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Dear Friends,

The floods in Pakistan have been vast. There have also been extreme weather events reported from China where there has also been significant destruction resulting from higher than usual rainfall. By sheer contrast in Brazil they have been suffering from very dry and hot conditions. Record high temperatures have been experienced in Russia over the summer.

Had all of this happened this time last year these various events would have been linked together under the banner of climate change, this year there has been none of that at all. Indeed I have had to look long and hard to fi nd any of these events being analysed long and hard in terms of how and why. The difference between this year and last year is of course Copenhagen.

This time last year we were all hoping that Copenhagen would give us a binding agreement for action on climate change and a way forward. After the failure of Copenhagen what we have
lacked in any sense of a focus and thus things have stalled somewhat.

However at the local level there is still much activity and the churches continue to provide a lot of the engagement that is still happened. In May I was able to attend a day meeting of concerned Christian Green groups in Oxford and was impressed by the depth and quality of engagement.

Here in Bristol through our history of local activity we have linked up with Sustainable Redland to help develop the Green Doors event in Bristol (September 11th-12th). Just in case you are wondering Green Doors happens alongside the Bristol Open Doors event and promotes sustainable buildings. Redland Park will be serving as the hub for Redland.

The potential for faith communities to network action in this crucial area is vast. Our inspiration and motivation is our faith in God the creator. Together we can help push society in the right direction, individually there is much we can do to adjust our own lifestyles.

We do in the belief that God placed us in a position of stewardship and that means the responsibility of care. There is still much that can be done the mitigate the worse effects of climate change, but as for the current events in Pakistan etc, let’s take them as reminders that for some people climate change is a present problem rather than just a future threat.

Douglas

September 2010