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And not only that, a quarter of us believe ‘offenders’ will have to go to ‘energy rehab’ and take ‘energy addiction classes’. Imagine, you’re reading Heat in 2050 and instead of a headline about Amy Winehouse’s latest crack pipe episode you’re shocked beyond your very core that Britney Spears forgot to turn off the tap whilst brushing her teeth. Whether or not Britney or Amy will still be with us in 2050 is besides the point, nearly half of us think that the ‘carbon police’ are on their way.

The research, commissioned by the Energy Saving Trust, found that more than four in ten Brits (41%) think the UK will need its own Carbon Police Force. I wonder if they’d wear green uniforms? The study also found that 62% of us think that by 2050 the Government will enforce tough laws to make Brits reach environmental targets.

Philip Sellwood, Chief Executive of the Energy Savings Trust, had this to say…

“The UK’s perception is that by 2050 we could have the sort of draconian infringements on our civil liberties that have been highlighted in our research. This need not be the case. The carbon emissions we all produce from our homes and travel amount to over 40 per cent (43%) of the UK’s total emissions so we all have a part to play.”

The report, which is rather gorgeously named ‘Emission Impossible?’, goes on to give plenty of suggestions for cutting down our carbon footprints. The suggestions are mainly aimed at the government, such as stopping inefficient appliances coming to market and making good energy performance a prerequisite for selling a house. But clearly, we can all do our bit to help too.

If you want some tips for greening up your act check out the Energy Saving Trust website here. And you might want to do it sharpish, 46% of those surveyed think that by 2050 wasting energy will be the most socially unacceptable of behaviours. Does that mean we’ll be able to get drunk in public as long as we switch our lights off?

Making ‘green’ adjustments to the way you live is certainly en vogue at the moment, and now seems to be a good a time as ever to make your house more energy efficient. Especially as it’s not just the polar bears you’ll be helping out, improvements to your home can save you a bundle on your utility bills and increase the value of your property too.

Earlier in the year, research by beatthatquote.com concluded that by 2010 eco-friendly adjustments could add 6% to the market value of a house. So on a £300,000 property, you’re looking at gaining an extra £18,000. Even now, research by Wolesley found that 63% of Britons would pay more for an energy efficient home.

And now that HIPs have (finally) been rolled out across the board, potential buyers will be able to see on paper just how energy efficient a property is. With the compulsory Energy Performance Certificate, buyers will be able to gage if it’s going to cost a small fortune to heat a property, the idea being that people will be more inclined towards those properties where measures have been put in place to increase efficiency.

Loft insulation is arguably the best place to start if you’re looking to improve your home, without it you could be losing around 20% of your heating costs through your roof. If you go from no insulation to the recommended 270mm, you will save around £110 a year in fuel bills and reduce your annual carbon dioxide emissions by a tonne! And it’s a relatively easy and cheap process, if you do it yourself it shouldn’t cost more than around £250 which means you could make your money back in savings in just two years. You can find all sorts of home improvement advice on the Energy Savings Trust site, whether you’re keen to have a go yourself or enlist the help of the professionals.

It’s also worth noting that you may be able to apply for a grant to help you with costs incurred by making these improvements, if you receive any sort of benefits it’s likely you can receive government funding. You can check your eligibility here.

As for a closing picture, extremely cute polar bears featured yesterday - so here are some baby penguins instead. Aaaaaah.

Technorati Tags: Property, Insulation, Energy Efficiency, Money Saving

The ‘…For Dummies’ family of books have plenty of titles that could help you with moving, selling, DIY and staging. Heck, they could probably put open heart surgery into Laymen’s terms if they felt like it. This month they launched ‘Green Building and Remodelling For Dummies’, and it looks like a pretty good read for anyone who is renovating their home and want to be as eco-friendly as possible. And for those who just want to make changes without tearing down the house and starting all over again, there’s a dedicated section for you too.

For many people now, the sustainability of our planet is a big issue. But apart from washing out the odd baked bean tin and schlepping around a ‘bag for life’ many people don’t know what more they could be doing.

If you want to decrease your carbon footprint in the New Year then take a look at GreenChoices, out of the many websites offering tips and tricks this one seems particularly easy to navigate.

A picture of a solar panel might be more appropriate…but they’re just not quite as warm and fuzzy as a baby polar bear.

Technorati Tags: Green, Environment, Eco-living