Global warming prompts some lifestyle changes in the UK

Reuters 25 Jan 08;

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons are starting to change their lifestyles in response to global warming, but few are making the tough choices and in many cases the motivation is fear of punishment, according to a new survey.

Top of the list of environmental activities is recycling, with 90 percent of the people surveyed saying they were doing it more than a year ago.

But the reasons given were mostly connected with council schemes and punishments rather than altruism, according to the survey by advertising firm Euro RSCG.

"While people from all walks of life now see climate change as one of the key challenges that they face, for many the motivation to reduce their environmental impact is directly related to cost savings - or local councils prompting them into action, said Russ Lidstone of Euro RSCG London.

Second most popular activity was switching off electrical appliances rather than leaving them on standby, followed by switching over to low energy light bulbs and turning the central heating thermostat down slightly and using less water.

But when it comes to the tougher lifestyle choices, action was far less popular.

Only 33 percent said they were driving their cars less than a year ago and half that number had decided to take fewer international flights -- a booming source of climate changing carbon emissions.

(Reporting by Jeremy Lovell; editing by Paul Casciato)