John Cossham |
details nameJohn Cossham backgroundI am a 42 year old self employed children's entertainer (Professor Fiddlesticks) who takes his green and ethical lifestyle very seriously. I've been a green for over 20 years and have organised my whole lifestyle to be as 'sustainable', low impact and ethical as possible. My individual fossil carbon footprint is about 0.5 tonne/year and the household is about 1.8................................................... I live with my wife Gill and two children in a 1930's semi. We have had both chimneys lined with insulated concrete (using 'Lafrage' cement which uses waste rubber tyres to cook the limestone) so we could install two smokefree woodstoves, which were made in the UK (reasonably local!) and as they are both flat-topped, we can cook, boil kettles, heat bathwater (in 2 6 gal pans carried to the bath) and washing up water using waste logs, most of which are brought to the house in my cycle trailer from local tree removal and pruning operations. I also dry friut on these stoves (see 'composting' below) which prevents some being landfilled and replaces shop-bought dried fruit, some of which might have been dried using fossil fuels. These stoves are 8Kw and 4.5Kw max output, and I estimate I burn 5 to 6000kg of logs per year. I cut the logs mainly by hand (bowsaw) but also have an electric chainsaw for bigger logs. I split mainly with an axe but occasionally with an electric hydraulic log splitter. ....................................... This may sound a lot (it is) but it almost completely replaces gas use. We have a combi boiler, gas, attached to radiators which we never use. The boiler is occasionally used for instant hot water, mainly in the summer when the stoves are not used as much and some bath/washing up water is needed. So the £60(approx) worth of gas we use every year is mainly for cooking, occasionally on the 'hob' when no stove, more often in the oven for cakes, quiches and loaves which my wife makes ........................... We buy our electricity from Good Energy Ltd, in my view the greenest of the renewable suppliers as the company has nothing to do with any fossil fuel at all. They only buy and sell renewable... and our annual bill is, in 2008, £227, approx 3 units/day. We achieve this by only having CFL light fittings, apart from two in the bathroom (halogen? not sure) and a few small incandescents in things like lava lamps (not often used), SES bulbs in 2 table lamls, and a sensor light outside. We don't have many electrical gadgets, few rechargeable things (I can only think of a shaver and a toothbrush)and everthing is switched off at the plug when not in use. Our fridge and freezer are both A-rated, although our washing machine is old and unrated. I am the dishwasher. ...................................... Transport is bicycle and trailer for me, bikes for all the others and Gill also uses the bus and walks more than me. I cycle everywhere, unless it's more than 20 or so miles away in which case I like to go by train. We have a family rail card and take our annual holiday by train, plus occasional day trips. We do not fly, last flew in 1997, to Barcelona for a 3 week holiday. ............................................... Those are our measurable footprints... home energy and heating and transport. Our 'more difficult to measure' impact is probably just as tiny. We are vegetarian, nearly vegan apart from approx 1 egg/day and some cow/goat cheese as a treat. We grow some of our own food and where possible buy local and in season veg/fruit. We do have some higher footprint food, like rice, pasta, ribena, alcoholic drinks, processed cereals like branflakes and shreddies, and occasional processed luxuries like Cauldron spreads, hommous, tofu, vegetarian sausages etc, but these are definitely luxuries. We make our own bean pates, sometimes using home-grown beans, and do a lot of home cooking instead of stuff pre-prepared. ............................................... I have a home-made compost toilet using an old commode and sawdust from the logs, and this material is composted in the garden and after 4+ years is used to grow tomatoes etc in. Very satisfying! Our water use is reduced by this, so the annual metered tally for water is 84 cubic metres. I could reduce this but I do like my weekly bath (woodstove heated!) and every day I have a stand-up wash, using very little water. I don't leave the tap going when brushing my teeth either! ............................. I have some hobbies which if their carbon footprint were to be measured, they might have a 'negative footprint' as my main hobby is rescuing stuff from certain landfill and recycling it. So I pick up litter, especially easily recyclable stuff and put it for recycling. I collect aluminium cans and other scrap metal (legally!) and sell it to metal merchants, and take discarded electrical items to the WEEE skip at the council civic amenity site. What I'm most well known for is my composting... I collect a lot of biodegradable resources from a greengrocers 3 or 4 times a week and either compost them or rescue them for eating or drying and eating. I estimate my intake of these resources to be about 100kg/week. I have approx 30 compost systems in the garden (it's a big garden!)some of which rotate, some are pallet bins, others 'dalek' bins. My love of composting led me to start a 'Master Composter' scheme called York Rotters, which teaches volunteers about home composting and these 'Rotters' go into the community and teach composting, provide info and help with troubleshooting. I am a keen Rotter and often answer queries or go and loo at people's compost bins and sometimes turn them for them..................................................................... I am a member of several other voluntary groups. I started York Credit Union, which helps people on low incomes save money and get access to fair-priced loans. I started York Green Festival in 2007 and am part of the team which is putting a third festival on in 2009. I'm a member of the Green Party and stand in local elections. I'm administrator of the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel. I'm involved with York in Transition. I'm a member of quite a few national organisations which aim to promote sustainable lifestyle choices........................................................................................ So that's an overview of my lifestyle, showing how it is low carbon and as ethical as possible................................ please check my paid blog/column http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/green-living/ ............................. and my daily blog http://lowcarbonlifestyle.blogspot.com/ ........................................ and find me on The Carbon Account and Facebook......................... Thanks! |
CRAGs“”A brilliant way to share low-carbon-lifestyle tips, have time with others who care, and show the world that some of us are willing to say no to a polluting lifestyle. Sustainability is the only sane way forward! |
carbonprofileHousehold footprint 1.8 tonnes/year (power/heating/travel) Individual footprint 0.5 tonnes/year expertisewoodburning stoves, cycling, public transport, 'freeganism', composting |