Global Cool.
The blurb from the site:
" Let's save a planet
Unless you live in a monastic retreat or are allergic to the news, you'll know that global warming is coming and it's not good. What is good is that you can now do something about it. Welcome to Global Cool.
Global Cool is BIG. Global Cool is here to stir anyone who cares about the planet to do their bit to save the planet they care about. And last time we counted, that was around six and a half billion people or so. More powerful than governments, more vocal than corporations, we are our own best shot at it: The People versus Global Warming.
With its simple Be Cool actions, Global Cool will help... Everyone knows that they ought to save the planet; Global Cool will help people want to. Global Cool includes a growing gang of the biggest names in entertainment (names - let's drop a few: Scissor Sisters, Orlando Bloom, The Killers, Flea, Kate Bosworth, Sienna Miller, Leonardo DiCaprio) and with their shows, their programmes, their Cooltube uploads and playful SMS reminders they will sing to you, tell you stories and tease you until you care.
Global Cool is STRONG. By getting as many people as possible to do their bit to save a planet, Global Cool will actually slow down global warming. This isn't cheap talk: Global Cool is not only backed by the biggest names in entertainment, it's also backed by the biggest brains in environmental science who know that a billion people x a modest reduction of one tonne of CO2 per person = a billion less tonnes of CO2 = a significant slowdown in global warming.
If that all sounds good - and hopefully it does - just remember that absolutely nothing happens if everything is left to everyone else. So you know what to do. Sign up, save a planet and enjoy."
What can YOU do?http://www.global-cool.com/becool/
Be Cool
Turn your heating down
Not by much - just by one degree. You save a bundle of energy and if you do feel slightly colder (unlikely) you can always wear an achingly fashionable jumper.
(This is not hard in SA, and when it does get cold in winter heat just the room you are in, and keep the door closed to keep the heat in. We try to use heats while we are dressing only, the rest of the time dress warmly and snuggle under a blanket! Air-conditioning is just as bad, go for a swim if you are hot and open some windows. Also get your company to turn the air-con off over week-ends when no one is there - Vodacom does this already..)
An average family can save 0.4 tonnes of CO2 a year and a lot of money
Be Cool
Take a stand against standby
The green button - a shocking name because a TV left on standby still burns vast quantities of energy. Why not burn a few calories by getting up off your chair and turning it off properly?
( Admittedly we don't do this... resetting all the timers would be a pain on the video machine and DVD player and hi-fi etc, I think I'll work on the others first.)
An average family can save 150kg of CO2 a year
Be Cool
Unplug that charger
Most gadget chargers eat electricity even when not in use. So once you've powered up your PSP, iPod or mobile, be sure to power down its greedy little charger.
(This is easy! Think how many cell phone chargers are out there. EVERY family has at least one charger, usually many more. I have unplugged our cell, and battery chargers now.)
An average family can save 7kg of CO2 a year
Be Cool
Don't boil over
Kettles love guzzling energy as much as you love drinking tea or coffee. So if you need a cup, boil a cup's worth and no more.
(We mostly half-fill our kettle when we boil it, but I am guilty of ending up boiling it 2-3 times before I actually make that cup of coffee. Naughty!)
An average family can save 45 kg of CO2 a year
Be Cool
Try not to fly
Hey hotshot, do you really need to fly to that meeting? Do you really need to holiday abroad? And those relatives across the world - if they really loved you, wouldn't they move closer?
(Our family has been guilty of this one in the past few years...I blame work. Damn this one is tough because it's a biggie. Richard is flying again in 2 weeks and we are planning another trip together in a few months.)
An average family can save 4 tonnes of CO2 a year and a suitcase full of cash
Be Cool
Turn out the bright lights
If you don't need them on then switch them off, they waste so much energy. And if you're scared of the dark, trust us, there really are no ghosts.
(We are good at this one. We only put on light that we need, not to decorate the house inside and outside etc, we also turn lights off when we leave a room. Only the kitchen, passage and lounge lights stay on all evening. At bedtime all lights are off.)
An average family can save 4 tonnes of CO2 a year and a lot of money
Be Cool
Use better energy
Switch to a supplier that generates electricity through wind, water and solar power. It only takes a phone call and it still comes through your wall sockets.
(We are pretty much stuck with Eskom here, there is not other energy provider, but I fully support the idea of a second nuclear power station alongside Koeberg, and am thinking about getting some solar geyser heaters put in. We may put a gas stove in at some point too. We need to turn our geyser temp down further too, it's still hotter than it needs to be. )
An average family can save 1.7 tonnes of CO2 a year
Be Cool
Take a low-power shower
Showers use nearly half the water of baths and cost a whole lot less to heat. If you really must take a bath, save energy and share it with a really dirty friend.
(We normally share bath water, and I try not to fill the bath up too much. We have also been substituting swimming for bathing with the kids on alternate nights during summer.)
An average family can save 4 tonnes of CO2 a year and a lot of money.
Be Cool
Buy better bulbs
Low energy bulbs give out the same amount of light but run on a third of the power. So unless you live in a nightclub, change over.
(All our lights are low-wattage fluorescents now except for 2 large-sized outside bulbs - which we don't use very often.)
An average family can save 200kg of CO2 a year
Be Cool
Stuff the freezer
Freezers work best when they are tightly packed - that way, they don't have to work so hard to freeze air space. A great way to justify some extra tubs of ice cream.
( OUr freezer is small, but it is usually pretty full. I try to keep it well sealed, and a pet peeve is people who leave the fridge and freezer door open for ages! I hate that.)
An average family could save a bundle of CO2 a year
Be Cool
Don't drive
Walk, go by horse, run, rollerskate, take a coach, bus or train. Or at the very worst, hitch a lift. Do not in any circumstances drive an obscene gas guzzler on your own on a weekday or a weekend.
( In SA we are pretty reliant on our cars. We have minimised our travel though, we live within 2km of both schools and I work only 12km away, and Richard works from home, so we drive only 30-50km a day combined. My new car (Fiat Panda) is a low CO2 emission model and has low fuel consumption. We sold the gas guzzling beamer and Richard uses the Hyundai - 10-20 km a day.)
All our lights are low-wattage fluorescents now except for 2 large outside bulbs - which we don't use very often.
An average family could save masses of CO2 a yearBe Cool
Wrap up your home
Insulate your loft space, cavity walls, hot water pipes or boiler. Draught-proof your doors, windows, letterbox or cat flap. Keep your home a little warmer and your planet a little cooler.
( We still need to get our geyser 'blanket' we were on the list to get one, but then our geyser needed a repair and they never came back with the blanket, I must follow that up. We must insulate the ceiling too - it also helps with the winter rain damp in the ceilings in Cape Town.)
An average family could save 3.8 tonnes of CO2 a year and a lot of money
Be Cool
Lower your laundry
Wash your clothes at a lower temperature, say 30 degrees rather than 40 or 60. It uses way less energy and your clothes still come out sparkling white unless they were black to start with.
(We only launder cold, our washing machine doesn't have a heater and we don't have a hot tap plumbed for the washing machine. It's great I never had stretched and creased clothes anymore!)
An average family can save 90kg of CO2 a year
Be Cool
Buy local food
Veg from a mile away is just as tasty as veg from half the world away and doesn't have to be flown to you in energy-guzzling airplanes.
( I pretty much only buy locally available fresh produce which is in-season. But do buy imported non-perishables at times. I think the vast majority of what I buy is SA produced though.)
I am not sure that we are very "cool" at all. I will have to review this.
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