As many of you will be aware from my previous blogs, I am not the stereotypical environmentalist; I drive a diesel car, eat meat and still fly on occasion for my holidays. However, I know that my lifestyle needs to change, along with other people’s, if we have any hope of lowering our carbon footprint.
Today is the first ever Peterborough Climate Action Day (March 4th 2020). Organised by Peterborough City Council, residents and businesses are being encouraged to make an environmental pledge for the day, which will hopefully provide the inspiration and motivation to continue the challenge in the longer term.
So today the PECT team pledged to commute to the offices via sustainable transport. Joining in, I jumped on my bike and cycled into the office, leaving my car at home. Truthfully, I am not built for cycling and whilst the weather was kind to me, I think I must have found the only route in Peterborough with hills!
However, despite being overtaken by what can only be described as professional joggers, it was fantastic to get out into the morning air, do some exercise and see some of the stunning green areas of the city.
My cycle ride took me to the Embankment, past Railworld, along the River Nene, next to Woodston Pond nature reserve and Nene Valley Railway, before finally heading into Nene Park. It was a very pleasant cycle ride with plenty of smiles and hellos from those I passed (and from those who passed me!)
Today also marks one of my regular meat-free days, which I do as part of PECT’s Cool Food project. In the summer I committed to reducing the amount of meat I eat, and to date – using the online system to monitor my progress – I have saved over 900kg of CO2. Not a bad effort in helping to take a bite out of climate change!
So, as part of #PboroMarchForth I am advocating that we all can do our bit. Let’s not blame others, or wait for them to make changes first, we can all make a difference and if we do so in large numbers then it will make a significant dent towards reaching our climate targets.
Why not do something positive, have a plastic-free day, buy local, cook a vegetarian meal, walk to the shops or even switch your energy to renewable? Want to find out your carbon footprint? Visit Carbon Footprint Calculator.