Environment
The Diocesan Environment Task Group
The group has been set up with two roles:
- To make care for creation a greater part of our Christian worship and witness
- To adopt more sustainable lifestyles in relation to energy and waste
The convenor of the Task Group is Colum Goodchild.
Earth hour 2012 - Dare to Save the World
"Every individual has the power to change the world they live in."
Now an annual event this will be held on Saturday 31st March 2012 at 8.30 pm and will celebrate a worldwide commitment to ongoing change in the way we use our planet. To join in simply turn your lights off for one hour.
Earth Hour began in Australia in 2006 becoming a worldwide movement within three years. In 2011, Earth Hour saw hundreds of millions of people across 135 countries switch off for an hour. But it also marked the start of something new – going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action on climate change. And with the power of social networks behind the Earth Hour message, we hope to attract even more participation so we can build a truly global community committed to creating a more sustainable planet. Can we make this year's an even bigger success.
Click here for ideas about how to join in as individuals and as community groups.
Shrinking the Footprint
Shrinking the Footprint is the Church of England's National Environmental Campaign to enable us to address the issue of climate change in faith, practice and mission. It aims to challenge, encourage and support us to shrink our footprint.
Click here to go to the Shrinking the footprint website
"Church and Earth" The Church of England has launched a 7 year Climate Change Action Plan. The strategy, Church and Earth, outlines policies and challenges us to face up to the reality of rapid climate change. It is part of the preparation for the Copenhagen conference but will continue beyond that to inform the way we face the future. Click here to read more on the Church of England website.
The Climate Justice Fund is the Church of England's national environmental fund set up in partnership with Tearfund. You can click here to find out more by going to the Church of England website or go straight to an excellent web-based resource managed by Tearfund by clicking here.
The 10:10 Campaign is inviting all organisations, including churches to commit to themselves, and all their members to cut carbon emissions by 10% . Click here to go to their website.
Climate Durham - a local initiative. Click here to go to their website
ecocongregation Eco-congregation is a tool to help churches begin to address environmental issues in all that they do. it is suitable for all kinds of churches to use. Resources on the site help churches to look at three areas of their lives.
◊ spiritual: worship and teaching
◊ practical: things to do with buildings etc.
◊ mission: reaching out into the local community
To go to their website click here.
There are also environmental resources on the Newcastle Diocesan website including a simple carbon calculator, ten steps towards becoming a carbon neutral church, a 'Praying the Earth' booklet, and suggestions of some environmental books. Click here to go to the environmental page of the Newcastle website.
Another new resource is Creation Challenge, the environmental network of The Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church and the Baptist Union. It includes news, campaigns, resources, and links including ones to Church of England environmental pages. Click here to go to the Creation Challenge website.