… and 10 things you can do at home

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This is less helpful. The idea that we must all wear hair shirts, drive sucky cars and live in cold, dark houses is โ€ฆ well, letโ€™s say,ย unappealing. If this is the best PR pitch that we can conceive, global warming is here toย stay.

There are two problems with this approach. First, there is a danger that people will make one or two personal sacrifices and then feel that they have done their part for the planet; that having accepted responsibility andย taken some personal action,ย they will returnย to theirย apolitical lives with a clear conscience. The really big structural changes that only government can make will remain unmade for lack of publicย pressure.

The second problem is that this sort of holier-than-thou scolding is much more likely to turn people off than inspire them to action. For example, the attached Independent Online story includes a quote from โ€œEnvironmental Business Consultantโ€ Lynne Franks, who says, โ€œIโ€™m trying to see that everything I do in my life has some value to the planet and to the people that live onย it.โ€

Everything? Really? If Ms. Franks is sincerelyย trying to recruit friends and influence people, she might better say, โ€œIโ€™m trying to see that everything I do in my life has some value to the planet andย three times a week I try to quaff a really excellent Cabernet.โ€ Truly, a wretched, abstemious planet that honours only self-deprivation is itselfย unsustainable.

Still, thatโ€™s no reason to leave the lights on, so itโ€™s worth reading the Independentโ€™s list of suggestions. Keep in mind, though, that holidaying in the U.K. is only a climate-friendly option if youโ€™re starting in the U.K.

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