Action 21: Embrace minimalism. Favour frugalism.
Consuming less is one clear way of reducing our carbon footprint. Consuming less is not about being parsimonious nor being a kill joy.
Consuming less can involve buying second or hand – pre-loved items. It is equally about ‘loving’ what we do have. Why not look through your wardrobe or your cupboard and pick out a favourite item that you have had for a long while, and appreciate its personal history.
When advertisers exhort us to drive ever larger fast cars –
We shall not comply.
When fashion houses entreat us to buy clothes for the beach and more for barbecue, clothes for lounging and more for reclining –
We shall not comply.
When top chefs urge us to buy tropical fruits and exotic grains, to eat strawberries in January and avocados in September –
We shall not comply.
When your companies tout trips to the Tropics, all flights included,
or city breaks by air –
We shall not comply.
When weekend magazines promote this season’s new colour schemes wall paper and furnishing, out with the old and in with the new –
We shall not comply.
When tech industries unveil this year’s new phone, the upgraded tablet and irreparable head sets –
We shall not comply.
When governments tell us that coal mines are good and ask for our vote –
We shall not comply.
When trend setters define the next must-have accessory and deride what was last season’s in thing –
We shall not comply.
When politicians tell us national needs are all important and foreigners must wait –
We shall not comply.
Holy God,
keep awake in us a true love for the earth,
its flora and fauna, our brothers and sisters.
Strengthen our resolve to live within our means,
to act with compassion, and following your will –
We shall COMPLY!
Action 19: Give your car a holiday. Where you might go by car, try different options.
Walk or cycle. Enjoy the fresh air and the exercise.
Take the bus or the train. When you’re not driving, you can enjoy taking in the view, or have the time to read.
If you have time, you might make the journey into an adventure or plan a scenic route.
Action 18: Swop dairy products for plant based ones. Many people opt for oat milk flat whites when they go to a cafe. Why not opt for oat milk at home – on your cereal, in your coffee, and when making cakes, sauces and custards?
Most margarine is entirely plant based but did you know you can get plant based butter? It looks and tastes like butter and has the same consistency as butter making it ideal for making pastry, cakes and crumbles.
Swop to plant based yogurts – including extra thick Greek style yogurt – cream and ice creams. With the same mouthfeel and consistency of their dairy opposites, they taste really good, and with the options of different plant based ingredients such as coconut milk, almond milk or soya milk they offer a variety of taste experiences. I particularly like coconut based vanilla ice cream.
8th August 2021, Proper 14: 1 Kings 19:4-8, Psalm 34:1-8, Ephesians 4:25-5:2John 6:35, 41-51
I feel a lot of sympathy for Elijah. Prior to where we meet Elijah in today’s reading he has been extremely busy. Elijah lived during the reign of King Arab who is described as the king who did more evil than all the other kings before him. He was a king who definitely did not walk in their ways of God! God has seen all that has happened and tells Elijah that, as a consequence, no rain nor even dew shall fall on the land. The land will be afflicted by a drought that will last for years.
Pausing a moment it is worth reflecting that for decades, if not more, we residents of planet earth have increasingly mistreated and plundered the earth damaging both its climate, its ecosystems and and its most vulnerable creatures. We have not followed the ways of God. And now we are increasingly aware that our folly is causing problems that affect us directly – floods, heat waves, wars, covid etc.
Back to Elijah. He follows God’s instructions as to how and where he will find sustenance, and sees at first hand the effect the delight has on the land and in its inhabitants. After three years of drought God sends Elijah to speak with Ahab (who is finally feeling the effects of the drought. Those who are rich and/or powerful usually find ways of minimising the inconveniences that cause others to suffer) and to reprimand him for all that he has done wrong. Like many business leaders and investors today, Ahab still believes that his model of life – worshipping the Baals and sacrificing children – is the only right one. So Elijah sets up a competition, challenging the priests of Baal to prove the efficacy of their gods.
This must have taken great determination on Elijah’s part. He was just the one lone voice speaking out against the falseness of the Baals and their rule of life. God was certainly with him and strikes the winning shot – a fire bolt from heaven – on Elijah’s behalf, but yet it still must have been stressful to the point of exhaustion for Elijah. The single handed, Elijah destroys all the false prophets. And once again he challenges Ahab to repent. Ahab instead seeks guidance from his equally wicked wife, Jezebel, and somehow it is her cursing of Elijah, that breaks the camel’s back. Elijah fears for his life and flees into the wilderness.
So we come to today’s episode. Elijah is ready to give up and die. Have you ever felt yourself to be at that point of exhaustion, of despair, of self doubt? Elijah curls up under a broom tree – an evergreen bush which because of its deep roots and narrow leaves can survive in arid environments and provides a welcome place of shade for travellers. Having spoken out-loud his grievance, his desperation, he is finally able to sleep. Owning up to ourselves and to God about what troubles us is a good starting point. After he slept, God wakes Elijah and provides him with food and water. He eats and drinks and once more sleeps. God waits and then wakes him a second time, prompting him to eat and drink, so as to be ready for the next stage of his journey – his life. One rabbi has noted the similarity between ‘rothem’ the Hebrew for broom and ‘rachem’ Hebrew for compassion. God has compassion on Elijah. God knows that what he needs is sleep and food and only when those needs have been satisfied does God suggest to Elijah that he journeys to God’s holy mountain of Horeb where the two will engage in a much deeper spiritual experience.
So I think it can be for us. Being open and honest about how we feel, understanding when we need rest, accepting support especially physical comfort even when we feel spiritually drained. God is concerned for our total wellbeing, physical and spiritual, and often we have to satisfy the first before we can address the second.
Today’s Psalm aptly describes Elijah’s experiences. ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good’ both physically and spiritually.
The passage from Ephesians is entitled in NRSV Rules for the New Life. Rules for a new life were certainly what Ahab and his people needed. I think they are also what we need for living a new climate friendly, all-inclusive people friendly, sustainable life. The passage reminds us that we are interconnected, and that the way we each act has repercussions for everyone, and further more affects our relationship with God.
The reading from John’s gospel continues to explore the idea of Jesus as the bread of life. Believing in and following his ways, have both physical and spiritual benefits. Jesus feeds and heals people physically and spiritually. Jesus by his very nature is a two way conduit between earth and heaven, between God and human kind, between the present day and eternity. This is something the Jews, the hearers of Jesus’s message find hard to understand and accept. For them, he is just a local boy – a local who has become a popular crowd puller but nevertheless surely still just someone like them? Is there something about needing to be ready, to be open, to seeing God at work in our everyday environment? Perhaps of finding the spiritual in the physical and the physical in the spiritual?
Feed us Lord God
with what we need,
both physical
and spiritual.
Amen.
Action 17: Join an environmental group – one that campaigns on climate issues, or sets out to protect the local environment, or conserves wildlife or plant life, or which supports vulnerable people who might otherwise be overwhelmed by the climate crisis. Do a bit of research and find one that appeals to you – either because of the opportunities it gives you to be involved, or because it safeguards something you hold dear, or is something that affects you. As individuals we can sometimes feel that our voice is not heard, our concerns not recognised or our efforts insignificant – but as part of a collection of voices, concerns and efforts, we can make a difference.
Calculating your individual carbon footprint
The ongoing global climate crisis arise because human activities and lifestyles
are putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a faster rate than this gas can be absorbed by the planet. The resulting increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere insulates the planet so that year on year average global temperatures are rising. This impact of human activity on the planet is termed our carbon foot print. The word conveys the idea that what we do each day is leaving a mark, a footprint, on the face of the earth. We can measure the carbon footprint of different activities eg cycling, driving a car, skiing or hiking. We can measure the carbon footprint of different products eg a book, a DVD, a litre of milk, a dozen eggs, a wooden jumper, or a pair of trainers. We can measure the carbon footprint of a household or a business, of a person living in a flat or medium sized estate agents, a supermarket or a hospital. We can compare the difference between the carbon footprint of a typical resident of Nepal and the typical resident of Norway. We can compare the difference between alternative modes of transport, alternative methods of farming, or between a range of land uses.
Here in the UK the average individual carbon footprint is 10.5 tonnes (WWF).
The Carbon Independent and the Carbon Footprint websites both offer a detailed on line footprint calculator which includes inputting the amount of electricity, gas, petrol etc that you use each year.
https://www.carbonindependent.org/
https://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
A less detailed calculator is offered by the World Wild Fund
https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/region
but it does relate your carbon footprint to the target UK footprint vis a vis a linear reduction in per capita carbon emissions to net zero by 2045. And that is one of the reasons for calculating our carbon footprint: to see how big it is currently and the to see how it can be reduced to a net zero target.
The simplest way of reducing our carbon footprint is to look at individual aspects of our lifestyle and see how in practical terms we can reduce our carbon consumption. To some extent we will be limited by factors outside our control. For example if we choose to travel by train we cannot decide which railways lines are powered by electricity and which rely on diesel engines (although we can press Network Rail and our government to address this). If we shop at Waitrose, part of our food footprint is linked to the carbon emissions of Waitrose’s operations (Waitrose’s aim is that their entire operation should achieve net zero by 2035). On the other hand we can make positive choices to use businesses that are carbon neutral. For example, Kiss the Hippo’s coffee roasting business is carbon negative.
Over the next few weeks I will add ideas and information about reducing our personal carbon footprint on the Eco Tips page.
Action 16: Go out for a vegan picnic. Sandwiches are the basis of a picnic and most bread is vegan. Vegan options for spreads include plant based butter/ pesto/ mayonnaise/ tapenade/mustard. Add fillings such as vegan cheese (nut-based cheeses are good for protein), hummus, mushroom pate. Add slices of vegetable such as red pepper, radishes, grilled aubergine or courgette, nasturtium leaves, cress or rocket or add chutney/relish. Or try a banana hot dog roll? Pack sandwiches in greaseproof paper or fabric wraps. Pack fruit and pieces of vegetables that can be eaten with fingers and again see if you can avoid plastic packaging. Fill flasks with either hot or cold drinks. Pack some vegan cakes – rock buns, muffins etc – or a bar of chocolate to finish.
Action 15: Reduce food waste.
Food waste is a drain on finite resources. It unnecessarily uses water and other agricultural inputs. It creates unnecessary excess amounts of greenhouse gases – about 25 million tonnes a year just from the UK.
7.2% of all food harvested in the UK goes to waste or exists as a food surplus that is fed to animals, redistributed via food charities or is repurposed as bio-based materials. (WRAP 2019). Horticulture – the growing of fruit and vegetables – is the largest contributor. To ensure supermarkets are always fully stocked, farmers grow more than may be needed. Consumer demand is fickle: changes in the weather, recipes made popular by celebrity chefs etc can lead to sharp swings in demand for specific fruits and vegetables. In addition a proportion of the fruit and vegetables will be rejected on grounds of size and appearance.
2.9% of the UK’s food waste takes place in the retail sector. Most of this waste is of products that have reached their best before or sell by date. Increasingly the latter food stuffs are redirected to food banks and other local food charities. Supermarkets often stock more than they need to ensure that what the consumer wants is always available on the shelf.
70% of all food waste in the UK comes from what is thrown away by us, the householders. We most frequently throw away potatoes, bread, milk, tomatoes, bananas and slices of ham.
Action 14: Write to your local council: Have they declared a ‘climate emergency’ and if so have their prepared an action plan? What targets have they set for reducing their carbon footprint and are they on track for meeting these? What plans do they have to enable your local area to adapt to the already ongoing changing climate? Can local infrastructure cope with heat waves, cold snaps, torrential rainfall and flooding? In particular have they plans to support those most vulnerable in the community, such as the elderly, those with disabilities and those with low incomes?
The Green Tau 