Practical Actions
This page provides you with a guide to the pages where you can et useful information on the activities which you can engage in and places where you can get information to support your journey in tackling the climate emergency.
We provide links to the various pages with useful tips and tricks. Shropshire Council has also produced a summary leaflet, which helps identify the key actions you should take.
Whether we are householders, working in business, farmers, or working in schools and hospitals, we should all create a plan to become net-zero by 2030 in Shropshire, and then take action. We cannot necessarily do all of it straight away, but we can do all of it over the next few years. We could change our energy supplier immediately. We could change our car in 3 years’ time. We can change our diet now. We could get a solar panel in 5 years’ time. But we should plan how we will do all that and then do it.
The following quote illustrates the importance of us getting beyond the statement “We need to plan to do something”. Joel Barker is an inspirational speaker.
SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL GUIDE
Shropshire Council have provided a useful guide on the actions which we can all take. Click on the button below to download the leaflet.
MEASURE FOOTPRINT
Your carbon footprint allows you to work out your impact on the environment, in terms of the number of Greenhouse Gases you emit or consume, and their impact. You can use many tools to work this out, and we summarise here the main tools we have discovered. Work out your current footprint, and understand where you can take action. The simplest to use is the World Wildlife Fund calculator.
BUILDINGS
On the buildings page, we cover what you should be doing about improving the structure of your buildings to make homes and buildings more climate-friendly. This covers issues like insulation and air source heat pumps. It also shows how making you cosier can save an estimated £ 250 per year.
ENERGY
On this page, we cover the actions you can take that will enable you to get away from fossil fuels to carbon-neutral forms of energy for heating and lighting. So it coves everything from LED lights to Air Source heat pumps. It gives you an idea of costs, and where to get further information if you need it.
TRANSPORT
On this page, we cover the actions you can take with respect to changing from fossil-fuel-dependent forms of travel to better more carbon-friendly forms of travel. Thus we cover e-bikes, electric cars, and reducing air travel. We give the facts and figures to help you begin to decide the best forms of travel to use.
FOOD
The type of food we eat, and where it comes from has a considerable impact on our Carbon footprint. So on this page, you will find useful tips on how to change your diet and where you shop to make your eating habits more climate-friendly. It covers everything from buying locally to why you might consider becoming vegan.
STUFF
When we buy and use “Stuff” like TVs, Washing Machines, Clothes, pharmaceuticals and healthcare products on a daily basis, we have an enormous impact on the environment. So on this page, we review the issues, and give some simple guidance on how you can make a dramatic change by “buying for the planet”.
COUNTRYSIDE
The actions we take within the countryside, particularly in Shropshire, can damage the number of plants and insects that exist, which dramatically affects the food chain. Planting trees can also be a great way of absorbing Carbon Dioxide. So on this page, we cover the actions we can take to improve the county’s countryside.
WORKSHOPS
We should also learn about the detail of the actions we can take by engaging in “Carbon Literacy” training, which can be attended online. We give some background on the Carbon Literacy project, and where you can get further details. We also have now developed three core workshops designed for householders, parish councillors and small to medium size businesses. If you join our courses, you can get Carbon Literacy certified through the Carbon Literacy Project.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
If you needed reminding that we require action now, do listen to Greta Thunberg.
Greta Thunberg is an international activist working on getting nations and companies and individuals engaged in taking action, not just talking words. She wants us to listen to the science.
