'I'm not fanatically strict about food... sometimes I will have an avocado'

While global leaders struggle to reach some joint accord on climate change, it's inexorably continuing by the second – not just "out there" somewhere, but here, all around us. There's nothing to stop each of us playing our own small part in lessening man's damage to the planet.

Contributing less waste to landfill and the gases they emit is one way, and it's heartening to go to the shops and see just how many people carry their own reusable bags. Recession has perhaps given extra urgency to the greener being inside us, and look how many more friends you talk to when you walk around the neighbourhood stores instead of driving to the supermarket on a Saturday morning.

York-based author and eco-warrior Kate Lock believes "going green" has had a bad reputation, somehow earning itself the image of living in the dark, going without, generally missing the fun. Some people experience a fear factor that their life will be miserable if they take a long hard look at their consumption. Maybe others think being greener will be more expensive, or they are not yet convinced that their small contribution to cutting carbon emissions is really worth bothering about.

"Don't think you can't make a difference," says Kate. "You can. Forty per cent of CO2 emissions are caused by individual actions and if you change the way you do things it will help. The first thing to do is to calculate your carbon footprint. This will give you a baseline to start from and enable you to identify the carbon-hungry areas of your life. A simple calculator is the WWF footprint calculator: http://footprint.wwf. org.uk

Three years ago, as research for her book Confessions of an Eco-Shopper, she decided to a lot more about her family's carbon footprint than just remembering to sort waste into different recycling bins. Her ambition was to find out how radically she could reduce the family's carbon footprint without spending vast amounts (money they didn't have anyway) on wind turbines and solar panels.

"We turned down the heating a couple of degrees and sorted out the draughts around the house. I work at home and keep the heating off during the day but wear lots of layers and move around regularly. Over time, I more or less stopped going to the supermarket, which I had been addicted to before.

"Now I use two great greengrocers who sell lots of local produce, two bakers and two delis in the areas of the city where I live, and because I'm limited in what I can carry, I only buy what I need. We also get an organic veg box delivered. We spend a bit less than we used to and eat better.

"I've cut out red meat because of the amount of methane cattle farming contributes to the atmosphere, and my diet is largely vegetarian, but with a little free range chicken and fish. Between that and walking a lot more, I have dropped two dress sizes."

Kate says the biggest challenge early on was composting. She couldn't get the mix of matter right in the bin, and would end up with a stinking, fly-ridden mess. But then she got help from York Rotters, and ever since her composting has been a cinch (although it requires a regular time commitment). The pay-off is the satisfaction of the waste reducing to 25 per cent of its initial bulk. It is bagged up and used on the half-allotment she shares with two friends.

Her tips for greener living are in the panel below, but definitely the biggest change has been made by getting rid of the family car – saving 200 a month, which they're putting towards better loft and cavity wall insulation to make the house more energy efficient.

Her husband Stephen goes to work by bike, and now even enjoys weekend bike rides for pleasure. "Living where we do, we felt that if anyone could do without the car it was us. The problem of global warming isn't going to go away, and the challenges will be even greater for our children. We have no choice but to make changes for everyone's sake."

Joanna Scorror is a self-employed gardener who lives in the village of Aiskew, near Bedale in North Yorkshire. She studied plant science at university and environmental science as a postgraduate. Thirteen years ago, she joined the Women's Institute in Bedale, is now science advisor to the North Yorkshire Federation of WIs, and was very much involved in the carbon footprint campaign run by the WI a few years ago.

Does she think it's easier to live a greener life when living in the country? "Cities and towns have better transport, but there are other factors. If you get a lot of your food from small independent shops then you support rural businesses that often get their fresh food locally so it hasn't been driven many miles, and you also save money by not going to Tesco, where there are lots of things to tempt you that you don't need."

Joanna and her husband, a teacher who goes to work by bus, do use the car but try to plan journeys so that many errands are done in one go. If she needs bigger shops, then she will get

the bus from Bedale to Northallerton then travel to Middlesbrough by train, involving total travel costs of 11.50, compared with

15 in petrol/parking plus wear and tear costs if she drives.

"If I absolutely must drive for some reason, then I will fit in some work along the way, call in for a 25 kg bag of potatoes (5 at a local farm) on my way back and probably one or two other stops for essentials, to justify taking the car." Car mileage in the last year has been 7,000, which they hope to cut down to 6,000 next year.

Joanna grows a lot of food in the garden, including apples, pears, plums, raspberries, red and blackcurrants and gooseberries as well as veg. She sticks to the mantra of seasonality as much as possible. "I try to buy British and seasonal foods, so I would never buy tomatoes, strawberries or salad in winter. At this time of year, we eat lots of carrots, Brussels sprouts, leeks and potatoes that we grow or buy locally. I wouldn't buy broccoli now because it will have been flown in, probably from Spain. Eating seasonal foods means you always have things to look forward to."

Worry about greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of land given over to growing feed for animals has led the couple to cut down on meat consumption.

"I'm not fanatically strict... I sometimes have an avocado. It's all about balance, and doing what you can do. Most days I walk a couple of miles, but other days if I'm loaded up I get the bus home from Bedale and don't feel guilty about it."

Joanna says she and her husband are considering different kinds of cavity wall insulation and new roof insulation for their dormer bungalow, and excluding draughts by carpeting the wooden floor in the living room. They don't heat the rooms upstairs, and downstairs they have gas central heating but like to burn wood from an adjacent woodland on an open fire.

The couple have not flown for 16 years, preferring to spend holidays camping in Britain. "It's not just about the effects of plane emissions on climate. There are so many beautiful places to explore here at home."

Joanna and her husband have been given the nickname "The Good Life" by friends locally. They take it in good part.

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Confessions of an Eco-Shopper (Hodder, 8.99) by

Kate Lock can be ordered from the Yorkshire Post Bookshop by calling or online at www.yorkshirepostbookshop.co.uk. Postage costs 2.95.