Hey Folks!
I’m sure I'm not the only one who gets more than a bit peeved at the amount of waste products that are coming my way. I increasingly receive bits of rubbish through my door in the form of adverts, notices, takeaway menus, junk mail and other pointless clutter. If these companies want to destroy acres of trees for the purposes of informing me about their wares, and taking up most of my litter bin, and landfills in the countryside or the bulk of incinerator crud, then why don’t they contribute to my Council Tax bill too, hey?
Another of my bugbears is that the large companies seem intent on wasting massive amounts of energy, water and other limited resources. I've worked at companies where at least half of the workers needlessly leave their computers on overnight, as well as lights and other electrical equipment, wasting a huge amount of energy. IT DOES NOT SAVE MORE ENERGY LEAVING A COMPUTER OR LIGHT BULB ON ALL THE TIME RATHER THAN SWITCHING IT ON OR OFF! Only smartarse, incorrect pedants claim such a thing. It used to be the case, when computers were clunky and easily damaged by constant turning off and on and lights took a while to warm up properly, but these days, these items are built to withstand repeated usage, and it doesn't take long at all to wait for them to switch on or off at all. Not only will this save energy, IT WILL SAVE YOU OR YOUR COMPANY MONEY! If it's switched off, it isn't using energy. It's not that complicated! If you're worried about the time it takes your computer to open or close, maybe give yourself more time before you start or leave? I'm sure that you don't need to be on it straight away, or up until the very last minute. There’s also water waste from running taps that people seem to regularly leave on or those toilets that flush automatically when people haven’t even used them. WHY?! Just because this is the way it is, it shouldn’t have to be the case. Businesses need to make a pledge to be far more energy efficient than they are at present. Perhaps this would be something that the "greenest government ever" could think about introducing? Who knows?
I also dislike the way that people don’t use recycling bins the way that they’re supposed to. I know that it is quite difficult to work out if something is made of plastic or not, but does it really take that much effort to look at the symbols on the side and see if they apply or not? That's a small gripe though. The point is, while recycling is good, we should be aiming to reduce the amount of waste that we produce. Unfortunately, it's increasing, which is bad for the environment and increases climate change, when we should be reducing it!
When my wife and I were away at our farm stay near Hanover, we discovered that this was one of the original Transition Towns. People in these towns intend to improve the town's carbon output and make it a sustainable place to live, in response the consequences of Peak Oil and climate change. There is also groups across the UK, including in Norwich. Their website is here if you would like to find out any more information: http://transitionnorwich.co.uk/
Don't forget that the Greenpeace Norwich group meets every second Wednesday of the month at the Marzano Cafe in the Forum, 7.30pm-9.30pm. Get along, check it out and stay waste-free!
Tom Read, Norwich Greenpeace Member
Comments