I think yes. We can do some things to reduce the national carbon emissions. Such as driving less and walking or taking bus more.

We can also get electric kettles/jugs that have a whistle; average time spent boiling in our house, audio:3 seconds, ordinary: 10 seconds.

Multiply all the electric kettles/jugs in the country and there is the potential for huge savings, all that it takes is an annoying whistle!!

We can use less energy and save money, using modern design and correctly sized, efficient appliances.

Old brick veneer homes are not particularly energy efficient, or comfortable. A modern design with insulation and windows shaded in summer, will be more energy efficient and comfortable. But the average Australian house is now 245 square metres, twice as large as those of the 1950s and Europe today. To save energy, select a smaller home.

A carpet-sweeper will provide you with some exercise, but vacuum cleaners use so little energy it is not an energy saving priority.

Modern front loading washing machines are energy and water efficient, as are dishwashers. Hand-wash if you want, but you are not going to save much energy, if any, and may end up using more water.

Reverse cycle air-conditioners operate as "heat pumps" in winter and are an efficient way to heat a home. Similarly, with heat-pump water heaters.

Recently bought a new fridge, which uses half the energy of the old one. In the ACT, the electricity supplier will pay to take away your old fridge.

The salesman suggested they could help me choose a fridge which would fit my kitchen. I realized they were trying to sell me the BIGGEST fridge which would fit. Instead I chose the SMALLEST model available with a separate freezer and automatic defrost (not a 'bar' fridge). At 228 litres this fridge was half the capacity of the one the salesman wanted to sell me, but is still adequate for the average Australian household (which has 2.5 people). It is slightly less efficient than the larger model, but still uses a quarter less power and was HALF THE PRICE.

You can hand wash and hand clean if you want, as a lifestyle choice and it will provide some small energy savings. However, it is not something you will be able to convince most of the Australian community to do. It should be much easier to convince them to buy new efficient appliances, sized for their needs and so cheaper, along with a home without rooms they don't use.