- iaindryden1
What a gas!
I am sure I am not the only one who wakes deep in the night worrying about the destruction we have caused to nature, mass extinction and Global Warming. Sometimes I wake grinding my teeth from angry dreams about politicians who have known about Climate Change since 1980, but have continually made excuses and not acted, despite overwhelming evidence widely acknowledged in the 1970s.
Yet an incredible thing happened this week.
England used less coal than at any time since 1890, that’s almost 130 years ago. Indeed, there were days when we used no coal at all! Beat that! It shows we are at last using more renewable sources of energy.
Of the energy consumed nationwide, 26% came from wind, solar and biomass sources. These are increasing year by year and that means our carbon future could be good. The increase in de-carbonisation of emissions is also excellent, although costly, let’s hope more countries follow this practice. Coal is the worst CO2 pollutant and the use of gas and nuclear is a temporary fix which will help reduce our effect on Global Warming.
That 80% of heating in the UK is fuelled by natural gas can also be changed as we increase the use of solar panels. Some houses are suitable for small wind generators, and many people are able to consider air pumps, which consume little electricity and produce good heat.
Yet we still need to think about our own footprint - putting on a jumper rather than turning up the central heating; using suppliers who invest in renewable energy; choosing public transport when we can over car use; giving money to organisations who plant trees; buying less; buying locally produced items when possible.
And smiling as we spread the word. Yes, smile. When we smile, even when faking it, it stimulates the release of endorphins. ANd those we smile to can not help feeling a responsive endorphin boost. This enables them to open up a little and listen more attentively to what you are telling the. Yup, research shows all these factors are true.