Counting On … – Page 43

Counting on … day 122

10th July 2024

In less than a month the world’s population will have used up a year’s worth of renewable resources. Earth Overshoot Day – this year 1st August – is the day when our consumption of resources exceeds the rate at which the earth can regenerate those resources for future consumption.

Natural resources regenerate over time. For example annual plants such as wheat, poppies, beans lettuces produce seeds each year which can sprout and produce a fresh crop. Some do this on an annual cycle, whilst others, such as rice, may reproduce several crops per year – depending on climatic conditions. Other plants have a much longer regenerative time frame. An oak for example may take 150 years to be of an age to produce acorns.

The same is true for fauna. Some species such as fruit flies will produce the next generation within a matter of days, where as for an elephant, the time scale is closer to twenty years.

Other regenerative resources include water, nitrogen and carbon. The life cycle of these varies according to climatic, topographical, and other factors. In tropical rain forests water can go through a daily cycle of rainfall, evaporation, condensation and once again, rainfall. In the artic regions rainfall is usually infrequent with much of the water then being locked away as ice sheets and glaciers.

Air, soil and water have regenerative features in terms of absorbing and ‘cleaning’ pollutants. One of the major causes of the current climate breakdown is our human action in pumping more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than can safely be absorbed. The safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is around 280 part per million. In March 2024 CO2 levels were at 425 ppm and still rising.

Counting on … day 121

9th July 2024

This year we returned (by train) to Wengen in Switzerland where we had not been for four years. We noticed a few changes – shops that had closed (sadly the pharmacy) and hotels that were being rebuilt. But most surprising was the arrival of take-away coffees. There are now at least three outlets where you can buy a take-away coffee – at the news kiosk by the station, at the Co-op, and from a new small coffee shop in the main street. Whereas before people bought a coffee in a real cup and sat down to drink it, now they could buy a coffee and walk the streets with it in a throw-away cup.

With that comes the environmental cost of making single -use cups, collecting them after use and – provided they don’t end up in landfill – recycling them. Like buying water in a plastic bottle we have been sucked into a throw away culture on the false premise that it is both cheap and convenient.

We can begin to change that culture by opting for a ‘sit down coffee in a cup’ and where that is not possible, carrying and using a ‘keep-cup’.

From a previous posts on keep cups – https://greentau.org/2022/08/24/counting-on-day-288/

Counting on … Day 4

Counting on … day 120

8th July 2024

We’re now in Plastic Free July – https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/

Cutting back on our use of plastic and our failure to prevent waste plastic from entering our food, water and other ecosystems is important. Last year I wrote “The United Nations Environment Programme is calling on all countries to reduce their plastic consumption by 80% by 2040. Plastics are problem items because they are made from oil and thus come with an inbuilt unsustainable carbon footprint, and because much of the plastic is not recycled and instead causes pollution – especially in marine areas”

Sadly we now live in a culture where buying things wrapped in plastic – sandwiches and strawberries, biros and note books – is the norm. One item that stands out is water. We live in a country where tap water is drinkable and, to all intents and purposes, free yet shops and cafes are stacked out with bottles (plastic ) of water. In the UK we consume more than 2.5 billion litres of bottled water per year and throw away over 7.7 billion plastic water bottles.

We need to change this culture of buying bottled water – using a refillable water bottle would save money, protect the environment, and make a stand against the market economy that wants to make everything into a retail opportunity .

Further reading: https://greentau.org/tag/plastic/

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 118

30th May 2024

I’m taking a break from the blog to do some spring cleaning of both the house and the website! I’m thinking you maybe overwhelmed by emails as we navigate the next few weeks of electioneering.

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.

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.