Eco-Living: Going up in smoke

Concerned about climate change and keen to help shape Scotland's response? Now's your chance to have your say

THE year was 1989. The Higher history exam paper was spread in front of me, complete with topics such as Appeasement, the Hoare-Laval Pact and Italian Ambitions in Abyssinia. It was as if a snowstorm had descended on my brain. Complete whiteout. I had no idea where to start.

A few deep breaths later, some intensively crammed chunks of information started to filter through, and my essay on 'The Road to War' got under way.

Almost 20 years later, I find myself in a similar pickle. Two weeks after discovering the online response form for the Scottish Climate Change Bill consultation, I still await the breakthrough that will allow me to answer at least one question.

Inspiration had better strike soon, because the deadline for comments is April 23. A lack of knowledge has never previously prevented me having an opinion on any given subject, but the questions in this climate change pub quiz are toughies.

Have a look at question 23: "As a potential non-legislative measure, should current Best Value guidance be amended to take specific account of climate change mitigation and adaptation?" The only response I can come up with is: "I haven't the foggiest."

But let's rewind a bit. What is this proposed Climate Change Bill all about and why should we bother trying to participate in the public consultation?

Published in January, the bill aims to establish a long-term framework for reducing Scotland's emissions by 80% by 2050. By 'emissions', we might mean CO2 or we might mean the whole basket of greenhouse gases – that's just one of the many questions being mulled over. Despite the mind-bending consultation questions, the proposed bill itself is well worth a read, presenting a basic guide to the science of climate change and all the latest data on where Scotland stands in the bigger picture.

In 2005, Scotland's CO2 emissions were over 54 million tonnes – approximately 0.2% of the world's total. This might seem an insignificant figure, but Scotland only has around 0.08% of the world's population, meaning we're producing much more than our fair share. And as the Climate Change proposal reminds us, "Industrialised countries such as Scotland have contributed the vast majority of greenhouse gases caused by man currently in the atmosphere." In other words, we've enjoyed the perks of the Industrial Revolution; now it's time to shoulder the burden of responsibility.

It was all quite fascinating, until I reached 'How should progress towards the targets be measured?' From here on in things got technical and my eyes glazed over through budgets, trading schemes and equality impact assessment.

Then came the section where you and I get to have our say. I didn't feel remotely qualified to answer any of the 33 questions, although you are allowed to answer as few or as many as you like – this isn't a pass or fail situation.

The solution finally arrived in the form of an e-mail from the RSPB. It's one of several organisations that have taken an interest in the consultation, and has a prepared statement on its website to which you can add your name before sending it off to the Scottish government.

I know it's the equivalent of cheating in exams, but if you've run out of time to cram for this test, a bit of plagiarism is morally defendable. It's better than doing nothing, right?

BE GREENER

• Be part of the Climate Change Bill consultation at the touch of a button. www.stopclimatechaos scotland.org has links to organisations such as WWF, RSPB and World Development Movement that have a standard response you can use (with minimal effort) to be part of the solution.

• Get to grips with your carbon footprint. Visit www.scotlandsfootprint.org to calculate your personal impact on the environment (and what you can do to reduce it).

When it comes to water, have some bottle

WATER is a basic necessity, but what happens when we choose a plastic bottle over the kitchen tap? Craig on www.eco-chick.com muses: "Never once did I ask myself 'What's wrong with bottled water?' – until I saw how many empties were in my recycling bin." Luckily Craig was recycling, but how many people don't even bother? According to Adam on www.lifegoggles.com: "In the US, 84% of plastic water bottles are thrown away."

And it's not just the waste. A blog posted on www.theenvironmentalblog.org quotes Reuters: "In addition to the energy cost of producing, bottling, packaging, storing and shipping bottled water, there is also the environmental cost of the millions of tonnes of oil-derived plastic needed to make the bottles."

When you consider most of the culprits already have perfectly good drinking water gushing out their taps, it seems absurd. www.greenlivingtips.com states: "It's estimated that 20% of American consumers refuse to drink tap water at all."

And when you're in a restaurant, avoid the awkwardness of ordering tap water by encouraging your local eaterie to Tap into WaterAid (www.wateraid.org/tapintowateraid). Every time you enjoy an ordinary glass of H2O, a donation will help bring water to the 1.1 billion people in the world who aren't as lucky as us. Many countries don't have access to safe, clean drinking water, much less in their home – so don't waste it.

HEALTHY PLANET

REDUCE your carbon footprint and make walking even greener with this ethically made range of shoes from Simple. They are 100% sustainable and made from diverse materials such as hemp, bamboo and jute, so they are as environmentally sound as possible. The soles are made from recycled car tyres. (£65, www.simpleshoes.com)