Action 51: When the Count Down began some six weeks ago, one of the first actions was to talk to a friend about the climate crisis. Why not repeat the action? You could talk about the things you have done and learnt over the last 50 days.
Count Down
Author: Judith Russenberger
Environmentalist and theologian, with husband and three grown up children plus one cat, living in London SW14.
I enjoy running and drinking coffee - ideally with a friend or a book.
Falling in Love 12
This is probably a buff-tailed bumblebee. These are sociable bees. Each year a new queen is hatched and she alone will sit out the winter. She will be one of the large bumblebees we see seeking out winter flowering plants such as mahonia and crocuses. In the spring she will feed up on pollen and nectar such that she has the renewed strength to begin a new, small, colony. Initially the larvae will develop as female workers but as the summer progresses some will emerge as males. One will successfully mate and so the cycle will begin again.
Such persistence!
The world around us is full of curious, beautiful and amazing things. As small children our curiosity and our amazement knew no bounds. Every day would produce novelties- things to see, things to chew or eat, things to grab and hold, things to poke and explore.
As we have grow older we have often lost that sense of wonder. Things that were new have become mundane. In the rush to be busy, small things flop below the radar. Decorum dictates that we shouldn’t prod or lick things and, unless we’re wine tasters, swirling stuff around our mouth and spitting are frowned upon. Stopping suddenly just to look is discouraged – it interrupts the flow of traffic. Daily routines take over.
And our love for the world wains and falters.
The season of creation-tide runs from 1st September till 4th October, the Feast of St Francis. Let’s fall in love again with creation.
Sunday Reflection
12th September 2021, Creationtide
Genesis 2: 4-7, 15-24; 1 John 1:1-4; John 2:1-11
Reflection
Christ Church is observing the Sunday between 1st September and 4th October as Creationtide and so is using a different set of readings for these Sundays. According to the Cambridge Dictionary creation is ‘the act or process of making, producing, or building something, or something that has been made, built, or produced’. It is a word that means both process and the result. God, in giving us the gift of creation, gives us something that both is, and is on going. God invites us to value and participate both in the existence of creation and in the process of creation.
Today’s set of readings includes two of my favourites.
The first reading from the Book of Genesis (which means the Book of Beginnings) starts with insufficiency – the insufficiency of the bare earth to be productive, to fulfil its potential. God sees what could be and what is needed to get there.
First of all God provides water and then someone to till the ground. With those key elements in place, the garden that God plants (in verse 8), can now thrive – transforming what was barren into a verdant landscape. God’s vision sees yet more scarcity and more untapped potential. The human needs company, both as a helper and as a partner. God therefore creates all manner of animals as helpers and a fellow human as a partner. Now there is potential for creation – animals and humans – to do even more tilling (creating) of the earth.
This story sees creation as a process of teamwork and cooperation and – on God’s part, vision. It is a story about developing relationships and bonds between God and plants and creatures and humans. It is a story about the creation of a creative ecosystem. As the story progresses beyond today’s reading, we know that it is a finely balanced ecosystem which breaks apart when humans ignore God’s words.
The gospel story is similar. It is a story about insufficiency and abundance. It is a story about co working, of God and humans (here I am thinking of the servants who have to fill those heavy stone jars with water and take them to the steward) working together to create something amazing. In it Jesus’s glory is revealed and his disciples believe in him.
In between these two we have the Letter of John in which the word of life is described as being visible, audible and tangible. This word that comes from God and produces eternal life, echos the breath of God that gives life to the living beings in the Garden of Eden. It is a word that generates fellowship and joy – something envisaged in the Garden when God saw the need for companionship and co- workers, and in the Gospel, where the wine rejuvenates the wedding feast – itself symbolising the relationship between God and humanity, and which we would now add ‘and creation’.
In the Autumn of 2021 we find ourselves facing a ecological emergency caused by climate change and human incompetence. Through God’s wisdom, we know we can restore harmony, that we can replace insufficiency with abundance, yet we are fearful that we will not. We are fearful of making changes, of risking our own sense of security, of reaching out to help others in order to help ourselves.
Can we re-find the word of life, can we re-new our fellowship one with another and with all of creation, and re-discover true joy?
Count Down
Action: Find what is the oldest thing in your home. Where did it come from? What is its purpose? Is it still useable or is it now an object of beauty? We can conserve valuable resources by giving things a longer life.
Falling in Love 11
Nettles are often seen with irritation or distaste because they sting – roses of course have sharp thorns! Nettles however are an excellent food source for various insects, especially for caterpillars. Red admiral, peacock, small tortoiseshell and comma caterpillars are all fans of nettles. Young nettles are popular with aphids and therefore with ladybirds too. Nettles can be a key plant in wild life friendly gardens.
Nettles are also good for humans to eat, especially when the leaves are young and tender, and are a good source of vitamins A, C and D as well as minerals such as calcium, magnesium and iron.
The world around us is full of curious, beautiful and amazing things. As small children our curiosity and our amazement knew no bounds. Every day would produce novelties- things to see, things to chew or eat, things to grab and hold, things to poke and explore.
As we have grow older we have often lost that sense of wonder. Things that were new have become mundane. In the rush to be busy, small things flop below the radar. Decorum dictates that we shouldn’t prod or lick things and, unless we’re wine tasters, swirling stuff around our mouth and spitting are frowned upon. Stopping suddenly just to look is discouraged – it interrupts the flow of traffic. Daily routines take over.
And our love for the world wains and falters.
The season of creation-tide runs from 1st September till 4th October, the Feast of St Francis. Let’s fall in love again with creation.
The Green Tau: issue 16
10th September 2021
The Appliance of Science
Heating consumes most of our household energy and consequently carbon budget. Of the remainder some is used for heating water – for baths, showers etc – but most is used in the kitchen: about 60% on average. The typical kitchens contain a cooker, kettle, fridge and washing machine. There may also be a freezer and a tumble dryer. And then any number of smaller appliances which can take up so much space – coffee machine, blender, mixer, toaster, juicer, rice steamer, slow cooker, waffle maker, sandwich maker, bread maker, deep fat fryer, ice-cream maker, coffee grinder, electric whisk, soup maker, griddle …
Think of an average day in the kitchen. Boil the kettle for a hot drink: approx 25g CO2 per mug of hot water; pop bread in the toaster: 75g; microwave a bowl of porridge: another 25g; run the dishwasher: 275g (70 minute programme); run the washing machine: 400g (100 minute cycle) plus 20 minutes in the tumble dryer: 250g; brew a fresh coffee with the coffee machine: 50g; bake a cake: 750g; half an hour’s ironing: 350g; make supper (eg pasta, sauce and vegetables) using three hot plates 250g; put another load through the dishwasher: 275g; boil the kettle for a bedtime hot drink: 25g. That adds up to 2750g. Meanwhile the fridge is contributing 1250g per day and the freezer 750g, giving a total of 4750g.
If we move around the home, we have the computer and the TV which might each be another 250g CO2 per day, the vacuum cleaner, mobile phone chargers (most homes have more than one), internet hub, Alexa, hair dryer, pressure shower etc. Plus all the light fittings.
Perhaps it is not surprising that energy consumption in our homes accounts on average for 22% of the UK’s national carbon footprint. But if we are to achieve the UN’s targeted 45% reduction on CO2 emissions by 2030 – and net zero by 2050 – we need to find ways of reducing our personal footprint. We can change the way we use our household appliances and next week’s Eco Tips will look at ways of making efficiency savings.
We can use more energy efficient appliances – but is buying something new the best answer if that means throwing away equipment that is old but still working?
Every appliance we buy, large or small, has already produced a carbon footprint by virtue of its manufacturing, and distribution. Information on the size of these footprints is not readily forthcoming. This may in part be because often these appliance – or their components – are manufactured elsewhere in the world. Current accounting procedures would allocate these carbon costs to the country of production and not the country of consumption.
As well as considering the manufacturing carbon footprint of the appliance, we also need to consider the life span of the appliance. A fridge that has a life of 20 years will better repay its carbon footprint, than a fridge that is only used for 5 years. Sadly many appliances now seem to have a very short life. Whereas a fridge or cooker might have lasted 30+ years, modern day equivalents have an expected lifespan of 10 -13 years. Even then they may not serve their full span as in out throw away society, many are discarded as part of the popular pastime of kitchen refurbishment.
The UK has one of the highest rates of throwing away electrical appliances. In 2019 this was almost 24kg of waste per head. Less than 20% of our electrical waste (e waste) is currently recycled with the rest going to landfill with the potential harm of toxic chemicals leaking out, whilst at the same time failing to salvage valuable metals and other elements that could be reused. E waste will be a future topic for Green Tau.
NB Recent EU legislation requires that electrical appliances should a, be repairable and b, that manufacturers should provide spare parts for up to ten years after a model has gone out of production. The UK introduced similar legislation in July of this year, although manufacturers have a two year window in which to bring in these changes.
Falling in Love 10
We often see swans as birds of great beauty but we know that both beneath their calm demeanour is a pair of fast paddling feet, and that their initial appearance as cygnet underplays what they will finally be like.
Things are not always as they first appear.
The world around us is full of curious, beautiful and amazing things. As small children our curiosity and our amazement knew no bounds. Every day would produce novelties- things to see, things to chew or eat, things to grab and hold, things to poke and explore.
As we have grow older we have often lost that sense of wonder. Things that were new have become mundane. In the rush to be busy, small things flop below the radar. Decorum dictates that we shouldn’t prod or lick things and, unless we’re wine tasters, swirling stuff around our mouth and spitting are frowned upon. Stopping suddenly just to look is discouraged – it interrupts the flow of traffic. Daily routines take over.
And our love for the world wains and falters.
The season of creation-tide runs from 1st September till 4th October, the Feast of St Francis. Let’s fall in love again with creation.
Count Down
Action 50: Half way! Children are most at risk from the effects of climate change. Their age makes them vulnerable to diseases and heat stress, but more importantly they will living for longer with the consequences of the climate crisis. Sign UNICEF’s petition asking Governments to act on the behalf of children.
Falling in Love 9
Conkers are a children’s favourite, to be collected and hoarded. Its smooth highly polished skin and round shape is irresistible
Even for adults – aren’t we just grown up children – the appeal remains. The conker comes with an apt lesson: the shiny beauty is short lived – beauty can not be hoarded.
The world around us is full of curious, beautiful and amazing things. As small children our curiosity and our amazement knew no bounds. Every day would produce novelties- things to see, things to chew or eat, things to grab and hold, things to poke and explore.
As we have grow older we have often lost that sense of wonder. Things that were new have become mundane. In the rush to be busy, small things flop below the radar. Decorum dictates that we shouldn’t prod or lick things and, unless we’re wine tasters, swirling stuff around our mouth and spitting are frowned upon. Stopping suddenly just to look is discouraged – it interrupts the flow of traffic. Daily routines take over.
And our love for the world wains and falters.
The season of creation-tide runs from 1st September till 4th October, the Feast of St Francis. Let’s fall in love again with creation.
Count Down
Action 49: This is the season for apples. If you – or your neighbour – has a surplus, use some to make mincemeat. It will have matured nicely by Christmas.
Chop 500g of apples into small pieces – leave the skin on but discard the core – and place in a large bowl. Add the juice of 2 lemons. Add a teaspoon each of nutmeg, mace and cinnamon – or use ready mixed spice. Add 800g of dried fruit: use a mixture of raisins, figs and apricots. Chop the figs and apricots into small chunks: this is easily done using a pair of scissors. Add 250g of sugar.
Traditionally mincemeat includes suet – vegetarian or otherwise but I choose to omit this as there is usually plenty ty of fat in the pastry and the brandy butter.
You can also add a couple of tablespoons of brandy but this is optional. Mix all together. Leave the mixture in the bowl for 3 or 4 days stirring each day – cover with a tea-towel. Put into jars and it will keep for several months. We keep some back to make for triangle mince pies for Trinity Sunday.
The Green Tau 