🌱 The Grumpy Optimists #25
Is the narrative starting to shift on climate change?
Morning folks and welcome back to another week 👋
Today, we’ve got a quick news recap, what you can do to support Afghan refugees and a this weeks tip to become green, look to your energy supply. The good news? It's pretty damn easy and it's starting to become more affordable.
But first, before we crack on...
We need your help...urgent appeal for Afghanistan👇
We want to start off on a slightly different note than usual this week. You'll all have seen the news and will be aware of the desperate situation going on in Afghanistan at the moment. While those evacuated are in many ways the 'lucky' ones - the prospect of leaving your country, home and in many cases family and friends behind is not something many of us can begin to imagine.
Below, we've included a few links where you can donate money to refugee charities who will be providing support to Afghan families starting their new lives in the UK, as well as some petitions to sign, and letters which you can write to your MP to ensure they are doing everything to support those left behind in Afghanistan.
Choose Love - write to your MP, or donate to support Afghan refugees arriving in the UK here.
Support Unicef's crisis appeal to help protect children and families in Afghanistan.
Sign this petition to call on the UK government to resettle more Afghan refugees.
Thank you, on behalf of the Grumpy Optimists 💚
Articles to read
🚧 Local councils 'inconsistent' with climate goals. More than a third of councils are supporting/funding plans which will increase fossil fuel emissions. Many of these councils have declared a climate 'emergency,' but are struggling to balance climate goals with concerns around jobs and social deprivation - both of which have worsened since the pandemic began.
🤔 Are we seeing a mass shift in how we perceive climate change? According to lifelong environmental journalist Paul Brown, this summer’s extreme weather events are making people realise that climate change is an imminent rather than distant threat.
💭 Closer look: Disappointing summers are pretty standard in the UK - but this one has felt different. We've gone from blistering heatwaves to almost tropical rainstorms, where in July, a month's worth of rain fell in one hour. From reading the news and chatting to friends/family, it feels as though people are starting to make the connection here with climate change. This has been the case across Europe and North America, where it's becoming increasingly difficult to hide from climate change now that it's in our backyard. The change in perception is a positive thing for climate action with many over-50's willing to pay more to go green.
🏠 Schemes to 'green' homes failing because they are too confusing. 20% of the UK's emissions come from heating our homes, but consumers and businesses claim the UK government's current efforts to help people retrofit their homes and offices are too confusing. This is putting people off making vital changes helping to significantly reduce carbon emissions. See last week's edition for an example of where these schemes are engaging people and helping to meet climate targets.
What can you do about climate change?
💡 Green your energy supply
We all know that fossil fuels are terrible for the planet and contributing to climate change. Many industries rely on fossil fuels to power them, and so do our homes. So, what can you do about it? We're not here to tell you to tinker with efficient lightbulbs or to turn the tv off when you go to sleep, they're great to do but they won't save the world. What we need is to electrify our world and use green energy to power it. We've given you one simple tip this week, green your energy supply.
Before we talk you through a few companies paving the way in the renewable energy sector it's worth understanding how the sector actually works. We're all connected to one grid, how do you get green energy and your neighbour doesn't? 👇
💡Bulb. The UK's biggest green energy supplier. Bulb supplies renewable energy and carbon-neutral gas to their customers, and they try to make their energy additional so more units are added to the energy grid following demand. They do use REGOs at the moment and it is unclear whether there is a plan to move away from this method in the future. They have also been accused of greenwashing. The system isn't perfect, but it's a start! Bulb also has a foundation that makes grants to charities and social enterprises which are tackling the climate crisis. Grumpy Optimists Rating = 7/10
🔌 Rebel Energy. Rebel only launched last year, but they are seriously ambitious. They aim to be sustainable and intersectional by tackling fuel poverty. As they're in their launch phase they're currently using REGOs, but plan to move away from this as soon as possible. For now, Rebel buys the REGO and the energy that comes with it, so they are definitely using renewable energy. They plan to start working with renewable energy generators in the UK so all of their energy will eventually be fully traceable. You can become a beta tester here. Rebel also has a foundation, Rebel Restoration, which just launched a joint endeavour with Project Seagrass in the UK.
Grumpy Optimists Rating = 9/10
💚 Ecotricity. Britain's greenest energy company. All their electricity is generated at sun and wind parks, and they're the only energy company that have a 'bills to mills' model so they re-invest customers' bills into building new energy sources. They also provide a mix of carbon-neutralised natural gas and sustainable green gas made from grass. They're a bit more expensive than others, but they are truly green.
Grumpy Optimists Rating = 8/10
💛 Good Energy. Founded in 1999, Good Energy were the UK's first 100% renewable energy supplier. This has always been their mission, and they work closely with renewable energy generators to ensure that there is no greenwashing going on. Their energy is a mixture of wind, hydro, solar and bio-generation. They also support individual households to generate their own power. Good Energy's prices aren't regulated by the OFGEM caps so they are a little pricier than some of the others, but you'll know that your energy supply is definitely 100% renewable.
Grumpy Optimists Rating = 8/10
What's stopping you from making the switch?
That's all from us, we hope you all have a great week! As ever, please subscribe, share and spread the optimism.
George, Ella and Will 💚