The last month has been a busy time for climate change. The Stern report was published by the government. This report states that a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions is required. This is an awesome challenge that will result in a massive change to our way of life. As well as the report, an enormous climate demonstration was held in London with 30,000 people attending showing that the number of people who are prepared to make a change is growing.

Heating and powering your house is one of your biggest contributors to CO2 emissions. There are a range of things that you can do to significantly minimise emissions. The simplest and cheapest thing that will minimise your emissions is to install draft excluders. The next simplest thing is to use low energy bulbs, which use 80% less power than conventional bulbs. Your next best expenditure is cavity wall and loft insulation. At the other end of the spectrum, there are options such as solar heating which costs several thousand pounds. We have contacted three families in the area who have solar heating. They all say it provides a lot of hot water in the summer, but it is of little benefit in the winter when it is most in demand and can take up to 10 years to pay back. So, the best way forward is to make sure that you have done all the easy options, before you spend significant amounts of money on other methods.

On a recent walk through Nailsworth one evening I counted the number of light bulbs in show window displays. There were 182 bulbs being left on all night, and almost none are low energy!! This produces around about 38 tonnes of CO2 per year which needs about 1,300 trees to be absorbed.

Only two shops used low energy bulbs. If you can identify the two shops, please email and the first correct response will be awarded a low energy bulb.

This months gas guzzler, seen in the Nailsworth Garden Centre. The owner can contact the blog to claim his "I don't care about our kids" certificate or email on kevsclimatecolumn@btinternet.com.