Villaman and fogtender - I heartily agree! We're not talking here about personal sacrifice to save the world. These measures make sense and even better, save you money! A couple of years ago I moved to new flat (apartment). It's well insulated, and fitted with energy saving appliances, with fluorescent bulbs throughout. The gas heating boiler is the latest type, with instant hot water (no storage cylinder). The washing machine uses far less water than the one in my old place, and adjusts the amount of water to suit the load. Less water means less electricity to heat it, and less detergent is needed. My water is metered here, and the cost is much less than I'd expected - another benefit. Running costs overall are far less than I was used to previously. No personal hardship involved here!

I'm all for recycling, but excess packaging is a bugbear of mine. One of the worst examples I've seen was in a supermarket "snack" cabinet. A single orange packed on a green (are they trying to tell us something?) polystyrene tray, covered in polyester film with two labels stuck on it. One label proclaimed "citrus fruit product". Single bananas were similarly packed, though I guess the packing department didn't know what generic type of fruit a banana was, so it was simply labeled "single banana". What's the need for all this rubbish?

I'm also in favour of supporting developing countries by buying their produce, but not when that produce has to be flown great distances to arrive fresh, and locally grown produce is available. Most if not all of those countries grow more exotic fruit and veg. well suited to their climates, and I'm happy to buy those. The other types of product often need greenhouses and lots of water in relatively arid areas - not very eco-friendly, and from what I hear, of little economic benefit to the local people.