Q1
Cooking a single bowl of porridge on a gas hob produces a smaller carbon footprint than cooking it in a microwave.
Gas hobs are one of the cleanest ways of cooking, thanks to the very low emissions of natural gas combustion.
The reason behind this is that the production of gas in the UK is less carbon intensive than many other countries.
Q2
If an appliance is off it’s not using any power.
Up to 10 percent of your electricity bill goes to run appliances that you've already turned off.
Everything from PCs to televisions use “standby power” so they can turn on quickly when you flick the switch.
To avoid this, turn them off at the wall.
Q3
The carbon footprint created by heating your home is about the same size as the one that comes from lighting it.
Heating your home creates a carbon footprint that’s 10 x the size of the one that comes from lighting it.
Q4
For the average person in the UK, the amount we drive creates a larger carbon footprint than the amount we fly.
UK individuals create more than three times the emissions by owning and driving their cars than by taking flights.
Q5
The carbon footprint of your home cooked meal comes mainly from the ingredients, not the cooking process.
For example, the food we buy in the supermarket accounts for over 20% of most people’s carbon footprints,
almost ten times more than from cooking it at home.
Q6
Eating a diet of fresh foods rich in vegetables and fruit can help reduce your carbon footprint.
Processed foods often have a higher carbon footprint than other items on your weekly shopping list.
So by eating a balanced and healthy diet you can also reduce your footprint, particularly if buying seasonal produce.
Q7
Switching fluorescent strip lights off and back on uses more energy than leaving them on continuously.
If you are leaving the room for more than 90 seconds it is better to switch the lights off
and then back on again, even though in the start up phase they use more energy than when they are running.
Q8:
It’s best to eat foods that are grown as locally as possible.
While home grown food that is in season is usually better, that’s not always the case - particularly if locally produced foods have used lots of fertiliser or are grown in heated greenhouses out of season, compared to food grown directly under a hot sun.
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