Carbon Fast 2015

BE A BAG BUDDY #carbonfastforlent “And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels and water to wash his feet, and the men’s feet that were with him.”. Gen 24:32 Eating Plastic Bags for Lunch Often in  Bible stories, the animals are given food and water to drink before the visitors. In the United Arab Emirates, a veterinarian has documented images of camels, sheep, goats, and endangered desert animals dead from eating plastic bags. A Google search on “animals eat plastic bags” brings up hundreds of heartbreaking stories and images from around the world. So many foraging cows in India have died from ingesting plastic bag litter that many of the states in that country have banned the distribution of plastic bags. Whales wash up on our coasts, their bellies full of plastic. And endangered leatherback sea turtles mistake floating plastic bags for the jellyfish that are their main diet, ingesting the plastic that can then block their digestive tracts. In fact, a recent study of leatherback turtle autopsy records found plastic in one-third of the animals’ GI tracts, plastic bags being the most common item mentioned. Plastic bags have some unique problems. While their environmental costs are burdensome for communities and the planet, the cost of plastic bags for retailers is pretty low. Made from ethylene, a byproduct of petroleum or natural gas, plastic bags are so cheap and flimsy that cashiers use them freely, double bagging as a matter of course and often sticking just a few items in each bag. As a result, shoppers end up with piles of plastic bags spilling out of closets and threatening to take over cupboards . . . until we finally throw up our hands and either dump them in the trash or, if we’re lucky enough to live in an area where stores provide plastic bag collection bins, cart them back for recycling. Sure, some of us reuse plastic shopping bags to line our waste bins or to pick up dog poop, but the bags still end up in the landfill. Even when disposed of properly, plastic bags are so lightweight and aerodynamic, they are easily picked up and carried by the wind. They can escape from trash bins, recycle bins, garbage trucks, and landfills, and end up littering the landscape. Blowing down the street, flapping from trees, clogging storm drains (costing municipalities millions of dollars in cleanup costs), and making their way out to sea, plastic bags have been referred to as “urban tumbleweeds” for good reason. And they persist in the environment, causing harm for a very long time. Be a bag buddy and stop using plastic – buy yourself several cloth bags – keep one in your handbag and another in your car for those unexpected trips http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/environmental-policy/plastic-bag-problem-ze0z1302zwar

LOCAL IS LEKKER #greenanglicans #carbonfastforlent One of the great themes of the Bible, which begins in the Hebrew Scriptures and is continued in Jesus and Paul, is called “the preferential option for the poor”; I call it “the bias toward the bottom.” In Jesus we have an almost extreme example of God taking sides. It starts with one who empties himself of all divinity (see Philippians 2:6-7), comes as a homeless baby in a poor family, then a refugee in a foreign country, then an invisible carpenter in his own country which is colonized and occupied by an imperial power, ending as a “criminal,” accused and tortured by heads of both systems of power, temple and empire, abandoned by most of his inner circle, subjected to the death penalty by a most humiliating and bizarre public ritual, and finally buried quickly in an unmarked grave.  (Richard Rohr) How can we use this preferential option for the poor in our purchasing? The simplest way to define what being eco friendly means is to say that it is the act of living with intent. The intent is focused on not creating harm to environment, and our intent is also to assist those to whom our purchase will make the most difference. . By purchasing from them you help them to stay in business, thus creating jobs. This is worth paying a rand or two extra for. Buy locally Grown Products: When you buy or produce locally grown products, you are actually reducing your carbon footprint in the form of using less plastic bags, saving fuel to get vegetables from the market, using less packaged material….. . Apart from this, you can also sell surplus to your friends or relatives.  

#greenanglicans #carbonfastforlent #greenmondays We live in a world of piles of waste. In the words of Pope Francis ““The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth” In order to combat the huge piles of waste that we create just through our normal way of life – we do need a ‘war on waste’, we actually have the fight the system. We have to look for ways to simplify our lives. All great spirituality is about letting go. Francis of Assisi profoundly understood that. He let go of his life in the upper class and joyfully lived in solidarity with those at the bottom, the sick and the poor. But you and I have grown up with a capitalist worldview, not a Franciscan worldview. That doesn’t make us bad or entirely wrong. But it has blinded our spiritual seeing. We tend to think that more is naturally better. Spiritual wisdom reveals that less is more. Jesus taught this, and the holy ones live it. If something is working, you don’t need another one or a higher one or a better one—which is what a consumer culture builds on. If something is already making you happy, you don’t need more of it. The fact that we  need more and more and better and better of almost everything tells me that the commodity culture isn’t working.  (Richard Rohr) Don’t just buy and buy and then recycle. The first step is REDUCE here are a few tips: 1.. Never buy bottled water. Carry a reusable water bottle and if necessary get  a filter for your tap. Buy your honey, pickled veggies, syrup, nut butters, and other wet foods in jars you can reuse or return to the merchant. Buy a foldable shopping bag so you can keep it in your handbag or car and never forget it. Buy from farmers markets as much as possible and buy in bulk where possible.) 5.Ditch the processed, packaged food altogether. Make your own soup, yogurt, salad dressing, ice-cream and other foods that come in cardboard, aluminum, and plastic packages. Batch cook on weekends with friends to make it easier. You’ll save a ton of money, and eat much, much healthier this way too. When you eat out, politely ask your server to take away any paper or plastic napkins, placemats, straws, cups and single-serving containers, if you can. Be sure to explain why and leave a nice tip for their trouble!   Don’t buy anything that comes in wasteful single-serving packages, like sweets, gum, granola bars,, etc. 8.. Cancel your magazine and newspaper subscriptions and read them online or at the library. Do your best to stop your junk mail. Use both sides of a piece of paper before recycling it or making it into upcycled crafts. Use old clothes for rags for cleaning around the house, instead of paper towels. Don’t use throwaway plastic razors and blade cartridges. Consider an electric razor or waxing with cloth if you are a woman, or using an electric razor or a straight razor if you are a man. Don’t buy anything disposable. Look for durable goods instead or borrow what you need. Paying a little more up front often means things will last much longer for you. 14.. Avoid buying anything in packaging (and count the money you save because that means pretty much buying nothing unless it’s second hand). You can also borrow things like tools, strollers and gardening equipment. List items you no longer need on gumtree or ebay. Make a game with your housemates or children to see just how little trash you can create, and how small you can make your garbage bag every week. Reducing our waste footprint can be a lot of fun!

It is amazing how many people say “I miss load shedding!” , We remember fondly those evenings when the family sat together, ate supper by candlelight and played a game together. And now we are back to normal, each member of the family sitting on a different electronic piece of equipment. One watching TV, one on their lap top and the others on social media. There is no doubt that technology is having a negative effect on family lives. Here are some of the ways it is impacted. QUALITY TIME Between responding to e-mails during kids’ activities, texting at meals, and constant phone time while driving, parents use technology almost as much as teens. This dynamic creates feelings of jealousy and distress in children since they now have to compete for both their parents’ time and focus. The family dinner is a perfect example of technology affecting quality time. Traditionally a haven from the outside world and a chance to reconnect, today’s dinner is often a frenzied event where members tend to be distracted during the meal by the computer, cell phone or TV. Or they can’t wait to finish to get back to these devices. Here’s an alarming fact: A group of children, aged 4-6, were asked whether they’d want to watch TV or hang out with their dad. Dear old dad lost out! What to do? Take family dinner time seriously. One mother insists that all family members put their electronic devices in a basket when they come through the door and retrieve them only after dinner is over. This is a time for the family to share the highs and lows of the day BLURRED BOUNDARIES Once upon a time, a family’s biggest technological nuisance was the phone ringing during dinner or late at night. Twenty-four hour TV programming, the Internet and cell phones didn’t permeate the inner sanctum of the home. School stayed at school, work stayed at work, and those boundaries weren’t crossed except in an emergency. That was then; this is now. For adults, work doesn’t end just because you leave the office; in fact, companies equip their people with smart phones and laptops so employees are accessible 24/7. Physicians are used to getting emergency calls, but now there are insurance emergencies, technology emergencies, sales emergencies, accounting emergencies and the list continues. Likewise, schools send out e-mails – announcements about homework and events — so kids are getting “business” as well as social messages when they’re at home. What to do? It goes back to setting limits; your child’s social life won’t implode if she doesn’t answer 50 texts that night. Also, minimize the double standard. If you limit screen time for kids, do the same for yourself. You don’t want to lose your job over it, but consider how much work you do at home because you “have to” versus what you do because you can and your computer’s right there. THE INSIDE GENERATION More than ever before, parents have to encourage, coax or even force their children to get outside and play. Kids spend more time inside because of school, homework, working parents and other factors dictating their schedules, but when they have free time, how do they spend it? The phrase has been coined “nature deficit disorder,” describing the younger generation’s disconnect with nature. How often do you see kids playing in the woods, building forts or rolling down grassy hills? Technology isn’t exactly great for our health either. Childhood obesity has shot up. What to do? Parents can manage their kids’ “inside” time much like their screen time. Schedule outdoor time, and stick to it. If it’s pretty, get them outside. And from time to time, go with them for a bike ride or a walk. Sending your kids outside while you sit inside and text or send e-mails just “sends” the wrong message. http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/family-tech/tech-effects-on-family/5-ways-technology-has-negatively-affected-families1.htm