Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Counting on …day 1.093

6th April 2023

Calls for churches and other institutions, to divest from fossil fuel are  inspired not just by the dangers of the climate crisis, but also by adverse affects on vulnerable people arising from inequalities and a lack of justice and local  accountability. 

“Rt Revd Ernesto Manuel, Anglican Bishop of Nampula in Northern Mozambique, said: ‘Fossil fuel investments increase climate change and impacts on those most vulnerable, and also destabilise communities. We have seen how over 700,000 people in Northern Mozambique have been displaced – many fleeing for their lives in terror from insurgents. Dozens have been beheaded, even children as young as 12. This violence only occurs in the areas where gas prospecting is taking place. Locals are not consulted and nor do they benefit, only suffering the impacts of rising prices, pollution and loss of land. We plead with the international community – take your money out of fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy which is decentralised, benefits local people and does not contribute to climate change.’” https://brightnow.org.uk/news/global-faith-institutions-divest-g7-cop26/

Counting on …. Day 1.092

5th April 2023

Ethical Consumer is investigating the labour rights of those employed in supermarket supply chains. 

“Eight out of nine basic workers’ rights are being routinely violated in UK supermarket supply chains in Spain, our new report reveals. All major UK supermarkets are likely to source large amounts of fruit and vegetables from the Spanish regions of Huelva and Almeria, where workers’ rights abuses are widespread. Workers have been refused legal wages, sexually assaulted and harassed, fired for trying to join unions, made to work in unsafe conditions, had passports confiscated so they can’t leave, and been penalised for taking toilet breaks. Most workers are migrants.

UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier de Schutter, describes working conditions in the region as “horrific” and “inhumane”. He says, “I urge supermarkets to end their complicity in this abuse and address the issue head-on, using this report as their guide.””

If you would like to follow their campaign with a bi-monthly email, here is a sign up link

https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/agricultural-workers-rights-almeria?utm_source=ECRA+Monthly+Newsletter&utm_campaign=1afc7ec7e4-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_03_31_s&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-5ea446b6bc-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Counting on … day 1.091

4th April 2023

On Sunday I joined with CCA and York’s local XR group in an action outside the Minster. With banners – “Love and Grief Earth Vigil” and “Creation Cries Out” – and leaflets and placards calling upon the Diocese of York to divest its fossil fuel shares, we gathered outside as the Liturgy of Palms took place (with two donkeys). Then we waited at west end, speaking with passers-by as other services carried on in the Minster, the Catholic Oratory and St Micheal’s in the Belfry. As the main congregation exited the Minster 9 people (and a dog)  lay down on the ground, covered with sheets and each given a label stating the cause of death – highlighting the many ways in which the climate crisis is already impacting on people around the world and will continue to do so at an increasing rate. The atmosphere became somber and reflective and people asked questions and took leaflets as they made sense of the catastrophe we face.

If people have the facts, if people are told the truth, then they can act appropriately. 

Counting on … 1.088

1st April 2023

On Thursday the Guardian recorded a quote from Grant Shapps, the energy and net zero secretary, who was justifying the continued production of oil and gas in the North Sea:“Unless you can explain how we can transition [to net zero] without oil and gas, we need oil and gas,” he said . “I am very keen that we fill those cavities with storing carbon. I think there are huge opportunities for us to do that.”

It seems to me that the problem is that the oil companies and the government are going out of their way not to look for ways of transitioning away from fossil fuels. 

For example what about a report from the World Resource Institute, 4 Ways to Shift from Fossil Fuels to Clean Energy? https://www.wri.org/insights/4-ways-shift-fossil-fuels-clean-energy

Or this report,  How to accelerate the green energy transition, from the Chatham House think tank: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/03/how-accelerate-green-energy-transition

Listen to https://www.wri.org/podcasts/how-phase-out-fossil-fuels-without-leaving-people-behind

Counting on …day 1.087

31st March 2023

“Normalising activism, or even conversations about climate change, is something Salamon* sees as a key psychological challenge. “It’s important to understand the forces of normalcy and social conformity. There’s a social psychology experiment where a room is filling with smoke. If all the other people in the room are just sitting there as if nothing was happening, the study subject will also not act. But if one person raises the alarm, it totally changes the dynamic. Yale calls it the ‘Spiral of Silence’ – people don’t talk about climate because other people don’t talk about it. The good news is that we can flip this, and normalise being alarmed about the climate emergency.” 

“What we’re talking about is getting the public to realise that we are not safe, our families are not safe, everything we love is not safe. The emergency is so advanced that we don’t have time for gradualist approaches. While small changes are better than nothing, I would rather see activists waking up the public and calling for solutions that could actually work”” https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/12/meet-the-psychologist-who-matchmakes-philanthropists-with-cash-strapped-activists?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=EN_TESTMay&utm_content=meet-the-psychologist-who-matchmakes-philanthropists-with-cash-strapped-activists&_ope=eyJndWlkIjoiMTJjMTk2MDNmOWI2YTEwZmZmMTQ0ODYyMWQ3NDJhNDcifQ==

  • Margaret Klein Salamon is a climate psychologist based in New York.

Counting on …day 1.086

30th March 2023

According to the Office of National Statistics, electricity prices in the UK had increased by 67 per cent in January 2023 compared to January 2022.

Solar power installations doubled in 2022 compared to 2021, according to MCS, the standards organisation in charge of solar installations.

In January alone, nearly 15,000 domestic solar power installations were added to the British grid, more than any other month since 2016. https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/11/energy-crisis-solar-panel-sales-double-in-the-uk-as-homeowners-look-to-cut-soaring-bills

Counting on …day 1.085

29th March 2023

“We built a small data centre in Exmouth leisure centre. Most normal data centres waste the heat that the computers generate. We capture ours and we give it for free to the swimming pool to heat the pool,” Bjornsgaard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The technique works for the data centre and the pool – the heat from the computers warms the water and the transfer of heat into the pool cools the computers.

“It’s great for them – they get to reduce the cost of heating the pool and reduce the amount of carbon they use, and good for us because we can offer cheaper computer services because we don’t have the cooling costs,” Bjornsgaard said. “We built a small data centre in Exmouth leisure centre. Most normal data centres waste the heat that the computers generate. We capture ours and we give it for free to the swimming pool to heat the pool,” Bjornsgaard told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

The technique works for the data centre and the pool – the heat from the computers warms the water and the transfer of heat into the pool cools the computers.

“It’s great for them – they get to reduce the cost of heating the pool and reduce the amount of carbon they use, and good for us because we can offer cheaper computer services because we don’t have the cooling costs,” Bjornsgaard said. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/mar/14/innovative-heat-tech-save-england-swimming-pools-from-closure?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

A better world is possible!

Counting on … day 1.084

28th March 2023

The Ethical Consumer magazine notes that ‘Cutting down on meat and dairy is one of the biggest ways you can reduce your personal carbon footprint. It can also help you avoid issues associated with factory farming, like the routine mutilation of animals or the cramped conditions they’re very often kept in.

If you have time, the cheapest and healthiest way of reducing meat and dairy is to cook from scratch using ingredients like beans, tofu and lentils, rather than relying on processed vegan foods. Processed foods also have a higher carbon footprint than cooking a meal from scratch.’

Eco Tips

Counting on … day 1.083

27th March 2023

Transform Trade is calling in the Government to set up a fashion watch dog that would stamp out poor practices in the fashion industry that are both unfair to the workers and damaging to the environment. Transform Trade’ campaign has invited supporters to make a little dog (wearing a fashionable item) and send it with a letter to their MP – https://www.transform-trade.org/1000-dogs