I have calculated my carbon footprint, one of the many actions recommended by the fabulous 'Generous' community, and looked at the various advice available for reducing my impact on the environment. The idea is that I work out my current footprint and aim to reduce it over the next year.
However, the calculators and advice available offer very little for young people in my position. I am lodging in someone else's house, so I know nothing about the boiler's age and efficiency, nor how much the electricity bill comes to, nor what kind of insulation is in the roof. I am unable to fill cavity walls, double-glaze the windows or upgrade the washing machine. Until eco-friendliness is included in 'for rent' notices, I would really like to see some advice tailored for people in this category. For example, I can't change the cooker but I can cook with lids on pots; I can't switch to renewably-generated electricity but I can switch to an ethical bank. I have spent hours online looking for advice that I can actually use, but so far very little has turned up.
The act on CO2 website tell me I have a carbon footprint of 0.99 tonnes. The WWF calculator offers a figure of 9.14 tonnes - a slight difference! Both asked different questions, both failed to ask about eg chemical-free cleaning, washing clothes at 30 degrees or hanging washing up to dry.
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