Tackling climate change is not just the job of government.  We all have to do our bit. We all have to change our habits, particularly today when renewable energy is insufficient to meet demand and when demand is growing.

Demand is us.  Growth in demand is us.

Yes, government can offer grants and subsidies for insulation, for improved heating and for solar panels but we have to take up those offers.  And this is one area where the government can and should do more, with pubic information advertising.  We need a culture change.

We need to choose low energy foods, locally sources, less meat, less waste.

We need to think before we drive.  Every mile we drive causes global warming of ten square metres – is that an incentive to walk, or cycle, or take a train?

We need to think before we fly.  Do we really need to go half way round the planet on holiday?  Or to that meeting (I know one example of a business trip comprising a flight to Australia, a one hour meeting, a flight straight back.  And I was summoned to Brussels for a meeting but was bumped off the agenda).  Can we use the train instead, and make that part of the ‘adventure’?

Do we really need to wash our clothes so often, on such a high temperature? Do we really need to wash ourselves so often, on such a high temperature, for such long showers?

Do we really need to heat all of our houses for so long, to such a high temperature?

These are but a few examples.

There is so much that we can do without any detriment to our joy of life, but which will make such a difference.  But we need to accept low energy decisions as the ‘norm’.