There are so many excuses as to why people aren’t more eco-friendly, ask someone why they don’t try and reduce their carbon foot print and they’ll undoubtedly come up with one of the following:
One Person Can’t Make A Difference
So you turn off every light in your house when you don’t need it, you walk to the shop instead of take the car and you always recycle – it won’t make a difference will it? Well, that’s a great attitude, it’s a good job Rosa Parks didn’t have that ‘what difference can I make’ attitude. Prime Minister Oliver Cromwell won control of England in 1654 with one vote. One person can make a difference, you might not inspire a revolution but if your neighbour notices how little rubbish you’re throwing out on bin day it might inspire him to cut his down too. Next time the in-laws are staying with you and they notice that you always turn the TV off instead of leaving it on standby they might pick up some habits from you.
No, you won’t save or destroy the planet by yourself but you can add your contribution and together it will start to add up.
It’s The Planets Natural Cycle
They say we’re heading for an ice age, that we’re ruining the planet and global warming will impact us all. Others say there’s no such thing as global warming, it wasn’t t-rex and his dinosaur buddies driving their 4×4’s around that caused the last one was it? Yes ice ages have happened sporadically throughout the planet’s history but there is scientific evidence we’re damaging our planet. We’re mining natural resources that won’t be around much longer and there is scientific evidence there’s a hole in the o-zone layer, there is evidence the earth is heating up and there’s evidence the polar ice caps are melting. If enough fresh water from the melted ice enters the golf stream it has the potential to be devastating. Our planet is a delicate eco system and it’s taken a lot over the years, there’s only so much more it can take.
Going Green Costs Money
I can’t afford to go green; I’ve seen those yuppies at the supermarket buying their whole, fair trade, organic rabbit food. I can’t afford a new hybrid car and I can’t afford to plaster my house with solar panels. This isn’t an excuse, it’s just being lazy. If anything, reducing your carbon footprint can save you money. By reducing the amount of energy you’re using your power bills will be cheaper, by driving a smaller engine car you’ll be spending less at the petrol station and by buying your fruit and vegetables lose (not necessarily organic) you’ll be saving money as you won’t be paying for all the packaging and for the pleasure of having the supermarket cover your apples in shiny wax.
There Is One Right Answer
As much as I believe we should be trying to look after our planet the single most annoying thing is a green bore, there’s always one person at the party who can’t stop talking about his new solar panels or the dolphins that die every year because of irresponsible tuna fishing. Going green is like religion and politics, it’s your opinion and you’re entitled to your own views and to go about it how you like so long as you’re not hurting anyone. If your contribution to reducing your carbon foot print is ripping old clothes up to use as rags instead of buying rags from the hardware store and just turning the thermostat down a degree or two, that’s fine, it’s your call and as we’ve already discussed, everyone can make a difference in their own way. If you’re trying to reduce your carbon footprint don’t let anyone tell you you’re ‘doing it wrong’.
Solar Power Only Works In Sunshine
Solar panels are becoming more and more popular, next time you’re going on a long journey actually look out for them on the roofs of houses and you’ll see them everywhere. Despite this people can still be very ignorant about them and the most common misconception is they need actual sunshine to work. Have you ever been on holiday and got burnt because you didn’t put sun screen on because it was cloudy? I bet if you did, you only did it once! The sun’s ray’s work through clouds and that power will reach the panels. They store as much as possible in the day so there’s a reserve by the time it goes dark. Most houses never use all the power in the panels because they are so effective. Yes, they can be expensive but they are also very efficient.
Even something as simple as making sure you’re on the best energy tariff possible can help the environment which is why businessenergy.com are dedicated to business electricity price comparison and making sure business find the cheapest quote possible.