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Reading about this week, I have a checklist in my head that makes me feel like a super polluter.

Every time I step in a taxi it鈥檚 one more car clogging up the roads. When I run a bath, I know I鈥檓 using far more water than if I could just have a quick shower. Switching on the tumble dryer I wish I could manage to peg out the washing instead.

The truth is, there are some Green options that just aren鈥檛 an option. But for all the not-so-Green activities my disability makes a necessity, I can honestly say I鈥檓 more environmentally aware through being disabled.

In my case even the very process of becoming ill led me to gradually re-engage with the world in a more eco-friendly way. Yes, I suddenly couldn鈥檛 walk and cycle everywhere, and I find energy-saving bulbs a real headache. But when recovering from the depression that nearly finished me off, I found myself drawn to nature magazines and programmes, as I needed to feed my mind positive images. I didn鈥檛 have the concentration for books and still don鈥檛 much of the time, but give me a wildlife magazine and I鈥檓 happy.

Reading about the natural world has progressed to learning more about how we are damaging the planet, and how we can all limit this damage. And I鈥檝e found that although I can鈥檛 do everything I can do the following:

Buy second-hand or Fair trade clothes
Wash clothes on a low temperature
Only boil the water I need (which has the added bonus of making the kettle lighter)
Switch to using fewer chemicals in the home
Sort the paper and glass recycling crates with help from my son
Encourage my son to be interested in the natural world, to grow things, to look after things
Stop buying so much stuff
Recycle plastic bags from my online order back to the supermarket

The house I rent also has good draft proofing, a no junk mail sign, and a rain tank in the garden. The plants have a fighting chance of surviving since I started using it, as collecting rainwater involves no bending. Plus it鈥檚 really near the plants that need watering.

Having a chronic illness forced me to slow down, to notice things more. It was only through becoming disabled that I got into photography. It鈥檚 why I called my blog The Beauty Offensive. And it鈥檚 why I now care very much about the environment. I can鈥檛 say I thought about it all that much before I became disabled.

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