3rd October 2024
Hard surfaces let the rain runoff rapidly increasing the risk of flooding. Hard surfaces inhibit the good health of underlying soil and preclude plant life. Replacing hard surfaces with something more amenable can boost biodiversity and improve the visual appearance of the landscape.
In the Netherlands this has become the source of competition – who can make the biggest improvement to nature by ‘Whipping out the paving stones’ and wining a golden tile prize?
2nd October 2024
Church yards and gardens are places where greater biodiversity can be encouraged. Land around churches has often been undisturbed for many years allowing naturally for a high degree of biodiversity. The land can also be welcome green space in the midst of more built up urban environment. And there is more that can be achieved if there is a sustained focus on improving biodiversity.
“Churchyards can be surprisingly rich in nature, and many of the plants, fungi, and animals found within a churchyard predate the church buildings and help identify the timelessness of these places and the consistent management they have received year after year.” (1)
In February 2024 the Church of England’s General Synod has backed a series of measures to promote biodiversity. “The Synod approved further action to increase biodiversity including work towards drawing up environmental policy and land management plans for Dioceses and the recording of biodiversity in church green spaces. The Synod also backed a request for the Church Commissioners to report back to the General Synod within three years on their progress in enhancing and supporting biodiversity across their agricultural and forestry land.
“Introducing the debate at the Synod, the Church of England’s lead Bishop for the Environment, Graham Usher, said there was a need for immediate action to promote biodiversity. He warned that the UK is now one of the most ‘nature-depleted’ countries in the world.” (2)
1st October 2024
Variations of SUDs and rain gardens can -and are being – used in schools to promote biodiversity (more and varied planting) and creating more exciting play areas to stimulate awareness of the environment.
“We designed, built, and installed 564 SuDS Rain Planters in 72 of London’s schools most vulnerable to flooding. Through this project, we aimed to create sustainable, climate-resilient environments while educating children on the importance of nature in combatting global warming.” (1)
Playgrounds can be designed to be rain-playgrounds which use rain to add to the diversity of play opportunities. In Gothenburg they have purposely built rain-play grounds that have “been designed to be particularly fun when it’s wet. There are dips in the ground to make the puddles deeper and more satisfyingly splashy, and water gushes down channels from lilypad-shaped rain shelters into a sandpit where children can make pools, rivers and dams. “The kids love to go on their bicycles through the puddles, and my son likes to dig the sands, so some parts of the playground are really nice when it rains,”” (2)
(1) https://www.meristemdesign.co.uk/blog/rain-gardens-vs-suds-planters-differences
30th September 2024
Householders can reduce the peak pressure on storm drains by making use of the SUDs principles.
Eg Gravel and setts rather than solid concrete drive ways, water butts (although these will need emptying before heavy storms), rain gardens and ponds etc.
The RHS explains that “a rain garden is a shallow area of ground or dip which receives run-off from roofs and other hard surfaces. It is planted with plants that can stand waterlogging for up to 48 hours at a time. More drought-tolerant plants are used towards the edges. Storm water fills the depression and then drains. A rill or channel of some kind will connect the roof downpipe to the dip. You can include other linking elements such as a water butt, rain chain, stormwater planter, or pond.” (1)
The Wetlands and Wildfowl Trust has also useful information about creating rain gardens – https://www.wwt.org.uk/discover-wetlands/gardening-for-wetlands/how-to-make-a-rain-garden/
29th September 2024
Reflection with readings following on below
The Lord’s Prayer proposes that God’s will, God’s rule, should prevail on earth as in heaven. In other words the authority, the pattern of behaviour, that relates to heaven, should also relate to earth in the same way.
Today’s extract from the Book of Revelation tells a story – maybe a parable – of Satan and his angelic ilk who having gone against God’s will, are thrown out of heaven. Is the implication that likewise any spirit on earth that opposes God’s should be thrown out? Certainly we have many healing stories where Jesus does just that: unclean spirits that go against God’s will are thrown or drawn out of those possessed by them. Just as in heaven there is no space for evil spirits or dispositions that oppose God’s will; so there will be no space for them on earth. Where such opposition to God exists, there is both a need for, and the option for, healing.
Heaven and earth are not separated. They are not dis or un-connected realms. Both the passage from Genesis and from John’s Gospel, tell of the interconnectedness of heaven and earth. Both use the image of a ladder with angelic messengers to describe the flow of communication between heaven and earth. It is a flow of communication that is now ongoing through Jesus Christ.
If heaven and earth are not separate but interconnected, and if God intends that the divine rule and way of being should prevail in both domains, and if God has established a means of communication between the two – and with Jesus we have the most perfect means of communication – then we should be able to live and work as if God’s rule did apply on earth just as in heaven. But clearly it is something we do have to struggle for, whether we see ourselves following the example of St Michael who stands up for what is right, or the example of Jacob (who is constantly struggling with himself to do the right thing), or if we follow the way of Jesus and share the load of his cross.
So may God bless us with the knowledge that Heaven and earth are not separate but interconnect realms where God’s love and mercy abound.
Genesis 28:10-17
Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Psalm 103:19-22
19 The Lord has set his throne in heaven, *
and his kingship has dominion over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you angels of his,
you mighty ones who do his bidding, *
and hearken to the voice of his word.
21 Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, *
you ministers of his who do his will.
22 Bless the Lord, all you works of his,
in all places of his dominion; *
bless the Lord, O my soul.
Revelation 12:7-12
War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,
“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
Rejoice then, you heavens
and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!”
John 1:47-51
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
28th September 2024
(You may wish to adapt these prayers to suit your local green spaces, nature reserves, parks etc)
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits;
Bless the Lord, all you works of his,
in all places of his dominion;
bless the Lord, O my soul.
Ps 103: 1-2, 22
Reading: And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might forever and ever!” Revelation 5:13
Response:
Everliving God, the heavens declare your praise and yet cannot contain your glory.
We join with all creation in honouring you.
for frosty mornings and blue skies,
and the fresh air we breathe:
We bless you, creator God;
for robins, sparrows and starlings,
and all who visit our gardens:
We bless you, creator God;
For strong limbed trees and supple saplings,
and all the strength they embody:
We bless you, creator God;
For fruits and roots, and leaves and shoots,
and all the nourishment they provide:
We bless you, creator God;
For cats and dogs, our companionable friends,
and foxes and deer, our wilder friends:
We bless you, creator God;
For winter flowers and bumble bees,
for winter’s work and rest:
We bless you, creator God!
Let’s offer intercessions for the well being of our local environment
We pray for the work of the Wetlands Trust protecting birds and their habitats, and we give thanks for our local Wetlands reserve.
We pray for the work of Kew Gardens and the Millennium Seed Bank, for their work in protecting and nurturing plants and we give thanks for beauty of the gardens.
We pray for the work of the park rangers maintaining the wildness of Richmond Park with its great diversity of plant and animal life. We pray too for the work of Holly Lodge enabling the Park to be accessible to all.
We pray for those who work to protect the biodiversity of the Thames, and we give thanks for the wildlife returning to its waters.
We pray for the Friends of Sheen Common and of Palewell Common and for their safeguarding of these local green oases. We give thanks for joy that comes from playing and running, from playing sports and walking dogs.
We pray too for local gardeners and keepers of allotments, and for all who put out food and water for birds. We give thanks for the beauty of the front gardens we walk past.
As we notice the wonders of creation that surround us,
we pray that what we see we will love,
and that what we love, we will protect,
and that what we protect, will be blessed by God.
Amen.
27th September 2024
Is climate change an existential threat?
What does ‘existential’ mean?
Existential means pertaining to existence – including relating to or affirming existence. When used as an adjective to describe a threat, it is used to mean a situation where continued existence is in question. For example, the threat of nuclear war can be described as an existential threat.
Is climate change an existential threat?
Rising global temperatures are a threat to human life. They are also a threat to the world’s flora and fauna. They are a threat to ice sheets and glaciers and so create the threat of rising sea levels. They are threat to weather patterns creating droughts, floods, heat domes, wildfires, storms etc – all of further increasing the threats to human and other life forms on earth. These threats to life – both present and future – have been widely and extensively studied by scientists across the world.
To quote from NASA’s website: “the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97 percent – agree that humans are causing global warming and climate change. Most of the leading science organisations around the world have issued public statements expressing this, including international and U.S. science academies, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and a whole host of reputable scientific bodies around the world.” https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/faq/do-scientists-agree-on-climate-change/
Further more “It’s important to remember that scientists always focus on the evidence, not on opinions. Scientific evidence continues to show that human activities (primarily the human burning of fossil fuels) have warmed Earth’s surface and its ocean basins, which in turn have continued to impact Earth’s climate. This is based on over a century of scientific evidence forming the structural backbone of today’s civilisation.
“NASA Global Climate Change presents the state of scientific knowledge about climate change while highlighting the role NASA plays in better understanding our home planet. This effort includes citing multiple peer-reviewed studies from research groups across the world, illustrating the accuracy and consensus of research results (in this case, the scientific consensus on climate change) consistent with NASA’s scientific research portfolio.” https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/scientific-consensus/
In February 2021, David Attenborough in addressing the UN Security Council called climate change “the biggest threat to security that modern humans have ever faced”. He went in to say “If we continue on our current path, we will face the collapse of everything that gives us our security,” he said: food production, access to fresh water, habitable ambient temperature and ocean food chains. The poorest — those with the least security — are certain to suffer. “Our duty right now is surely to do all we can to help those in the most immediate danger.” https://press.un.org/en/2021/sc14445.doc.htm
It is not just scientists that term climate change as an existential threat, but renowned world organisations too.
In 2019, Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change wrote, “Once a distant concern, climate change is now an existential threat and the greatest challenge facing this generation. It is abundantly clear that business as usual is no longer good enough. Rapid, deep and transformative hanger is needed throughout society – not only to reduce emissions and stabilise global temperatures, but to build a safer, healthier and more prosperous future for all.
“Our goals are clear and the science is non-negotiable. We must limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and, on the road to doing so, achieve climate neutrality by 2050.This must be done urgently and cooperatively; a global project requiring the best efforts from all nations, all businesses and all people.” https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Climate_Action_Support_Trends_2019.pdf
In December 2020, five years after the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change by world leaders at COP21 in 2015, the International Energy Agency reported:
“The Paris Agreement has been ratified by 189 of the 197 signatories ─ with scope for more to do so. Since the signing, governments, companies and citizens around the world have started to take action. Indeed, addressing this existential threat is the global challenge we face.
“This has meant a special responsibility for the IEA, which as the global energy authority has a mandate to promote energy security, economic development and environmental protection. Keeping the lights and heaters on, keeping transport moving, these are themselves critical dimensions of our economies and lives. And we have to make sure we can keep doing them in a sustainable way. Energy is not a problem – emissions are the problem.
“The IEA has looked at the energy sector’s impact on climate for more than a decade, and we have significantly ramped up our efforts in recent years under the leadership of Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol, with a focus on supporting countries in their transitions to clean energy. Energy systems that continue to worsen climate change are making all of us more vulnerable and less secure.”
Two years later in September 2022, the IEA reported:
““We are in the midst of the first truly global energy crisis, with devastating knock-on consequences across the world economy, especially in developing countries. Only by speeding up the transition to clean sustainable energy can we achieve lasting energy security,’’ said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “Through international collaboration, we can make the transition quicker, cheaper and easier for everyone – on the back of faster innovation, greater economies of scale, bigger incentives to invest, level playing fields and benefits that are shared across all parts of society. Without this collaboration, the transition to net zero emissions will be much more challenging and could be delayed by decades.” https://www.iea.org/news/international-collaboration-gap-threatens-to-undermine-climate-progress-and-delay-net-zero-by-decades
The previous year in the IEA’s report Net Zero by 2050: a Road map for the Global Energy Sector, laid out how across the globe different sectors would need to change to meet the 2050 net zero emissions target, including ramping up renewable energy supplies such as solar and wind power. The Report highlighted the need to ensure fair energy costs for consumers, transitioning jobs to maintain employment opportunities, replacing the internal combustion engine with electric vehicles etc. At the same time it was equally forthright in stating that polluting energy sources would have to be phased out, referencing coal (to be phased out first) oil and gas – and the Report was clear:
No new oil and gas!
“Beyond projects already committed as of 2021, there are no new oil and gas fields approved for development in our pathway, and no new coal mines or mine extensions are required. The unwavering policy focus on climate change in the net zero pathway results in a sharp decline in fossil fuel demand, meaning that the focus for oil and gas producers switches entirely to output – and emissions reductions – from the operation of existing assets.” https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050
As time has passed – and despite both the promises and the actual actions taken by nations – the rate at which the climate is changing has not slowed but accelerated.
In October 2023 an international group of scientists wrote: “We are afraid of the uncharted territory that we have now entered.” Their writing in the journal Biosciences, was reported by the Forbes magazine: “As scientists, we are increasingly being asked to tell the public the truth about the crises we face in simple and direct terms. The truth is that we are shocked by the ferocity of the extreme weather events in 2023.”
In January 2024 the World Economic Forum produced its Global Risk Report.
“Nature and climate risks are getting the attention they deserve — that’s a positive first step in addressing some of the greatest challenges that we, as a global community, face. Just this week, scientists announced that temperatures in 2023 reached 1.48°C above preindustrial averages, with the 1.5°C threshold that takes the Earth into an unsafe operating space likely to be breached in the next 12 months.
“The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 named three key climate issues as critical challenges facing humanity: Extreme weather events, critical change to Earth systems — which is a new entrant this year — and biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse….
“There is no doubt that the challenge is great — it is perhaps the greatest challenge humanity has ever or will ever face. The good news: the solutions are available to us.
“The priority solution is faster emissions reduction and credible steps by all actors in our economic system to accelerate the speed and scale of a clean transition. Human emissions is the swiftest lever to postpone or avoid critical changes to Earth systems…
“Given the nature of the existential threat, it is essential to pair a realistic view of risks alongside hope and optimism. Too much focus on the risks will leave humans with a trauma response of fight, flight, freeze and fold – leading to ecoanxiety and climate grief. These responses induce inaction and serve to propel the risk rather than mitigate it. On the other hand, an overly optimistic view that is reliant on technological fixes further down the line is also unhelpful, as decision-makers kick the can down the proverbial road.
“What is needed is a mindset that recognises the full scale of the climate risk, whilst maintaining the optimism that we can and will respond in a way to avoid and mitigate the worst risks from occurring.”
Their report also noted: “The good news: the solutions are available to us. The priority solution is faster emissions reduction and credible steps by all actors in our economic system to accelerate the speed and scale of a clean transition. Human emissions is the swiftest lever to postpone or avoid critical changes to Earth systems.” https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/01/climate-risks-are-finally-front-and-centre-of-the-global-consciousness/
In July 2024 the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) produced its Global Foresight Report. This is a report that aims to understand and predict those things that can or will disrupt planetary health and human wellbeing. The Executive Summary provides the following insights.
“Through the process, it has become clear that the world is facing a different context than it faces even ten years ago. Some of the issues are the same, but the rapid rate of change combined with technological developments, more frequent and devastating disasters and an increasingly turbulent geopolitical landscape, has resulted in a new operating context, where any country can be thrown off course more easily and more often.
“The world is already on the verge of what may be termed ‘polycrisis’ – where global crises are not just amplifying and accelerating but also appear to be synchronising. The triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste is feeding into human crises such as conflict for territory and resources, displacement and deteriorating health.
“The speed of change is staggering….
“The good news is that just as the impact of multiple crises is compounded when they are linked, so are the solutions …Key to a better future is a focus on inter generational equity and a new social contract reinforcing shared values that unite us rather than divide us. A new social contract would involve the global community pursuing transformative change across technological, economic and social factors and paradigms and collective goals.” https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/45915/English-Executive-Summary-Foresight-Report.pdf?sequence=8
For scientists and for those looking at the climate crisis from a global perspective, it is clear that climate change does present us with an existential threat. However looking at the responses from governments and business concerns – that is actual responses not just words and promises – climate change is not an existential threat. It is not even an urgent priority. Economic growth (measured by the unhelpful metric of gross domestic product), the exploiting of every last drop of oil and gas, increasing dividends, ensuring profits for banks, routes for airlines, roads for car drivers, and the maintenance of industrial farming and livestock production, all take precedence.
If global bodies are saying ‘existential threat’ but government and industry are saying ‘business as usual’ then we should not be surprised if most people think that the climate change is an important global issue but not an issue that should have any impact on their daily life. So governments and industries continue to say ‘Yes we will make change’ to the global bodies whilst continuing to say to the consumers ‘No don’t worry, we’ll delay these changes till a later date’.
One body that monitors the progress being taken by nations is the Climate Action Tracker.
“The Climate Action Tracker is an independent scientific project that tracks government climate action and measures it against the globally agreed Paris Agreement aim of “holding warming well below 2°C, and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.” https://climateactiontracker.org/
Their assessment shows that gap between where we should be and where we are.
27th September 2024
Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) rather than using drainage pipes as the immediate means of collecting rainwater, use natural features to slow and temporarily collect rainwater. This reduces the peak demands placed on drainage systems – peaks which often overwhelm the system.
SUDS may include planting flowerbeds or other green verges alongside roads and pavements, replacing hard surfaces with softer surfaces – eg concrete with gravel – and creating rain gardens, ponds and streams or rills. Rain in this way can be used to create attractive features, new habitats, and increased biodiversity.
For more information see https://www.susdrain.org/delivering-suds/using-suds/background/sustainable-drainage.html
26th September 2024
Increasing biodiversity can reduce the risk or extent of flooding. A range of trees and shrubs, grasses and other plants will improve the capacity of the soil to absorb water and slow the rate at which falling water reaches the ground. A diverse range of plants – and therefore of root systems – helps stabilise the soil, limiting how much is washed away and securing banks.
https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/nature-can-help-prevent-flooding
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/flooding/
25th September 2024
What about edible playgrounds in our schools?
“Edible Playgrounds offer a lively, engaging, multi-sensory way to teach children about growing and eating healthy food. Aside from the physical health benefits that eating well brings, learning in an outdoor environment combats Nature Deficit Disorder and has been shown to increase mental health by boosting mood, confidence and self-esteem. Furthermore, allowing the children to connect with nature develops attentiveness and self-reliance in the pupils, leading to more sustainable behaviours in the long term.” (1)
Equally what about a school orchard?
“With a little maintenance and planning, trees give back so much more than we put into them. But they do need to be cared for, especially in the tender early years of their growth”. (2)
(1) https://www.treesforcities.org/our-work/schools-programme/edible-playgrounds
(2) https://treecouncil.org.uk/grants-and-guidance/our-grants/orchards-for-schools/
The Green Tau 