Louise's carbon challenge

Oh dear! This is the really hard bit. My initial enthusiasm has waned a little. Carbon challenge is no longer top priority in all my thoughts. NOT because I don’t want it to be, but because other things have taken over for the time being.

I suppose this is ‘normal’. The important questions; “is my carbon footprint better than it was a few months ago? Have I managed to train myself in more environmentally friendly ways?” Well the answer to that is “yes, to a certain extent, but not enough.”

Louise

It all seems to be a very slow process and it is so hard to maintain an EFWL - Environmentally Friendly Way of Life! It is easy to blame everyone else for things I don’t do; the council should make recycling easier, shops shouldn’t give away plastic bags, supermarkets shouldn’t use so much packaging, cycle paths should be safer, wider, better lit, more of them etc, the government should tax environmentally unfriendly things so that I wouldn’t be tempted.

Do you get the impression I am a bit ‘down’ about all this? That I’m feeling more than a bit ‘guilty’. Well you would be right!

After a wildly enthusiastic start I have slipped back into a few old ways: The plastic bag supply is growing again. The bicycle hasn’t been out of the shed for at least two weeks. The batteries have gone on the monitor and I haven’t replaced them. I haven’t been to the supermarket - but I have sent my husband, I feel marginally less guilty that way! I haven’t started composting yet!

Thinking more positively – we are going to sell two cars and get one small car after Christmas. I do generally shop locally. We are making do still without a freezer and dishwasher.

Maybe I ought to ask Father Christmas for composting equipment/ books – that would inspire me! Christmas is another thing - am I going to be able to keep my promise to myself to do things ‘small’? To make presents, rather than buy? I’ll let you know in another 6 weeks or so how far I’ve got down that line!

Well this is a bit depressing - maybe that’s why I have taken so long to get round to writing this entry. I must find some new inspiration. My son bought me one of the ‘We are what we do’ books last week. It is really good - loads of people will be getting them for Christmas! I must use it as a little bible!

Bye for now,

Louise