The Green Living Project is a process of ongoing practical education on different daily living topics, using the Green Living Guide, created in 2019 from an original document by Transition Towns Totnes.
A group of Green Martinstown members met together as a GLP, pilot group once a month for 7 months with the aim to get this project up and running here in the wider Martinstown community.
Using this guide the aim of these meetings is to take the different topics one by one, using the information in the brochure, and also the detailed, practical and informative links provided, to become more aware of our own habits and actions in these different fields and thus start to make these habits and actions more planet friendly where possible.
Doing this project together raised many questions for all involved, thus becoming an incentive for a permanent and continuing education not only on all the climate related topics below, but also many others such as deep sea mining.
1. Introduction to Climate Change: a general introduction to climate change with many sobering statistics.
One example being a local map with projections of the rise in sea levels by 2026 which will mean the flooding of all or part of several coastal communities in our area.
5% of all global emissions are from aviation! yet there is still no tax on aviation fuel.
Only 50% (of interviewees in a survey) felt more concern about the detrimental effects of flying on the climate than 5 years ago, but only 8% are actually flying less.
2. Food: spend less eat better.
Buy locally/ avoid veg and fruit from the supermarket in plastic bags full of gas/ grow your own.
A topic of special attention here was the efficient use of both fridge and freezer to avoid waste, and the discipline needed to use leftovers in a creative way rather than chuck them away
3. Energy: spend less
Topics here are the use of renewable energy, + use of lights/ heating etc in the home + reducing draughts etc.
4. Transport:
go electric/ care share/ walk / use bikes
use of public transport
trains rather than planes
5. Waste
Reduce excessive consumption
Reuse where possible
Recycle, including composting
A topic of special attention here was again the efficient use of both fridge and freezer to avoid waste – see above
6. Save on Water: some salient and sobering facts for the ignoramuses among us were:
90% of the total water on earth is salt water, and only 10% is fresh. In this context suddenly the small percentage which is fresh water becomes so very precious.
the concept of Embedded Water- the large amount of water used in production processes, for example 5 litres for one sheet of paper, or 2,700 litres (49 baths) for the production of a cotton T shirt which is enough for one person to drink for 900 days
the amount of chemicals in our drinking water
7. The importance of Community
Communities that are able to work together and thrive in the face of adversity will be essential as we deal with the challenges thrown at us by Climate Change
Trilby Fairfax
6 June 2023
