Climate shaming is not working

Yes, I too had an extensive misspent youth in various squats and communes. I do have an extensive Hawkwind collection on vinyl, including the one I posted. Lots of the early stuff I bought disappeared along the way, as possessions did in those days, under those circumstances.

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We’re still here……

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uv37yxc51bE

I think that there’s a basic list list of things which we can all do, all of the time, and not just in response to a particular crisis.
For water conservation we need to take stock of our property’s facilities and ask certain questions, such as is every rainwater downpipe connected to a water butt ?
Can we install larger or additional butts which are interlinked ? Can we re-jig our waste water plumbing to conserve ‘grey’ water ? Is a ‘grey’ water tank in the cellar a viable proposition ?

On the energy front we need to turn off lights that are not really needed, avoid leaving appliances on ‘stand-by’ if we can, switch to LED bulbs, and of course insulate our homes as much as possible.

We need to change our purchasing habits to favour products with less packaging, and to be cognisant of where products have come from so that if the Avocados have come from Peru or Israel, then we simply do not buy them. So we go back to the days of our youth and eat seasonally. Buying fresh tomatoes in January is simply not a good thing to be doing.
Only today I asked myself why it is that a bottle of scotch often comes in its own cardboard box.

Consolidating our vehicle journeys helps to reduce fuel consumption, and taking the car should really be the last option to be considered.

We have all become spoiled over the years by being able to have virtually whatever we want, whenever we want it, provided that we can pay. Problematically, we are now having to accept that we do not just pay for our chosen lifestyle with money, but also with climate change.

We need to consider the overall impact of everything we do, ask ourselves how we can change for the better, and then act accordingly.

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I’ve always been an economical water user when showering. Get wet > wash > rinse.

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First “proper” band I ever saw live (and many times after):sunglasses::sunglasses::sunglasses:

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Might have to dig out the old Space Ritual vinyl later (the download version just isnt the same)

@Stella Showering daily unless you are doing really dirty or sweaty stuff, is not necessary. My daily ablutions start on the bidet for the bottom half, never measured it but probably no more than a a litre, then the top half over the basin, again no more than a litre. The shower is for hair washing. After walking the dog and doing the circuit on the trike, the perspiration is soon gone with 28 metres in the, naturally filled and maintained, pond. No chemicals, no filters and no buckets, transferred from big to small and fiddling about in the garden. I look out of my window and it is as green as a rainforest, the only sign of the drought is the depleted level of the bottom pond which will be topped up after the next rainy night from the water butt which receives the total contents of 3 of our 4 rooves.

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Also worth saying that many of the energy and water saving recommendations here also save time and money (at least in the long term - eg. LEDs may be expensive, but isn’t it nice to never have to buy or change another lightbulb?
Has anybody mentioned heating? - apart from one electric towel rail, we heat with only air source heat pump and wood.

More contentious areas perhaps are transport and diet - but it’s very clear what we ought to be doing…
Transport - Curtail flying (or preferably stop altogether), take up cycling, use public transport, drive less (preferably electric).
Diet - We all know this - go ‘mainly plant based’ - and grow your own if you can.

I feel horrible if i don’t shower every morning. Proper grimey! I try to do it as quick as possible but i would rather save energy and water another way.
Izzy x

Exactly, too much washing removes the protective film on our skin to protect against infection.
I washed my hair in the shower this morning and turned if off whilst I massaged the shampoo and the conditioner.

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I heartily agree… I cannot understand why so many of our visitors/family shower morning and evening when they are here… they’re not exactly wandering through a pile of manure… my house is really quite clean… :rofl: :roll_eyes:

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I do the same… mine is very long and thick… I use a minimum of shampoo etc… or it takes half an ocean to rinse out properly… switching-off while I’m massaging my head makes good sense… especially since we came to France, where we have to pay for our water (let alone pay to heat it… :wink: )

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I have thick hair too and it is now short and has gone curly at the back, so it dries naturally.

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I dry mine naturally, but it takes all day… :wink:

Blimey Izzy, do you mean you spend all night in bed - grimey? :astonished:
I bet you use the washing machine a lot more often than I do as well then. :roll_eyes: :rofl:

@Stella

switching-off while I’m massaging my head makes good sense…

Not an option for me, our hot/cold is very finely balanced, to switch off and back on again would cause endless extra effort and possible injury. :astonished:
But then it only takes me one minute to massage and dries within all of …10 minutes. :joy:

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I must be the only SFer that generates enough sweat to keep fish alive under my armpits then.

I have 2 showers a day because in summer it cools me down and in winter it warms me up. But I don’t use a great deal of water, just enough to get wet, then tap off again while soaping scrubbing and shampooing, then on again to rinse.

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At school I was involved in so many sport/activities that daily showers after said activies were always essential. My parents refused to let me grow my hair long as it would have taken too long to dry…
As might be expected… the moment I left school … I decided for myself and I let it grow down past my shoulders… :rofl:

(currently we have an excellent mixer/thermostatically controlled shower. easy peasy to stop/start. Shortening the shower saves Oil as that is what heats said precious fluid… )

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I knew a couple in Brazil, she had long, silky black hair that came to her waist. She NEVER washed it. She oiled it and it always looked immaculate. And we were living in a heavily polluted city (Sao Paulo).

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I read an account of someone who didn’t “do” anything for 12 months… something like that… reckoned the hair would revert to natural “caveman” hair which needed no looking after.
I tried that… my hair became a birdnest quite quickly… so I suppose cavemen had less pollution than we do… (I couldn’t last the proposed 12 months… aaargh)
Once a week is sufficient for me now…