A day with Margaret Mahy

M Mahy: A famous name on a humble letterboxToday was a treat. The Be The Change crew jumped off the bus for a day and visited one of New Zealand's best loved authors at her home in Lyttleton.

Margaret Mahy kindly agreed help the Be The Change team demonstrate some of the energy saving tips and tricks that you have submitted here on the Be The Change website. Things that help householders reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint. So, followed by a TV cameraman we ferreted around her rambling old house looking for appliances on standby, drafty gaps, old fashioned light bulbs, uninsulated water pipes and suchlike.

To her credit Margaret scored very highly on our audit of her house. There wasn't a great deal to fault her on but we did find the odd thing or two that will help her save energy and reduce her impact on the climate.

A chat: A chat in the kitchen with Margaret MahyMost of the things we talked about with Margaret are already listed here on the website as Pledges or Bright Ideas. There are so many things you can do in your home to reduce your energy consumption. If we all follow Margaret's lead we can drastically reduce New Zealand's emissions and our reliance on coal. Apparently New Zealanders waste over $80,000,000 in electricity every year just by leaving appliances on standby instead of turning them off at the wall.

The Margaret Mahy Makeover will screen on Campbell Live on TV 3 some time in the next few days so keep an eye out!

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