Conclusion: No Impact Summary

Last week was a busy week, taking part in the no impact experiment and loosing my cool with the Labour party! The conclusion from this week is that there are many things we can do to lessen our impact on the environment just by looking at our lives and asking: "Do I do this because I choose to? Or is it because it is the norm in my society, or I've just become stuck in a rut and don't really think about my actions anymore?"

I was surprised that I allowed myself to use so many disposable paper towels, just because everyone else did. I also made new discoveries during al the stages of the project.

One of the biggest changes was slowing our speed on the motorway to 55-60 mph. What a relaxing, safe and cheap journey we had on the way back for our visit. In future we can make it to see family and back on a single tank of petrol as travelling at these speeds reduces fuel usage by as much as 25%.

Also, if you are travelling, try to choose times when the roads will not be congested. Being stuck in traffic is not good for your wallet, your mood or the environment. We'll be using a company to offset the emissions from our journey. Choosing a company to off set your carbon emissions is not straight forward, some do a much better job than others and the industry is poorly regulated. See this article in the Guardian for more information.

I may posting less frequently now the experiment is over, but over the next few weeks you can expect the results of my home energy survey and also a blog to explain our plans to be Carbon Neural by 2012.