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Time to grab the clipboard and run the environmental ruler over your home. Identify the big bang actions that will quickly reduce your homes impact on the environment.
The journey to reduce your home's energy and water use is one of many small steps. Tips and actions from changing leaking taps to installing ceiling insulation can be easily done by anyone. More sophisticated actions like installing solar hot water will require a tradesperson. However, the key is to keep pushing through them all. This way you can massively reduce your contribution to climate change and water scarcity.
Take a wander through your home and identify what needs to change in your daily habits or installed in order to improve the energy and water efficiency of your home. And once you have the list, start doing it!
| Action | Tip | Impact | Ease | Done it or doing it? |
| Cultivate energy-saving habits | Switch off all lights when you don't need them | Medium | Child's Play | |
| Switch off all electrical appliances (at the wall) when not in use | Medium | Child's Play | ||
| Turn down your thermostat and put on a jumper | Medium | Child's Play | ||
| Use pot lids when cooking | Modest | Child's Play | ||
| Cold drink of water | Modest | Child's Play | ||
| Drying your clothes | Medium | Child's Play | ||
| Avoid disposable batteries | Modest | Child's Play | ||
| Cultivate water saving habits | Brushing your teeth | Modest | Child's Play | |
| Washing your body | Medium | Child's Play | ||
| Shaving | Modest | Child's Play | ||
| Clearing dishes after the meal | Modest | Child's Play | ||
| Packing the dishwasher | Modest | Child's Play | ||
| Washing clothes | Modest | Child's Play | ||
| Waiting for the warm water to arrive | Modest | Child's Play | ||
| Fix dripping taps and toilets quickly | Modest | Child's Play | ||
| Use water efficiently | Install a water efficient shower head | Medium | One off job | |
| Install low-flow faucets | Modest | One off job | ||
| Dual flush toilets | Medium | One off job | ||
| Use the water twice | Medium | One off job | ||
| Invest in a front loading clothes washing machine with AAA water rating. | Medium | One off job | ||
| Embrace energy efficiency | Install insulation in ceiling, floor and walls | Medium | One off job | |
| Install compact fluorescent globes | Medium | One off job | ||
| Shift to double-pane windows | Medium | One off job | ||
| Block the summer heat | Medium | One off job | ||
| Circulate air | Medium | One off job | ||
| Rug up in winter | Medium | One off job | ||
| Let nature work for you | Medium | One off job | ||
| Insulate, shade & weatherproof your house | Plant trees to shade the house in Summer | Medium | One off job | |
| Weatherproofing your house from draughts and air leaks | Medium | One off job | ||
| Plant trees to shade the house in Summer | Medium | One off job | ||
| Buy renewable electricity | Buy Renewable Electricity | Massive | One off job | |
| Install solar hot water | Install Solar Hot Water | Massive | One off job | |
| Generate your own electricity | Install photovoltaic panels on your roof | Massive | One off job | |
| Harvest and use your rainwater | Harvest and Use your Rainwater | Medium | One off job | |
| Install efficient appliances and fixtures | Replace your old fridge with an energy efficient (5 star) fridge. | Medium | One off job | |
| Replace your old washing Machine with an energy and water efficient (5 star) washing machine. | Medium | One off job | ||
| Replace your old dishwasher with an energy and water efficient (5 star) dishwasher. | Medium | One off job | ||
Impact on the environment = Massive | Medium | Modest
How easy is it to do this action = One off job | Child's play
The profound changes we need to make to our lifestyles in order to live sustainably will only come about if we address all the areas in our lives where we use energy, water and other resources. Taking a thorough and informed approach will ensure we don’t miss the elephants in the corner while chasing the mice around the floor…
By reducing our energy use we directly reduce our contribution to climate change and start to shift our thinking towards "how we can support nature" rather than blithely assuming the environment will provide all.
Climate change resulting from greenhouse gas emissions is projected to adversely affect the health of millions of people throughout the world with increases in malnutrition, increased deaths, disease and injury from heatwaves, floods, storms, fires and droughts, increases in diarrhoeal disease, increased frequency of cardio-respiratory disease due to worsening air quality and altered distribution of some disease vectors.
Upper Hunter Shire is located in the Hunter Region of NSW, approximately 250km north of Sydney. The Shire is predominantly rural and encompasses 8,100km2.
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