The Eco Lifestyle Challenge - Brave enough?

So, here's the challenge .........

Could you live an ultra low carbon life for just two weeks to pick up the tips and techniques you need to plan your new low carbon lifestyle?

It won't be easy, but if you're game.....here's how.

To get straight to the point, you need to cut your carbon footprint by around six tonnes.

To do this, you would need to:

- Live a vegan diet

- Buy no air-freighted food

- Waste no food

- Take no flights

- Ditch the petrol car (this one is admittedly tricky, but at least try to reduce the use by half)

- Keep your gas and electricity use to a bare minimum

- Avoid eating out unless the restaurant is low carbon

The first thing we can all work on is the food we eat. To bring this under control, there are three key rules...

1 - Radically reduce the amount of meat and dairy in your diet

Here is where a vegan diet (or a least a partial one, 2-3 days a week) really starts to make sense.

Agriculture and land use currently make up 24% of total global emissions - much of this comes from the practices associated with the production of meat and dairy.

There is a clear "league table" in the carbon footprint of protein sources. 

Beef and lamb are the worst - both are ruminant animals which means they burp up methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

In the case of cows, there is also significant deforestation associated with farming them, not least because they are large animals which are too often fed human edible foods.

Below that is pork and chicken, and you might be surprised to learn that farmed fish and crustaceans also have a considerable carbon footprint.

Plant-based sources of protein such as nuts, soy and tofu have a radically smaller impact.

If this is starting to seem a little daunting, then perhaps focus on the fun of experimenting with different types of cooking and simply trying something new. You must admit its boring eating the same meals and shopping for the same things every week, look on it as broadening your horizons.

2 - Never buy air freighted food

Sounds obvious doesn't it?

But many people don't really consider it when browsing in the supermarket.

As soon as food has been on a plane it's a carbon disaster and has a huge footprint.

But how can you tell?

As a general rule, if something is durable enough to have survived a boat journey it's almost certainly been shipped, so apples, oranges, bananas, pineapples, melons etc are all fine.

Anything with a thinner skin and a shorter life has probably been on a plane - so asparagus from Peru, grapes from India, tender-stem broccoli from Kenya are all out.

This is actually an incredibly easy change to make - once you're aware it's easy to choose options which are from the UK or at the very least from Europe.

And the good news is that frozen options are absolutely fine.

3 - Don't waste food 

It's crucial to eat everything you buy.

Shockingly, the average European household wastes a quarter of all its food.

Cutting waste by half would add 20% to the world food supply.

Be honest, how often do you throw away half eaten food you've left in the fridge? Or food left over from a Birthday, Christmas or similar? 

It would also save you money and reduce your carbon footprint - what's not to love?

There's no getting round it, flights are a massive emitter and one of the worst things you can do in carbon footprint terms.

The average UK person only takes one return flight every two years - if you fly more than that your footprint is likely to be over the average, no matter how good you are in other parts of your life.

To give it some context, four return flights to Hong Kong emit more CO2e than the average person uses in an entire year.

Where possible, try to fly short haul, make your journeys count (maybe go less frequently and for longer) and always fly economy - a business or first class seat takes up more space on the plane and could quadruple the carbon impact.

Cars

While on the road electric is clearly greener, but it's important to note that an electric car is not a carbon zero option. 

Not only does the manufacture of an electric car have a large carbon footprint, but much of the electricity used to charge them still comes from fossil fuels.

In fact, a third of the carbon footprint of a standard car comes from its production - the best advice is to avoid replacing your car as long as you can and when you do, go electric or hydrogen fuelled.

And, of course, the best low carbon form of transport is still your feet!