Green daily
Small gestures in society
Our modern society combines comfort and consumption. However, it is possible to remain conscious and reasonable, without giving up on having fun: living eco-responsible does not mean living as a recluse like a hermit, far from it!
At the time of "always more"
Currently, we live in a society which encourages us to "always more": always more consuming, always faster, always newer, always more fashionable, always more beautiful, etc ... This movement generated by our Western society, linked in particular to the influence of advertising and the media, is not without effect on our planet. This encourages the throwing of objects or clothing that could still be used, or repaired, recycled or donated, thus accelerating the accumulation of much waste.
Nowadays , we consume 3 times more than in 1960: we therefore have much more impact on the environment!
This surge in consumption also generates an increase in the production of these same objects in order to meet demand by making them more attractive and more efficient, thus creating an increase in greenhouse gases linked to their production.
Example: the impact of smartphones
88% of French people change their smartphone while it is still working.
Environmental: above all because of the extraction of minerals which destroys ecosystems and generates pollution in water, air and soil.
Ethics: working conditions are generally deplorable and violate human rights.
Social: "the extraction of" blood minerals "[...] leads to fueling armed conflicts at the expense of local populations".
Being aware of the impacts of each of our purchases, whether in terms of clothing, food, multimedia or other, could already help us to minimize our consumption and especially to make it more responsible.
How to consume better
There are several possibilities when you want to get something. You can first buy it new, from your own country or from a more or less distant country. It should be noted that in 2007, imported products represented nearly half of the carbon footprint of consumption in France.
Half of households' carbon footprint is due to emissions from imports , which increased by 85% between 1995 and 2012.
In addition to buying local to limit your carbon footprint, you can also favor the purchase of second-hand products. There are various ways to do this: from private individual to private individual, via a company that has repackaged the product, in recycling, resourcing or second-hand stores, or even on markets or garage sales.
This type of consumption is called the circular economy . It consists of limiting consumption, wasting resources and producing waste, producing goods and services in a more sustainable way. On an individual basis, we can, for example, give a second life to what we no longer use, by reselling it or giving it away for a second direct use, or by allowing repair, recycling, or sorting. We can therefore understand that a more circular economy would considerably reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, and therefore preserve our environment.
According to the Circularity Gap Report :
62% of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to extraction , processing and production , compared to 38% related to delivery and use
For a broader vision of the positive impacts of the circular economy at national and European level, I invite you to consult the OCCE website .
Some examples of initiatives
Find an AMAP near you!
A zero-waste drive for the people of Montpellier there , but there are others in France!
Collect materials to be discarded to craft items? This is the credo of La Débrouille !
Food: more and more local products from organic or sustainable agriculture are offered through groups of producers (AMAP, delivery of baskets, markets, producers' stores, etc.).
Zero-waste: bulk is developing considerably, with the appearance of zero-waste drives in particular to promote access to this type of consumption.
Waste management: more and more cities are making composters available to residents so that they can better manage their food waste.
Circular economy: more and more companies are committing to a more circular economy by manufacturing products made from recycled materials or even by offering to take back old products in order to repair them or reuse their components.
What about the electricity?
Besides the omnipresent overconsumption in our society, another important point to better manage our daily life is the use of electricity. Its democratization is not without effect on our planet. We can no longer count the number of times we turn on a screen, a light, or where we plug any device into a socket ... Each of these gestures, although ordinary, are however not trivial.
80 € / year / household
This is the cost that can reach the consumption of our devices on standby
And yes, even a simple device on standby consumes!
According to Ademe , a modern television set on standby for a year consumes around 8.76 kWh
According to Ademe , a charger plugged in unnecessarily 3h / d could consume up to 285 Wh / year
It is nothing, you will say, but imagine this expenditure of energy at the global level, by household, cinema, playroom, large store ... What then to think of the cumulative energy expenditure of each electrical device that we use daily? It is certainly enormous, and with it, the emission of greenhouse gases, the use of fossil fuels, the pollution of water and soil ...
Where does our electricity come from?
At the present time, it seems quite normal to us to have access to electricity, and it is only barely if we are trying to find out where it comes from and how it is produced .
The share of renewable electricity - ie "produced thanks to the movement of water, the wind, the sun, some of our waste ..." - is still quite low, unfortunately for the planet since it is sustainable electricity. "It does not mortgage the future of the planet [...] is not created from materials whose stock is limited in nature. It is therefore inexhaustible and low polluting in terms of production, even if a debate exists over the scarcity of materials used to manufacture solar panels. " ( Change of era casually , by Valère Corréard)
Some tips to limit your electricity costs
If, as an individual, one cannot act directly on electricity production (although joining suppliers like Enercoop is a first step), one can on the other hand act on one's own consumption, according to one's means and his motivation.
An "eco" program for washing your clothes or dishes is up to 45% savings
In France, if all households had A +++ household appliances , we would save the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 2 million French people
If we unplug all our devices on standby, we could reduce our consumption by 10%.
Switching from a halogen bulb to an LED saves up to € 1,200 over 15 years for 10 60W equivalent lamps.
Frost from a freezer considerably increases its consumption beyond 2-3mm; Likewise, cleaning the rear grille of dust and other dirt can help reduce consumption by 30%.
On a washing machine, a program at 30 ° and without prewash is often as effective as a program at a higher temperature and up to 2 to 3 times less energy consuming.
Using induction hobs saves 20 to 25% compared to other types of hobs.
To go further, here is a very complete brochure to better understand your electricity expenses and reduce them.
And water, are we talking about it?
We have been hearing about global warming, drought and the scarcity of sources that threaten us for several years now. According to the OCCE , "by 2050 [...] approximately 5 billion humans could be (at risk of) facing water scarcity for at least one month a year. more, according to the UN, by 2030, total world water demand is expected to exceed supply by 40%. " This looming water shortage problem does not seem to concern us directly, or at least not for the time being. However, we use water on a daily basis and are one of the main players that can play a role in its economy.
"In France, 15 to 20% of renewable fresh water is withdrawn annually for drinking water and economic activities : agriculture, industry, leisure, cooling of power stations."
In 2012, an adult consumed an average of 145 liters of water per day (this figure varies according to the inhabited region, the climate, etc.): for drinking, but also for cooking as well as for hygiene and maintenance.
Simple steps to reduce your water consumption
Acting on one's own consumption is therefore a first step towards the preservation of groundwater, soils, and therefore biodiversity. Here are a few simple steps to take to reduce your daily water consumption (for the planet, and also for the budget!), Without reducing your comfort.
Summary of good gestures in video right here !
365 liters of water per year
This is what you can save by brushing your teeth with a glass of water to rinse your mouth.
Ouch it's leaking!
- a drip = 4 L / h
- a thin stream of water = 16 L / h
- a leaky flush = 25 L / h
Installing water aerators, an economical hand shower or even a double flush allows you to halve your water consumption.
Taking a short shower is 4 times more economical than a bath ( 1 bath of 150L of water = 4 showers of 4 to 5 minutes ).
Remembering to turn off the taps when soaping up in the shower, when washing your hands or brushing your teeth, avoids the loss of tens of liters of water per day.
Use a thinner stream of water to wash your hands or rinse your dishes.
Opt for a dishwasher and / or a washing machine that consumes less, and fill them well before use.
Repair any water leaks.
Adjust your flush so as to spend less (tip: for the less experienced, you can reuse one or two 1.5L bottles by placing them filled in the bowl of your toilet, this will save between 1.5 and 3L to each flush).
What happens to the water used?
In addition to the impact of taking water for our consumption, we must be aware of the rejection of water that is not consumed. This wastewater is generally treated by wastewater treatment plants, but certain pollutants such as pesticides, drug residues or even heavy metals are still discharged into aquatic environments due to the lack of efficiency of the treatment systems.
80% of wastewater worldwide is not treated and then flows into waterways.
Added to this is the discharge of rainwater, untreated, which becomes loaded with polluting substances by runoff ("pesticides in green spaces and gardens, zinc on the roofs, hydrocarbons on the roads and sidewalks, etc."). It is therefore up to us to be vigilant by choosing cleaning products that are less dangerous for the environment and by banning pesticides from our gardens, like many municipalities which are joining “zero-phyto” by committing not to no longer use pesticides for the maintenance of public green spaces.
In 2018, only 40% of surface water in Europe reached the minimum ecological status set by the European Union.
Let's see beyond
To go further, it is important to keep in mind that outside our home, many sectors consume large quantities of water: infrastructures (schools, hospitals, etc.), the industrial sector ( manufacture of plastic, clothing, ...) and that of the food industry (food processing).
2700 liters of water
This is the amount it takes to produce a t-shirt
All this water expenditure and its discharge, when combined at the scale of a country or even of humanity, represent a considerable stake for the environment. This is where changing the way we consume more generally makes sense, since everything is linked. Choosing a second-hand object, for example, will avoid the emission of greenhouse gases associated with the production of a new object, the transport and extraction of its various components, reduce the share of electricity consumed and by the same will prevent that hundreds of liters of water are not spent for the manufacture of this same object and that this dirty water is not released into the environment without being sufficiently treated.