Unless you are a certain flame-haired supermodel who can afford a flat in London and a first-class commute to lectures, shared accommodation is a necessity during university. I have to say my experience of shared living was mixed: communal baking, charades and having friends around were excellent; dying rats under the floor boards and shelling out for monthly bills; not so excellent.

If you have ever had to suffer the stench of a decomposing rat, you have my sympathies. Equally, if you have tried to explain to a housemate why having four light bulbs on in one bedroom is a waste; I also feel your pain. There is an element of reason involved, of course. Walking around the house with three jumpers, two t-shirts, gloves, tights, trousers and several pairs of socks on at once is definitely no fun (believe me, I would know), but it is surely important to save money– and the planet too. If SJP of Sex and the City had practiced energy-saving initiatives, she could have bought more shoes instead of needing a bail out from Big. And who wouldn’t want more shoes, or anything else for that matter?

There are many ways to cut down on unnecessary energy use but measuring your electricity use is a good place to start. There are ways to get free measurement devices that plug in and calculate your costs . Oxford University have also created an imeasure which is more work but still provides results as you can find out which appliances eat up your money and use them less. One ‘out there’ suggestion is to use cling-film for secondary glazing – tape it around your windows and then hair dryer it taut. I did this to keep a ladybird infestation out, but it works just as well to keep heat in. Tin foil behind a radiator may help too; recycle foil take-out boxes to be optimally sustainable. Alternatively, sign up to People & Planet’s Big Green Makeover project and you’ll get all the training and resources you need to help fellow students do this for free!

I also recommend outlining the ‘Landlords Energy Saving Allowance’ to your landlord. Up to £1,500 can be claimed against tax each year to improve a property’s eco-credentials. Who knows, there may be some green landlords out there, so spread the word. Encourage your landlord to install better insulation on the roof or around water pipes, and point them in the direction of claims information.

There is one caveat to implementing energy saving suggestions: the rest of your household. Lead by example, gentle persuasion, reminders, and advice as the first steps to switching off appliances and turning down the heating, which can then be backed by technological solutions. Forgetting to turn something off is not an excuse anymore. There is of course an App that can remotely turn off electronics – can you believe that? If nothing else works, try positive conditioning. Get housemates to turn off lights or computers then surreptitiously give them a sweet. Repetition is key. Soon energy saving behaviour will occur with just the vague memory of a delicious sweet for encouragement. In a nod to Thorndike, like rats pressing a lever, those lights go off.

The latter suggestion may not be such a good idea (though I’d love to try it just to see if it works!) but it is definitely hugely beneficial to try and implement energy saving initiatives around the house you’re letting. If nothing else, try it for a month as evidence for the months to come, and watch your bills go down. Before you feel the pinch of huge bills, try turning to this advice. It just might help!

Katie

Are you running a Go Green Week at your university, school or college on 7 - 14 February? If so, we want to hear from you.

Throughout the week we’ll be featuring blogs about your activities and events, culminating in the day of action on Friday 11 calling on the Government to “cut the carbon, not education”.

Not blogged for People & Planet before?  It’s simple, just write us a short piece about your views, experiences or describing an event you’ve organised or attended.  You can register for a Wordpress blogging account by emailing us or simply send your Go Green Week blog post in by email and we’ll post it up for you if you’re not familiar with Wordpress.

Don’t forget to include:

• hyperlinks to useful sites (eg. your Go Green Week facebook events or useful resources)
• at least 1 picture
• your name, email and university name/group name (your email will be kept private)

So what are you waiting for?  Get blogging and you’ll feature news of your Go Green Week and campaigns on the front page of People & Planet’s website!

The Climate Justice movement has finally burst onto the scene at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

This morning, thousands of activists from South and North marched to the Bella Centre and tried to get in, to express their disgust with the way the talks are selling us all out, and to hold a Peoples’ Assembly for Climate Justice instead. (more…)

Here’s a report by Jess Worth on Monday’s Tar Sands action - and some photos, by Orin Langelle and Daygot Leeyos.

About 200 of us gathered outside the Canadian Embassy in Copenhagen to protest at the way Canada is blocking progress on binding, ambitious climate emissions reductions - because it’s committed to expanding the most destructive project on earth: the Tar Sands. (more…)

It’s great to be writing my first entry as a guest writer for the People and Planet blog. I have been involved with P&P since my first year at York in 1998, and was behind the development of the Go Green campaign back in the autumn of 2003, after I completed my MSc in environmental impact assessment, auditing and management systems. I have kept a hand in the campaign, and university environmental management, ever since. (more…)