The Free-conomy

With so much talk about reducing carbon emissions, it's very surprising that consumption has not yet come under much scrutiny. In fact, every day we are encouraged to consume more, especially now because Christmas has just passed and the retail sector is experiencing a downturn. The developed world will soon have to realise that consumption is contributing to so many ills around the world. People are also feeling the pinch in their wallets. Yet people don't realise how many things we can get for free. Here are just a few things you can get for free:



Accomodation when you travel

When travelling, accomodation can often be one of the most expensive things you'll spend money on. If you want to save money and also have a great time, go to couchsurfing.com The basic concept of this website is to provide safe accomodation on couches, and often beds as well, all over the world. I have tried out couchsurfing.com twice and both times, it has been absolutely brilliant. Not only do you get free accomodation, you get to meet someone who lives in the town or city you visit who knows all the good, and bad, things about that town or city. I would say that the only downside of this website is that it can be difficult to find people who live in small towns and villages.



Household items, clothes and many other things

Many people today are now familiar with freecycle.org Freecycle is an email list in cities and towns in many countries where people post things that they have and things that they want. The only requirement is that once you sign up, you have to offer something first before posting a wanted ad. I have gotten many very useful things through freecycle and I've used it both in Canada and the UK. I've lived in London since September 2007 and since then I have received a food processor, mittens, a coffee grinder and cookery books through freecycle. Most London areas have their own freecycle list.



Language Skills

Forget having to take a class that costs money - gumtree.com has many people that offer to teach you a language in return for your own or another skill. I am now learning Japanese through someone on gumtree. Gumtree is in a small number of countries: the UK, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, Hong Kong and Singapore.

We'll all have to do our part to reduce our emissions and reducing consumption is just one way to do that. Of course, governments will have to create legislation one of these days to force people and companies to reduce their emissions. But for now, we can at least do our part.