Bradgate Team
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Caring for our Environment2009 has begun, here are a few ideas for caring for our environment this year. 1. Recycle your Christmas cards, Supermarkets usually have recycle points. 2. Recycle your Christmas tree (if real) Charnwood will turn it into woodchip 3. Don't buy things in the sales that you do not want, however tempting the offer! 4. Do not replace items before they have worn out. The environment can be damaged in the manufacture process from pollution and CO2 as well as during usage of the good. HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEARCLIMATE CHANGEClimate change is one of the most serious threats to the Earth, and most scientists accept this now. The main cause of the increase in global temperatures is from higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere coming mainly from the burning of fossil fuels. The five hottest years on record were all within the last decade 2005, 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2004 However climate change often takes the back seat to other issues in everyday life - espeicially with a looming recession causeing many people anxiety, and also in the life of the Church. We may be aware of the problem but have not made any changes.
Christians believe that God created man and the environment that we live in and that God has given us the responsibility to look after his creation rather than to pollute and destroy it. The Church of England would like to take a lead in the climate change debate, and is encouraging churches to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide. You may think that it will make no difference if a few churches change, but if we all reduce our carbon footprint (how much CO2we emit) there will be a change for the good. Shrinking the Footprint is the Church of England’s national strategic campaign to enable its members and institutions to address - in faith, practice, and mission - the pressing issue of climate change. It aims to challenge, encourage and support the whole body of the Church to shrink our environmental footprint. It will change Church activities, structures and processes, producing sustainable reductions in the Church of England’s carbon emissions to 40% of current levels by 2050. This is very similar to finding your own individual carbon emissions. The purpose is to identify the baseline against which to set the Church’s targets. The areas to be looked at would include the church building and hall, clergy housing and travel, parishioners travel to church on a Sunday and to church meetings. From this a target can be set for reducing C02 and an action plan of how to achieve the target.
Jane Woolmer
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