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Are there things you try to practice daily to live a more sustainable lifestyle?
I don’t use the oven or gas fire.
I’ve got an airfryer which is good for small amounts of food. I use the hob for vegetables and small meals like soup. And for really quick meals I use the microwave instead of the hob.
I think doing this has saved me a few pounds. And it’s not warming the climate as much so my carbon footprint must be smaller as I don’t use the car much.
We saw the altercation in the White House here in the UK. Most of the UK is not impressed. It looked like two bullies ganging up on someone whose having trouble but could succeeded with their help. Utterly disgusting behaviour. The fact that Ukraine was considering giving up half their mineral rights to the great galumphing orange one is bad enough, it’s basically blackmail. But then the smug one with mascara and a reporter complained their victim wasn’t wearing a suit and was being disrespectful? So why was it OK for the owner of X marks the spot to go in wearing civvies when he bought his kid to work at the Oval office, some double standards there.
So there they were, shouting down a president of a sovereign state, telling him he had a bad hand of cards. When he respectfully tried to say he wasn’t in a card game the orange turnip shouted and pointed and pouted and ranted. He showed the world what he really was, a tyrant and a bully (allegedly).
He’s coming over to the UK on a state visit to see the King, maybe the invitation should be rescinded?
I was just watching the news and so far this September is the hottest ever recorded in history, and the year is heading towards the hottest ever too.
Meanwhile our government has decided to cancel a high speed train project and instead wants to support car drivers. They are going to have some kind of war on potholes in the streets! They don’t want to slow traffic to 20 miles an hour in built up areas, although it means children would be less likely to be killed in accidents where the current limit is 30 mph.
Also the petrol or diesel car is seen to be better than electric vehicles. Our government is putting back the date when cars have to be electric from 2030 to 2035. Firms that were planning for the 2030 date and retooling their workshops now have to rethink what they are doing.
And the government have signed off on a new oil field in the north sea, but the oil and gas from there is due to be exported to other countries to be refined and we will have to buy it back at inflated prices!
But as long as our Prime Minister can travel on private jets all must be well with the world!
Do you see yourself as a leader?
You’ll find me at the back of a crowd. My legs are little and I can’t keep up with big people’s strides. I’ve never been a leader, I think my imposter syndrome stops me thinking I could be! I’ve never been massively confident and I always question my abilities, plus to be a leader you have to have charisma and I not sure I do.
A leader seems to have overwhelming faith in themselves and I don’t know if I could do that, it almost feels like leaders fool themselves into it. Or are bought up to be important and think they are the best.
I guess my view is quite negative, but considering how politicians act and deceive to get power then it must be understandable. Clearly there are other types of leader, religious, royal, a head of a company for instance, I’m sure there is good amongst them, but there also appears to be a ruthless streak. Maybe it’s from childhood sibling rivalry, or being an only child.
Finally would I like to be a leader? Maybe I could do it, I’ve chaired meetings in the past, but honestly? I’m old enough not to relish it.
Are there things you try to practice daily to live a more sustainable lifestyle?
We have an old car, it’s about 23 years old (not as old as the morris in the painting), we can’t afford to replace it. But don’t really want to because of all the resources locked up in it. We only drive short distances now and did less than 1000 miles last year. I rarely have to fill it up with fuel. For local trips we usually walk. It’s a struggle to carry things, but it’s exercise.
I have a bike but I’m too wobbly to use it. But it may well be given to a charity so it can be reused, it would be good to give it to a good home. You only have a short window of adulthood to be adventurous but as you get older it gets harder. My mind is mostly fine but my body is getting worn out and ill.
Apart from that we planted a lot of trees on our garden which have become mature over the years. I’m sure that must offset our carbon footprint. We try and grow some fruit and vegetables too. We also try not to use much gas and electricity. We rarely buy clothes or shoes…..
I could go on. I don’t feel deprived. I’ve never flown and don’t want to and I rarely travel more than the occasional 80 miles to visit relatives. I hope all of this is a good way towards living a sustainable life. We could do more, we try.
Russian missiles continue to bombard the Ukrainian infrastructure. They are being used to damage and destroy power stations and water works. The Ukrainian population are being asked to accept regular power cuts so that there will be enough power for hospitals, and drinking water is becoming increasingly scarce, with people queuing to collect enough water to survive, and where can they get food. With the damage that has been done to the buildings in the country it means that as winter begins to bite in Ukraine the population will have to try and cope in such dangerous situations. I hope that they will survive, we have not forgotten the fact that Russia continues it’s cruel war on its Western neighbour.
As the Conservative party in the UK try and decide on a new prime minister there is talk of power cuts in the winter so that there will be enough energy to go around. The talk is about it being cut for three or four hours each afternoon. This is madness! If we need to save energy there should be advice on what to reduce, either by reducing the flow rate on combi boilers, or discussing the merits of part cooking food in a microwave or a slow cooker, or even advising on the energy efficiency of heaters. Of course some of this is moot because if you can’t afford to put your heating on in the first place you can’t make that choice. So, we wait and see who is the next leader, but what about the population who have not been offered the choice?
We got a letter off our energy company today. Our yearly bills are set to DOUBLE. I then saw a video of a comedy programme from the 1970’s on Facebook in which a man is being encouraged to save energy by using a hot water bottle, to which he responds he can’t afford to boil a kettle. Other suggestions include using a car less (he doesn’t own one), eating healthily (on his income he can’t afford to), and heating meals thoroughly (he can’t afford to have his cooker on). It was funny, but it shows things were not so different fifty years ago! Later on they showed a public information film from about the same time. This was to encourage the population to save energy by only heating one room in their home instead of heating the whole house do that the NHS and hospitals would have enough energy to stay open!
Seriously though it does make you wonder about open plan living, maybe people should rebuild internal walls?
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was power. I had to read my meter and disturbed a few spiders so I drew it. Its old and I’m trying not to use much power the way prices are going up!
It’s a bit chilly inside but I just put my dressing gown on. It keeps me snug. I am concerned that the price of gas and electricity is going up soon and that people won’t be able to heat their homes or food. So what can I do to save money? I’ve started sweeping up instead of vacuuming. I only do that once a week. I try not to use my car as much. I’ve only filled it up about six times this year. I also microwave some foods first to get them hot, then finish them off in the oven. For instance jacket potatoes. I’m wondering if there are other ways of saving power. Maybe I should use a hot water bottle instead of central heating? They say we should insulate our homes more. I did try and find out about that but we didn’t fit the criteria. I’m sure ideas will be thought of. Hopefully before climate change gets us!
Mallaband-Brown