Have a green summer!

Here are just a few ideas to care for the climate while enjoying it: Barbeques have become a bit of an excuse to eat a lot more meat than is healthy for our bodies or God’s earth. World-wide, meat production accounts for more global warming than car transport. Why not cut the meat by half and fill up on seasonal summer salads and vegetable kebabs? Or be radical and make veggie-burgers and sausages the default, with the meat-option available for those who request it.

If you are flying off on holiday, this will probably be the single most climate-damaging activity you do all year. So make the most of it and think about doing something different next year. Travel by train, boat or even car will nearly always be kinder to the planet than getting on a plane, and, in my experience, far more enjoyable. There’s a great website www.seat61.com that tells you how to get anywhere in the world without getting on a plane, though of course, however you travel, the fewer miles you go, the less carbon dioxide you will emit – the UK, Eire or Northern France are green destinations!

Now is a good time to make sure your house is fully insulated for the coming winter. Go to www.energygrants.co.uk for huge financial savings on insulation which will help your home to be kinder to the planet and your pocket when winter comes round. And while you are sitting in your garden, have a look at how much sunlight is falling on your south-facing roof. Wouldn’t it feel great to be using that energy? Go to www.energygrants.co.uk to see the financial incentives for solar power. There will be substantial capital outlay, but since you’re now buying less meat, have decided to holiday closer to home next year, and have lower heating bills, maybe you’d have the money to invest in something that will give you an energy boost (with the accompanying great feeling) every time the sun comes out!