Join the Green Revolution

Churches are invited to send representatives to a conference on cutting carbon emissions in the Diocese. Ian James, Diocesan Environmental Adviser, urges us all to think about our responsibility to the earth.

Levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere have been rising since the start of the industrial revolution, but they are currently rising faster than ever. Most of the increase is down to human activity, mainly burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil. The consequence of these rises is climate change, with increased temperatures, melting ice, rising sea levels and changing patterns of rainfall. That in turn means failed crops, flooding and severe weather events in places not used to them. Some believe that some of the events of this summer are a foretaste of what is to come: floods in Bangladesh, and nearer to home in Boscastle, the unprecedented series of hurricanes in the Caribbean, melting ice at the poles and in the great mountain ranges of the world and so. The problems are many and diverse, but their cumulative effect is huge.

Needless to say, it is the rich West that is largely responsible for the problem. Carbon emissions per head by Europeans are 6 times those by Africans. Those who suffer first will be the poor and underdeveloped countries, where agriculture is marginal and where protection against floods and bad weather is inadequate or non-existent. Above, it is our generation who pollute the world, and our grandchildren’s generation and beyond who will have to cope with the consequences.

Faced with the enormity of these problems, what can we ordinary people do? The least is to be aware of the carbon emissions for which we are responsible. Did you know, for example, that taking a family of four across Europe in a budget jet puts as much carbon into the atmosphere as driving a typical family car for a year? Did you know that the biggest source of carbon dioxide for most of us is in the form of wasted domestic heating, heat that escapes through the roofs and walls of our inadequately insulated homes? Did you know that air-freighting one kilogram of non-seasonal vegetables from Chile to your local supermarket puts six kilograms of carbon into the air, or that bringing 1 kilogram of seasonal vegetables across Europe by lorry puts just a few grams of carbon into the atmosphere? That running a 4x4 vehicle puts more than four tonnes of carbon into the air annually, while an economical compact car will go the same distance with the emission of only 0.8 tonnes of carbon?

As a Diocese, we have committed ourselves to cut our carbon emissions by 15% by the year 2010, which is what is asked of us by the Kyoto protocol. That means in our homes, in our parish activities and in the central activities of Church House. To explore how we can all work towards this target, we are organising a Diocesan conference on Saturday 26 February 2005 at St Andrews Church, High Wycombe. We are challenging every parish in the Diocese to send at least one representative. We have to cover some basic costs and we will do this by charging £10 per car, so it is cheaper the more people you can squeeze into your car! Those who turn up on foot will only be charged £1! If we make a profit, it will go to plant trees that will take up the carbon put into the atmosphere by the conference. More details are on our website www.sageoxford.org.uk/climatechange.htm