About Green and Generous

Welcome to the Green and Generous blog.

This purpose of this blog is to show you that it can be easy to set out to make your life a bit greener and that looking after the planet can save you money, be better for you and make life more interesting.

I also want to explain how the way we live effects other people and the world around us, and what changes it might be useful to make in the way we do things.

If you read this blog at your own pace from the beginning it should provide you with a gradual step by step approach to living a greener, more sustainable lifestyle without becoming a scrooge or a recluse, or even needing to weave your own clothes with nettles you've grown in the garden yourself – unless you really want to.

The idea of this blog is to show you that you don't have to wear a hair shirt or a long face to do your bit to save the planet. In fact it could even be fun at times. Sometimes it can be a bit complicated working out the best thing to do, but we want to look at the issues and help you work out what is best for you.

I fully appreciate that caring for the Earth doesn't mean the same thing for everyone and it certainly doesn't mean we should stop caring for ourselves and other people. Being green and generous is about balancing the needs of our environment with the needs of the people who inhabit that environment, not least ourselves.

Colin Bevan decided to try to live for a year without making any impact on the planet, and in particular he tried to reduce his carbon footprint to zero. He decided ruling out air travel was not such a good idea because it meant he couldn't join his family on visits to the in-laws, but going without television meant lots of fun evenings playing games with his family and even some of the neighbours. You can read more about his experiment in his book 'No Impact Man', which is available from some local libraries. There is now a film, which shows things a bit more from his wife's perspective than the book does.

"The Earth provides enough . . " ,  Ghandi

Colin also has a website, which it is probably best to read from the beginning.

If you are reading this blog, perhaps you have also made a few experiments with low impact living or perhaps you read about the pros and cons of different 'green' products. If so, I welcome your input in the comments section.

I look forward to walking along the path to a sustainable future with you.