1. Introduction

"Going green" has become a popular tag line in the past couple of years. No longer seen as a preserve of tree-hugging environmentalists, green has gone mainstream. When you look at the statistics, it's not surprising.

In the UK nearly three quarters of our electricity is generated by burning coal and gas in power stations. Every year this releases millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, the main gas responsible for climate change. The rest of our electricity mainly comes from nuclear power, which has other worrying environmental effects.

Recent research by the Energy Saving Trust showed that energy consumption from household domestic appliances doubled between 1972 and 2002. The more energy used, the bigger the impact on the environment and the greater the risk of climate change.

Climate change means rising global temperatures and rising sea levels. Ice caps will melt and this will have a devastating effect on local climate conditions affecting forests, crop yields and water supplies.

Every one of us has a "carbon footprint", which is a measure of the effect our activities have on the environment. Your carbon footprint is measured in units of carbon dioxide and is effectively your own personal contribution to global warming.

Almost everything you do - from the food you eat and the holidays you take to the car you drive - adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. You can get a general picture of your carbon footprint at websites such as Carbon Footprint or Climate Care and answering questions about your lifestyle.

Another recent report by Energy Saving Trust showed that Brits are the worst energy wasters in Europe. It interviewed 5,000 people in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy, asking whether people left phone chargers plugged in, appliances on standby and lights on when no one was in the room.

The comparison with German consumers, who topped the energy efficiency league, revealed major differences. Britons leave chargers on three times as much as Germans, they leave standby buttons on twice as much and forget to switch off lights four times as much.

The Spanish were said to be the next most efficient users of energy after Germany, followed by France and Italy.

The average British person has a carbon footprint of 9.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. To halt global warming, scientists calculate that we need to reduce this by 80%. To do this we all need to use less energy, change the way we travel and change the type of goods and services we buy.

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