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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
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