Just how green can you get?
Megan Blakie
| 09 Nov 2009
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Matthew and Waveney: the smile is more than just toothpaste.
Respect for the environment is not an optional extra for the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
In the Ebor lecture series at York Minster last March, Dr Williams said: “We can’t as humans oblige the environment to follow our agenda … and it would be dangerously illusory to imagine that this material environment will adjust itself at all costs so as to maintain our relationship to it.”
The aim of the annual lectures is to relate faith to public concerns, and Dr Williams' full lecture can be played online or read on the Archbishop’s website, www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2351
Summing up, he said that taking care of the world is not simply a duty but is a “redeeming activity” that’s integral to our wholeness and our relationship with God.
Translating this respect into everyday action can seem daunting, not least because environmental challenges and crises confront us almost daily.
Drawing from the experience of Christchurch’s rubbish-free couple, Matthew Luxon and Waveney Warth, doing something is better than doing nothing. As Matthew says: “it’s about setting a challenge, having a goal and making it do-able.”
The following thoughts and eco-suggestions have been compiled to inspire you and your parish to take further practical steps – “redeeming activities” – of your own:
Thought #1
“To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth” is the fifth “mark of mission” of the worldwide Anglican Church. Mission is seen as holistic, involving proclamation and social action. See www.anglicancommunion.org/ministry/mission/
Practical Tip #1
Say ‘No’ to plastic bags. Carry a reusable shopping bag with you when heading downtown or to the mall. Some bags are compact enough to clip on to your key ring. One reusable bag eliminates up to 1000 plastic bags, claims one manufacturer. Most supermarkets now sell reusable bags for groceries, too.
Thought #2
Eleven faiths (two thirds of the world’s population) are represented by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, which helps major religions develop their own environmental programmes. ARC also works in partnership with the World Bank to achieve environmental aims. See www.arcworld.org or www.worldbank.org (click on: Topics > Environment > Biodiversity > Faiths and Environment)
Practical Tip #2
Replace your one-use AAA to D batteries with rechargables. Using a battery charger avoids the problem of safely disposing of old batteries, which contain toxic heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium.
Thought #3
“Justice is about how you live your life” – Anglican Social Justice Commission website, www.justice.net.nz/about/
The commission has an advocacy role and encourages debate and action on local, national and global social justice issues.
Practical Tip #3
Cook mouthwatering recipes while supporting Fair Trade! A range of cookbooks promote social justice by using Fair Trade ingredients. Many also explain how baking products arrive on Western shores. Just Desserts by Ralf Kabelitz, The Fairtrade Everyday Cookbook edited by Sophie Grigson, and A Fair Feast complied by Vicky Bhogal (with recipes from Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson) are examples.
Look for Fair Trade ingredients at your café’, deli, supermarket or Trade Aid store. Support our development agency, Christian World Service, which is calling for fairer trade rules. See www.cws.org.nz and click on: Take Action > Trade
Thought #4
“The concern of Earth Bible writers is not to defend the biblical text blindly, but to identify those passages which may have contributed to the crisis and to uncover those traditions which have valued Earth but been suppressed”
– Archbishop Tutu, in the foreword to Series 1, Volume 2
The Earth Story in Genesis, produced by Earth Bible, the international project that has developed principles for reading biblical texts from an eco-justice perspective.
See www.flinders.edu.au/ and enter Earth Bible into the search box.
Practical Tip #4
Take unwanted mobile phones and phone batteries to Vodafone and Telecom drop-off points for safe reprocessing. See www.mfe.govt.nz and click on: Publications > Resource efficiency - Waste > The safe disposal of mobile phones
Check with your local council, regional council or the Ministry for the Environment for the safest ways to dispose of other unwanted goods such as computers, car batteries, old paint and solvents, etc. Don’t put them in
the rubbish!
Thought #5
Kaitiakitanga is the Maori concept of guardianship. A kaitiaki is a person, group or being that acts as a carer, guardian, protector and conserver. Notions of care and protection are at the heart of kaitiakitanga and its conservation ethic.
Interest in kaitiakitanga is growing today, as iwi respond to environmental problems.
Read more on-line in Te Ara, the Encyclopedia of New Zealand produced by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage/Te Manata Taonga (www.teara.govt.nz)
Practical Tip #5
Hoki, orange roughy, tuna, lemon fish, and tropical shrimps and prawns are in the Red Fish List produced by Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand). The guide lists fish species that are severely depleted or harvested using unsustainable methods (such as bottom trawling).
See Forest and Bird’s website for Save the Albatross and Shark Rescue campaigns, which explain destructive fishing methods and what can be done to save our wildlife (www.forestandbird.org.nz).
Thought #6
“Business is the exchange of goods and services for the betterment of the common good, taking what the earth is creating and properly organising it and distributing it at a fair price so that people can have what they need. … It is a divine calling: to properly work for the common good. A lot of destructive messages have been sent to business people: ‘all you do is make money’.” – Rob Bell, from podcast The Importance of Beginning in the Beginning (www.marshill.org/teaching/index.php)
Practical Tip #6
Our development agency, Christian World Service, says climate change is now a critical development issue, contributing to poverty and igniting conflict over increasingly scarce resources. Sign up to the CWS climate change campaign for news and actions, See www.cws.org.nz/ and click on Take Action > Climate Change
Auckland Diocese has a Climate Change Action Group that offers practical steps for parishes to mitigate climate change. Follow the climate change link on the home page of the dio’s website: www.auckanglican.org.nz
Thought #7
“Biodiversity is the complex web of life which sustains us all. None of us lives in isolation from nature. Protecting biodiversity is not just about saving animals or habitats. It’s about providing sustaining access to food and water….”
– World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) website. See www.wwf.org.nz
Practical Tip #7
Lemon juice, vinegar and baking powder can be used as household cleaners (for instructions see www.envirostore.co.nz and click on: Products > Cleaning products > Green alternatives).
Chlorine bleach and chlorine-based dishwashing powders, toilet cleaners and washing powders can form highly toxic compounds, according to the Ministry for the Environment’s Sustainable Wastewater Management handbook. Choose more environmentally friendly alternatives – and opt for unbleached or oxygen-bleached toilet paper!
Thought #8
A Rocha (Portuguese for “the Rock”) is an international Christian conservation organisation that was formally established in New Zealand in April 2007. So far five towns and cities have regular groups that focus on a range of practical, educational and research activities. See www.arocha.org for information and click on the link to New Zealand.
“A Rocha is an inspiring and effective response by Christians to the dramatic needs of God’s earth,”
says Waikato-based Archbishop David Moxon.
Practical Tip #8
Buying outdoor furniture (or other wooden furniture) this summer? Then make sure you buy “good wood”: timber products that come from ethical and ecologically sustainable sources. Good wood is certified by a third party such as the Forest Stewardship Council, which promotes responsible management of the world’s forests. See www.fsc.org
Also, support moves to ban the importation of illegally or unsustainably harvested timber. At present, companies trying to do the right thing are competing with cheaper products of questionable origin.
All websites current at time of writing.
Megan Blakie is a freelance writer living in Christchurch.
›› kennett_blakie@hotmail.com
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