Tag: Restraint

Counting on 2026 …. Day 77

10th July 

This may not be so readily quantifiable, but there is, I believe, ‘joy in enough’. The consumerist model that urges us to buy more, to buy bigger, and to buy more frequently does not per se makes us happy. Indeed it may cause us stress as it :

  • constantly challenges to keep up with the market ideals; 
  • fills our homes with things we must store, guard, insure etc. 
  • consumes time and many 
  • diminishes our confidence as independent beings.

Without these stresses, we can be happier, we can have more free time to spend with family and friends or out in nature, we can find pleasure in making things for ourselves, and very simply we can more readily enjoy what we already have.

‘Joy in Enough’ is the name of one of Green Christian’s projects. You can find out more here – https://youtu.be/dXX9b-8j0fE?si=8e29R7zjaH6QcUk-

Or – https://greenchristian.org.uk/introduction/action/joy-in-enough/

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/corporate-equity-fines?utm_source=ECRA+Weekly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6c5404e75b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_05_08-equity-fines-subs&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-52b9476e4c-320424697

Green Tau: issue 127

9th July 2026

Joining the Dots

As a child you may have done dot-to-dot puzzles. Joining together the dots in the page – in the order in which they are numbered – would reveal a picture that wasn’t obvious before.

In a world which is increasingly complicated there are just so many dots that it seems as if we can’t see the bigger picture. Joining the dots is not always straight forward as, unlike the dot-to-dot puzzles, they are not numbered. Sometimes a bit of thought and bit of reading, is sufficient to see which dots join together.

Climate Change

For example, looking at a chart showing temperature increases over the last two centuries and comparing it with a chart showing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it is easy to join the dots and see the connection: as carbon emissions have increased so have temperatures. A little more probing and we can see the dots that tell us that it is human activity that has caused the increase in carbon emissions, principally through the burning of fossil fuels.

It may take a little more reflection and research to see that the increase in the burning of fossil fuels is linked with each of the following –

  • an increased number of diesel and petrol vehicles on the roads,
  • an increased number of air flights
  • an increased number of coal and gas power stations – and that linked to n increased demand for electricity 
  • an increased demand for plastics and other products based on fossil fuels.

Our human lifestyle is linked via fossil fuels to climate change.

Water Shortages

Water shortages become more acute during periods and dry weather. And yes, those weather conditions and more especially changes in climate, do contribute to water shortages. But with a bit of reflection, we may find other factors at play.

  • As more people move into drier regions (eg into the south east of England) local resources will struggle to meet demand.
  • Whilst showers use less water than baths, more frequent showers and the the use of power showers, will increase demand for water. Ditto power hoses. Ditto washing machines too use substantial amounts of water – may be as much as half our daily average consumption. 
  • Agriculture is a substantial consumer of water especially rearing livestock – including the water needed to grow animal feed. 
  • Clothing manufacture including the growing of cotton in particular the dying of fabrics, is water intensive. The more clothes we buy, the greater the stress we place on water reserves.
  • Data centre use large amounts of water to cool the equipment. We don’t always think to join the dots between our use of data – streaming, online games, storing data (much of it superfluous to use), use of Siri and other AI ‘helpers’, emailing etc – and the need for data centres and the knock on effect on water (and energy) supplies.

Our lifestyle choices can seriously impact other parts of our lives.

Animal welfare

In Britain we often pride ourselves on our love for animals. We also love our traditional meals – bacon and eggs, roast beef, chicken tikka masala etc – but don’t always join the dots.

  • The hen that lays our eggs will have outlived its brother who will have been killed day one. Her own life will be about 72 weeks after which it’s laying efficiency will assign it slaughter. Had she not been a commercial hen, her life span could be 7 to 8 years.
  • The hen that becomes ‘chicken’ will have had a life of about 6 weeks before its genetically design physique and feed, will have ensured a suitable slaughter weight.
  • Similarly constricted life spans apply to dairy and beef cattle, to pigs and sheep.

Deforestation 

Deforestation is widespread across the globe and its impact on temperatures, on biodiversity, on indigenous lifestyles, on rainfall patterns and  flooding, and on carbon levels, is devastating. Across the globe we bewail the loss of these trees and implement legislation that should halt the destruction. But we don’t always join the dots.

Deforestation is driven by increasing demand for:

  • Meat – large tracts of forest are cleared to make way for cattle farms and for vast fields growing animal fodder. The majority of the feed fed to livestock in the UK is imported.
  • Biofuels – large tracts of forest are cleared to make way for bio fuel crops such as sugar cane and palm oil.  Equally disconcerting is the clearance of forests to provide wood pellets for biomass heating and power stations.
  • Mining minerals such as copper, cadmium, lithium etc which on the one hand are essential for manufacturing batteries but on the other hand often involve the destruction of forests and the pollution of the land further da aging water supplies and biodiversity.

Our lives and what we consumer can be very complicated. Sometimes we have to make choices to restrain what we consume in order that we can ensure a sustainable future for everyone. 

Counting on 2026 …. Day 76

9th July 

Scientists and health experts are equally agreed that active travel benefits not only benefits the environment but also our own health.

“People who do regular physical activity have a lower risk of:

Research also shows that physical activity can boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, as well as reducing your risk of stress.” (1) 

Driving less and using active travel – walking, cycling, public transport – is good for us as well as helping to reduce climate damaging emissions. And the benefits don’t stop there!

https://communityhealthpartnerships.co.uk/sustainability-update-for-tenants-active-travel-and-cycling-feb-2024/
  1. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/exercise-health-benefits/

Counting on 2026 …. Day 75

8th July 

Allwood in his book Promise the Earth (1) advises that we not only reduce our consumption of meat and dairy but also of rice in order to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. (2) Traditional rice growing in flooded paddies produces both methane and nitrous oxide – both powerful greenhouse gases which have a particular high impact on temperatures rises in the short term. Emissions from rice growing have doubled in the last 60 years. (3) Work is ongoing to develop rice growing techniques that reduce emissions and ensure more sustainable water usage. 

Shaping our diet to be both healthy and environmentally friendly does prompt us to think – and investigate – about where our food comes from and its impact on the environment and its contribution to the wellbeing of those who produce it.

For example choosing to eat what is in season and what is grown locally, enables us to reduce resources used and emissions produced in the transport of our food. Buying locally supports our local economy and can help us build up a relationship with those who produce our food. Buying ultra locally could mean we actually see how the produce is grown or how the livestock is reared.

Equally we can choose to buy fairly traded products such as tea, coffee and chocolate so that we can be confident that those who have grown these foods have been well paid within a  safe working environment. You can use Ethical Consumer (4) to research which makes and brands are best. 

For more thoughts – https://greentau.org/tag/fairtrade/

  1. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/promise-the-earth/31E27442471A864A6582BA751ECD239F
  2. https://www.cambridgebookshop.co.uk/products/promise-the-earth
  3. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-global-rice-paddy-greenhouse-gas.html

(4) https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/shopping-guide/tea

Counting on 2026 …. Day 73

6th July

Following on from the last post if as a nation we can’t afford – or maybe even more pragmatically don’t have enough time – to electrify our freight network, then we as individuals must curb our consumption of products that require freight transport. 

This might be not replacing household goods as frequently – making TVs, kitchen appliances, mobile phones etc last longer. 

This might be not adding buying as many extra pieces of clothing or pairs of shoes – we can wear what we have for longer, repair or adjust them as necessary, or swop with others.

This might be not buying as many consumables – whether that is books, electric fans, toys and knick  knacks, etc – but rather buying what we need and what we know will have a long life.

This might be choosing to buy local made products, locally grown foods.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 72

3rd July

Nothing in life is ever simple! Allwood highlights this when talking about how we trade off decisions. But this is not local carrots versus organic imports, but more about what we do when the alternative is unaffordable. He gives two examples – one at a national and one at an individual level.

“For example, nationally, if we can’t afford to invest in new infrastructure for electric freight, we must learn to live with less freight.” 

“In households, if we cannot afford an electric car, then we need to start voicing our concern now, to suppliers and to local politicians, to ask for help on our journey to phasing our use of petrol cars, by supporting cost reductions or better provision of public transport.” (Both p. 134) 

Why? Because the environment, the climate cannot accommodate us producing yet more emissions. If we don’t stop, the cost will be temperature increases approaching 4C and the consequences of extreme heat + droughts + severe cold + poor harvests and food shortages + disruption to transport + more climate induced medical emergencies + failing public services etc. 

The trade off tells us that the cost of not cutting emissions will always be more than we can afford, and that restraint will always be the better option.

Might there be merit in deferring action in the hope that things might improve, or that new technologies may come long? Allwood tackles this response through out the book: and no, the science tells us things will not improve if we wait, and no, there is no new technology that is going to be available at scale and in time to address the crisis. 2050 is only 23 years away and in the time scale of technological developments that is minuscule.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 71

2nd July

Thirdly Allwood highlights the importance of ‘gathering good information’ to aid our decision making. (P133). Here the problem can be how to avoid green washing!  And I think equally not being sucked in by advertising generally. Advertising is designed to make us buy more, not because it is good for us, but because it boosts profits.

I find the Ethical Consumer a good source of information – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/

You might find Mike Berners Lee’s book ‘How Bad are Bananas: the carbon footprint of everything’ a useful read.  https://howbadarebananas.com/

Allwood himself includes a resource section in the appendix. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/promise-the-earth/31E27442471A864A6582BA751ECD239F

Counting on 2026 …. Day 70

1st July

Allwood next focus is on domestic equipment/ infrastructure. What we have does affect our emissions. A small efficient freezer/ television/ car will produce fewer emissions than a larger one. When we need to replace such items, we can choose one with lower emissions. But equally we should bear in mind  that buying new also has an emissions output, and that making things – phones/ TVs/ clothes etc – last longer can be a good saving off emissions and resources.

The same approach can be used in the workplace.

When it comes to local and national infrastructure, we may wish to lobby local councillors or MPs to ensure that they too are making decisions that a) reduce emissions and b) that make sure such infrastructure is readily available for everyone and not just those who can afford it. eg the cost of travelling by public transport should not be more than the cost of going by car.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 69

30th June

Allwood proposes as a starting point we find a way of measuring our progress – otherwise how ill we know if we are reducing our consumption by 25% or 50% or 75%? – and suggests keeping a record of, say, how many litres of petrol, kg of beef, or cubic meters of gas, we consume. Then the task of restraint. “Perhaps we can take a train to avoid buying a tank of petrol, upgrade our windows or turn the thermostat down … take local [European] holidays to reduce our use of aeroplanes.”

Allwood also reminds us to look out for unconscious habits. “If the works canteen [local cafe/ pub] always has a red-meat dish, we might eat it without noticing. But if it is on offer only once a week, we would learn to value it differently and perhaps we would eat red meat only if we have looked forward to it ….” (Both page 131)

Such restraint should be seen from the perspective that they are actions that show care for our planet and for our neighbours.

Counting on 2026 …. Day 68

29th June

The key message of Allwood and Davison’s book (1) is the need for us all as consumers to show restraint. If we are to live in a world where temperatures increases stay below 2C we absolutely have to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. To do this we have to consume less  of everything that produces these emissions and less of most things that use electricity as we will not be able to install sufficient capacity in electrical generation and distribution if we are to power everything currently powered by fossil fuels. 

Allwood presents us with a timeframe of action. We need to reduce our emissions by a quarter by 2028, by a half by 2035, by three quarters by 2042, and by 2050 there will need to be in place legislation that prohibits creating greenhouse gas emissions. (P129). To achieve those targets, we (ie as individuals, households and as nations) will need to begin planning now. 

It is a challenging message that needs us to radically alter our daily lifestyles. However Allwood is as clear that consuming less doesn’t mean being unhappy or having to live substandard lives. 

Over the next few days I will consider 5 key areas of change highlighted in the book.

  1. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/promise-the-earth/31E27442471A864A6582BA751ECD239F