Lifestyle
Spend wisely and use your money to help fund positive change.
Have you heard of Earth Overshoot Day? This is the day of the year on which humans have used up 100% of that year’s supply of natural resources. For the rest of the year, the way we live means that we will be consuming more resources than the planet can generate annually. In 1970 Earth Overshoot Day was 23rd December, in 2020 it was 22nd August and last year it was 2nd August. This means that for the last five months of the year we were living in ecological debt. The UK’s overshoot day for 2024 will be June 3rd – this is the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if all of humanity consumed like the people in our country.
Although undoubtedly population growth is a factor, an important dimension is that certain countries, and certain sections of society, consume more of the planets resources than others.
Over-consumption uses up natural resources, causing deforestation, biodiversity loss and water scarcity, increases air pollution, and releases waste – primarily carbon dioxide – into the atmosphere, leading to climate breakdown. It is our children and people living in the global south, who pay the price of our ecological debt and who are all becoming increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events – causing droughts, flooding and food shortages.
Action from national governments is needed but we can take responsibility, as individuals, to live with more responsibility. To stop buying things that we really don’t need, to look after the things we have, to make them last longer, and to re-purpose or recycle our waste as much as possible.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Only buying things that you really need has lots of benefits, besides helping the planet! It saves you money and time – and less ‘stuff’ means less mess!
When making a purchase, look for good products that are designed to last and are made with care, ie have a fair supply chain and less environmental impact. The Ethical Shopping Guide is an excellent resource for guidance.
Hopefully you’ll already be using your food waste bin and green wheelie bin to recycle bottles, jars, paper and cardboard, plastic bottles, food tubs and trays, and food and drinks cans. You can also leave separate bags of textiles and small electrical items on the kerbside for collection.
Terracycle is a recycling company that offers a range of free programmes – such as biscuit wrappers and crisp packets – that are funded by companies, as well as solutions for recycling almost anything.
Fund positive change
Making the switch to a responsible bank is a simple first step to take, with most banks offering to take care of rearranging direct debits etc for you.
A responsible bank can be one that invests in positive social initiatives, rather than encouraging irresponsible lending or funding fossil fuels. There are ethical options for pensions and savings too.