5 REASONS TO GO GREEN TODAY!

1) Real Fresh Food is feeding the earth as well as feeding your body

Now i'm not saying everyone can afford to eat organic, but we can make all afford a few small changes to be a little greener.

• Buying fresh food means reducing packaging and energy used for processing.

• Buying local means supporting the local economy and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions required to get food from its origin to your plate.

• Grow your own fruit and vegetables at home

The last one my seem a little silly but we can all fit a tomato plant on the window sill. Just saying.

2) Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

Making proper use of the recycling bins has become an iconic action for most households today. However reducing the amount of stuff we consume is only the first step, finding constructive uses for "waste" materials is the second. Why? Nothing is ever really thrown "away" it all has to go somewhere... normally it sits in landfills where even biodegradable products often can't break due to lack or oxygen and sunlight. Recycling materials saves energy compared to using virgin materials to create new products.

3) Water isn't actually a renewable resource

Clean water is perhaps the planet's most precious resource! With the increasing effects of global climate change, for many regions across the globe, our ability to have enough high-quality H20 on hand could likely to change in the near future. If we are all a little bit more water conscious we can help reduce the strain on municipal treatment systems and ensure there's enough to go around. By shifting away from bottled water back to tap water (which is provided by the government and tested daily), we can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, the energy required to produce plastic, and the volume of waste trucked to our landfills (from empty bottles).

4) Making stuff takes lots and lots of energy

Every single object you own your furniture, your clothing, your beer cans, your stuff comes from somewhere; every object has an environmental impact. Nothing simply comes from the store... We should all choose goods made from green (or greener) materials, such as reclaimed wood, organic cotton, and recycled materials. Our choices will help protect forests, habitats, clean water and biodiversity; ensure sustainable land-use practices; and reduce the amount of waste clogging up our landfills. Isn't that one big win for the planet!

5) Clean, renewable power is already available to everyone

We use electricity to power our lights, computers, and televisions, but what happens before you flip the switch? Your electricity has to come from somewhere right? Electricity generation in the UK comes from three main sources:

• Gas provides roughly 50% of electricity supplied. Gas is also used to heat approximately 70% of homes.

• Coal-fired power stations provide approximately 30% of the UK’s electricity.

• Nuclear power provides about 15%  of electricity but most UK nuclear plans are due to close in the next decadeRenewable sources provided 5% of electricity generated in 2008.

Renewable sources amounted for a minuscule 5% of our electricity production.

Why Go Green fun facts; The amount of energy saved by recycling an aluminum can versus creating the can from virgin aluminum is 95%. That means you can make 20 cans out of recycled material with the same amount of energy it takes to make 1 can out of new material. Energy savings in one year alone are enough to light a city the size of Manchester for six years...