Countdown #30: top tips for a sustainable lifestyle
December 30, 2013
I asked on Twitter: what tip would you give someone just starting to make their lifestyle more sustainable? @ginnyfranklin started us off with a transport tip: how about: reduce your car use @TomFranklin chipped in: get and use a bicycle – walk or cycle to the shops, then extra trips don’t matter – I use …
Countdown #29: Five top tips to save water
December 29, 2013
Georgina Wood gives us her top tips for saving water at home: Put the plug in the sink when washing your face or brushing your teeth Fill up the washing machine and/or the dishwasher each time they’re used Take shorter showers instead of baths Wash fruit and vegetable in a dish or pan of water …
Countdown #28: a conversation about sustainability
December 28, 2013
Sustainability, of course, isn’t just for Christmas – we can make sustainable choices in every aspect of our daily lives. This Christmas in my family we have mostly managed recycling, and all my gift wrapping was re-used from last year! But the final one of the 3Rs is more of a struggle: reduce. I’d love …
Advent calendar #24: Are you an eco-tourist?
December 24, 2013
At least according to the adverts on TV, Christmas must be the time when people start planning their next holiday. So are you an eco-tourist or plan an eco-holiday this year? Eco-tourism involves being visiting areas of the planet that are more undisturbed, while trying to be low-impact and socially responsible. These holidays often have …
Advent calendar #23: My Sustainable [and early] Christmas
December 23, 2013
Sarah Speight writes: I think I get more and more concerned about consumer excess every Christmas. I’ve always been someone who prefers ‘useful’ presents myself and now I’ve extended this to my friends and family. If I am buying rather than making or growing (I’m not as advanced down this path as Mike Clifford, Advent …
Advent calendar #17: Sustainability issue – food waste
December 17, 2013
Would you have thought that VIPs would ever eat imperfect fruit and vegetables? Yet this was exactly what happened in February, when the United Nations treated 500 delegates at its Environment Programme event in Nairobi to a five-course meal of blemished African fruit and vegetables – exactly the kind of food that Western supermarkets would have …
Advent calendar #15: Sustainable gift-wrapping
December 15, 2013
There are many ways to wrap Christmas gifts in a sustainable way. Key principles of sustainability are reduce, re-use, recycle, and these can readily be applied to gift wrap. A good start is to ensure all gift paper is recycled. Other ideas include: Wrap gifts in fabric and ribbon – the fabric can be re-used …
Advent calendar #14: Sustainable Christmas holidays?
December 14, 2013
A top tip from the Sustainability people here at the University is to save energy by powering down over the holidays. Before you leave for the Christmas holiday remember to turn off and unplug (if possible) all electrical equipment such as computers, monitors and other peripherals. The University of Nottingham MOOC Sustainability, Society and You …
Advent calendar #7: Sustainability in the street
December 7, 2013
Recently I took a short break from all our MOOC preparations and spent an enjoyable weekend in Barcelona. Among the Gaudi, Picasso and other delights of a city I thoroughly recommend for a visit, I came across this alongside the Arc de Triomf. A waste audit in a Barcelona square! Children were being encouraged to …
Advent calendar #6: Reduce, re-use, recycle
December 6, 2013
The 3Rs of sustainable waste practice are a key part of one of the weeks of our course Sustainability, Society and You, as they have been in the pilot which was run within the University – the NOOC. Students discuss their own recycling practices (or not!) and often find there are obvious actions that they …
