Hi Everyone,
So here's my eco footprint (albeit one informed by UK answers but represented via Switzerland!!)
Domestically we're pretty lucky as we live in an area (Cambridgeshire) that is a) progressive in terms of its environmental policy and b) is surrounded by loads of farms. Every week either plastic/cardboard/glass or food/garden waste rcycling is collected. The only problem with it comes via my Inspector Clouseau-style attempts every Friday morning to get the actual bins in the right place of the road. The close proximity of agricultural land means we can buy fresh stuff pretty easily and cheaply as well (when the markers run).
We know we use too much energy. Part of the reason for this is that my mum lives with us and she's reached that age now where the heating has to be on full blast all year round. Even with a fancy boiler and heating methods it still costs a lot. As I mentioned on another post we try and buy organic when we can but it's so expensive; we've essentially stopped buying fish for that purpose.
I commute by train every day (3-4 hours each day) which we can't get away from. We moved out of London due to cost and demand but still work there so it's a necessity. It's kind of related but the cost of rail travel is absolutely criminal.
We'd love to make our home more energy efficient but we're in the catch-22 position at the moment of not being able to afford. We do our best to get buy with one car though, and with two young kids it means a lot of walking, which is good.
By virtue of my academic background I'm actually an Americanist (insert boos and hisses here), with a particular emphasis on the literature of the South. I've been increasingly interested in representation of land ethics and, in the country that perhaps gave birth to the whole culture of 'moreism,' some really good ecological writing is done by Americans. Historically you've got figures like Aldo Leopold and Wallace Stegner through to Edward Abbey, Carolyn Merchant, Wendell Berry etc. I'll try and share some of their stuff.
Hope this wasn't too rambling
