I'm dreaming of a Green Christmas

A natural remedy for festive fever has been prepared by A Rocha UK – in the form of a ‘green’ online Advent calendar.

Daily doses of environmental advice offer to settle those seasonal challenges – from the thorny problem of Christmas trees to the drastic plastic of shop-bought decorations. Each calendar window opens on a practical plan to soothe the stress on both pocket and planet. The online Advent calendar will be available at arocha.org.uk/advent from 1st December.

A Rocha UK is a Christian charity working for the protection and restoration of the natural world.

The Bible and Biodiversity

‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord’ (Psalm 150:6)

"We have an important moral and ethical decision to make: Do these endangered species have a right to survive or do we have a right to drive them to extinction?"

Professor Jonathan Baillie, Zoological Society of London



The ethical foundations which underpin the wildlife conservation movement face a crisis: what gives nature its value? Anthropocentric views (which see the world as here to serve human interests) and ecocentric views (which aim to value all species equally) compete but are flawed. In contrast, a biblical perspective emphasises that both human and non-human creatures are made for the glory of God and have value directly in relation to God. This has significant implications for Christian attitudes to biodiversity conservation and for the conservation movement, which are briefly explored.

See the full paper from this link:
http://www.jubilee-centre.org/bible-and-biodiversity/

Autumn Gardening Tips: By Stephanie Summerell

Autumn is such a busy time of year in the garden. The list of tasks seems endless and on top of that the trees are shedding their leaves, creating yet another one. It’s easy to regard the collection of fallen leaves as a nuisance and consign them to the wheelie bin in irritation. But I would like to encourage you to view them as a valuable resource that is not to be wasted.

If left to decompose, leaves turn into leafmould. Nature’s patient, unseen decomposers set to work and together with time produce a wonderful compost. I think of it as gardener’s gold.

Oak, beech and hornbeam leaves make the best quality leafmould and break down the quickest. Thicker leaves such as sycamore, walnut, horse chestnut and sweet chestnut take longer. Conifer and evergreen leaves can take 2-3 years to decompose, so are best avoided unless you’re very patient!

Collect leaves when they are wet, or sprinkle with water to dampen them and leave them in a shady spot in an out of the way corner. If you have the room you can buy or make a wire mesh container for your leaves. Otherwise you can buy purpose-made sacks made from loosely woven jute from most garden centres now. They hold an amazing amount of leaves and have the added advantage of being bio-degradable. Or place your leaves into a large, black polythene sack such as a bin liner. You will need to punch a few holes in the sides and bottom of it or your leaves will become a slimy mess. Tie the top loosely. Bear in mind that the volume of leaves will reduce to between a quarter and a third as it becomes leafmould. You can’t possibly overdose your soil on it though so make as much as you can! Bags can be stacked if you’re short of space.

The leaves should have decomposed after about a year and you can use the resulting leafmould as a mulch. After another year it can be dug in to improve your soil or even used as a seed sowing compost.

With autumn leaves in such plentiful supply why not work your own bit of magic? Turning nature’s discards into leafmould does feel a little like alchemy!

Climate summit and marches around the globe

Over 675,000 people marched from over 2000 communities around the world on 21^st September. It was a beautiful expression of our love for creation and all that climate change threatens, and our hope that we can save this world and build a collaborative society powered by 100% safe, clean energy. 

Click to see more pictures from the day: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/climate_march_reportback/?bDxIsab&v=46379

Historic Climate Summit Opens New Chapter in Global Efforts to Tackle Climate Change

New York, 23 September – New commitments, new ideas, and new financing for significant actions to address the challenge of climate change dominated the announcements made by more than 100 Heads of State and Government and leaders from the private sector and civil society at the Climate Summit hosted  by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. An unprecedented number of world leaders attended the Summit, including 100 Heads of State and Government. They were joined by more than 800 leaders from business, finance and civil society.  

Delegates reaffirmed the need to take urgent action to limit global temperature rise to less than two degrees Celsius. Acknowledging that the world was not on a pathway to reach that goal, they also committed to significantly ramp up climate action. Many speakers made it clear that taking action to reduce emissions could be achieved without damaging prospects for economic development and efforts to fight poverty.

There were many promises, but no firm pledges. Most notably, China’s vice-premier Zhang Gaoli promised his country would peak its carbon dioxide emissions “as soon as possible,” and President Obama said that next year he would publish a plan to cut US emissions after 2020. Major corporations trading in agricultural commodities grown on former rainforest land joined with governments in signing a declaration promising to halve net deforestation by 2020 and end it by 2030.

The summit was never intended to conduct detailed negotiations for a new climate treaty. Those talks will take place between now and the UN conference in Paris at the end of next year, which is intended to deliver the legally binding national commitments that a similar event failed to deliver in Copenhagen in 2009. 

For the full UN report see http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/

Marshallese poet Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner spoke on behalf of civil society during the opening ceremony of the Climate Summit. Check out Kathy’s poem with footage of climate action around the world. Kathy, 26, is a co-founder of an environmental NGO and a teacher and a mother. She is also a journalist, poet and spoken-word artist. She was selected from hundreds of people to address the opening ceremony

http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/2014/09/watch-marshallese-poet-kathy-jetnil-kijiner-speaking-climate-summit/

Climate Summit 2014

On Sunday 21st September thousands of people will be marching in New York and across the world to show their leaders that they care about climate change issues. There is a People’s Climate March in London, supported by Tear Fund, Christian Aid and many other charities.  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited world leaders, from government, finance, business, and civil society to  the  Climate Summit 2014 on 23 September to galvanise and catalyse climate action.  He has asked these leaders to bring bold announcements and actions to the Summit that will reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and mobilise political will for a meaningful legal agreement in 2015.

Climate Summit 2014 provides a unique opportunity for leaders to champion an ambitious vision, based on action that will enable a meaningful global agreement in 2015 at the United Nations climate change conference in Paris. Representatives of all the world’s countries will be hoping to reach a new deal to cut greenhouse gases and prevent the planet overheating dangerously.

But, so far, there are no signs that our leaders have the political will to make these commitments. To try to speed up the process, the UN secretary general, has invited world leaders to UN headquarters in New York for this Climate Summit 2014.

Please see the UN web site which has a wealth of information on this topic and how they are supporting  projects that promote green entrepreneurship. Everyone can step up and take climate action. Visit the UN Climate Summit site to find out how.  http://www.un.org/climatechange/summit/

Mud Pies: By Cindy Crump

My favourite childhood memory is spending summer days with my cousin and her grandmother.   Since there was no television in the house we spent all our time out in the rear garden.  It was the garden of a child’s dreams—filled with flowers, tall trees, plenty of dirt, and permission to do as we pleased.  We usually chose to make mud pies:  creations we were especially proud of.   She and I filled old cake tins with mud mixed to just the right consistency, then we turned out the “pies” and decorated them with clover flowers and shiny pebbles.  No one was checking her watch and we played until it was too dark to see.  

I have not made any mud pies lately, but I still seek the outdoors with walks on public pathways and kite-flying with my children.  The fresh air clears my head and I just feel better after a day outside.  God has designed the earth to provide us with the food, water, and shelter we need to live.  Could it be possible that spending time in his creation improves our physical and emotional health?  Is it a coincidence that the timing of human improvements in technology is the same as the increase of incidence of obesity, heart disease, depression, and attention deficit disorder among other problems?  Recent research indicates that it is a likely link.   One might do a quick search on the internet or talk with his physician to confirm that our busy, technology-filled, and often sedentary lifestyles lead to a number of negative health issues.

No one is suggesting that a quick walk outside will cure all that ails you, but adopting a more healthy lifestyle won’t hurt.  A good start could be walking to school or church when possible, taking your bicycle to the grocery store, or playing catch with the children instead of watching television.  And let your children make mud pies.

Eco-friendly picnics

From Tricia Fiddian

With all this lovely whether how can we enjoy outdoor eating in an environmentally friendly way?

Use containers for picnics and packed lunches: avoid using cling film and foil and use ‘Tupperware’ containers instead.  Rather than buying individually wrapped items, pop individual portions of cake, fruit and yoghurt into reusable containers too. 

Try to buy locally sourced food : Your Sunday lunch can travel up to 49,000 miles before it arrives on your plate!  Buying food that is as locally sourced as possible, or growing some of it yourself, is a great way to save masses of energy that goes into the transportation of our food. There is plenty  to choose from at this time of year. And the blackberries are ripening nicely and you can pick them yourself!  

Do you need another plastic bag?

(Courtesy of Change 4 Chalfont’s web site, www.change4chalfont.org.uk)

The plastic bag is the most ubiquitous example of disposable plastic. We see it handed out with abandon by some shops, our cupboards are full of them, and we can’t avoid seeing them scattered throughout the urban landscape and the countryside blowing gently in the wind.

10 million plastic bags are used in the UK every day, with an average user life of ….20 minutes. Worldwide, we use 1 million per minute.

This has loads of implications; firstly, what a waste of the materials that go to make these bags. Secondly, the manufacturing process is fuelled by oil – and we don’t have a whole huge amount left, so maybe we should be more careful with it. Finally, plastic bags are often disposed of carelessly, and even when they are thrown away properly, they take a long time to break down, and when they do, they don’t biodegrade – they photodegrade, which basically mean that they break down into very small particles which get absolutely everywhere. So however carefully you get rid of your plastic bags, and unless you recycle them, then chances are that they will get into the eco-system and pollute it hugely. The water that we drink contains tiny shards of plastic; it is in our crop fields and in the sea. Inevitably, we consume it.

This all begs the question – when we throw something away – where is ‘away’? It doesn’t cease to exist, it just moves to where we can’t see it. Except in the case of plastic bags, of course, which we usually can.

We know that many of us now use our own non-disposable bags when shopping, but this is just a reminder to think again before accepting another plastic bag!

Have a look at this mockumentary…( made in USA) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgh9h2ePYw

Some eco friendly tips in the kitchen

From Maggi Davison

Saving Water – when you wash fruit and vegetables throw the washing water on the garden, not down the sink. (NB this doesn’t work if you live in a flat !)

Saving Energy 1.– when you cook rice, put the rice in a pan with a drop of oil, add the measured amount of boiling water, bring back to the boil, stir once, turn off the heat, cover the pan and leave until the water has been absorbed and the rice is cooked.

Saving Energy 2. – when you cook pasta, bring a pan of water to the boil, add the pasta, with a drop of oil if desired, bring back to the boil, turn off the heat , cover the pan and leave until the pasta is cooked and then drain.

Thrifty use of packaging - Cut open the plastic envelopes that magazines and journals come in and use the ‘bag’ for putting odds and ends in. ( I don’t like to suggest you put your sandwiches in these in case it is the wrong sort of plastic and we kill everyone off!)

• reuse envelopes whenever possible
• recycle plastic bags, or ideally use your own shopping bag.

Image courtesy of Suat Emin/FreeDigitalphots.net

Wind power without the turbine! Solar power without the panels!

Now that the weather is getting warmer and the days longer, try using free solar and wind energy to dry your washing rather than using your energy hungry tumble drier. You don’t need a big garden – even pegging your washing on a clothes horse outside will do the job. It is estimated that UK tumble driers emit 5 million tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere every year. Your washing will smell so fresh, and you will save somewhere between £100 and £300 per year.

Worried about the vagaries of the British climate? You can buy a cover for any rotary drier that means you don’t have to worry about whether it will rain while you’re out, and even allows you to dry your washing outside more or less all the year round. Costing from around £40 the Rotaire Dryline will typically pay for itself in unused energy within 6-8 months.

Ethical shopping

By Katy Holbird

We Holbirds have a garage full of rice. Well, that’s not quite true, but nestling amongst the random bits and pieces - broken paddling pool, bits of cot and one of Noah Wilson’s drums (it’s here when you want it!) - we have rice, pasta and various other bits that constitute the basis of food for the next few months.

Let me clear something up. We are not preparing, as has been suggested, for the end of the world. Jesus will not return on the strength of a chick pea curry. We are, however, trying to do what we can to look after the world in the interim. Of course, filling our garage with brown rice (did I mention it was brown?) isn’t going to save the planet. But I’ll tell you why we do it.

Let’s start by asking yourself how much of your weekly outgoings are spent on food? However much it is, that’s your money and you have a choice about how you spend it. Your choice gives you more power than you might think: markets will move for consumers.

What if the money that we spend on food goes towards food and practices that support the environment rather than deplete it?
I’m not advocating that you all turn vegetarian (though if you need advice on buying meat then I’m not the person to come to) but there are small things that we can all do.

Tom and I still shop at Tesco. Boo, hiss. Yes, but like it or not, Tesco is here to stay. So let’s change it. For us this means buying fairtrade goods; fruit and veg with as little packaging as possible; fish that is MSC (Marine Standards Council) certified, so that it’s taken from safe stocks and gathered in sustainable ways. If what you want isn’t there, ask for it. If enough people ask then markets start to change. One of our Vicar-type friends (they tend to spring up when you’re in this job) has made friends with the manager at his local Tesco and now works with him to make sure that he stocks goods that are grown and sourced ethically. That’s consumer power.

Aside from Tesco, we get most of our dried goods, cleaning products etc from an online cooperative called Suma. Apart from the amusement of an enormous van pulling up outside our house three times a year, it’s a way of sourcing fairtrade, organic goods from a place that we know supports it workers and really cares about the products it sells. It’s also cheaper because you have to buy in bulk. Get your Life Group together, find a calculator and work it out. Shopping whilst creating community!!

So that’s food. Clothing is another area we can look at. You may or may not be aware that most of my clothes come from charity shops (and how lucky we are in Gerrards Cross....). But whether you do this or not, there is so much information out there about the impact that the clothing industry has on the world (cotton production, dyeing processes etc) as well as on the workers. It’s not as easy to say that cheap = suffering workers, but let’s face it, we all know, if we’re honest, that Primark is not an ethical place to buy our clothes. I’ve written to them to ask more about their policies - it’s not good news, Primani lovers. Sorry. Other than that, there’s lots of info on the web, The Good Shopping Guide and Ethical Consumer are good places to start.

You may be reading this thinking, fine for you Holbird but what about the.... cost, time, thought I have to put into this? It’s true. There are all of those things. But the question is how much do you care?

Finally - Streetbank. Saint James Church, let’s all get on Streetbank. It’s a website that links you with the people up to 10 miles around you and allows you to share and receive items, skills, talents that you have stored away. Today I met a lady who lives up the road and came to get Noah’s old highchair. We had a good chat and she might come back next week for a cuppa. It’s not rocket science. And it doesn’t cost anything.

For more information have a look at these sites:
www.streetbank.co.uk
www.suma.coop
www.ethicalconsumer.org
www.thegoodshopingguide.com

How smart is your phone?

Did you know that one in every five people now owns a smartphone? That's an impressive statistic, when you think that a smartphone has more computing power than was used to send a man to the moon in 1969.

It's clear these much-loved gadgets have changed our lives in many positive ways. But the hidden stories behind their production often tell a different tale.

Just how sustainable is your smartphone?

From the cobalt mined in appalling working conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the copper mine that's torn a community in Chile apart, what goes into making a smartphone often doesn't get the attention it should.

See www.foe.co.uk/makeitbetter/phone?

Many of the top mobile phone companies have already committed to finding some solutions. Smartphones can clearly be a massive force for good. But it's clear that the way we make them is putting unbearable pressure on people all around the world.

We need to continue challenging smartphone makers to rethink design and production so our phones are good for the planet as well as good for us.

see www.foe.co.uk/news/phone_design_solutions_mib_39150



And we need to think about whether we really need to change our phones every 18 months!!

Making your holiday more environmentally friendly

Have you booked your summer holiday?
If not, consider holidaying closer to home than you usually do and try to avoid flying at all. If you do fly (and even if you don’t!) you can offset your carbon emissions. This can be done through Climate Stewards, set up by A Rocha to help you minimise the effect of your CO₂ emissions through offsetting. Visit www.climatestewards.net . We would strongly urge you to watch the video clip and hear what Nicky Gumbel has to say about the scheme.

What is carbon offsetting?
Carbon offsetting is “a compensatory measure made by an individual or company for the carbon emissions (green house gases) that they use, usually through sponsoring activities or projects which increase carbon dioxide absorption, such as tree planting” We cause carbon emissions when we drive, fly, cook, heat and light our homes . How does ‘Climate Stewards’ offset emissions? A Rocha’s charity, Climate Stewards, offsets emissions by planting trees in Ghana. Trees absorb CO2 as they grow. Working with schools and communities to plant indigenous trees means that their work also improves livelihoods and restores biodiversity. You can read more about ‘Why Ghana?’ on their website. www.climatestewards.net

What are Greenhouse gases?
Greenhouse gases act like a greenhouse to trap heat within the atmosphere. The primary greenhouse gases are water vapour (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and ozone (O3). Without these gases, the earth would be too cold to be inhabitable.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main greenhouse gas, accounting for 83% of UK emissions. It is a by-product of burning fossil fuels, burning biomass and other industrial processes. The concentration of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 40% (from 280 parts per million (ppm) to 400 ppm) since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 1750s.

How you can help

Make a donation

£15 will allow Climate Stewards to plant enough trees to remove one tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere.

Offset your carbon use:

£25 will offset driving 5,000 miles in a medium sized car.
(1.7 tonnes of CO2)

£50 will offset 1 year of electricity and gas usage for an average UK household
(3.2 tonnes of CO2)

£75 will offset a flight from London to New York
(5.0 tonnes of CO2)

You can use Climate Stewards online calculator to calculate your own carbon footprint. And read about how they arrived at their figures. You can also see how they spend their money here.

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” Edmund Burke (1729-1797), English parliamentarian, philosopher and ethicist.

Do let us know what you think about these blog entries, and how you feel about St James aiming to become an 'eco-congregation', what would you like to change? Please enter your comments in the section below.

It’s not too late to Grow Your Own!

By Stepanie Summerell

Growing your own is not only satisfying, but does a huge amount towards looking after our world.

Modern food production has been transformed more in the last two generations than in the previous 12,000 years and has moved from sustainably based, locally focussed production to an industrialised system that relies on fossil fuel. Almost every aspect of our modern food production creates greenhouse gas emissions, whether in the production and distribution of agrochemicals, the mechanised process of tilling, sowing and harvesting, the preparation and packaging of the produce for sale, or in its storage and transportation, sometimes from thousands of miles away. In Britain we import more than 60% of all that we eat. Take green beans: as many beans as we grow here come from Kenya – and a Kenyan bean has used at least 12 times more energy than one grown locally at the right time of year. And, as they can be up to 10 days old, much of the nutrient value and taste has disappeared.

Growing your own cuts this all out at one fell swoop. You don’t need a lot of space and you don’t have to be an expert. Many vegetables can be grown in pots, although you’ll have to keep them well watered. Give it a go – there are lots of books, TV programmes and websites devoted to showing you how.

My advice is simply to grow what you like eating and to start with just a few different things. Unless you don’t eat it at all, lettuce or salad leaves are a must – they are one of the quickest crops to grow and are generally trouble free so long as you keep them watered and keep the snails and slugs away - and their commercial equivalents have been sprayed up to 15 times in their short 12 week life – yuk! Sow seed in pots of compost and keep them damp. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, plant them on at the required spacing into larger pots, window boxes, grow bags or in open soil that has been prepared well. Sow seed at frequent intervals to ensure an ongoing supply.

A Wildflower Hay Meadow in Forty Green

By John Smiley

In 1983 I was fortunate to be able to buy two fields adjacent to my house. Over the next 15 years I attempted to farm them conventionally, but challenges such as cattle which jumped fences as if they were competing in the Grand National, led me to conclude by 1998 that my modest conventional farming operation was doomed. By chance at the same time I heard about a charity that combined two of my passions – my Christian faith and wildlife, (A Rocha). This led me to think how I could use my fields for God’s glory and, taking advice, I started on the long haul to create a wildflower hay meadow. The first two years were spent with a bare fallow to remove as many perennial weeds as possible. Then the special seed mixture of 13 native wildflowers and a variety of native grasses was sown. Initially there was very little to see from my efforts, but gradually more and more wildflowers appeared. Last year a group of botanists identified 41 different wildflower species. It has been exciting to see so many wildflowers appear that were not in the original mixture. Ragged Robin is a particular favourite and we have also found 3 common spotted orchids. But it is not all flowers, 17 different butterfly species have been seen.

It was a great thrill when Natural England offered a conservation agreement under ‘Higher Level Stewardship’ which gives a grant to help defray the costs of the specialist management that is required to maintain the wildflower hay meadows and the hedges around them, in which threatened farmland bird species such as yellowhammers nest. We are greatly blessed to live beside this lovely example of God’s creation and of course it gives us great personal enjoyment, but the greatest pleasure comes from the appreciative comments of visitors. We hope that, in a small way, our meadows do give glory to the God who has made this wonderful world.

We are very close to the Royal Standard of England pub in Forty Green which provides maps of short walks that take you on the public footpaths through the fields. Do come and enjoy the meadows. The best time is between mid April (for the cowslips) and July (knapweed and butterflies) after which the meadow should be cut for hay.

Walk more / Drive Less

On Sunday May 11th you are encouraged to walk / cycle to Church or to share lifts, if at all possible. Cars create as much Carbon dioxide as the generation of electricity and heat for our households. Some of us may be able to drive less and walk or cycle more, to church, to town, or to school!

We can offset our carbon emissions from driving and flying by making donations to Climate Stewards, set up by A Rocha. www.climatestewards.net

Climate stewards offset emissions by planting trees in Ghana. Trees absorb CO2 as they grow. Working with schools and communities in Ghana to plant indigenous trees means that their work also improves livelihoods and restores biodiversity.

So perhaps it would be a good idea to offset one's annual mileage and any flights used, once a year? See how to calculate on the climatestewards web site.

Examples of carbon emission calculations :

Annual car mileage

According to the UK government, in 2010 average annual car mileage was estimated to be 8,430 miles, which, in a medium size petrol car (1.4 to 2. 0 litre engine) emits around 3 tonnes of CO2 which would cost £45 to offset with Climate Stewards.

Holidaying in France?

London / Paris
Flight : £3.75 / 250kg ( 4 people = £15.00 / 1000 kg)
Car of 4 people 40kg + 10kg for ferry = 50kg / 75p

Simple Action - BIG IMPACT

Did you know that the CO2 created by households accounts for around 40% of total emissions in the UK - and that we in South Bucks are the highest emitters of CO2 in the country?

Imagine if all the domestic energy used by everyone at St. James was powered by renewable energy… This would make an enormous difference - and it's entirely possible simply by changing your energy provider.

The two main providers of purely renewable electricity are Good Energy and Ecotricity.

In a recent report by Which? on energy providers these two companies were voted the top two in customer satisfaction.

It takes 5 minutes to switch. You can compare prices on Which: which.co.uk/switch/news   or  USwitch: uswitch.com/gas-electricity/

If you do so through the link on the St. James or A Rocha websites below then it attracts a charitable donation of between £40 and £60 for each household or office that signs up.

To find out more please visit:

arocha.org.uk/get-involved/donation/  (Look further down the page to see the link to ecotricity or Good energy)

or www.saintjames.org.uk/lovecreation

Ecotricity by Phone: Call free on 08000 302 302 and quote the code AROC1.

Good Energy by Phone: Call 0845 456 1640 and quote St.James Church

For any help or more information regarding switching then please contact Robin Summerell

Ethical Easter eggs

Have you ever thought about the market in Easter Eggs at this time of the year? In the UK we buy more than 80 million eggs, generating sales of around £200 million. Supermarkets use them as a 'loss leader': selling them as cheaply as they can in order to get customers in.

At this time of year it's easy to be attracted by the cheap offers, but let's not forget that behind every Easter Egg stands a farmer and their cocoa farm. Buying an Easter Egg made from fair-trade chocolate is the only way we can be assured that the farmer hasn't been poorly treated. So this month, make sure all your Easter chocolate is fairly traded. And if you would like an Easter egg that is ethical and bears the message of Easter look no further than St James centre for the Real Easter egg, which tells the Easter story.