Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Counting on …. Day 119

5th July 2024

A momentous change of government that will hopefully lead to a momentous change in the culture in which live and work, away from the focus on ‘me and my wealth’ and towards one which focuses on ‘us and are communal wellbeing’ where there is care and justice for all. The role of government is demanding and we should do all we can to support our MPs, to pray for them, to thank them for their work and, at the same time, to keep them focused on what is important for our communal wellbeing.  
Every time we pray ‘Your kingdom come’ – by which we are inviting God’s rule and reign to prevail on earth – we will be reminded of this.

Counting on … day 117

29th May 2924

I, rather more than my husband, also take part in climate actions as a means of raising awareness of the issues of climate justice and sustainability,  and pushing for a change of heart/ change of thinking for those in positions of power or influence. This varies from maintaining prayerful vigils outside places such as the Houses of Parliament or the Shell headquarters, joining marches, peaceful occupying the lobbies of offices, and joining peaceful but vocal protests outside conferences and AGMs.

further reading –

https://greentau.org/tag/activism/

Counting on … day 116

28th May 2024

As well as supporting organisations and charities, we also give emphasis by signing petitions. Sometimes this can be several a day, but I think it is worth it. It is a way of giving the organisation data as to how many people are concerned about or support an issue, which they can their use as evidence to pursue the campaign. By the same token I often write to our MP on topics of concern, prefacing that email with the observation that she probably gets many such messages/ probably supports the issue any way, but that it gives her another piece of evidence to support her work – ie she can with confidence tell the House that x number of her constituents have raised the issue. 

Counting on … day 115

27th May 2024 

Living more sustainably has also become about campaigning to create a sustainable world for everyone. This we do through supporting charities and organisations that operate in this field

– such as the RSPB, WWT and National Trust – which aim to conserve and improve the natural environment and biodiversity because such environments are key to sustainability;

– such as the London Cycling Campaign and Sustrans which focus on particular issues within sustainability- vis active travel;

– such as Friends of the Earth which both campaign and develop educational resources for living sustainably;

– such as Practical Action and Christian Aid which campaign and  give support to those who are suffering because of the current lack of justice and sustainability globally;

and Christian Climate Action Green Christian which bring the Christian ethic to campaigning.

Counting on … day 114

24th May 2024

As well as making conscious choices about what we buy, we also tread the path of not buying. We live in a consumerist society where the opportunity to buy something is constantly being promoted – buy this new model, or that improved/ upgraded/ repackaged product; indulge yourself with this luxury or that trivial frippery; indulge your pet/ garden/ kitchen; buy this humorous nonsense; buy this upgrade; buy another and save 50%. 

Early on I learnt to avoid lifestyle magazines which are really only vehicles for promoting consumption! 

It’s not being mean or stingy but rather it is lovely to look at things we have, and think of its history, how long we’ve had it, where or who it originally came from. 

Counting On … Day 113

23rd May 2024

Utilising the power of the consumer pound. When we spend money, we use our money as if it were a vote with which we can show our support for the most ethical product or service – which might be because it is fair trade, because it is plastic free, because its producer pays a living wage and/ or fair taxes, because its a B Corp, because it supports a local business, because it protects the environment etc. To help make these decisions we have a subscription to Ethical Consumer – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/

Using the power of the consumer pound also means not buying certain things or not buying from particular retailers or producers. For example we don’t buy from Amazon, nor from Starbucks. 

Further reading 

The Green Tau: issue 18
Eco Tips

Counting on … day 112

22nd May 2024

Some years ago, I took the decision not to fly and Paul has fallen in with this, even though he still regrets the places he may not now visit, and listens with a bit of envy when others tell of their latest overseas holiday. 

What we do do is to travel by train, both here in the UK and across Europe – and have done for many years, both with all three children from when they were young, to now when it is just two of us. You can, from London,  reach Berlin and the Swiss Alps within the day – alternatively there are now a growing number of sleep services across Europe.

Counting on … day 111

21st May 2024

We no longer have a car. The one we had received little use in recent years – its main function being to take Paul’s model railway to exhibitions. We had very much decided that the car was only there for when there was no alternative means of getting from A to B – a decision that became a habit. Being both non ULEZ and increasingly prone to developing faults, Paul finally took the offer of scrapage for the car. 

Living in London we have the advantage of a good public transport network which gets us most places and if need be we can take a taxi. Most of day to day travel is on foot or by cycle.

Counting on … day 110

20th May 2024

Being as green as we can with energy includes not boiling more water than we need for drinks, turning off appliances and lights when not in use, replacing lightbulbs with LEDs, and opting for energy efficient appliances when buying new ones. In the garden we don’t use power tools – cutting the grass (infrequently) by hand. In the kitchen we have an electric stick blender which is a real boon but otherwise use hand powered tools for cooking such as balloon whisks and a hand cranked coffee grinder. Elbow grease is an undervalued source of energy! And there is also the energy saving component that comes from not buying the electrical item in the first place.

As previously mentioned, we are also able to save energy by showering less often, washing clothes – and therefore ironing – less often.

With cooking, we use primarily the hot plates and microwave, and when using the oven (usually bread making day) cook several items to maximise use the energy. 

Further reading – https://greentau.org/2021/09/10/the-green-tau-issue-16/