Bettystown mum brings pollution down to zero

Fiona McAleenan from Bettystown is one of five people who will compete over the next nine months to reduce their carbon number for a first prize of a €10,000 makeover for their home, garden or lifestyle. 'Change", the government"s national climate change awareness campaign and 'The Last Word" on Today FM, have joined together for this 'Know Your Number" challenge. The challenge aims to encourage individuals to understand their carbon number and to show them how to change their behaviour in order to reduce that number over the next nine months. Fiona was one of almost 500 people who entered the competition on Today FM"s The Last Word show and will be a regular contributor to the show over the coming months as the competition progresses. 'Everybody in Ireland has a Carbon Count Number and no matter how low or high it is we can each take some action to reduce it and help tackle climate change and save money too. This competition is going to help people to understand their carbon number and more importantly show them practical things they can do to reduce it,' said Jim Gannon, from Change. 'We hope that listeners to the Last Word will identify with a contestant who has a similar lifestyle to their own and follow their lead in making similar lifestyle changes to lower their number.' Fiona McAleenan is a 48-year-old working mother of seven. The children range in ages from four to 21. She works three days a week as a solicitor in Essex Quay and her husband, Gerry, works full time for the HSE Drug Rehabilitation centre on Capel Street, Dublin. Fiona travels to work by private bus with her eldest son Ruaidhri, who is studying journalism in Ballyfermot College. Gerry drives a "08 Opel Zafira to work every day and he drops their four youngest children to school on the way. The family of nine live in a two-storey, five-bed, detached house. The windows are double glazed but there is a sky light, which leads to loss of heat. Fiona admits that insulation in the house is poor and needs improving, especially in the attic. With seven children in the house, the washing machine is always in use, but they hardly ever use the dryer. There are four televisions and a skybox in the house. Fiona"s family took two flights last year, to Cyprus in May and Portugal in August. She says her knowledge of climate change is not great, but she is trying. She is committed to walking more and using less energy. She admits it is not easy with seven children, but is eager for them to learn good habits now so that they can pass them on to others. Fiona"s hobbies include reading and keeping abreast of current affairs. 'With seven children and busy jobs we are always on the go but we hear so much about the environment and carbon emissions that we feel we need to make the time to learn what to do and take the necessary steps to reduce our contribution to climate change,' said Fiona. 'I want to leave the world a healthy and better place for my children when they grow up, and their children and grandchildren.' Matt Cooper, presenter of The Last Word, explained: 'We think the contestants will have some fun in doing something that is serious and fun and in telling all of our listeners about their experiences on a regular basis.' 'Over the coming week we will be putting the five contestants through a Change bootcamp to provide them with all the information and the tools to succeed in this challenge to reduce their carbon number,' continued Jim Gannon, who will be judging the competition. 'During November and December they will have to complete a number of tasks, including making Christmas, and grocery shopping, more environmentally friendly.' The five chosen contestants" carbon count number has been measured and will continue to be tracked on the Change.ie carbon calculator throughout the competition and there will be monthly tasks to keep them motivated. One elimination will take place before Christmas and another contestant will be knocked-out in the Spring. The three remaining finalists will compete for the overall prize and the winner will be announced in July 2009. The overall winner will be the contestant who reduces their carbon number the most. The second prize will be €5,000 worth of sustainable home, garden or lifestyle improvements and the third prize will be an Eco-holiday in Ireland to the value of €2,000. The progress of the contestants taking on the Know Your Number challenge can be followed on The Last Word on Today FM every Friday (4.30-7pm) and on www.change.ie and on www.todayfm.com.