Patricia Napier

February 14

When I took up the Carbon Challenge I had not realised how difficult it would be. The change to Energy Saver '12 years longlife' lightbulbs has been easy enough and I do rather like the soft light they throw out, however the rest is harder living as I do in a rented maisonette on the top floor of a house in north London. To get the landlord's buy-in to eco lighting in the hallway/staircase was one thing, wind turbines and solar panels are proving more difficult.

I had been finding it awkward to re-cycle everything simply because I do not have the luxury of a garden or outdoor space to store re-cycling boxes. I have now cleared out my broom cupboard and stacked boxes which can take bottles, papers etc etc, however on the night before collection it is quite a challenge to get it all down three steep flights of stairs. Still, using my energy to help save the planet might actually see me improving in fitness at the same time which can't be bad.

As to the electrics and switching off at the wall every night or when not in use, I've always known that this is a good idea but like most people had not bothered to do it. However this message was re-enforced last week when I attended a fire warden's meeting at work - yes I do volunteer for everything! A fireman gave us a presentation which included the information that there were greatly increased numbers of home fires at Christmas because of the number of fairylights people plugged in to already overloaded extention blocks. He said that most people fail to limit the number of plugs in blocks which should not excede 13 amps. At this everyone looked alarmed since naturally enough none of us knew that this was the limit. Having checked, it does say on the base of the blocks in my flat that 13 amps is the maximum that should be plugged in, however I had not noticed and it seems most people at our fire warden's meeting hadn't either. I asked the fireman why in that case were extention blocks made with 8 or more sockets, he said 'because people buy them'. This presumably means that a major fire risk is in most people's homes most of the time. If we were to publicise this fact in a public information broadcast, then maybe we would get people to switch off at the wall both for their personal safety and to reduce emissions at the same time.... maybe.

February 15

When I was trying to calculate my footprint last year I was not given the option to choose a category of motorbike so I couldnt get an accurate reading. Then my bike was stolen by some hideous joy-rider who left it in a sorry state and no longer fit for anything like a purpose. This cast me back into the bowels of the underground until I could sort it out which meant that my footprint in terms of travel was now calculable.  It came out as 10.963 which seems enormous. When I looked at the breakdown the highest culprit was the gas bill, possibly because the windows of my flat are not double glazed and during the cold weather the heating has been running full out. I have mentioned this to my landlord in the hope that he will do the decent thing and at least install working thermostats. Watch this space to see a response.  The next highest category was a 'recreation and services' category which must have been estimated I guess. Since I spend any free time comatose most of the time I do not see how I can emit 1,546 worth of carbon, however I do not know what any of the categories are based on and perhaps this could be clarified.  Anyway, back to the bike and I have found a brilliant solution which is an electric scooter. I have found a really sexy looking bike which is clean and quiet and pays no CCharge or parking fees or tax.. My only problem is that living on the top floor on a really busy road it is not going to be easy running a cable down to charge the battery. Although this is not a frequent requirement and there are charging facilities in town, so I need to further investigate if this ultimate green solution is viable.

If I was to go for the option of an electric bicycle however, the battery would be removable and so the re-charging would not be an issue. However this would make me a cyclist and that is something I simply would not entertain. Whilst there are exceptions of course, not least our noble leader and of course Boris, the majority of cyclists are pushy, red-light jumping, pavement riding, law-breakers and I would frankly rather walk to work than be one of them - even for the good of the Challenge.