Living a more sustainable life in a climate change emergency

Ubbquittious · 11-12-2019 10:15pm

it would be no harm if smart phones had a minimum warranty of 2 years. then slowly bring it up to 5, same should eventually go for all electronics. 1 year warranties are far too short

magicbastarder · 11-12-2019 10:19pm

Ubbquittious wrote: »

it would be no harm if smart phones had a minimum warranty of 2 years. then slowly bring it up to 5, same should eventually go for all electronics. 1 year warranties are far too short

warranties are meaningless in many ways, consumer law is your friend here.

however, i suspect phones actually failing, account for a small fraction of phone replacements compared to damage, which wouldn't be covered by warranty.

Ubbquittious · 11-12-2019 10:23pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

warranties are meaningless in many ways, consumer law is your friend here.

however, i suspect phones actually failing, account for a small fraction of phone replacements compared to damage, which wouldn't be covered by warranty.

I have had loads of phones fail on me. Touch screens that stopped working, batteries lasting very short all of a sudden in addition to phones that just plain stopped working for no good reason. The warranty isn't meaningless because if such a thing happens you can send it back for a replacement

Water John · 11-12-2019 10:23pm

The Sunday Business Post have started a series of podcasts called Five Degrees of Change. The first one, Daniel Murray is talking to John Fitzgerald.
https://www.businesspost.ie/climate-environment/podcast-five-degrees-of-change-john-fitzgerald-cc265f0e

Worth listening to.

12-12-2019 8:52am

Ubbquittious wrote: »

I have had loads of phones fail on me. Touch screens that stopped working, batteries lasting very short all of a sudden in addition to phones that just plain stopped working for no good reason. The warranty isn't meaningless because if such a thing happens you can send it back for a replacement

Try one of these https://chargie.org/

Chargie is world's only
USB device + App system that
stops phone/tablet battery degradation by smartly
managing nighttime
charging.

It charges your phone the same way that an electric vehicle charges, thus prolonging the battery life.

YFlyer · 15-12-2019 9:26am

gozunda wrote: »

The facts are that Fossil fuel use and Transport are the two single biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions on the planet.

With regard to individual responsibility - it has been suggested that for the purposes of "Individual consumer choices - the top (three) actions you can take to cut your own emissions, in order of impact, includes:

• Have fewer (or no) children (equaling, for someone in a rich country) an estimated 58.6 tons of C02 equivalent per child, per year
•Live car-free (about 2.4 tons per year)
•Avoid air travel (about 1.6 tons per round-trip transatlantic flight)."

With regard flying and eating meat btw - it has been shown that flying just one leg of a transatlantic flight is the equivalent of eating beef (as part of a normal diet) for a whole year. (Depending on meat type, region and production system - this figure may be much less than a TA flight*).Meat' is not even one of the top three tbh. Choosing dilfferent types of meat and dairy which have lower Impacts also makes sense if you wish to cut back.

The OP may not be able (for evident reasons) to negate impacts of having children as he states he already has a family - however the use of fossil fuel whether through transport etc is the next biggest factor in reducing environmental impact. Interestingly choosing not to fly (which the OP mentions elsewhere) is one of the single biggest and possibly easiest means of reducing your carbon footprint. For a family of four example - foregoing one round-trip transatlantic flight would cut a families CO2 emissions by an estimated 6,400 kilograms...

This is the data as an Infographic

Travel estimates should be for per passenger.

15-12-2019 11:51am

Avoiding planned obsolescence is completely ignored on that chart, if we made products that last for 25 years instead of only 5 we would eliminate the CO2 generated by the 4 extra units as well as all the waste generated.
Same goes for software updates that render phones and other electronics unusable years before the hardware fails.

We really should be bringing economists into these discussions, after all, it is because of economic activity, which economists have developed (and business & governments make possible) that we are living in such a consumer based throwaway economy .

Gangu · 26-08-2021 8:18am

Time for more tips - anyone?

JeffKenna · 26-08-2021 8:42am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117804642#Comment_117804642

Buy higher quality clothes that will keep for a long time. I think the days of going into Pennies and buying a shirt that loses its shape after two washes is gone.

26-08-2021 9:29am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117804642#Comment_117804642

Stop commuting and work from home whenever possible.

Resist the call to go back to the office if wfh works for you.

ohographite · 22-09-2021 8:34pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117804642#Comment_117804642

There will be another climate strike on Friday the 24th of September(in 2 days time at time of writing). It will be at 1-2pm, outside the Dáil on Merrion Square in Dublin. It will be led by schoolchildren on strike, but anyone is welcome to join it, as long as they wear a face mask. I suppose going to climate protests counts as living a more sustainable life in that it urges the government to do more to address the climate emergency. I wouldn't say they are doing enough so far.

NotCarrotRidge · 01-12-2021 7:46am

I've seen a few comments about going car free. That may be too much for many people, at least in one go. I'd suggest maybe having one day a week where you go car free, or if you're in a two car family, going to one car.

If you go car free once a week (to start off with...), make an actual change, rather than, for example, designating your WFH day as your car free day, when you don't normally use it that day anyway.

In our family, we went from two cars to one a few years ago. Initially it was an experiment after my car bit the dirt, but we never went back. I occasionally have to rent a car, and we certainly have to plan car use* more than we ever did, but it has been great actually.

*That's as it should be, for something that does so much damage.

03-01-2022 5:02am

The biggest one for me has been driving as little as humanly possible. Instead, walking and/or using public transit whenever possible. Recently in this country, and it's definitely a lot harder to do both here because of poor pedestrian infrastructure and absolutely atrocious public transit. Still making this a very high priority.

Other ideas, not eating red meat. Buying mostly used clothing. Avoiding plastic packaging as much as possible. etc.

MakersMark · 03-01-2022 7:25am

Reduce consumption of imported junk.

Eliminate all the BS social media...Google the CO2 emissions of a Tweet...its horrifying.

magicbastarder · 05-01-2022 12:50pm

currently sitting here with the heating on in economy mode, reading this nonsense...

Brussels Airlines has operated 3,000 empty flights this winter to avoid losing take-off and landing rights at major airports, it has been revealed.

The airline's parent company, Lufthansa, said it had flown 18,000 times this winter without passengers, including 3,000 flights under the Brussels Airlines banner.

https://www.thebulletin.be/brussels-airlines-runs-3000-empty-flights-maintain-airport-slots

Kevhog1988 · 05-01-2022 12:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/110147250#Comment_110147250

Eating more locally produced food is a better option than buying highly processed food with massive air miles. We are one of the most sustainable producers of meat & dairy in the world.

magicbastarder · 05-01-2022 1:06pm

you're better off buying a tomato flown in from spain than you are buying one grown in a commercial greenhouse in ireland.

and saying we're one of the most sustainable producers of meat and dairy is a very qualified statement. beef is bad for GHG emissions, no matter how good we are at it.

Gangu · 10-01-2022 12:16pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118420544#Comment_118420544

This is truly terrifying. Is there any action citizens can take to counter this terrible position? Thanks

Nermal · 10-01-2022 12:37pm

Just pretend that you're poor. A green future is a poor one.

The hard part is maintaining the delusion that your new life is more pleasant than the previous one.

But some people here have clearly managed it.

Graces7 · 06-04-2022 7:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/111980296#Comment_111980296

I used to shop at one like that in Sheffield forty years ago..

Graces7 · 06-04-2022 7:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118448567#Comment_118448567

You need please to define poor? My life is greener than ever these days as I am all but homebound out here! No car any more, and my supplies come in on the community ferry so no extra fuel etc. And yes a very simple life is increasingly pleasant. My electric toaster died so I now have a camping toaster.... No electric kettle any more. etc etc etc. A pay as you go phone. No TV or radio... The laptop is enough. It would take a lot of getting used to for a younger person?

John M00re · 23-04-2022 12:26am

I think even if fast fashion has called much attention recently and consumers are rejecting the biggest fast fashion retailers, there's still a lot of discussion needed about some resources other "high quality" brands use and also we should do something about the greenwashing they're doing. I'm not a fan of only consumer actions to stop this climate emergency but I do believe in the power of community changes. I think the show of Hassan Minaj on the issue makes some important remarks: https://youtu.be/xGF3ObOBbac

ELM327 · 07-10-2022 10:23am

Buying local is better than buying from megachains. I'm not going to stop eating meat. However I am willing to change and my use pattern is changed from buying meat mostly in Tesco or Aldi etc to buying locally grown and locally slaughtered meat in a craft butchers in the nearest town.

My driving is now 100% powered either by my own Solar energy or by night rate energy which is inherently cleaner as off peak.

We're cutting back oil and coal etc use by using a wood burning stove with a heat driven fan above it. The wood I use is from my own land , one of the neighbors, or a local store less than 5km from the house. The wood from our land is from cutting back or down trees that I would have to cut for safety reasons anyway.

We have 8 battery rescue hens for eggs, and coupled with buying our meat locally, most days our carbon footprint is very low. On the other hand I'm not a mad climate evangelical. I'm just showing that by making small changes you can make a big difference to your own carbon footprint without suffering any loss at all in quality of life.

07-10-2022 10:58am

I wouldn’t compromise the quality of my life or the life of my family by doing things as individuals that will make no difference to anything. I would include flying away on holiday and eating meat in that.

For me it’s about finding areas in which lifestyle improvements and sustainability intersect. Those intersections might be an electric car (because they’re brilliant), buying local produce (because it’s fresher and tastier), recycling (I live more cleanly because of it), improving heating systems and insulation (it saves me money and it’s more comfortable), being smart in what rooms need to be heated and when, and how much hot water I need (it saves me money), cycling as much as possible (I enjoy it) etc

I’ve no interest in being a climate martyr, but all those things help in their little incremental way

07-10-2022 1:33pm

One of the more effective ways to reduce pollution and the causes is simply to buy less stuff and complain about stuff that breaks early and can't be repaired, if everyone complained and refused to buy short lived products, then retailers would eventually get the message and manufacturers would produce better, longer lasting products.

Steps ilke this would make far more difference than most other measure put together. Just imagine the energy and resources used to make five washing machines that last only five years against the energy and resources needed to make one good machine that lasts twenty five years.

Graces7 · 12-10-2022 5:12am

Largely accidental and circumstantial but nonetheless sincere conservationism here. After years on disability and now pension... But my life is and has been all the more fulfilling and deeply enjoyable for this... Lacking for nothing and small luxuries are deeply meaningful and valued. Waste is deplored and avoided. Almost never red meat. By preference. Raising twin pet lambs finished that for me,, . Bacon and chicken and as I rejoice in my cats...Happy with cheese. I honestly have no idea of the sources of what I buy as being housebound and dependent on the one shop who deliver limits. As does cost. First responsibility is to health and welfare. Burning mostly local turf.. . But then living sustainably was always rhe better way. And was certainly the way we were raised postWar. So it is all very easy for me. No choices. At ease with it - as long as I get the occasional bar of CDM.. There are limtis beyond which I will NOT go!

Boardnashea · 03-02-2023 10:53am

Can I raise the heating question? Grace7 is burning local cut turf. I am burning local cut timber and wood pellets in the boiler. I'm seeing opinions recently regarding the use of wood stoves. I know it is difficult to get planning for any stove in a new build these days but for those of us in existing houses - should we get rid of the stove?

We love our gas cooker but I'm also looking at videos saying I should be moving to induction hob. We have solar PV so I wouldn't mind getting an electric oven (when the existing one dies) but should I change the hob too?

SuperBowserWorld · 03-02-2023 11:05am

FOMO = conspicuous and mindless consumption.

All the advertisers are at it. It's their job.

So, be wary when they are manipulating you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_missing_out

Also, FOMO creeps in everywhere, so boards.ie will have a ton of threads talking about stuff you may or really may not need.

03-02-2023 12:16pm

FOMO is not the only ploy, making stuff that fails quickly forces excessive consumption. Products that should last at least 15-20 years are failing after only 5 years or less.

Graces7 · 05-02-2023 1:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120195422#Comment_120195422

NB I cook by bottled gas not turf. And an electric kettle. The solid fueleul stove is for space heating and hot water.

Living a more sustainable life in a climate change emergency

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