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Counting on … day 97

1st May 2024

As well as seeking a sustainable supplier for beans and pulses, we have also sought out sustainably motivated suppliers for other food stuffs.

Our flour comes from Priors Flour and is made from locally grown organic grains which are milled in a windmill! Its small scale business model maintains good human relations – a person who answers questions, and a company which can shut down to allow staff a holiday – and preserves an old but still highly functional building. And the flour is full of good feel and flavour.

Our oats – for porridge and oatcakes – comes from Pimhill which grows, mill and sells organic oats, and which come compactly packed in paper packaging. (Waste and plastic free is another feature we support).

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Counting on … day 96

30th April 2024

Even within the option a vegan diet, it is possible to look for the more sustainable options. The bulk of our protein comes from beans and pulses. By buying these from Hodmedod we can opt for beans and pulses – as well as pasta, chia seeds, quinoa and other staples – that are grown in the UK. This supports the UK’s farming industry and especially in these cases, smaller farms and businesses including many innovating with new varieties. It also reduces food miles – the distances over which food is transported from field to plate.

As well as buying dried beans, we buy bean flours from Hodmedod which adds to the richness of the dishes we eat. We also buy Brazil nuts from them which are wild-harvested nuts that come directly from the Kayapó people of Brazil. This is solidarity trading which ensures the protection of the local forest and an income for the indigenous people.

Counting on … day 95

29th April 2024

For a change of emphasis, I plan over the next few weeks to look at some of the things we do as a household to live more sustainably. Maybe what we do might prompt some thoughts for you, and maybe you will have some ideas to share as well.

I follow a vegan diet and as I am the main cook, all home cooking is vegan!

Vegan diets have a smaller carbon footprint and cause less damage to the climate – research suggests somewhere in the region of 75% less! The food grown for vegan diets uses less water and less land – largely because of the significant amounts of land and water needed to grow feed for farm animals. Needing less land has two benefits – first the ability to grow more food for a growing population, and second the ability to set aside more farm land for rewilding and restoring levels of biodiversity.

I also chose a vegan diet on the grounds of animal welfare. Even eating a vegetarian diet involves the slaughter of young animals – principally male chicks and male calves – as well as the likelihood that the females will have stressful lives of repeated birthing.

I can see that for some people raising low intensity livestock can be a key part of a farm’s ecology, and that eating small amounts of meat and dairy would be consistent with that.

Fifth Sunday of Easter

28th April 2024

Reflection with readings below.

From today’s psalm: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.” When all on earth recognise God – when all on earth understand the wisdom of living according to God’s will, according to the ways of God’s kingdom – then there will be peace for all, then salvation of the whole earth will be complete.

Earlier this week I took part in a Passover Seder. The words used had been produced by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network. It spoke of our universal need to be rescued from a narrow place, a place of constriction: ‘Mitzyrayim’ – which is also the word used to mean Egypt – and of a desire for all to be free, finishing with the words, ‘Next year in freedom!’ There was a strong emphasis on inclusivity, on this being a meal for any and all to share. One of the items included on the Seder plate was an orange representing the the fruitful contributions made by women, queer and trans people.

The story from Acts also tells of the importance of inclusivity. The Ethiopian – who may have been a Jew or a Gentile but we don’t know – would not have been allowed to go beyond the outer public court in the Temple. His status as a eunuch would have prohibited it even if he were Jewish. However much he desired to worship God, he would always have kept behind this barrier. But when Philip unpacks for him what Jesus the messiah has achieved, through his death and resurrection, in terms of a new relationship with God, he asks to be baptised, to become one in this new union. Tellingly, the Eunuch says to Philip, ‘What is to prevent me – what bars me – from being baptised?’

This new chapter in the relationship between God and humanity that has been established by Jesus is one of inclusivity: it is about salavation for all.

Jesus, when asked what one must do to be saved, said that there were two key commandments – that we should love God with all our being, and that we should love our neighbour as ourself. Love is the way of salvation, the way of God’s kingdom. The writer of John’s letter explores all the possibilities by which we can understand and be part of God’s love. To love is to love God. To love is to be like God. To love is to love one’s sisters and brothers – if we cannot love them all, then we cannot love God. God’s love is based on inclusivity.

In John’s gospel Jesus chooses the image of a vine to describe what it is to be part of God’s kingdom. He chooses a plant that grows and adapts, that can regrow and evolve, that multiplies and bears fruit. He doesn’t choose – for example – a military unit or army, nor an industrial production line, nor a country with well guarded borders. He doesn’t even choose a fishing net! There is something organic about God’s kingdom, about it being fruitful and about its need for ongoing care and nurture. It is an image of inclusivity and interconnectedness, in which we and God are joined in a union that grows out of Jesus’s self-offering. We can see that just as sap flows through a plant bringing life, so love flows through the vine bringing life to God’s kingdom. Just as plants have to allow the sap to flow through their cells, so we have to allow love to flow through us. And as the writer of John’s letter explains, that love cannot exist if it does not involve loving our sisters and brothers. That is the challenge we face. We need to love all our sisters and brothers, human and creaturely, those like us and those who are different. That love comes from God if we allow God to abide in us and we in God.

Acts 8:26-40

An angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptised?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptised him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Psalm 22:24-30

24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; *
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.

25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the Lord shall praise him: *
“May your heart live for ever!”

26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, *
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.

27 For kingship belongs to the Lord; *
he rules over the nations.

28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; *
all who go down to the dust fall before him.

29 My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him; *
they shall be known as the Lord’s for ever.

30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *
the saving deeds that he has done.

1 John 4:7-21

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.

John 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples, ”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

Earth Day – in praise of God

27th April 2024

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1

You Lord, are the source of all good things:

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation:

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as sisters a d brothers with all that lives:

May we live together in peace.

A Reading Psalm 8 (The Message )

God, brilliant Lord,
yours is a household name.

Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
    your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
    Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
    Why take a second look our way?

Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,
    bright with Eden’s dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
    repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us stewards of sheep and cattle,
    even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
    whales singing in the ocean deeps.

God, brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world.

Earlier this week – 22nd April – it was Earth Day. This globally recognised event calls on everyone to focus on the needs of the earth. And as Christians we might recall some words of St Paul, ‘As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,“In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.’ 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

Glory to God,

Let the earth be glad, and the sea resound:

Let all that is in it rejoice.

We praise you!

Glory to God,

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
Let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

We praise you!

The law of the Lord is perfect,
making wise the simple.

Yet we have done our own thing and despoiled the environment.

Lord have mercy.

The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

Yet we have hidden your ways under the cloak of greed,

making life dark for our fellow beings.

Lord have mercy.

Pause for reflection

Now is the time!

Teach us once more to seek your wisdom for the earth.

Now is the time!

Teach us once more how to live in harmony with creation.

Now is the time!

Teach us to be mindful in what we use and generous in what we give.

Merciful God,

forgive us and heals us,

restore our world to its former glory.

Amen.

Counting on …. Day 94

26th April 2024

Green wash is advertising or marketing that makes out that a product is greener/ more environmentally friendly than it actually is. It is an attempt to delude or deceive the consumer.

TerraChoice has identified ‘seven sins of greenwashing’ –

“Hidden Trade-off”: a claim that a product is “green” based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other critical environmental issues.
“No Proof”: a claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible information or a reliable third-party certification.
“Vagueness” is a poorly defined or broad claim that the consumer will likely misunderstand its meaning. “All-natural,” for example, is not necessarily “green.”
“Worshipping False Labels”: a claim that, through words or images, gives the impression of a third-party endorsement where none exists.
“Irrelevance”: a claim that may be truthful but unimportant or unhelpful to consumers seeking environmentally preferable products.
“Lesser of Two Evils”: a claim that may be true within the product category, but risks distracting consumers from the more significant environmental impact of the category.
“Fibbing”: a claim that is simply false. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwashing)

The BBC suggests the following certification schemes that can give assurance as to the ethical values of a producer:-

Leaping Bunny – which means that the product has not been tested on animals.

B Corp – means that a business is legally required to do beneficial things for the environment and the people who help create their products.

Carbon Trust – meets a certain standard of carbon emission reduction, meaning the product is trying to minimise its carbon impact.

Fairtrade – the product has been made by people who received a fair wage for their work.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – the product is made using sustainable or responsibly managed wood sources. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/58465027)

Another source of good advice is Ethical Consumer via their web site or magazine – https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/

In a world where we already consume too much, I can’t help feeling that any advertising that encourages us to consume more than we need, is greenwashing.

Counting on …. Day 93

25th April 2024

Earth Overshoot Day is the day on which our global ecological footprint exceeds the earth’s bio capacity. (This year’s date has yet to be announced).

“Humanity is living beyond its means, which results in an environmental dilemma – because it is living at the expense of the Earth. Every year, the consumption of resources outstrips the natural regenerative capacity of our planet.” (1) So reports myclimate.org

The day on which we have consumers one year’s worth of resources and tip into the red, is known as as Earth Overshoot Day. Last year, 2023, it fell on 2nd August, which means that in the whole of that year we consumed resources that were equivalent to 1.7 earths! Clear this is cannot be sustainable on an ongoing basis.

To create a sustainable lifestyle that safeguards our future, we need to address three key things:

“Efficiency: better usage of resources so that goods are produced with less energy and resources.

Consistency: linear production replaced by the circular economy, which minimises waste. Renewable energy is key here.

Sufficiency: A sustainable change in lifestyle under which the economy is geared to moderate consumption of resources rather than constant growth. The goal is to fulfil the wishes and requirements of our society without disproportionate waste or consumption.” (1)

For further information –

https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/about-earth-overshoot-day

The Green Tau: issue 45

(1) https://www.myclimate.org/en/information/faq/faq-detail/earth-overshoot-day-how-do-we-handle-our-resources/

Counting on … day 92

24th April 2024

Ecological footprints are a measure of how much of the earth’s natural resources needed to sustain human life – ie how much clean water, clean air, soil for growing crops, oceans for fish, trees for timber, water/ wind/ fossil fuels etc for energy, land for buildings, etc needed for each human. This footprint will vary from person to person depending on their lifestyles – how much and what they consume, and how much and what sort of waste they produce.

The ecological footprint of someone who lives off the grid, growing their own food and recycling their waste, will have a smaller ecological footprint than someone who owns multiple homes, flies and drives a large SUV, eats a meat rich diet, and buys lots of clothes and other consumer goods.

Ecological footprints are also measured in terms of global hectares per capita (see yesterday’s blog).

Using information from https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/ecological-footprint-by-country, 

USA – 8.04 gha

Australia – 7.77

Oman – 7.29

France – 4.6

UK – 4.20

China – 3.71

Brazil – 2.81

India – 1.19

Zimbabwe – 1.03

Democratic Republic of Congo – 0.01

You might like to use an online calculator to estimate your carbon footprint (these can be very rough and ready rather than precise but give a ballpark idea). These calculators are not just measuring your carbon footprint but your ecological footprint – how much of the earth’s resources your lifestyles uses.

https://www.footprintcalculator.org/home

https://footprint.wwf.org.uk

Counting on … day 91

23rd April 2024

Bio capacity is a measure of the ability of an ecosystem to support human life (a somewhat biased use of the term bio meaning life!) It measures the amount of food, fuel, water etc that the area of land can produce to support human life and the amount of waste – sewage, pollution etc – that it can safely absorb.

It reflects the regenerative capacity of ecosystem – how quickly, and by how much, can renewable resources be replaced. How quickly can crops be harvested and regrown to provide food? How quickly can trees be felled and regrown to provide timber? How quickly can fish stocks be replenished after the fish have been caught and eaten? How quickly can sewage be treated and returned into the system as drinking water? How much pollution can the air absorb before it becomes harmful to human life?

Bio capacity is measured in global hectares (gha) – ie land area per person. The global hectare is a land area that averages out land across the globe taking into account land that is more productive and land that is less productive. It measures how many hectares are needed to support one person.

Counting on …day

22nd April 2024

Today is Earth Day. The first Earth Day was celebrated in the USA in 1970. It is now an international day of celebration (always 2nd April) calling on people to protect the planet.

Do we understand and value the importance of the earth to our continued life and wellbeing?

For example do we care about the health of the soil? A healthy soil has:-

1. Good structure: A healthy soil has a crumbly texture with a good balance of air, water, and pore space. This allows water, nutrients, air, plant roots and microorganisms to move through it.

2. Nutrient content: A healthy soil contains the right balance of nutrients essential for plant growth. These can include nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.

3. Organic matter: Decaying plant and animal material improves soil structure, water retention and nutrient cycling.

4. Good soil pH: A pH range between 6.0 to 7.5 is ideal for plant growth.

5. Active soil microbiology: A healthy soil contains a diverse range of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes. All of which play important roles in nutrient cycling, soil structure and plant health.

6. Low levels of soil compaction: A compacted soil can restrict root growth and reduce water infiltration.

7. Low levels of soil erosion: A healthy soil is not easily eroded by wind or water, which can lead to loss of topsoil and nutrients.

8. Good water-holding capacity: A healthy soil can hold water, preventing it from running off the surface or being lost through deep percolation. (https://insight.study.csu.edu.au/healthy-soil/)

If we use our farm soils in such a way that it diminishes or destroys these attributes, then we will not be able to grow enough food to feed ourselves. Further we will find that we have also diminished or destroyed local ecosystems leading to a reduction in biodiversity – ie of wild plants, birds, animals and insects. And that will have a knock on effect increasing risks of flooding, of accelerating climate change, and – particularly with the loss of pollinators- further risks to food security.

Earth Day reminds us that we must live in harmony with the earth and its natural systems.