Environment

John Hall

The Diocesan Environment Group meets six times a year for the purpose of promoting Christian stewardship of the Creation. There is a small, but committed nucleus of members. New members are always welcome. We meet at varied locations around the Diocese and at different times of day. Since 2006, we have primarily confined ourselves to one project per year.

Our 2006 Project was a Carbon Reduction Project, with nine participating churches seeking to

reduce their carbon footprint by 10% (see below).

Our 2007 Project sought to encourage church schools in the Diocese to make the vital

connection between faith and the environment - specifically climate change (see below).

Our 2008 Project focused on Food Miles, encouraging churches and schools to make the

connection between the food on their plate and its place of origin, with the consonant

environmental implications

In 2009, we are focused on developing a Diocesan policy and action plan that will embrace

every aspect of Diocesan life.

For further information, contact the Diocesan Environmental Adviser, Revd Greg Smith, 02476 422856 or gregsmith31760@tiscali.co.uk.

The Transition Movement

This movement is gaining momentum across the country. Here are the basics of the idea. It would be fantastic if the churches were actively involved in helping to get something going in their localities.

The idea of Transition is to bring together two major issues facing us:

1. Climate change

Most of us know something about this, as there has been so much about this in the news. Those of us in the rich industrialised countries have been burning fossil fuels at such a rate in the past 200 years, that we have emitted carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is now endangering life on the planet as we currently know it. It is already having a devastating impact on those living in the global South, and on the ability of the planet to cope with such rapid changes.

Answers to the issue are often based on technological solutions (such as carbon capture and storage, climate engineering, offsetting, emissions trading etc), rather than addressing the heart of the issue: how did we get to this situation in the first place? And what kind of a future do we want?

2. Peak oil

This is the issue about which we know less.

Dr M K Hubbert pointed out in the 70s that about 30 years after the peak of oil discovery has been reached, we reach the peak of oil production. Global oil discovery reached its peak about 30 years ago. Because the likely places for oil residues are well known to oil geologists, we know that there unlikely to be major new oil discoveries.

That means that we have probably reached (or are soon to reach) the peak of oil production. The significant issue about this is that the first half of oil extraction from wells is easy and cheap. The latter half becomes increasingly more expensive in terms of energy (ie you have to use more energy to get the oil out of the ground) and also more expensive in terms of finance (more technology is needed to get out the more difficult residues).

However, as production now is bound to decrease, our expectations are increasing, globally. Just look around you where you are sitting. Is anything in your surroundings there which didn’t depend on oil to be there? Our entire society has become utterly dependent on the availability of cheap oil. How are we going to face a future with increasingly expensive oil? We haven’t begun to think about it seriously. And our expectations globally are rising, as everyone has a ‘cheap oil lifestyle’ dangled in front of them as the thing to aim for.

We have a choice. We can pull up the drawbridge around us, safe in the knowledge that we in the rich part of the world will be able to buy our way out of the problem (through turning coal into oil, growing biofuels and so on); or we can imagine a future differently.

Climate change + peak oil = local resilience + cutting carbon emissions

‘Transition’ brings these two issues together, saying that they are two aspects of the same problem. What we need is a new vision for a future which builds resilience into local communities, so that we are much less dependent on oil as the foundation of all that we do, and that we create ways of living and being which reduce our carbon emissions.

The heart of the matter becomes what kind of lives do we want to lead? Oil driven lives have proved themselves to be faster, yet unhealthy, bad for the planet, our communities and individuals. Of course there are significant advances of which we need to keep hold (dentistry comes to mind!), but we can see the social disintegration, the atomisation of lives which is the direct result of a fossil fuelled economy.

We have become removed from some of the basic processes on which we depend:

how to grow food
where energy comes from
where our building materials come from
where our fibre comes from for making clothes

and what’s more, we value these processes very little in the global economy which has been driven by access to cheap (but limited) resources. Our economics has been predicated upon the assumption of limitless supplies. Now we know that these supplies are limited, and our use of them has a finite impact upon the planetary processes upon which we are utterly dependent (for example, fresh water, clean air, healthy soil, flourishing biodiversity).

Vision for the future

How do we want to shape our social lives in the future? Can we re-establish the values of the things upon which we depend? If we decide that we want to grow our own, protect our local environment from being concreted over, reduce our dependence on travelling long distances, learn to use energy much more efficiently, learn how to use the sun’s energy more directly, learn how to build and make things from local materials, then we will create communities which will not be shattered by a sudden plunge in the availability of cheap oil. Rather we will enable our communities to become resilient, and self supporting.

New values can be established, where people engaged in vital tasks such as food growing, energy efficiency, practical skills for building and making are sought after and rewarded properly.

In our communities we have those who have these skills already – can we be active in enabling those skills to be shared (often inter-generationally)? Can we together create models which enable people to be more in touch with the process of food production, either through growing their own, and/or through community supported agriculture schemes (where households pay farmers directly either through monthly amounts of cash, or physical work)? Can we help people to learn how to live more healthy and fulfilling lives by teaching these sorts of basic skills? Can we enable people to break out of the expectations of a consumer-driven lifestyle, to a lifestyle where we decide for ourselves? In short, can we enable people to regain control over their lives and livelihoods?

We have an opportunity to help our communities develop an ‘energy descent plan’: good for us in our communities, good for us as individuals, good for the planet. I don’t think that we can be good news for our communities unless we help people to dream dreams for our future together and get actively involved in making these visions become reality.

For more information:

www.transitiontowns.org

transitionculture.org

The Transition Handbook – from oil dependency to local resilience by Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition Movement (published by green books www.greenbooks.co.uk)

Local Food is Miles Better - Join the Campaign

What is a food mile?

It's how far food travels from the farmer who produces it to the consumer who eats it. That includes the journey from farm to processor, then from processor to retailer and finally from retailer to consumer. It includes travel within the UK as well as between countries.

And why is it important to reduce the number of food miles travelled?

They harm the environment - Transporting food large distances uses a lot of fuel, whether it travels by lorry or plane. That means more carbon dioxide emissions and more global warming.

To keep food fresher - The further food has to travel, the longer it spends in transit. That means vitamins are lost and nutritional values inevitably decline.

More Food miles means more transport cost - Aviation fuel and lorry diesel aren't cheap, so the further food travels the more costs it incurs. Who pays those costs in the end? Consumers, of course.

High food miles mean less security - As time goes by, a greater and greater proportion of UK food comes in from abroad. At a time when the world has never seemed such an unstable place, is it really a good idea to rely so heavily on distant countries to supply such a vital commodity?

It Enhances Community - The Church of England is a community focused mission agency. Christ built a community of disciples, teaching and evangelising in the context of accountable fact to face relationships. Wherever community thrives, opportunities for the gospel abound.

OK, so how do I cut down my food miles?

Look more closely at country of origin labels on food products and choose your purchases accordingly
Ask where food comes from when shopping and eating out
Eat foods that are in season in the UK (see www.eattheseasons.co.uk to see what's in season)
Use farmers markets (there are more than 500 in the UK). For a list see www.farmersmarkets.net
Use farm shops or pick your own farms. See www.farmshopping.com for a list
Look for local producers on the internet. Food from Britain (www.regionalfoodanddrink.co.uk) and BigBarn (www.bigbarn.co.uk) have two of the best local food directories
Find a local box scheme (www.ukfoodonline.co.uk)

Farmers Weekly surveyed over 1000 consumers from around the UK to find out how much they know about food miles.

Here are some of the results:

Over three quarters of those questioned (77%) think that local food tastes fresher
Around half (49%) of consumers are concerned that more than a third of food consumed in the UK is produced abroad
Nearly half of those surveyed admitted they don't actually know where the food they buy is produced
Over 80% think it's important for restaurants/pubs and schools to buy locally produced food
More than 8 in 10 consumers would be more likely to buy locally produced food in the supermarket if it was clearly labelled as such
19% of people thought oranges can be grown in the UK, and 1 in 10 thought pineapples could be!

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO REGISTER YOUR SUPPORT AND SIGN OUR PETITION, GO TO www.fwi.co.uk and click on Food Miles.

This information has been supplied by Farmers Weekly

Green Energy

The Diocesan Environment Group have circulated the following letter to PCC Treasures and Secretaries, if you would like any further information please do contact Greg Smith, Greg's details are listed below.

You will no doubt be aware that the Church of England nationally has taken a significant lead in commending to government and to the nation the great need to care for the creation.

At Diocesan level, we are seeking to reflect these concerns and demonstrate similar prophetic leadership by taking the need to reduce our carbon footprint seriously. We are writing to you as church treasurer, because you will understand better than most that genuine commitment has a financial dimension. There is no merit in trying to hide the fact that greening your church has budgetary implications. If carbon reduction is not something that your PCC regard as a priority, it is unlikely to feature in your budget. However, if you appreciate the importance of seeking to minimise damage to God’s world, then you will want to see that this is done as cost effectively as possible.

Our research suggests that, pound for pound, the most cost effective way of reducing carbon emissions is to switch to a green energy supplier. You may already have done this or you may wish to pursue this independently of the diocese. However, we would ask you to research carefully. Not all so called green tariffs are as green as the headlines claim. This is a complex area, and I would be glad to clarify if necessary, but in short unless your electricity is supplied by Green Energy, Good Energy or Ecotricity, it is unlikely to be green in any meaningful sense in spite of whatever promises may have been made to you. Green energy is that which comes from renewable sources (e.g. wind, wave, solar) rather than through burning fossil fuels such as coal.

Coventry Diocese is in the process of negotiating with Green Energy, a national supplier of green electricity. We are looking to set up a scheme that makes switching over simple, guarantees genuinely green energy in a way that means your financial commitment is making a real difference, and at a price that maximises the cost effectiveness of your investment.

We are not in a position to answer your number one question: what will it cost? This will depend on the timing of any switch over that is made. Many churches are tied into a contract with their existing supplier of twelve months or more. However, our investigations have persuaded us that Green Energy offer green electricity at very competitive prices and are likely to continue to do so. Secondly, our arrangement with them will enable us to offer further discounts on their advertised tariffs, both to the church and members of your congregation. In broad brush terms, an 8% reduction in your energy consumption will enable a switch at no additional cost.

At this stage, we would ask you to discuss this at the next convenient PCC meeting; and then advise me whether in principle you would wish to pursue switching your supplier further, either now or at some point in the future. You may find it helpful to view the recent documentary: An Inconvenient Truth. Free copies of this have been provided by the Diocese and are available from Revd David Charles-Edwards (e-mail: CWA.David@btinternet.com or Tel: 01788 569212)

Yours in Christ

Greg Smith
Chair: Coventry Diocesan Environment Group
For further information, contact the Diocesan Environmental Adviser, Revd Greg Smith, 02476 422856 or gregsmith31760@tiscali.co.uk.

Climate Change in Schools

We are seeking to encourage all church schools in the Diocese to engage with the question of how faith affects our concern for the environment, and specifically climate change. We are working in partnership with the Coventry multi-faith forum and have undertaken to make appropriate resources available to schools to stimulate their thinking in relation to acts of collective worship, RE and spirituality.

We are also hoping that as many schools as possible will be able to make a contribution to the Head Teachers’ Conference in October by producing a relevant display. There will be an appropriate small gift for all taking part and Bishop John will be visiting a school and presenting an additional prize for an outstanding contribution.

Carbon Reduction Project

Snow Scene Churches in Coventry Diocese have been asked to participate in a pilot project to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% over a 12 month period. If successful (both practically and in capturing the imagination), it is hoped the project might be rolled out more widely the following year.

Individual churches (in a variety of settings and sizes) have been asked to measure their carbon footprint as close to June 5th (World Environment Day) as convenient. The footprint relates to energy consumption and transport used by the congregation to travel to church on an “average” Sunday. Additionally, churches have been asked to identify members who are willing to participate on an individual basis, measuring their own carbon footprint (energy consumption and annual mileage). The challenge is to reduce the footprint by 10%, although participants are being encouraged to recognise that any reduction is better than none.

Support is to be offered through workshops, in which energy saving ideas will be offered and examples of good practice will be shared. There will also be an electronic newsletter to ensure that momentum is maintained.

It is hoped that both the individual and the church who make the most progress through the twelve month life of the programme will receive a small prize; and that their success can be celebrated more widely through the diocese.

Eco-congregation (England & Wales)

Please note that as from 1 April 2009, the Eco-congregation England & Wales office will be moving as David Hughes takes over. The new details will be:

David Hughes
Eco-congregation
Groundwork Sheffield
The Innovation Centre
217 Portobello
SHEFFIELD S1 4DP

New phone number: 0114 263 6423

Email: ecocongregation@arocha.org