Making lockdown greener
We’ve all seen the news, a more pleasant side effect of limited movement has been giving planet Earth a chance to breathe and repair itself. Of course, this is not to make light of the global pandemic, but shows that when people are threatened with ill health, financial pressure and a paradigmatic shift in travel; we can adapt in a way that is beneficial to the environment. Right now we are witnessing a unique opportunity where our collective interests are aligned with protecting the environment even if we start at home.
Mount Everest, visible from Kathmandu Photo: Abhushan Gautam for Nepali Times
Here are three ways to love your world and make it a little bit greener...
Making Your Home More Energy Efficient
Since we have to spend so much time at home, now is the perfect time to look around the house and find where you can make changes that have a positive environmental effect. Here are a few simple ways that you can find and fix problems.
Locate and Seal Air Leaks
By just finding and filling drafty holes can have an energy saving of up to 20%
Check around doors and windows, as well as where pipes or wire come into the house.
Use caulk or weatherstripping to fill the gaps where heat (and energy) will be escaping.
Check Your Lightbulbs
Lighting can be up to 10% of your total energy use so check all of your bulbs to see if you can replace them with a more efficient alternative.
Consider using timers, apps and controllers to automatically turn off lights if you’re not using them.
Look into what lumens/bulbs you might need and when buying new bulbs think about reducing the energy consumption.
Unplug the appliances that you’re not using.
Although your gadgets will only be drawing a small amount of power over time it all adds up.
Get into the habit if unplugging (or fully turning off) appliances when you’re done.
When it’s time to buy new appliances; look into finding more efficient models.
Take advantage of the good weather.
If you can, try air drying laundry.
Who needs a tumble dryer anyway.
Chances are, if you live in a new build you might not have much to change but be critical of habits and behaviours that waste energy. There are more ways to eco-proof your home here.
Get Outside and Love Nature
Here in London we’ve witnessed a decrease in air pollution since lockdown began with other cities following a similar trend nationally and globally (source: Breathe London). This has largely been attributed to the 60% reduction in traffic as residents stay home, cycle and walk for essential goods and work from home (source: Air Quality News). In turn, with the government guidelines to limit time spent outside the house, Londoners have found a greater connection with the green space available to them. Here are some of our favourite local areas that you can connect to nature.
Tottenham Marshes - Beautiful meadows, woodlands and the River Lea make this the perfect place to get into nature within a 20 min walk from Yonder. However; if you are by the canal; please be respectful of our friends living on boats.
Lloyd Park - Fancy something a bit closer to home? Lloyd park (and the grounds of the William Morris Gallery) is a one-stop-shop for dog walkers, fitness enthusiasts and Ice-cream lovers. The park gets busy on the weekends but if you’re lucky enough to make it over on a weekday you can have plenty of space.
Epping Forest - 4000 acres of old growth woodlands within cycling distance of Yonder is a hard thing not to like.
If you are going outside, stick to the guidelines and be conscious of others that are getting their nature fix.