Cities are sinking

 One of the significant problems facing the planet is the degree to which cities are sinking and water levels are rising. See this article from the Guardian (31 December 2020) (LINK). 

As a  parish we have been helping people in African communities to get safe and fresh drinking water. This is important, but equally important is to help communities that are drawing so much water from the ground that their land sinks. At the same the melting glaciers threatens costal cities in developed and developing countries.  If we can give money for a well, might we not as Christians commit ourselves to  lifestyle changes that could help millions around the planet? Even very small steps matter. One less car trip. One fewer airplane trip. One day less per week for eating meat. It all adds up and helps us to make a difference.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Church of England Eco church web

  The Church of England is actively committed to promoting "care for God's creation through their worship, buildings, land, community engagement, and individual lifestyles." Here is a LINK to the full official statement on the website. St. George's Anglican / Episcopal church in Berlin has made the same commitment. One of the purposes of this blog is to offer parish members a source of current information about environmental matters.  Our  Preußenallee  building  is under "Denkmalschutz", which protects the original architectural design. While this is an advantage, it also limits what we can do to the physical plant. The Eco Church committee will look at how to make the building and grounds more ecologically friendly, but we should also remember that there is much we can do in our private lives to act in ecologically responsible ways.  --Michael
Read more

Small steps matter

Small steps matter. It is not unusual for people to say that an Eco-friendly idea is too small to make any difference. In fact taking small steps not only shows an important symbolic commitment toward protecting the environment, but small steps can in fact make a difference in the long run. There are sites such as "My Climate" ( LINK ) that will help to calculate the cost.  One of the small steps that everyone can take is to reduce meat consumption. A completely vegetarian or vegan diet is not necessary to make a difference, and there are plenty of sources of good protein in the plant kingdom The Eco Church committee has long talked about providing some environmentally friendly recipies. Here is one for crispy Tofu: Tofu comes in many forms, some softer than others. It also comes with different seasonings. For this recipe seasoned and relatively firm tofu is best, meaning that it was squeezed to reduce the water content. The next steps are simple: dry the tofu with a towel, c
Read more

Mining the Ocean

 Those who grew up watching Star Trek, or have seen its reruns, will remember the phrase: "Space: the final frontier". Actually space is not really the final frontier. The Guardian (27 September 2021) reports: "humanity knows more about deep space than the deep ocean". The context of this statement is worth examining because it involves a new and serious threat to our planet: " In late June, the island republic of Nauru informed the International Seabed Authority (ISA) based in Kingston, Jamaica of its intention to start mining the seabed in two years’ time via a subsidiary of a Canadian firm, The Metals Company (TMC, until recently known as DeepGreen). Innocuous as it sounds, this note was a starting gun for a resource race on the planet’s last vast frontier: the abyssal plains that stretch between continental shelves deep below the oceans. " (Guardian, 27 September) ( LINK ) The article goes on to quote "Louisa Casson, an oceans campaigner at Greenp
Read more