Tag: Water

Counting on … Lent 22

3rd April 2025  

For God draws up the drops of water; distilling rain from the mist, which the skies pour down and drop upon mortals abundantly. Job 36:27-28

Humanity is dependant on rain for the successful growth of crops, yet humans also wilfully destroy the habitats that are essential for the maintenance of the water cycle. Deforestation in particular, rather than creating fertile land for growing crops, creates deserts. Maintaining tree cover is critical to maintaining good levels of rain. 

“…forests are a crucial component of the water cycle and have the all important function of preventing desertification. Cutting down trees can disrupt the cycle by decreasing precipitation and affecting river flow and water volume. In the case of the Amazon rainforest, research shows that at least 80% of its trees would be needed in order to keep the hydrological cycle going. With nearly 17% of the forest lost already, the Amazon is currently at its tipping point. Statistics show that deforestation in the tropics reduces precipitation over the Amazon by around 10%, or 138 millimeter, every year. In the South Asian Monsoon region, the reduction in rainfall is even higher, with around 18% less rain recorded in India in a single year.” 

How Does Deforestation Affect the Environment?

Counting on … Lent 20

1st April 2025  

You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges,

softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. Psalm 65:9-10

The Earth has sufficient water to maintain both the natural environment and agriculture provided water is suitably garnered – eg as here, with furrows that collect the rain allowing it to gently soak into the soil. Good agricultural practices are key but equally non agricultural land use must also respond appropriately in its relationship with water. For example covering land with hard surfaces such as paving, concrete or tarmac, prevents rain water from soaking into the ground. Instead it rushes off and gathers in great volumes that can overwhelm drainage systems, and cause flooding and damage to land down stream.  Equally extracting water from lakes and rivers to supply water intensive enterprises such as growing cotton or bottling water, should be limited so as not to diminish these sources of water.

Looking after creation with empathy, paying attention to God’s wisdom, is vital for the wellbeing of the Earth.

“Nearly every water-related intervention involves some kind of cooperation. Growing crops require shared irrigation systems among farmers. Providing safe and affordable water to cities and rural areas is only possible through a communal management of water-supply and sanitation systems. And cooperation between these urban and rural communities is essential to maintaining both food security and uphold farmer incomes.”

Counting on … Lent 19

31st March 2025  

Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. Genesis 2:5-6

Without water there is no plant life; without bodies of water there is no rain. The creation story in Genesis understands that God provided the water that was essential for life, providing a source of water which we now understand is continually circulated via plants and rain cycles. If we treasure life then we also need to treasure the natural balance of the water cycle, not over extracting water from inland  seas and aquifers. Misusing water can see too much water diverted for industrial or intensive farming purposes such that both people and the natural wildlife suffers. 

A press release from UNESCO underlines the importance of handling water systems  with fairness and cooperation. 

“Nearly every water-related intervention involves some kind of cooperation. Growing crops require shared irrigation systems among farmers. Providing safe and affordable water to cities and rural areas is only possible through a communal management of water-supply and sanitation systems. And cooperation between these urban and rural communities is essential to maintaining both food security and uphold farmer incomes.” https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/imminent-risk-global-water-crisis-warns-un-world-water-development-report-2023

Tending the earth for all

22nd March 2025

Trust in the Lord and be doing good; dwell in the land and be nourished with truth.
  Let your delight be in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire.
Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, and he will bring it to pass. 

Psalm 37:3-5

You Lord are the bread of life;

feed us with your wisdom.

Our meat is to do the Father’s  will.

guide us in all we do

Whenever we eat or drink

Let it be to the glory of God.

Reading 

 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 

Mark 4:3-8

Pause for reflection

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
    and do not return there until they have watered the earth,

So may we store water for when and for whoever needs it,

and safeguard those living with the threat of flooding.


As the earth brings forth and sprouts,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So may we harvest what is needed, 

sharing the bounty so no one goes hungry.

So shall God’s word be that goes forth; it shall not return empty,
but it shall accomplish that which is purposed
    and succeed in the thing for which it is sent.

May we pay attention to God’s word,

 following the ways of wisdom that God desires 

for the wellbeing of all creation.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots,

May we protect the fertility of the soil,

not polluting it with chemicals nor stripping it of nourishment.

And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,

May we treasure those who tend and farm the land,

paying fair wages and sharing profits.

So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to spring up before all the nations:

May we welcome God’s kingdom with all our being,

following God’s law with hands, hearts and voices.

Based on Isaiah 55:10,11 and 61:11


The Grace

Counting on … day 31

13th February 2025

Waterfalls are dramatic natural features because of their power and beauty. The power of falling water is utilised by water wheels and hydro power plants. Its power is replicated by power showers and power hoses – but in those situations we may want to think whether the amount of energy and water used is reasonable in a world where we are already overusing limited resources.

That said, another way of saving water and energy is to shower less often. Most of us don’t need to shower every day – we can wash bits of ourselves as necessary in a basin and still smell clean and fresh. 

How Much Energy Does a Shower Use?

Counting on … day 30

12th February 2025

Some 30 years ago we lived for a year in Zimbabwe, during a drought. Households were rationed to initially 50 litres of water a day (between five of us). We were able to send our washing to the laundry but for all other needs had to plan how we used our water. Apart from what we drank, every drop was reused – cooking and washing up water flushed the toilet, baths (we used a baby bath) were shared etc. We weren’t allowed to water the garden as all waste water was need to keep the sewers flowing. 

That was an extreme situation, but thinking about how we use every drop of water is relevant at any time.

Counting on … day 29

11th February 2025

The drinking water that comes into our homes, comes at an environmental cost. The water has to be purified to a drinkable standard, it has to be stored and pumped, all of which requires energy and resources – pipe work, concrete for reservoirs etc. Once used it has to be treated again to be clean enough to return into rivers and waterways or to be recycled again as drinking water. If we are more careful about not wasting water, then we are improving the sustainability with which we live. 

The climate crisis increases the likelihood of both droughts – when the benefits of conserving water are most obvious – and floods. Floods can lead to the contamination of drinking water as well as causing difficulties in remove waste water and sewage. 

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-conserve-water

Epiphany – waters of life

11th January 2025

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:3

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 brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A reading from Mark 1:1-3, 9-11

The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”— a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

As in the beginning the Spirit of God hovered over the waters, 

so were the waters parted and the earth came into being.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As in the beginning the earth responded to the Word of God,

so land and sea, rivers and mountains and oceans came into being.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As from the beginning rains and water soaked the earth, 

so herbs and plants and trees came into being.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As from the beginning all manner of vegetation flourished,

so the fruits in their season provide food for all living beings. 

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As from the beginning the Word of God has been a constant source of wisdom, 

so your people have been guided and inspired.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As the Spirit of God hovers over the waters of the Jordan, 

so in baptism the Son of God was made manifest.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

As the waters were blessed through the Word of God, 

so all who are baptised are made one in Christ.

Praise to you all encompassing God.

Holy God, Spirit and Word, 

as we seek make sense of our human failings, 

as we seek to heal the damage we have caused, 

and as we seek to love and cherish all that you have created, 

prepare for us a way to follow.

Amen.

Counting On … day 108

16th May 2024

With dry summers and water shortages, we have cut back on our use of water. We boil water for dish washing – one kettle is sufficient per wash – as this saves drawing several kettle’s worth of water from the hot water cylinder to get to the hot water. We boil water likewise for a daily body wash and then only need to heat the hot water cylinder when we shower which we typically do once a week. Showering once a week doesn’t leave us smelly or dirty! Realising this, also makes us less likely to put clothes in the laundry basket after one or two uses (although my running shirt does need regular washing). Laundering less often again reduces water – and energy – consumption.

We collect dish washing water for use on the garden when the ground is dry. Hand washing water we collect and use to quickly flush the loo – using the cistern flush as necessary.  

Rain water is collected for watering the garden and for keeping the pond topped up.

Although our water is metered we have yet to have a bill based on how much we use as opposed to an estimate! 

Counting on … day 89

18th April 2024

How Renewable are Renewables?

Many things are renewable as in they can be naturally replaced – timber is a renewable resource in that for every tree used/ consumed, another tree can be grown. Water is a renewable resource in that once used it can be recaptured and reused: this might be through the natural water cycle of evaporation, transpiration, condensation and rainfall, or through collecting and cleaning waste water for further use. Fish for use as food is a renewable resource – this supply of food is maintained through the natural reproductive processes of the fish. 

However the renewability of things isn’t necessarily limitless. 

If oceans are overfished, the rate at which new fish are born and mature will not keep pace with the rate at which fish are caught. Eventually there will be no fish.

If trees are felled faster than the rate at which new trees reach maturity – which can be  40 to 150+ years depending on the species – the landscape will become deforested. 

If an ecosystem is not maintained, more can be lost through evaporation in a locality than falls as rain. Without forests in the middle of large continents, rainfall in these areas would be negligible reducing the landscape to desert. If rainforests are cleared, rainfall in those areas will be diminished reducing the landscape to bare earth.

Solar energy is a renewable energy source – the sun is constantly producing heat – as is wind, as the earth’s weather system continues to be generate wind. (Sometimes resources such as sunshine, wind, tides and geothermal energy are known as perpetual resources).

 But whilst solar and wind energy are constant/ renewable, the means by which we capture that energy may not be as readily replaced. Solar panels that convert the sun’s energy into electricity are  made of non-renewable minerals – silicon, silver, aluminium, and copper. Wind turbines that capture the wind’s energy converting it into electricity are made of large amounts of non renewable materials such as steel and carbon fibre.

The source of the energy is renewable but not always the means by which we capture the energy.

Here is an interesting blog describing how solar panels are made – https://blog.ucsusa.org/charlie-hoffs/how-are-solar-panels-made/

and wind turbines – https://blog.ucsusa.org/charlie-hoffs/how-are-wind-turbines-made/