Climate Change Tips

Climate change is real and requires real solutions.

There is international scientific consensus that climate change is happening and global warming is very likely (90% chance) being caused by human activities. If we continue consuming and generating greenhouse gases in a 'business as usual' fashion and do not change our behaviour the globe will continue to warm.  It is likely this will induce many changes in our climate system that will have negative flow on effects.  

The tips below are some simple ways we can reduce our climate change impact in different aspects of our lives.  Many of these changes may also save you money!   These habits are also easy to maintain. 

Dream Inspire Grow: Sustainable Living Program

Manly Council’s Dream Inspire Grow Sustainable Living Program is an education for sustainability program launched in August 2009 to provide ongoing sustainable living support to the community, to ensure that we all learn to tread more lightly on the Earth. 

Green & Groovy Kid’s Recycled Art Workshops 

Manly Council’s Green Up Your Life! Sustainability Education Team offer monthly kid’s recycled art workshops, where we get creative with and redefine the definition of ‘waste’! From old t-shirts into reusable shopping bags to junk mail into jewelry; we help you turn unwanted items into practical everyday usable items. The programme for 2011 can be downloaded here.

Transport

  1. Leave the car at home if you’re only going out for a short trip - walk or ride your bike
  2. Car pool - reduce emissions and save on petrol money 
  3. Check the pressure of your tyres - if the tyre pressure is low your mpg drops & the wear of your tyres becomes uneven. 
  4. Take out all unnecessary weight from the car & remove roof racks 
  5. Service your car regularly 
  6. Improve your fitness and ride your bike to work 
  7. Catch public transport and enjoy that book you never have time to read 
  8. Use air conditioning sparingly 
  9. Keep windows closed on the highway to decrease wind resistance 
  10. Switch off your engine if you’re not moving 

Sustainable Purchasing

  1. Buy local and support your local farmer's market
  2. Choose products with no or minimal packaging, such as concentrated or bulk products 
  3. Support Fair Trade
  4. Use products made from natural materials 
  5. Substitute meat with vegetarian alternatives
  6. Choose reusable, recyclable, recycled content, rechargeable and durable products 
  7. Buy energy efficient products such as white goods with a high energy star rating 
  8. Say 'No' to Plastic Bags and take your own reusable shopping bag 
  9. Avoid purchasing a product if you don’t really need it – can you borrow it, hire it or do without?
  10. Buy presents people will use rather than gimmicky items 

Energy Efficiency

  1. Switch appliances off at the powerpoint to avoid consuming power in stand-by mode 
  2. Change normal incandescent globes to compact fluorescents - incandescent globes will be phased out by 2009-10 
  3. Buy energy efficient appliances  
  4. Turn your air conditioning off or down by a couple of degrees 
  5. If you are cold put on an extra jumper or some warm socks and block draughts from entering your house 
  6. Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through windows 
  7. Purchase energy sourced from renewable resourcesor install a solar hot water system or solar (photovoltaic) panels on your house 
  8. Turn the lights off when not in use 
  9. Dry your clothes naturally on the line rather than using a dryer 
  10. Is the temperature of your water heater set too high? It doesn’t need to be higher than 60°C

Water

  1. Take shorter showers: For every one minute less you spend in the shower you save 9 litres of water
  2. Wait for a full load before using your washing machine and dishwasher 
  3. Invest in a grey-water system 
  4. Fix leaking taps 
  5. Purchase a rainwater tank and take advantage of the Sydney Water rebate currently available  
  6. Install aerated taps, water efficient showerheads and low flush toilets - grab a water saving kit from Sydney Water  
  7. Collect the water in a bucket from your shower as it warms up and use the water on the garden 
  8. Use an automatic shut-off nozzle or trigger nozzle on hoses 
  9. Plant native species in your garden, they require less watering.  Use mulch to reduce evaporation from the soil 
  10. Invest in reusable microfibre technology cleaning products, not only to reduce water use but also the use of toxic cleaning products 
  11. Use a bucket when washing your car and wash it over the lawn to water the grass 
  12. Use a pool cover to avoid evaporation (half the water in your pool can evaporate over a year) 

Waste

  1. Compost or worm farm to reduce your household waste by up to 50% 
  2. Recycle - Manly Council accepts all disposble plastic containers, aerosal, steel and aluminium cans as well as paper and cardboard. 
  3. Reuse old cards and swap plastic gift wrapping for a child’s painting, favourite section of the newspaper, a teatowel or reusable bag
  4. Use reusable containers rather than clingwrap to keep food fresh 
  5. Rather than buying individual drinks and poppers for schoolkids give them a reusable drink bottle. with their favourite natural flavours 
  6. Dispose of your waste responsibly - see our A to Z of disposal alternatives
  7. Rather than throwing out an unwanted item give it to a charity, friend, reuseitnetwork.org or sell it in a garage sale: Second Hand Saturday
  8. Buy items in containers that can be reused or recycled 
  9. Repair an item rather than replacing it 
  10. Buy second hand items 
  11. If you are renovating use recycled content products and separate your waste so that it can be recycled and you can save money 

Be a champion among your circle of friends and give them tips on how to live sustainably and to save money. 

"How could I look my grandchildren in the eye and say I knew about this and I did nothing?"   David Attenborough discussing his "Are we Changing Planet Earth" programme (May 2006).