Fred is a single 30 year old who has a love of the finer things in life. He is an aspiring writer and is currently an investor in properties and enjoys collecting art. He lives in Leeds (as an investment) in the UK and has extensively traveled throughout England and Northern Europe. Someday he would like to share his love of art, fine wines and cheeses, travel and beautifully designed things with a wife. He only hopes that his future wife will be able to tolerate his stubborn nature and tendency to need to be the centre of attention.

Fred and the future Mrs Barker (Lydia) have moved to London, where they now live with their much-loved three-legged cat. As a property developer and author (and thanks to high speed Broadband), Fred works from home, and swayed by the ecologically-conscious Lydia, he now only travels by bike or public transport. Fred has discovered a passion for cooking which, coupled with his expanding waistline, means he now looks more at what he eats and where it comes from. He would love to travel further on expensive first class flights but Lydia wears the trousers in the Barker family, dictating long train rides and domestic holidays instead.

Fred has finally bowed to Lydia, as the new ecological paradigm has prevailed outside their home across society, and acknowledges that green truly is the new black. He has scrapped his old petrol car, and covered the family home with solar panels. Their family now produces all their power, heat and food, from their country home. Governmental and social changes have encouraged them to take steps to achieve this self-sufficiency; hence they act both out of ecological concern and also out of the desire to make long-term cost savings.

Fred and his family still produces their own energy, however, now that Fred no longer works in construction (instead publishing art books online), their footprint has decreased further. Refusing to pay water taxes, the family are no longer connected to water mains, but get their water from their own spring. Fred, Lydia and their three children also grow their own food, while seafood has become a rare treat, due to over-fishing. Lydia is keen for an incinerator at home to reduce landfill waste, but recycling and re-use is the preferred norm. The family "stay local" in their food consumption, travels, clothing and product demands to avoid high financial and carbon costs; a far cry from Fred's younger days of travel and lavish spending.

When Fred looks back over the past 40 years he can't believe how different his life turned out from how he had planned it. He would never have guessed in his 20's that approaching his 70th birthday he would be so healthy in body and mind. As a young man he would have imagined a life of exotic travel, expensive food and mass consumption to be perfect! Now the idea seems embarrassing. His children can't believe there was a time when not recycling rubbish and burning fossil fuels was OK. Fred would not argue that his low carbon, sustainable lifestyle was not his own idea. His wife Lydia nudged him in the right direction on many occasions, that and a wish to save money where ever possible! So instead of 40 years of the lazy luxury lifestyle Fred had planned he has had 40 years of bike riding, gardening and healthy home grown foods. Sometimes Fred wonders if he would have lived to see 70 had he continued on the path he started on at 20 something? Whilst Lydia wonders if the planet would have lasted another 40 years if everyone was just like Fred....