbon offsetting:

Most forestries destroy ecosystems. Marshland/healthland/bogland absorb and hold tonnes of carbon and are stripped and drained loosing biodiversity and releasing a shocking amount of carbon so that often non native timber species which effectively sterilise the soil can be planted for profit

And now forestries have somehow greenwashed and rebranded themselves so that they get free money with these offsetting schemes! You really couldnt make it up...

Get the boot in...

What are you on about Gonegirl

its all starting up again tomorrow

Sounds like a nasty threat to me. You must feel so proud.

I'm not threatening! I'm not involved!

Just saying, XR might be in the news again the next couple of weeks.

And you know quite well what I'm "on about".

Well you’ve got me even more now .

I don't think anyone knows what youre on about gonegirl.

You should not be made to feel sorry for catching a plane henetha . Plenty of the XR hypocrites do it . They just don’t want the likes of us to .

What's XR?

rebellion.earth/

And what? Because you dont think they're doing it right nobody else should bother trying to do the right thing?

Wierd point of view but okay..

Who are not doing what right?

I don't think you and I are on the same page notanan8.

Did you really not know who XR are?

My carbon footprint must be miniscule at the moment, although I do have a bit of heating on when I sit down at night.

* BradfordLass* round here they farm Xmas trees specially. It's an industry like any other. (At least they haven't got farting cows in the fields whilst they're growing spruce trees. )

Bradfordlass where I live Christmas trees are grown as a crop. I'm in an area of Scotland where much of the land is too poor for growing food and won't sustain stock. The farmers need to make a living and Xmas trees tick the box.

I buy a tree each year. It's grown, harvested and sold within about 10 miles of where I live, so no airmiles and it gives someone an income. Afterwards, it can go to the council composting scheme.

Cross posts there suedonim.

Grammaretto, I too support frugality and honestly try to be frugal . It's inordinately difficult for me to be frugal as I prefer not to travel or to drive a car. I am old and my lifestyle is frugal compared with that of many a young person.

The question we must ask is "How may frugal lifestyles be officially sexy?"

Error: "NOT inordinately difficult"