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Environment and Science Correspondent GeorgeLeeRTE gives a practical guide of things people can do themselves to lower their carbon emissions and tackle climate change

Globally 1.3 billion tonnes of edible food is wasted every year. That is equivalent to the food produced by 28% of all agricultural land. It takes all sorts of resources - fertiliser, water, machinery, services, processing, transport, storage, packaging, electricity and more to produce that food. It is $550 billion per year down the drain and accounts for one eighth of global greenhouse gas emissions. If food waste can be cut in half it would save 70bn tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

And as ESB continues to modernise, and we move steadily towards the national goal of having 70% of our electricity generated from renewable sources, the carbon footprint of driving electric will continue to fall. Remember too that everyone who has ever taken a spin an electric car says they are brilliant to drive. The batteries are getting better and better with some cars now capable of driving more than 300km before needing to be recharged.

They use just a fraction of the electricity to deliver the same amount of light - in fact they use 90% less electricity which means a massive reduction in the carbon footprint of a light bulb. They don’t take ages after you switch them on to reach their full brightness level which was one of the drawbacks of the compact fluorescent bulbs that were all the rage about a decade ago. LED lighting is simply an amazing gift from modern science to you and to the environment.

It is all about increasing livability and sustainability and reducing congestion within our urban areas while reducing our carbon footprint at the same time. Driving a car, or hailing a taxi, may be convenient in the short-term but both are expensive ways of getting around. And in the long run the damage inflicted on the environment by the greenhouse gas emissions of a single car journey will last a thousand years.

The amazing thing is that no fuel is required to generate this heat because the heat already exists in the outside air around us. It simply compressed and then channeled to where we want it. What is required is a relatively small amount of electricity to operate the four "fridge-in-reverse" components.

 

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