Ecogeek pointed out this morning that one of the greenest things you can do is make what you have last as long as possible, and if you do have to get rid of it, recycle it. Makes sense to me.

Here’s my recycled lawn mower:

Reclaimed from my Grandad’s garden shed at the start of the summer, my mower is not only carbon neutral (no fossil fuels here!), but it’s also good for working on the guns.

And push mowers are having a bit of a resurgance. Treehugger reports that sales of some push mowers (reel mowers, as they’re called in the United States) are up by 60%.

But it’s definitely a case of buyer beware!

Apparantly the “liability issue” of having “dangerous”, whirring, unprotected blades is putting people off (in Naperville, anyway).

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Now then, I’m new to the world of ‘blogging’ but an old hat at armchair activism!

By that I mean doing my bit to help make a difference, create change, influence friends, and ultimately feel better about my life and the way I live it.

I’m not going to start preaching to you because if you needed preaching to you wouldn’t be here, I merely want to pass on any hints, tips, and products I come across to help you in your quest for a more ethically minded, environmentally friendly lifestyle.

So, I’m going to start this series of posts with my Top 5 tips which can help you save money, and help save the planet!

1. Recycle rain water: I live in the north east of England. A pretty wet place. So, I have set up a water butt in my back garden to collect rain water ready to reuse on those odd occasions when the sun decides to shine and my plants need a watering! Still need convincing? Check out this article on the merits of saving water in the UK

2. Compost your food waste: composting is easy, fun, and beneficial to both the environment and your garden! Don’t throw your tea bags, banana skins and potato peelings away, chuck them in a composter and let the worms do the rest!

3. Switch off your appliances: I know this might sound like an obvious one but did you know that about 10% of your annual electricity bill is spent on standby electricity! So either switch off or invest in some standby busting devices now!

4. Keep an eye on your energy use: although this sounds complicated it couldn’t be easier! Ethical Superstore has a range of devices designed to monitor your energy use so you can always be aware of where your money goes. You’ll become obsessed with checking it every five minutes!

5. Grow your own: whether you only have enough room for one pot on your balcony or your garden in the size of a football pitch, there’s no excuse for doing a bit of organic gardening at home. Not only will this save you a bit of cash, but your produce will taste all the better having been lovingly tended to by you!

There you have it, 5 little things that can make a huge difference, see you don’t have to scheme to take down the major supermarkets . . . just do your bit

Any other suggestions or top tips? Send them in!

Thanks to Ned Trifle for the photo.

Photographer Jeff Barbee is used to getting himself into precarious situations.

Prompted by a desire to document the effects of climate change for himself, Barbee set out to sail half way across the Atlantic.

Despite having barely sailed before, Jeff Barbee got himself a berth on a yacht from Cape Town to St Helena, a 35 square mile island in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean.

On his website you’ll find blogs, pictures and video as Jeff chronicles the environmental destruction and the slow death of species on this, one of the most remote islands on Earth.

www.jeffbarbee.com

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Here at How Ethical! we’ll be keeping a closer eye on McDonald’s from now on, after their announcement this morning that they are in the process of converting all of their delivery fleet to run on biodiesel, using their abundant supply of used cooking oil.

Over the course of the next year, they plan to convert all 155 of their delivery vehicles, and they estimate that this will save more than 1,650 tonnes of carbon each year.

After moving away from polystyrene packaging, to a biodegradable alternative, this move signals that McDonald’s may be serious about facing up to their environmental responsibility, and it is a move which is sure to be welcomed by those who see big businesses as key in the fight against climate change.

So a tentative thumbs up to McDonald’s - we’ll be watching this one closely.

Thanks to BBC News for the original story.

Numbers of moths in the UK have been in decline since the 1970’s. Some species have seen a fall of up to 90%.

Moths Count aims to encourage interest in moths throughout the UK and to establish an ongoing National Moth Recording Scheme to improve knowledge and conservation of the 900+ species of larger moths.

There’s a Garden Moth Count starting tomorrow night, and then a whole bunch of events up and down the UK that you can get involved in before National Moth Night on August 11.

If you thought moths were just drab old boring brown things, check out some of the pictures on those links!