YoungAction for YouropeVision
How Can You Contribute to
Enviromental Protection?
Silas-Germany
Mitigating climate change - yes, most citizens
are in favour of that. However, there are still too
few citizens who are taking part. In the
following I would like to show what ordinary
citizens can do in their everyday lives to protect
the environment. The average German
consumes about 9 tons of CO2 per year. If you
add other climate-damaging greenhouse gases,
the figure is 11.5 tonnes. That is 9.5 tonnes too
much, the climate target is 2 tonnes per capita.
So what can you do in everyday life?
lot of energy. With washing machines and
dishwashers it is important to load them fully
and choose low temperatures. Eco-programs run
longer, but only use half the energy.Next
example: flat-screen TV. They are getting
bigger and bigger and need more power. In
addition: "Those who watch TV via a streaming
service cause 100 kilograms of CO2 per year in
the network alone. More efficient is reception
via antenna or satellite.
Energy-efficient lamps are now part of everyday
life. But: Because LED lamps require so little
energy, there is no longer any saving in lighting.
Rooms have many light sources that are
switched off less frequently. Overall, this leads
to increased consumption.
Step one for climate protection is to accept that
with a little bit of carefulness it is not enough.
The majority of people think environmental
protection is good, but in everyday life many are
trapped in structures. This applies to our own
cars, large apartments and the huge range of
goods we buy around us. To break this cycle, we
need new political framework conditions and
every individual to deal with his or her
behaviour.Anyone can enter their data using
CO2 online calculators, such as those offered by
the Federal Environment Agency: Housing,
mobility, nutrition, consumption. The result: a
personal CO2 footprint that shows how much
emission can still be saved.In the home, it's
primarily about electricity and heating. "Anyone
can switch to a green electricity provider - a one
-off action that doesn't necessarily cost more.
Sometimes green electricity tariffs are even
cheaper. Another point is to switch off lights
and appliances when you're not using them. The
same applies to he
ating: only heat the rooms you use and only as
much as you need.
You can save up to six percent of heating energy
per degree room temperature. The insulation
standard of a house also contributes to how
environmentally friendly a heating system is.
Instead of oil and gas, solar energy can be used
to provide heat.Electrical appliances are among
the biggest power guzzlers. Oversized
refrigerators are often bought. Despite a good
efficiency class, such appliances still consume a
The next step towards sustainable living is
mobility: Increasing demands for mobility,
larger vehicles such as SUVs that consume a
lot of fuel. The problem is greater in the
countryside than in the city. The alternative:
public transport: If you use public transport
instead of the car or switch to the bicycle, you
move more - that is also healthier. There are
already many car-sharing providers in large
cities. If you drive less than 10,000 kilometres
a year, car sharing is even cheaper than driving
your own car.A lot of savings can be made by
not flying. A European flight causes one to
two tonnes of CO2, intercontinental flights
three to five tonnes. The alternative is to travel
by train or at least compensate for the air
travel.
What remains is nutrition: less meat, more
regional and seasonal organic products are
good for the climate balance.