Going Green
We hear a lot about how we should change our lives to help save our planet. Jim Barnes, 15, from Oxford, talks about what his family does every day to save the planet.
A common UK family produces more than one ton of rubbish a year. Some of this waste takes hundreds of years to decay. It also costs lots of money to keep buying new things to replace the things we throw away.
So to help save the planet and save money, our family have decided to recycle everything. We collect used things, such as paper and bottles, and put them into different bins. After they are treated in the recycling place they can be used again. This will help reduce a lot of waste. We're also going to grow our own vegetables and we already keep hens. Soon, we can eat our own eggs for breakfast.
In a year, a family like ours uses about 4,800 kWh for watching television, taking showers, using the dishwasher and the washing machine, and more. This is a lot. To produce this much energy, a lot of pollution is created. This pollution can cause health problems and global warming.
Because of all this, we decided to do something to save electricity. We watch less TV and use low energy light bulbs now. We stopped using the dishwasher. Mum also tries to save energy while cooking.
What's more, we try to use our car less to cut down on air pollution. My dad organises a car pool with our neighbours and they take turns driving to work. And I ride my bicycle to school. How cool is that?!
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