Big Green Switch

How are you all getting on with this month's challenge - to calculate your carbon footprint? I've found a great new website to help you reduce your footprint. It's called Big Green Switch, and it's a friendly, simple-to-use site aimed at the "keen to be green" - people who would like to become a bit greener but who aren't sure where to start.

For example, it has a list of fifteen suggestions to get started - simple but effective things you can do to green your lifestyle. And I was pleased to see a few things on there I haven't got around to myself yet, such as foil behind the radiators. That's a good idea for a future Bean Sprouts Challenge.

They also have a simple-to-use carbon footprint calculator (you'll need an electricity and a gas bill, and some idea of how many miles you drive per year). I just checked my footprint with it and it said I produce 5.81 tonnes of carbon per year, compared to the UK average of 9.4. Which isn't bad, but could still be a lot better when you consider that the worldwide average is 4 tonnes, and the average Indian, for example, produces 1.2 tonnes. Apparently domestic energy use is my downfall - above the UK average (probably because I work from home). Time to get some foil behind the radiators!