Climate Change
Being alive to God's World...
In seeking to be Alive to God's World, at St.Mary's Church we are keen to respond to the environment and the challenge of global warming with the suffering it will cause for the world's poorest. In addition to installing a cycle rack the Parochial Church Council has now, in Sept 2011, agreed to seek permission to install solar panels on both the Church and the Church Hall.
The plans for installing Photo Voltaic solar panels on the Church Hall and on the Church are now proceeding to planning permission from both the Civic and Church authorities. We would value any sponsorship of gifts or loans to assist us in this project which we hope will go ahead in the early Spring 2012.
Since 2008 we have sought to be a 'generous' congregation by encouraging a response to www.portsmouth.generous.org.uk An initiative by the diocese and 'generous.org.uk' to help us make a individual response to generous living whilst knowing we are part of a bigger online community which shares our vision for renewed and generous living.
The Church of England asks every member ugently to respond to the issue of Climate Change by massively reducing the carbon emissions which result from our lifestyle. The campaign of the Church of England is called Shrinking The Footprint.
The Diocese of Portsmouth has an Environmental Policy through which it calls all it's churches and members to act on climage change as a matter of discipleship. The policy and resources can be found at the Environment & Ecology pages at the Diocese.
PCAN Portsmouth Climate Action Network is an active campaign group which has much useful local material and information.
Top Tips which do make a difference...
- Be informed, why not watch 'An Inconvenient Truth' DVD? The vicar has a copy you can borrow.
- Reduce, re-use and recycle as much as possible.
- Take care not to put vegetable organic waste in the bin, get a green collection bag from the Council or try composting it. A 'Bokashi Bin' in your kitchen will even safely compost meat and cooked food waste!
- Change your light bulbs, even before the old ones blow.
- Walk, cycle or share lifts as much as you can, especially to church!
- Switch off climate change by switching off lights, stand-by and by reducing the thermostat 1 degree; switch to a green energy tarrif.
- Change the shopping 'market': use UHT milk as much as you can; don't depend on bottled water, in the UK drink clean pure tap water; compare food miles and carbon footprint between comparative products; try organic and local produce.
- Help St.Mary's Church form an action plan and in promoting awareness of the impact of climate change on the world's poorest.
- Be a voice for others, campaign and visit www.portsmouthcan.co.uk
- Did you know you can campaign online with Christian Aid? Go to www.christianaid.org.uk/actnow
- Pray to the Lord with a confident hope in Jesus dying to save and renew the whole of Creation.
SEA LEVEL MAP With projected rising sea levels, where will all the water go in Warsash and Hook? Zoom in to see the River Hamble on this interactive map. It's set at 7m; that's the 5m rise some scientists suggest will occur this Century if we don't get to grips with climate change soon, plus a 2m tidal storm surge (you can adjust the projected heights!). Of course, this isn't inevitable if we choose to act now! Please note, the map is another website with it's own sponsorship embedded on this page.