Great green gulf : Low income households struggle to be green
BBC Scotland has revealed a growing gulf between families on high and low incomes when it comes to 'being green'. Environmental charities and organisations say that although there is a willingness to be more environmentally friendly, unless you have the cash to back it up it's very difficult. Obviously there are many ways anyone can make changes including switching to energy efficient bulbs, switching off appliances when not in use and practising the three Rs, but on the whole the common consensus is that the government need to make it easier and cheaper for us all to live a greener lifestyle.
[via BBC]
Help the Aged said elderly people on lower incomes want to do their bit for the environment, but the cost of simple things like heating their homes meant there is less cash to spend on other things. Fuel poverty charity Energy Action Scotland were keen to point out there are grants available through schemes like Warm Deal and Central Heating Scotland which enable to heat their homes more efficiently. But they did add: "For people on a low income choosing to buy clothes for their children, or food, or what bill to pay means buying loft installation is not going to be top of the list."
Many poor families feel guilty that they are unable to afford organic and fairtrade food, and instead have to opt for the cheaper brands. They also say they would happily purchase eco-cleaning products if they weren't so expensive.
On a personal note I can't agree more. As a low income household we struggle every day with the desire to be eco-friendly and the costs that this can incur. We manage our waste, use energy efficient light bulbs, keep car journeys to an absolute minimum and try to keep our energy usage as low as possible, but when we moved into our new home I investigated the Warm Deal grants and was told I could only be considered once we'd been living here for one year! I investigated solar panels, and a small wind turbine and the layout costs were just far too high. Yes, I realise in the long term these things can pay themselves back but we just did not have the money to buy them in the first place!
As for shopping, it pains me every time I go into Tesco to buy food. I live in the country with lots of farm shops about us, but there is absolutely no way we can afford to buy our weekly fruit and vegetables from them. I don't have enough land to grow anything myself (except some delicious lettuce this summer!) so we end up having to buy them from the local supermarket. Even then the products that make a difference like fairtrade and organic are far more expensive than their brand name counterparts. I do buy them because I know it's important, but it cripples our monthly budget!
