Ignore Kermit the Frog – being green IS easy with these 9 tips to help do your bit for climate change
BORIS Johnson told the U.N. today never mind Kermit, it IS easy being green.
Urging world leaders to take action against climate change before it’s too late, the Prime Minister recalled The Muppet Show’s froggy leader’s most famous song.
Boris told delegates in New York: “Weekly we are doing such irreversible damage… we will make this beautiful planet uninhabitable.
"When sang It’s Not Easy Being Green, I want you to know he was wrong.
"It is easy and lucrative and right. We have the technology, we can do it.”
A poll of Sun readers showed 73 per cent are worried about climate change but want more information about how to cut their carbon footprint - the total amount of planet-heating greenhouse gases that are released from our everyday activities.
So here’s our nine-step guide to going green that even a Muppet would understand.
1. Eat less pork or any other animal
Most of us love a sausage but the food we eat is responsible for almost a third of our carbon footprint.
Beef is the most energy-intensive food to produce because of the grain needed to feed cows.
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Cow burps also produce massive amounts of methane - a harmful greenhouse gas.
Lamb is the second biggest energy guzzler, followed by pork.
Try swapping veggie sausages in for real meat and see if your kids notice the difference. Miss Piggy certainly will.
2. Fozzie up your loft
With energy costs going sky high, it really does make sense to insulate your home.
Otherwise, expensive heat seeps out through your roof and you are paying to heat the sky.
Correctly installed loft insulation should pay for itself many times over in its 40-year lifetime.
If you have existing insulation, check it’s still thick enough and if not top it up. The recommended minimum depth is 30cm (12 inches).
3. Use a scooter - or a bus
Cars account for over half of global carbon emissions but over half of all car journeys in the UK could be made by bike in less than 20 minutes.
If an electric vehicle is still out of your price range try to limit the number of journeys you do by car.
It will save petrol money and get you fitter.
4. Keep your costume changes minimal
We all want to look as fabulous as Miss Piggy but consumers send 13 million items of clothing a week to landfills.
The textile industry accounts for up to 10 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions – more than international flights and shipping combined.
It’s Second Hand September, so instead of buying new check out the charity shops.
5. It’s time to light the lights
Switching all your lighting to LEDs will save you money and use less energy.
LEDs are 85 per cent more efficient than halogen down lights.
6. Silence the critics
Do you still have people in your friendship group, like Muppet critics Waldorf and Statler, saying there’s no point going green if other countries don’t do the same?
Tell them the benefits of doing this are huge.
Green jobs are being created in wind farm technology, electric vehicle production and green house building.
The more we shout about the benefits of going green the more governments will have to invest in such jobs.
Even China is to stop building new coal-fired plants so change is happening.
7. Be a careful cook
Unlike splash-happy Muppet, the Swedish Chef, only use as much water as you need.
Cover your pans so you save energy.
Overfilling your kettle is a waste of electricity so only boil as much as you need.
8. It’s time to raise the curtain
At the start of every Muppet Show episode the theatre curtain lifted.
Strangely this is a good heat saving tip.
Keep curtains away from radiators so warm air can circulate, saving money and keeping your home toasty warm.
Choose thicker curtains, or ones with a thermal lining or blackout blinds.
Keep them closed from dusk until dawn.
9. Make a Muppet-friendly Rainbow Connection
Share tips with friends and family to cut your carbon footprint and protect the things you love.
If you have food that will go to waste, ask neighbours if they need anything rather than chucking it in the bin.
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In the UK we throw away £13 billion of edible food, or 7.3 million tonnes, a year.
This amounts to nearly £700 for a family of four.
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