Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Counting on day … 1.054

23rd February 2023

Yesterday I joined a poignant observance of Ash Wednesday with others from Christian Climate Action. We held a service of ashing in Parliament Square, using coal dust as we confessed our – and those of society – in allowing our flagrant use of fossil fuels that has and is still causing so much damage to the world we live in – and its future. We called on the government to take action and in particular to overturn its approval for the new Cumbrian Coal Mine. Carrying coal, and to a slow drum beat, we took our lament and our prayers to the Home Office which had granted the Mine permission in December of last year, 

Finally we processed to the office of Javelin Global Commodities where we symbolically laid down the coal we had been carrying in our hands. We renewed our resolve to seek a different, better future.

Javelin is a significant partner of West Cumbria Mining, being  34 percent owned by U.S. coal miner Murray Energy, 28 percent owned by German utility E.ON and 38 percent owned by its principal traders, some of whom were previously at Goldman Sachs.Javelin is undertaking to purchase all of WCM’s production output and to sell the coal to steelmaking customers in the UK and Europe, as it “aims to ramp up its coal trading”

Counting on day 1.053

22nd February 2023

The Independent reports ‘St Michael with St Mary parish church in Melbourne, Derbyshire, is a fine example of 12th-century Norman ecclesiastical architecture, but one part of the building is distinctly modern. The sunshine that illuminates the church’s stained-glass windows is also shrinking its carbon footprint thanks to a 42-panel, 10kw array of solar panels on the roof.’ 

One of the first churches to install solar panels was St James Piccadilly, whilst more recently St John’s Waterloo has installed panels that will produce 30 kilowatts per hour in bright sunshine and over the course of a year could generate 28,597 kWh. 

A different world is possible!

NB I have put together a series of 40 mini reflections on water (a rerun of a series from a couple of years ago). These can be found in the menu under Lent Reflections, or here https://greentau.org/2023/02/11/lent-reflections-water/

Counting on …. day 1.049

18th February 2023

The Grimsby Telegraph reports ‘As part of its Towns Fund Deal, North Lincolnshire Council got £1.4m in government cash for the rollout of solar panels on at least 30 Scunthorpe schools and to create an affordable, zero-carbon energy system in North Lincolnshire. Four schools – Holme Valley Primary, Bottesford Junior, Fred Gough Secondary and Berkeley Primary – had panels already installed by the end of January, while two more, St Hugh’s School and Priory Lane Primary were poised to have them installed by February. Once set up, the six schools will save £97,880 a year in energy bills.’

A different world is possible.

Counting on … day 1.048

17th February 2023

The Metrocentre in Newcastle  has solar panels covering an area equivalent in size to 88 tennis courts on the roof and  on specially constructed solar car parking spaces.

The White Rose Shopping Centre near Leeds has solar panels that can generate  681,794 KWH of electricity a year.

A different world is possible!

Counting on …. day 1.047

16th February 2023

A different world is possible and we are seeing signs that it is already emerging.

The Wetlands Centre at Barnes is installing more solar panels on their site. They anticipate generating 60% extra energy over and above what they need. Where else might we see solar panels being installed? Shopping centres? Schools? Libraries? Hospitals? Railway stations? Churches?

Counting on … day 1.045

14th February 2023

St Valentine’s Day is associated with the coming of spring and the mating of birds – the two go together. One bird that is very much under threat is the swift because of an increasing lack of places where they can nest. If you have space why not install a swift box ready for when they arrive in May? The RSPB has instructions for making (or buying) a swift box and where to place it.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/nature-on-your-doorstep/garden-activities/create-a-high-home-for-swifts/

Other birds too are in need of nesting places – you can install different sorts of nest boxes, plant trees and hedges (as future nesting places) or  build a dead hedge, and so help encourage a resurgence of bird numbers. As you prune plants back and clear dead stalks, you can gather materials for building a dead hedge – https://greentau.org/2021/10/19/count-down-87/comment-page-1/

Counting on … day 1.044

13th February 2023

Nearly Valentine’s Day: a day for showing our nearest and dearest our love for them. As well as being a day for business to boost profits! Imported flowers, over-packaged goods and overcrowded restaurants can be avoided. Try and ensure that we you spend shows not only your love for your Valentine but also shows your care – if not love – for the people who produced it, sold it, served it and for the planet. 

Gifts that Change Lives