Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth was formed in 1971 from four separate organisations from England, France, Sweden and the United States. The aim of Friends of the Earth is to raise awareness of important world environmental issues and for the organisations to campaign together to change world issues to ensure the best policy for the Earth. Friends of the Earth has grown to become the largest international network of environmental activist groups. Friends of the Earth is now represented in over 70 countries. Friends of the Earth run campaigns at national and local levels as well as international.

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Friends of the Earth UK

Friends of the Earth UK commissions research on a wide range of environmental issues and publishes educational materials. Friends of the Earth campaigns to get the British government and industries to recognise the damage caused to the environment, take steps to combat it, and adopt new environmentally friendly working practices. Recent campaigns have included promoting waste reduction, stopping hazardous waste dumping and protecting wildlife habitats and countryside. The Friends of the Earth UK group is mainly funded through donations given by supporters.

Friends of the Earth's tips for becoming greener:

• Recycle household waste
• Switch your gas and electricity to a green energy tariff
• Replace ordinary light bulbs with longer lasting, energy saving ones
• Avoid buying packaged products
• Insulate your house
• Get a vegetable box delivered or buy from your local farmers market
• Share the school run with other parents or walk / cycle your children to school
• Install loft insulation – this can cut up to 20 per cent off energy bills
• Turn off appliances and light bulbs when leaving a room - avoid leaving TVs and computer screens on standby
• Recycle aluminium cans
• Compost kitchen and garden waste - contact your local council for details
• Go by train instead of plane

Campaigns

Friends of the Earth concentrate on several campaigns. Their climate change campaign focuses on trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This campaign also try's to increase the use of renewable energy sources in the UK. Friends of the Earth also concentrate on global warming. Global warming is one of the biggest threats to the planet today. Research suggests that about 60% of people consider pollution and climate change to be the most important factors facing the change of our planet today.

Human factors such as the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas in power stations are harmful to the environment. It is believed that the majority of the global warming over the past 50 years has come about because of the increase in greenhouse gas. Friends of the Earth suggest that houses in the UK represent only 1% of the worlds population, has one of the largest renewable energy resources in all of Europe and yet still produces over 2% of the worlds carbon dioxide.

You can do your bit to help the environment by using our free comparison service to find gas and electricity suppliers in your area that offer a green tariff. You can also help to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide you produce by following the Friends of the Earth suggestions.