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Could Going to Bed Earlier Be an Environmental Decision?

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  Could Going to Bed Earlier Be an Environmental Decision? Perhaps one of tomorrow's best green decisions is simply turning everything off tonight. When we talk about living more sustainably, sleep is probably not the first subject that comes to mind. We think about solar panels, electric cars, recycling, insulation, heat pumps, public transport and reducing plastic. We rarely think about going to bed. Yet perhaps we should. I am not suggesting that going to bed an hour earlier is going to solve climate change. The direct energy savings are likely to be comparatively modest, particularly in a modern house using efficient LED lighting. But an earlier bedtime raises a much more interesting question. What happens environmentally when our waking day becomes longer and longer? The longer we remain awake, the longer we tend to keep lights, televisions, computers, games consoles, kitchen appliances and heating running. We may snack, shop online, watch another programme, scroll through ano...
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Could Public Transport Give You Something Driving Can't—Your Time Back?

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  Could Public Transport Give You Something Driving Can't—Your Time Back? Driving might get you there—but on a train, the journey itself can become your time. When we talk about greener transport, the argument can become rather simplistic. Cars are portrayed as bad. Buses and trains are portrayed as good. Everyone is told they should stop driving and use public transport instead. Real life is rather more complicated. If you live in a village with one bus every two hours, have several bags of shopping, need to transport children to different places or have to reach somewhere poorly served by public transport, the car may be by far the most practical option. Equally, there are journeys where driving simply makes very little sense. Perhaps the more useful question is not: "Should I give up my car?" It is: "Are there some journeys where I would actually be better off not driving?" And one of the most overlooked advantages of public transport is something that has ve...
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Drought, Leakage and “Forever Chemicals”: Is This Really How We Should Protect the Thames?

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  Drought, Leakage and “Forever Chemicals”: Is This Really How We Should Protect the Thames? When a river is at its lowest, that may be precisely the time when we should be most careful about what we put back into it. An interesting—and rather worrying—story appeared in The Guardian this morning. It concerns Thames Water's proposed Teddington Direct River Abstraction scheme, designed to help maintain London's water supplies during periods of drought. At first sight, the idea sounds quite clever. Take up to 75 million litres of water a day from the Thames. Transfer that water towards the Lee Valley reservoirs, where it can eventually become part of London's drinking-water supply. At the same time, replace the water removed from the river with highly treated wastewater from the Mogden sewage treatment works. The river level is maintained. London receives additional water. Wastewater is recycled rather than simply discarded. It sounds, superficially at least, rather...
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Eating Greener Without Becoming Vegetarian: Start by Asking Where Dinner Came From

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  Eating Greener Without Becoming Vegetarian: Start by Asking Where Dinner Came From Hook: “Before asking whether your dinner is green, perhaps ask how far it travelled to reach your plate.” There is a problem with some conversations about environmentally responsible eating: they become an argument about labels. Are you vegetarian? Vegan? Flexitarian? Organic? Locavore? For many people, that immediately makes the subject feel more difficult than it needs to be. Eating more sustainably does not have to begin with announcing that you will never eat another bacon sandwich or Sunday roast. It can begin with something much simpler. Turn over the packet. Read the label. Look at the country of origin. Ask where your dinner actually came from. Then ask a few more questions. How was it produced? Is it in season? How much packaging surrounds it? Has it been heavily processed? Are we going to eat all of it? And, perhaps most importantly, is there an alternative that costs less as wel...
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