I WANT to do the right thing by the environment, and so do you. But, let’s face it: it isn’t always easy.
The moment one contemplates the sheer scale of the problem we face, it is difficult not to feel profoundly depressed. For example, in order to research this article, I visited The World Counts (www. theworldcounts.com), which offers all the latest environmental statistics, and it was enough to send me to bed for the day.
The thing I find hardest about trying to be greener is choosing between all the countless options on offer. Are bamboo toothbrushes better than electric ones? Do trains always cause less pollution than planes? Ought one to replace old (but perfectly usable ) domestic appliances with new, low-energy versions? There is so much information out there (some of it contradictory) to analyse. When I find myself in despair, I remember an essay by Loren Eiseley in which two men are walking along a beach covered by thousands of washed-up, dying starfish. One of the men starts throwing individual starfish back into the water. The other man points out that there are so many starfish in trouble, his companion’s actions will make no difference. But the first man replies that it will make a difference to each starfish he manages to save.
It is an oft-repeated story, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Clergyman Sydney Smith put it in a nutshell when he said: ‘It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little—do what you can.’
The top 10 myths
The green thing is to give up palm oil
This story is from the May 20, 2020 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 20, 2020 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Love and logic
Two lovers who endured adversity and separation in life would become united in Paris after death, discovers Eileen Reid
Don't mock them
Plant a philadelphus, or mock orange, now for improbably lovely scent and cascades of sparkling blossom this summer, says John Hoyland
Home is where the art is
No trouble is too much for the Marquess of Cholmondeley to display to best effect Sir Antony Gormley's sculptures against the magnificent backdrop of Houghton Hall, even if it means cutting a hole in the floor, as Charlotte Mullins discovers
Bold and beautiful
The gardens at Broughton Grange, Oxfordshire The home of Sir Stephen and Lady Hester An arboretum, woodland garden, stumpery and heather garden all planted for artistic effect are among the many features that mark out this exciting garden, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Land of liquid gold
Greek cuisine-from delicious mezes to shellfish-might be 'tightly bound to the sparse soil and the blue sea', but it is sorely underrated, laments Tom Parker Bowles
An old way of life in rural France
Arcadian tranquillity, a wealth of cultural richness and a slow pace of life enchant John Lewis-Stempel as he reflects on his existence in France profonde
Deep in Hardy country
Hardy's beguilingly pretty Wessex is the setting for three houses with links to people and places that fuelled the writer's imagination
The benefit of foresight
The ability to anticipate the future is the secret of a successful building project
Nature's rarest gems
G. Collins & Sons specialises in the sourcing and setting of the finest natural fancy coloured diamonds the world has to offer
A prickly subject
Resembling a jumbo jacket potato on surprisingly long, scurrying legs, the hedgehog is Britain’s favourite mammal. Marianne Taylor takes a closer look beneath its spines