Ever wondered what the impact is of the way we live? From the energy and water we use to waste we throw away, there are so many ways to live smarter and reduce the impact of our lifestyles.

• What you can do
• What we are doing

	Energy Coal and oil, or renewables and using a bit less?

Most of the energy that we all use to heat and light our homes is produced by burning fossil fuels including coal, oil and gas. This process produces greenhouse gases - including carbon dioxide (CO₂). Carbon dioxide is one of the main contributors to climate change. It changes weather patterns which can lead to severe flooding and drought and damages ecosystems.

• In the UK CO₂ emissions are approximately 554 million tonnes a year. 27 per cent of these emissions come from the energy we use to heat, light and power our homes.
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	Water Do we really need 150 litres a day?

Did you know that the average person uses between 150 and 180 litres of water a day? Much of this water is wasted and goes straight down the plughole rather than being directly used. Climate change is likely to results in drier summers, damaging plants and wildlife.

• Saving water also saves carbon which contributes to climate change. Domestic hot water use accounts for over 5 per cent of the UK’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions.
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	Waste Another bag for the landfill?

It takes energy to move rubbish from outside your home to the landfill site as well as resources and energy to make the items that are so quickly thrown away. Many of these resources are in increasingly short supply as is space for landfill. Reducing waste would reduce carbon emission and help tackle climate change.

• In less than two hours the UK produces enough waste to fill the Albert Hall. This problem is getting worse as the amount of waste we are producing increases- estimated to rise from 26 million tonnes of domestic waste produced a year to 40 million by 2020.
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	Food Food miles or food metres?

Before you take your first mouthful of food, have you thought where it may have come from and how it appeared on your plate? That tasty lamb chop lying languidly in mint sauce for instance. Is it from Wales, or has it come all the way from New Zealand? What about those sweet sumptuous strawberries for dessert? Ever thought how this summer fruit manages to survive in our supermarkets all year round? Or why they are so perfectly formed?

Large amounts of fruit are rejected and discarded because they are not the right colour or shape or because they have minor blemishes. This is forcing farmers to increase the amount of pesticides they use to grow fruit and vegetables. Production of pesticides is energy intensive and can have a have a damaging effect on wildlife.

A lot of energy is also used in getting food to our plates. This includes energy needed to light greenhouses as well as energy used to transport it.

• Food is a major source of waste. Every year in the UK we are discarding 6.7 million tonnes of food and half of it is entirely edible. Take apples for instance: according to a recent survey by WRAP we manage to waste 12 double decker buses full of apples each day.
• What you can do
• What we are doing