Ten tips to help the environment

Climate change is hot news no matter where you are in the world. The increased pollution to our air and waterways, destruction of habitat and woodlands, the strain on natural resources and animals; you can't escape it, our world is changing. Many say that climate change is natural and not due to mankind. Well, that may be true. However depleting the fish by overfishing, destroying rain-forest at an astounding rate and pollution of land and water by toxic waste and everyday rubbish is man's problem.

You may consider that by thinking a little more about the planet and how you can help means that you have to grow your hair, wear crochet hats in outlandish colours and eat lentils! Not so. There are easy ways to incorporate environmentally friendly things into your everyday life without cutting out on your pleasures. You may even find you can save a bit of money by doing them!

So here I have listed 10 easy tips to get you started. Pick one this week and give it a go. You never know, you too might get the environmental bug!

Everyone can do something, no matter how small. Try one of these tips today and feel good about yourself. Remember, every time you make a green change you are helping reduce the strain of mankind on our planet. So go on, take the plunge!

1. Take a shower rather than a bath, and try and limit it to 3 minutes. It can be done and you can still get just as clean.
2. Switch off your mobile phone charger when it's not in use - only 5% of the energy used by mobile phone chargers in the UK is actually used to power the phone. The rest is wasted by leaving the charger plugged in and switched on. This amounts to over 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions that could be avoided if we just switched off.
3. Have a car free day. Walk to the shop for your paper, or get yourself a bike. Even use public transport.
4. Buy local. Goods that are produced locally have not had to be shipped half way across the world to get to your plate! Or even better, grow your own.
5. Put your washing out on a line, rather than using the tumble dryer.
6. Only use your dish washer or washing machine if they are full.
7. Fill your kettle with just as much water as you need. Overfilling the kettle wastes both water and power.
8. Use the Internet to pay bills or co your banking. Many companies may offer a cash incentive if you go for paperless banking or billing.
9. Before you bin something have a look and see if it can be recycled or reused. Old clothes, shoes, books, toys and household goods can go to charity shops - or why not try and earn some money by having a car boot sale! The less you put in your bin, the less ends up in a rubbish tip.
10. Have a TV/DVD/PC/Cable free night. Talk to your partner, go for a walk or play a game. You may even rediscover why you're with that person in the first place when you spend some quality time with them, and save on your electricity bill!

This is just a few ideas of things that you can try to help reduce the burden on the planet. Think up a few of your own and give them a try, everyone can find something to do, no matter how small.