23rd November 2021
Another Christmas card alternative is to send your message via email or via an e card. I like sending ones from Iona’s Wild Goose publishing arm include a prayer or blessing.
Counting On …day 10
Tag: climate crisis
Counting On … day 8
21st November 2021
Rather than a Christmas card (complete with envelope) why not send Christmas postcards? They use half the card and none of the paper for the envelope.
You could make your own, hand drawn or print a design with your home printer (one A4 sheet of thin card can be cut down into four postcards).
You could buy postcards from a local wildlife centre – Friends of Richmond Park have beautiful cards depicting deer.
Counting on … day 7
20th November 2021
E.F Schumacher was a philosopher and economist whose book ‘Small is Beautiful: economics as if people mattered’ was a popular read in the 1970s. His vision was able to become a reality in the shape of ‘Practical Action’. This charity provides practical (and often therefore small scale and local) projects that enable and support small communities across the globe to raise their living standards. Recently Schumacher daughter was asked in an interview what her father’s views would have been in response to the crises we face as a world today. Towards the end she says, “Fritz was often asked what people should do as individuals to support positive change. He recognised that people can feel helpless in the face of such huge challenges and can feel that their own small actions aren’t worthwhile.
His advice was always that we should support the organisations that are taking the right actions. That we should educate ourselves about the issues and share our knowledge with others. And that we should make small, positive changes in our own lives, which right now might mean reducing our carbon footprint or using less water.”
Counting On … day 6
19th November 2021
One straightforward way of reducing our carbon footprint is choosing the vegan option. When it comes to biscuits this is even easier than you would expect. Many traditional brands of biscuits sold in supermarkets are vegan and in many case have always been so! Their vegan attributes as a consequence are not always highlighted. Jeni from the Choose Vegan website has complied a lost of all the commonly sold biscuits which are also vegan.
Counting On … Day 5
18th November and fifth day since the finale of COP26.
If COP26 marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next in the campaign to resolve the climate crisis, are we as individuals and our appointed local and national government leaders do what is necessary to achieve our objectives?
The Climate Coalition invites is to email our MP on this very issue, and provides a template in which we can express for ourselves as individuals what concerns us, what we are doing, and what we would like our leaders to be doing. Follow the link and add your personal plea.
Skip and Skitter
Now is the sky blue!
Now is it framed
by a fretwork of branches
where leaves still linger –
some as big as dinner plates
some as small as butterflies.
Jackdaws riddle the earth
harvesting riches that lay below.
And squirrels skip and skitter
their autumn dance.
All is now, and now, and now!
But tomorrow, next week, next year?
Merciful God will they still be there?
Will our apathy,
our slowness to act,
our aversion to change
allowed all this
to be threatened,
diminished, and
evicted from life?
Have mercy.
But not just mercy –
rather prod us, prompt us,
push us into action.
Renew our hearts and minds,
reverse our expectations
so that we change the future
and once more
be restorers of creation.
Amen.
This prayer or psalm gives a seasonal update to one written in the summer
Resources and support groups for green lifestyles
This is just a selection of possible sources of information and groups you might wish to join.
A Rocha UK’s Wild Christian scheme is a community of families and individuals exploring the connections between our Christian faith, the natural environment, and how we live.As we journey together, reflecting biblically and acting boldly, we invite you to share your story, ideas and learning so that collectively we can live more joyfully and sustainably with the rest of God’s Creation.
Sign up and each month we’ll send you something to think about and some practical actions that you can take to help you enjoy, nurture and protect nature. You’ll also have the opportunity to share your own stories, if you wish, and to help us generate ideas for future editions.https://arocha.org.uk/wildchristian/
Green Christians offers various resources including Nine Ways of living gently in the earth; using LOAF as a means of eating in an environmentally friendly way; the Seven Rs plus prayer resources etc.
And offers ways to get involved in campaigns about caring for the environment.
Also The Way of Life: Many spiritual communities have Rules or Ways of Life involving a set of disciplines to assist believers in living out their faith in a deeper and more structured way.
The Way of Life is a calling for deeper engagement and shared encouragement. Followers of the Way are called ‘Companions’.
Friends of the Earth offers local groups where you can meet and exchange ideas and take part in action, as well as resources for green your lifestyle: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/take-part/switch-greener-lifestyle
The WWF offers advice on changing lifestyles – including a carbon footprint calculator and app – as well as working to protect and enhance the natural environment. https://www.wwf.org.uk/what-can-i-do
The RSPB, as well as campaigning for and supporting and protecting biodiversity, provides guides about following a greener lifestyle. https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/community-and-advice/green-living/
Counting On …
16th November 2021
Adopting a plant based – ie vegan – is one easy way of reducing our carbon footprint. Here is another vegan cake recipe – vegan baking is straight forward!
Golden Parkin (sorry – no picture as we ate it all up!)
1 tbsp camelina or chia seeds soaked in 3 tbsp of warm water
100g margerine, 6 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp syrup
2 tbsp oatmeal, 8 tbsp flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 2 or 3 tsp of ground spice (I used a mix of cardamon, all spice and cinnamon
150g grated squash
Method: melt the margerine and add sugar and syrup. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Add oat milk if needed to create a dropping consistency.
Bake: tip into a lined tin, approx 180 x 300mm, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes until form to touch.
Counting On …
15th November 2021
“Every year we produce about 3% more waste than the year before. This might not sound much but, if we carry on at this rate, it means that we will double the amount of waste we produce every 25 years.”
One of the facts from C B Environmental’s fact sheet – do check out the rest of the facts.
If we aim to live sustainably then we must aim to use only our fair share of resources – both a fair share when shared across the globe, and a fair share when measured across time. At present we we use the earth’s resources faster than they can be replenished.
In 2019 each person in the UK on average threw away (via waste bins to landfill sites) 392kg of rubbish. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/322535/total-household-waste-volumes-in-england-uk-per-person/)
How can we reduce that?
- Make a note of what you throw in the bin each week.
- Could any of it be recycled instead?
- Could any of it be avoided by buying alternative products? Eg ones with less packaging or with less non recyclable packaging. Or buy products with a longer life? Or buy less if what you buy is not being used?
- Repeat and see if you can reduce the number of things going into the bin the next week.
- Alternatively weight the rubbish that goes into your bin each week: Using the suggestions above, can you reduce it week on week?
The Green Tau: issue 25
14th November 2021
Governments and world leaders have not take action that matches up to the structures of the scientists. Now it is up to us as the people. We are not insignificant. We have money to spend – albeit not as much as governments and the top “5 percenters” – and we have voices with which to speak out.
Consumer power saved dolphins from tuna nets, saved puffins by ending the use of sand eel oil in biscuits, saved veal calves and hens from cages, saved whales by ending the use of whale oil in cosmetics, saved minks from becoming fur coats … Consumer power has swung behind campaigns to wear seat belts, to give up smoking, to end drink driving. Now consumer power is seeing the end of single use plastic straws and plastic bags. Consumer power is feeding the growth of organic and vegan foods, and the popularity of vintage clothing. Consumer power is even increasing the number of cycles on the roads.
We can continue to use our money strategically to shape the world we want to live in. We can band together for greater effect. We can boycott products and service – even entire lifestyles – than damage our future.
We can be influencers and game changers. We can set the example, we can be there trail blazers. We can show others – individuals like ourselves, small businesses and big businesses, schools, civic groups and faith centres, local councils and governments – that this is the way we want to live.
We can write letters and petition. We can make posters and banners. We can write articles, we can blog and vlog. We can hold coffee mornings and parties. We can sing and we can be theatrical. We can inform and enthuse. We can demonstrate. We can speak out and we can speak up.
We can also be game changers by not spending money! Not everything we do, not everything we enjoy has to cost money. And things that are free seldom have a carbon footprint! A walk in the park. A chat with a friend. A wave to a neighbour. Giving presence not presents. Sharing and lending. Swopping and exchanging. Upcycling and cycling. Swishing and re fashioning. Repairing and recycling. So telling and singing. DIY and home baking. Growing and preserving.
We may feel that as one individual we can’t make a difference. We may be unsure what is the best action we can take. We may fear that we might fall under the bewitchment of green wash. We may fear that our best intentions may prove to be unwittingly destructive. We may be overwhelmed by choices before us, the flood of information that is out there, that we don’t even know where to start.
That is why we need to come together, to find like minded companions. To learn from one another, to encourage and support each other. To know that together we can make positive change a reality.
Next week’s Eco Tips will list some of the many organisations and groups that can help you find answers and/ or provide a framework for eco living.
The Green Tau 