Counting On … – Page 112

Counting on ….day 99

19th February 2022

As we adapt to the climate changes which have already happened, we will get used to days when the weather is so extreme – whether through wind, heat, snow, rain – that we have to stay at home. We will accept that work and social plans will have to be flexible, that travel will not always be possible. We will by habit, keep phones charged, have torches that work, spare food in the pantry. The USA and Canada have ‘snow days’ when snow forecasts trigger planned school closures: we’ll have ‘extreme weather days’.

Counting on …day 98

18th February 2022

Crocuses and snowdrops and hellebores all provide food for bees and other early insects. Most spring bulbs are best planted in the autumn. However come the autumn you may have forgotten where the rest of your bulbs are planted and risk planting them to close together or too widely spread! Take a photo now so that you can check their whereabouts in the autumn.

Snowdrops are best planted now, ‘in the green’.

Counting on …day 97

17th February 2022

Tanker lorries transport goods other than petrol – even marmite!

Can we expect marmite pumps in our local refill store?

I suspect the tankers are transporting the yeast extract ‘waste’ – a byproduct of the brewing industry – en route to the factory where it is transformed into a spread. I equally suspect that the consistency of the spread doesn’t make it a ready candidate for refill stores. But could not the glass jars be returned and refilled as per milk bottles? Maybe write to your preferred yeast extract manufacturer?

Counting on ….day 96

16th February 2022

Lent is two weeks away. Lent is often seen as a season in which we can discipline/ train ourselves to live better lives, to live in closer harmony with God. Often it is a season when we forgo things that give us pleasure – or things that cause us harm – so that we can embrace the feeling of sacrifice and grow through it. Can we come into closer harmony with God through deepening our relationship with God’s creation? Can we live more simply so that others may simply live?

Counting on …day 95

15th February 2022

Refilling cars with petrol at a service station is common practice.

What if it was the same with oils for cooking and eating? An olive oil pump? You may find that you can! Refill stores often stock different sorts of oil with which customers refill their bottles. As this grows in popularity, let’s also make a point of asking for organic and fairly traded oils.

Counting on…day 94

14th February 2022

Remembering who and what we love is important, as is making sure we spend time with those we love. Getting about and about in nature is always easier when the sun is shining! Getting out and about regularly helps us see all the changes caused by the seasons as well as the weather.

The other day I noticed a tree full of glowing catkins.

Counting on …day 93

13th February 2022

To “Show the Love” two hearts that were made yesterday are being dispatched, one to our local MP and one to our Local Councillor. The hearts are a reminder to those who make them and those who receive them of the importance of caring for creation and of what we loose if we do not.

Follow this link to take part https://www.theclimatecoalition.org/show-the-love

Counting on…day 92

12th February 2022

An end to fracking in the UK! The Guardian reports that “Cuadrilla will permanently plug and abandon its two shale wells in Lancashire, drawing a line on Britain’s failed fracking industry.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/10/fracking-firm-cuadrilla-to-permanently-abandon-controversial-uk-sites

Protests and sound arguments again help protect the environment.

Counting on…day 91

11th February 2022

Designated Boots stores have recycling points where you can deposit hard-to-recycle items such as mascara sticks, make-up palettes, compacts, lipsticks, toothpaste tubes, and lotion pumps. (Boots do ask that you don’t use these recycling bins for items that can be recycled via your kerbside recycling service). You do not need to be a Boots customer, but if you are you can earn reward points with your recycling.

Counting on…day 90

10th February 2022

Putting plastic in the recycling bin is only part of the story. What happens to it next? Greenpeace has reported finding plastic sent from the UK to Turkey for recycling simply discarded in open dumps by roads and rivers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57139474

In response Greenpeace has set up a petition asking the Government to fix the problems of the UK’s use and reuse of plastic.

https://action.greenpeace.org.uk/l/854853/2021-04-22/qv21z?source=EM&subsource=OCPOPSPEEM04BO&utm_source=Thank+you+email+share&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Plastic+Waste+Exports+Petition+%5BAL%5D+Lead+Gen+PE+20210422&utm_term=Full+List