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CHRISTIAN ECOLOGY LINK
April 2007
Prayer-Guide
for
The Care of
Creation
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APRIL 2007
“The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has
made . . .
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper
time.
You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.”
(Psalm 145.13-16)
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke
23.34)
“How astonishing that in the midst of His pain and distress our Lord’s first
thought should be directed towards His Father. Most people caught up
like this would want to vent their anger on God and shout “Why are you
allowing this to happen to me?” but not Christ. His confidence in God
remained intact. Men could hammer the life out of Him, but they couldn’t
hammer the love out of Him. He loved and believed in His Father still –
even though hell was breaking loose about Him.”
(Selwyn Hughes)
Sunday 1st April. Palm Sunday.
Dear Lord and Master, we remember today that many who
proclaimed you King on Sunday shouted “Crucify!” on Friday. Keep us
steadfast in our faith. Take away from us all fear, all coldness of heart, all
unwillingness to suffer: so that we, remembering your suffering on the
cross, may rejoice that you have called us all to bear each his own cross,
for your Name’s sake. Amen.
Monday 2nd April.
The Government’s Climate Change Bill, published last month, will:
 Set a target of reducing CO2 emissions by 2050 and set
“appropriate interim targets”;
 Establish an independent body to work with
Government over reducing emissions across the
economy;
 Enable the Government to establish and vary new
emissions reduction measures;
 Require Government to report annually to Parliament
on progress towards meeting emissions reductions.
The public consultation is likely to last 3 months. Then the Bill will be
debated in Parliament and, if approved, is likely to become law around
summer 2008. However, if we are to avoid breaching the 20 C. rise which
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the EU recognises as the “danger level”, we need an emissions cut of at
least 3% each year to 2050 – resulting in a cumulative cut of 80% by
2050. Disappointingly, the Bill takes no account of rising emissions from
aviation.
Tuesday 3rd April.
EU leaders have agreed on a binding goal of cutting greenhouses
gases by 20% from 1990 levels by 2020 – a figure to be raised to 30% if
other developed nations do likewise. A voluntary goal of sourcing 12% of
European energy from renewables is unlikely to be met, but a new target
– that of bringing the share of biofuels in transport up to 10% by 2020 –
stands a better chance. The binding goal for emissions reductions is
likely to encourage long-term investment in the renewable energy sector.
Wednesday 4th April.
A report from the Middlesex University Flood Hazard Research
Centre examines the possible impact of sea-level rises on existing and
proposed nuclear power stations. Three of the four plants investigated
(Bradwell, Dungeness & Hinkley Point) were found to be vulnerable to
sea-level rises of 1 metre or more in storm surges, which are predicted to
be of regular occurrence by 2080 if CO2 emissions are not curbed. At
Sizewell, the coast is considered to be vulnerable to change in the long
term, with extensive coastline retreat a possibility. “These findings make
it imperative for the nuclear industry to publish its own findings on the
risks of sea-water invasion of nuclear sites.”
Thursday 5th April.
A group of 28 American Evangelical and Scientific leaders has
released an “Urgent Call to Action” on climate change. In a letter to
President Bush and leaders of Congress, they urge “fundamental
changes in values, lifestyles and public policies required to address
these worsening problems before it is too late. Business as usual cannot
continue yet one more day.” The group pledged to “work together toward
a responsible care for Creation and call with one voice to the religious,
scientific, business, political and educational arenas to join them in this
historic initiative.” Said Dr. Joel Hunter, pastor of a church in Orlando,
Florida, “We are glad to be partnering our friends in the scientific
community. They have the facts we need to present to our
congregations; we have the numbers of activists that will work through
churches, government and the business community to make a significant
impact.”
Friday 6th April. Good Friday.
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When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the Temple was torn
asunder from top to bottom, signifying that the way into God’s holy
presence was now wide open to all.
Father, we thank you for that open way, open still and for
evermore, through the sacrifice of your Son. For now you are no longer
hidden or separated from us, but always accessible, always within reach
of our prayers. We praise and thank you for your unfailing goodness and
mercy.
(Frank Colquhoun)
Saturday 7th April.
Over four thousand of London’s churches including Anglican,
Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, Methodists and Baptist have
received a free booklet called “For Creed and Creation” – a simple
guidebook for running a greener church, offering practical tips on energy
efficiency and advising on preaching the green message. Dr. Richard
Chartres, Bishop of London, said: “Working together, London’s churches
have a pivotal role to play in tackling the stark reality of climate change.
London’s churches reach out to hundreds of thousands of people each
week and, according to the last census, 58% of the capital’s population is
Christian. We should be making our presence felt on the crucial issue of
the environment.”
Sunday 8th April. Easter Day.
“Our Lord has written the promise of Resurrection not only in
books, but in every leaf in springtime.”
(Martin Luther)
Loving Father, we praise and bless you that, by the death of your Son,
He has destroyed the power of death and won for us the hope of
everlasting life. We thank you that He is with us always and that nothing
in life or death can separate us from Him. Amen.
Monday 9th April.
A new report from the Royal Commission on Environmental
Pollution called “The Urban Environment” highlights the link between
increasing car ownership and the risk of urban flooding. Demand for
more roads and parking space leads to an increase in hard,
impermeable surfaces which cannot soak up rain – leading to more
polluted surface water running off into drains and, in downpours, a higher
risk of flash flooding. “We are not convinced that the Government has
grasped the scale of the issues that confront them in building new areas
in the South-east, in water supply, in the adequate provision of public
transport and the whole design of areas so that people can get about
more easily without using their cars.”
Tuesday 10th April.
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A new report from the Three Regions Climate Group, representing
public authorities, companies and NGOs from the South-East of England
is called “Adapting to Climate Change”. It calls for climate-proofing for all
new developments. It praises developments like the Jubilee Campus in
Nottingham, with its green roofs built to provide a buffer against flooding,
and Gallions Park in the Docklands, where solar water heating and
rainwater harvesting are used, making it London’s first zero-carbon
development. The Mayor of London said: “These case studies will help
us to make sure we are better prepared for unavoidable climate change.
We cannot sit back and start thinking about adapting to climate change
tomorrow, we need to act now.”
Wednesday 11th April.
Adnam’s Brewery Distribution Centre in Southwold, Suffolk, has
been built with walls made of compressed lime blocks infilled with
Hemcrete made of hemp and lime. Fast-growing hemp stores carbon as
it grows, while releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. Enough hemp to
build one house can be grown on 2.5 acres of land in just 14 weeks. The
warehouse has 150 tonnes of CO2 locked up in its walls – the same
amount that a Ford Escort would give out if driven 60 times round the
world. Ian Price of Lime Technology said: “If we built every new home
with Hemcrete, we could save 9 million tonnes of carbon emissions a
year, i.e. 6% of the UK total. For details contact Lime Technology Ltd.,
Unit 126, Milton Park, Abingdon OX14 4SA or ring: 0845 603 1143 0r
visit the website: www.limetechnology.co.uk
Thursday 12th April.
Every square kilometre of the earth’s deserts receives, each year,
solar energy equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of oil. “Concentrating Solar
Power” technology has been successfully producing electricity in
California for nearly 20 years. Dr. Franz Trieb of the German Air & Space
Agency explained: “We can tap into this energy by using mirrors to
concentrate sunlight and create heat. The heat can be used to raise
steam and drive a generator in a conventional way. Initially, the
countries producing the electricity will supply their own needs, but it is
still feasible and cost-effective to transmit solar electricity over long
distances without much loss of power. As an added bonus, fresh water
can be made by desalinating the seawater, using waste heat from
concentrated solar power.” Contact: Gerry Wolf, TREC-UK, 18 Penlon,
Menai Bridge, Anglesey LL59 5LR, or ring: 01248 712962. Website:
www.trec-uk.org.uk
Friday 13th April.
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A campaign to plant a billion trees in 2007 has been inspired by
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Wangari Matthai, whose Green Belt
Movement has planted more than 30 million trees in 12 African countries
since 1977. The campaign is co-ordinated by UNEP, whose director,
Achim Steiner, said: “There is no longer any need for conjecture about
climate change. We need action. We need to plant trees and, in so
doing, send a signal to the corridors of power that the watching and
waiting is over – that countering climate change can take root through a
billion small but significant acts, in our gardens, parks and countryside.”
Pledges to plant 250 million trees have already been received. Spain has
pledged to plant 8 million trees in the Sahara, French organisations have
agreed to plant 5.5 million trees in France, while Monaco is to replant
500 acres in Lebanon and 200 in Chile. Pledges from individuals,
groups, businesses and authorities can be made on the UNEP website:
www.unep.org/billiontreescampaign For more information write to UNEP
at PO Box 30552, Nairobi 00100, Kenya or ring: +254 20 762 1234 or
email: [email protected]
Saturday 14th April.
Nobel Peace Prize laureates, meeting in Rome, have committed
themselves to working towards achieving the complete elimination of
nuclear weapons. Their Rome Declaration states: “Nuclear weapons are
much more of a problem than any problem they seek to solve. In the
hands of anyone, these weapons remain an unacceptable and morally
reprehensible, impractical and dangerous risk. A world with nuclear
haves and have-nots is fragmented and unstable, a fact underscored by
the current threats of proliferation. In such an environment, co-operation
fails. Thus, nations are unable to address effectively the real threats of
poverty, environmental degradation and nuclear catastrophe.”
Meanwhile, in the USA, a group which includes former Secretaries of
State Henry Kissinger and George Schultz has declared: “We endorse
the goal of a world free from nuclear weapons and we will work
energetically on the actions required to achieve that goal.”
Sunday 15th April.
Dear Father, we thank you for this lovely world which you have
given us to look after. Teach us how to conserve your handiwork. Help
us to devote our time and resources to restoring what has gone amiss.
Show us how to fill our surroundings with Christlike deeds and to make
them the kind of places that bring you honour and glory.
Monday 16th April.
More than 38% of the world’s electricity is generated from coal
(more than gas and nuclear combined) and coal consumption keeps
rising. The USA has more than 150 coal-fired plants planned or under
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construction, while China opens a new one every five days. Yet CO2
emissions per unit of power are about double those from gas-fired plants.
Clean coal production is only possible through carbon capture and
storage (CCS). Three major UK power suppliers are planning power
stations that incorporate CCS technology, but the earliest possible
completion date is 2012-13.
Does the technology work, and can we wait that long?
China recently overtook the USA as the world’s largest coal consumer
and generates the overwhelming majority of its electricity from coal.
Despite China’s pollution problems, there seems little hope of limiting her
CO2 emissions except by resorting to CCS technology. But is it possible
that the resources needed to develop CCS would be better used in
perfecting existing technologies such as wind and solar? These
questions need urgent prayer and debate.
Tuesday 17th April.
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows industrialised
nations within the Kyoto Agreement to offset their carbon emissions by
financing carbon reduction projects in the developing world. Nearly all
the projects so far approved are in India, China and Latin America, with
only 2% in Africa, where there is huge potential for community-based
projects such as eco-stoves. Each CDM project costs around $50,000 to
verify and anyway CDM is due to end in 2012. According to Climate
Care, voluntary standards for carbon offset schemes would encourage
investment in eco-stoves which could reduce deforestation and cut
carbon emissions by around 1.5 tonnes per stove annually.
Wednesday 18th April.
The Government’s programme for airport expansion runs counter
to its policy of reducing carbon emissions by 60% by 2050. The
operators of Lydd Airport in Kent have announced plans to increase
passenger numbers for 4/5,000 a year to 2 million with the construction
of a new terminal and an extended runway. The airport is next to the
1,000 hectare Dungeness nature reserve, home to at least sixty bird
species. The RSPB has called for a public enquiry and 3,000 local
people have signed a petition against the proposed expansion.
Thursday 19th April.
A report from the International Energy Agency estimates that
replacing the world’s light bulbs with energy-efficient models could
reduce the global electricity bill by 10%. Incandescent light bulbs are five
times less efficient than the newest eco-friendly models. Australia is to
ban incandescent bulbs, so saving CO2 emissions of 800,000 tonnes a
year. The EU Commissioner for Energy is considering whether a EU
standard for eco-friendly light bulbs is “doable”.
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Friday 20th April.
The latest IPCC report makes it clear that a 60% cut in CO2
emissions by 2050 is inadequate if we are to avoid potentially irreversible
runaway climate change. The present world population of 6.4 billion
would have to reduce its output from 30 billion tonnes of CO2 a year to
18 billion tonnes. But by 2050 there will be 9 billion of us. So, in order to
achieve a 60% cut by 2050, each of those 9 billion must emit no more
than 2 tonnes of CO2 per person – as compared with the present UK
average of 12.5 tonnes per person. Yet this population factor is not
mentioned either in the IPCC report or the UN Millennium Development
Goals or Tony Blair’s Commission for Africa or by any of the leaders of
environmental groups apart from Jonathon Porritt, Chairman of the
Sustainable Commission. Why?
Saturday 21st April.
Lincoln Cathedral is devoting this day to a celebration of the
Lincolnshire Churches’ new environmental policy, with workshops on
Greening the Church, Waste Recycling, Biodiversity, Eco-housing,
environmentally-friendly Transport, together with talks, drama, a
labyrinth, Celtic spirituality etc. Led by the Bishop of Lincoln, the day will
close with an act of worship. For more details ring 01522 504072 or 0771
293 1354 or email: [email protected]
Sunday 22nd April.
Loving Father, we praise and thank you for giving us so much to
enjoy in your world. And if we do not understand why nature seems
sometimes so cruel and harsh, and why people suffer from floods,
earthquakes and man-made disasters in your world, help us to trust
where we cannot see and to rest in the knowledge that not even the
smallest sparrow lies outside your loving care. Help us to do all in our
power to relieve suffering, and make us willing and eager to share the
good things that you have given us for the benefit of all.
Monday 23rd April.
Uganda has a population of 30 million. If it grows at the current
rate, there will be 55 million by 2025 and 130 million by 2060, making it
the world’s 12th most populous country. President Museveni calls this
growth “a great resource”. Others see it as an unmitigated disaster.
Fewer than one in five Ugandan women have access to contraception.
Globally, between 125 and 200 million women are deprived of that basic
right. Yet with proper advice from their government, supported by
Western aid programmes, average fertility could be substantially
reduced. It happened in Kerala, India, by focussing on better education
for girls and better healthcare for women. According to Jonathon Porritt,
the idea that it is elitist, illiberal or oppressive to urge good family
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planning on the world’s poorest countries is ignorant, inhumane and
destructive of women’s rights. “Awareness (of the problem) had better
dawn soon before the combination of an extra 70 million people arriving
on earth every year, together with levels of CO2 in the atmosphere
increasing just as inexorably, precipitates such a cataclysmic collapse
that our numbers will be controlled not by design, but by disaster.”
Tuesday 24th April.
Extinction is for ever. Last December a 6-week expedition 3,500
km. up the Yangtse River found no trace of the Yangtse River Dolphin
known as the baiji. It is the first mammal to become extinct in the 21st
century, and is unlikely to be the last. China’s Great Leap Forward was
the baiji’s first death sentence, but vessel strikes, entanglement in fishing
nets and pollution provided the coup de grace. Their intelligence and
communication skills, that enigmatic Mona Lisa smile, their playfulness
and love of freedom all make dolphins particularly attractive to humans.
We just love them. So how could we, with our conservation skills and
awareness, have failed to stop this happening? We may not have known
what we were doing when we drove the dodo to extinction, but we, the
human race, knew what we were doing to the baiji. Now it is too late.
Wednesday 25th April.
Blisland, Chew Magna, Ashton Hayes and Belston are all
communities that are tackling climate change locally, each in their own
way. California, Seattle, Austin and Salt Lake City are among the US
local authorities that are going ahead with their own environmental
projects without waiting for federal action. Among the websites
describing Britain’s local projects are:
 www.gozero.org.uk which describes Chew Magna’s projects;
 www.goingcarbonneutral.co.uk which is about the Ashton Hayes
project;
 www.communitywindpower.co.uk which is about small-scale wind
farms;
 www.localworks.org concerning the Sustainable Communities Bill
now before Parliament, aiming to facilitate local action on climate
change.
Thursday 26th April.
A report from the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP)
finds that the construction industry could significantly reduce the waste it
produces by making key components off-site. Up to a 90% reduction can
be achieved in reducing wastes such as wood pallets, shrink wrap,
cardboard, plasterboard, timber, concrete, bricks and cement by using
off-site manufacture and modern methods of construction. All this could
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help the industry to achieve the target of reducing landfill waste by 50%
by 2012.
Friday 27th April.
Using the new science of “synthetic biology”, scientists are on the
brink of creating living organisms never before found in nature – in the
hope of finding solutions to everything from malaria to climate change.
Gene synthesis technology greatly enhances the potential to construct
deadly designer pathogens in the laboratory using mail-order DNA. In
2005 researchers announced that they had resurrected the lethal H1N1
flu virus (so-called Spanish flu), which killed up to 50 million people in
1918-19, by recovering fragments of viral DNA from flu victims buried in
the Alaskan permafrost. Today the full genome sequences of H1N1 virus
are publicly available on the internet. The Ottawa-based ETC group, in
its report “Extreme Genetic Engineering”, available at www.etcgroup.org
, recommends that, in keeping with the Precautionary Principle, synthetic
microbes should be treated as dangerous until proved harmless. “At a
minimum, environmental release of new synthetic organisms should be
prohibited until wide societal debate and strong governance are in place.
Public debate must go beyond biosecurity and biosafety. There must be
a broad societal debate on synthetic biology’s wider socio-economic and
ethical implications, on control and ownership of the technology and
whether it is socially acceptable or even desirable.”
Saturday 28th April.
A Parish Pump workshop takes place today from 10 to 4 at St.
Mark’s church, Harrogate, on the theme “Walking Lightly in the Garden”.
For a programme and booking details ring 01132 578966 or email:
[email protected]
Tomorrow is Footprint Day at St. Mary’s church, Chilham, Kent. The
purpose: to consider all aspects of climate change from a Christian
perspective. Speakers include Professor Sam Berry, Ruth Jarman (CEL),
Damian Green MP and Jan Drozd (Diocesan Environmental Adviser)
Further details are available from Len Budd by ringing 01227 731224 or
by emailing [email protected]
Sunday 29th April.
Lord, you have given us this beautiful world, with the ability to
harvest its products for our nourishment. Yet in our greed we have been
robbing future generations, poisoning your world and destroying many of
your creatures. Help us to realise that we interfere with your world at our
peril. It is your hand, not ours, that rules your world, and we are here,
during our short lives, as temporary caretakers.
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Monday 30th April.
“Thrift is creative,” wrote G.K. Chesterton. “Waste is unpoetic.”
What could be less creative than the work involved in plastic packaging,
throughout its life? It is factory-made, then transported, then comes the
wrapping process. Then we have to unwrap it, bin the wrapping, carry
the bin-bag to the dustbin, where paid employees pick it up and drive it in
a gas-guzzling beast to a toxic dump in the middle of nowhere. “Toil and
trouble, and all a waste of effort,” writes Tom Hodgkinson in his new
book “How To Be Free”. One Devonshire lady produces no rubbish at all.
She avoids buying anything wrapped in plastic and she takes her own
basket when shopping. Anything woodish or papery is either burnt or put
on the compost heap. Food waste is composted or given to animals.
“Any creative person will abhor waste because it shows a laziness of
spirit. Thrift is not self-denying. It is resourceful, making the best of what
you’ve got. Everything has a use.”
Additional prayers:
Sources:
The Ecologist
Green Futures
Parish Pump News
Positive News
www.edie.net
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For further information and prayer requests please contact:
Philip Clarkson Webb
15 Valley View
Southborough
Tunbridge Wells TN4 0SY or email: [email protected]
Website: www.christianecology.org.uk
The May Edition of the Prayer diary will be put online at the end of April 2007.
If you would like to receive the prayer diary each month by email (free), please
email [email protected] and request this.
For further information and requests for prayer, please write or email:
Philip Clarkson Webb, 15 Valley View, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells TN4 0SY
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.christian-ecology.org.uk
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