MUCH is being said about what is needed to save the world.

David Attenborough made it clear in his Blue Planet series a few years ago that the best thing to do was to limit the size of the world’s population.

A recent study (see link below) found that after having smaller families, living car-free made the next biggest difference, followed by avoiding travelling by air, then by eating a plant-based diet.

This list shows the amount of tonnes of CO2 per year one person can save by making these changes.

Upgrade lights to LEDs 0.10

Recycle 0.21

Hang clothes out to dry, not use tumble dryer 0.21

Wash clothes in cold water 0.25

Replace typical car with hybrid 0.52

Eat a plant-based diet 0.82

Switch from electric car to car-free 1.15

Switch to green energy supplier 1.47

Avoid one trans-Atlantic flight 1.60

Live car-free 2.4 (this means moving from petrol or diesel car to being car-free):

Have one fewer child 58.6

I found it helpful to have a list of the impact actions could have.

Follow this link to read the whole article iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541.

So I find myself looking at being car-free.

The car often sits unused on the drive as I try to walk or use the bus for most of my journeys.

So I think where possible car-sharing is the answer for the rest of my journeys.

I found this scheme - liftshare.com.

It has communities around Oxfordshire’s employers offering lifts to work, eg. people travelling to Milton Park, or to Oxford Science Park or the Wallingford/Crowmarsh Commuting Group.

But you can also register without selecting any of the employers and it takes you to the public liftshare part of the site. The site is easy to navigate and comprehensive.

Some years ago, I decided to try and eat less meat as I had read some alarming statistics about how much methane cattle and sheep emitted.

To begin with, I just tried having one meat-free meal a week.

It was fun trying out some of the delicious veggie recipes and I now have some favourites.

I have extended this over time and now only eat meat a couple of times a week.

I have to say, the savings to my food bill are noticeable.

Let us know what changes you have made at sw@sustainablewallingford.org