MARCH/APRIL 2006

March 1st, 2006

This issue concentrates on the Environment. Hardly a day goes by without another report of the dire consequences of the way we have been treating the world.

EDITORIAL This issue concentrates on the Environment. Hardly a day goes by without another report of the dire consequences of the way we have been treating the world. Those who came to our meeting in York in November 2000 heard a prescient talk by the late Professor Adrian Hastings. Earlier that year he had written a piece for The Tablet with the title Beware Apocalypse, in which he wrote “by the middle of the twenty-first century people will be looking back on the last years of the twentieth century as a blissful era of security and of peace. The most uncontrollable factor will be global warming working more rapidly than anyone thought possible until very recently. Apart from the devastation caused by the rise in sea level, the whole ecological balance of the world will have changed and the weather everywhere will become increasingly violent and erratic.” Since then we have seen the horrors of the tsunami, the earthquake in Pakistan, hurricane Katrina and the village drowned in mud in the Philipines. What will we see in the years to come? President Bush now accepts that there is a problem; his remedy is for American technological knowledge to find a solution. The UK government is considering the building of nuclear power stations. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to invest the same amount of money in alternative fuels. The oil industry might also invest much more of their enormous profits – Shell made $2.6m per hour last year – in seeking solutions. Worldwide population increases also add to the problem. Madeleine Bunting and Karen Armstrong believe we need to change our behaviour. Jonathon Porritt suggests that farming policies will need to be changed. Philip Swiers, who farms in Yorkshire, brings it back to a local situation and Andy Welford, with overseas experience, anotherYorkshire farmer, adds his comments. Would you like to share your views? Dennis Rich who came to our January meeting asks for volunteers to help with the monthly protest outside BAE Systems Brough. Contact Dennis on 01302 570698. We are always open to contributions from readers and particularly welcome Joel Mullan’s report from the Middlesbrough J&P group. Victoria Trow writes what I hope may be the first of an occasional series of pieces from students in the diocese. Victoria, from All Saints School York, was one of the students who presented a most interesting range of J&P issues that concern them, when we met there in November. Chris Dove Note: the views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily coincide with those of the Commission.

Boiling point on climate change “It now seems that climate change will dwarf the damage the common agricultural policy subsidies wreak on African farmers; it is already costing at least 150,000 lives a year as warmer temperatures encourage disease, and erratic rainfall will starve millions in coming years. Here is an issue that makes all the aid and debt deals of 2005 look like an afternoon parlour game. The environmental movement has got to get its act together fast. There are only 10 years left if emissions are to start falling after 2015, as they must if we are to keep below the vital benchmark of a 2°C increase in temperature. The campaign has to be to change our behaviour: we are the enemies and we will be the losers. “No low-cost flights to Ibiza” is never going to be a popular rallying cry. There are two opinions. Most environmental groups have joined a coalition – Stop Climate Chaos – hoping to get people on the streets in the numbers needed to make Westminster take stock, but it has singularly failed to make much impact as yet. Then there is the apocalypse contingent. They’ve lost all patience with the public and political apathy. Only when people begin to see that fossil fuels are running out, prices are rising sharply and economies collapsing, will they realise that we need to invest billions in renewable energies. In the meantime, runs this argument, the biggest breakthroughs are being made by corporations whose future earnings depend on it, such a BP and its investment in renewables. We need brilliant campaigning of the kind that got an obscure financial issue such as third world debt into the mainstream political agenda in the 90s.” Madeleine Bunting. Guardian Weekly Jan 20-26

Let it begin with me “We are, all of us, deeply entrenched in denial, and we have become dependent on all those things that we know are radically wrong. We live by robbing nature, but our standard of living requires that we keep on robbing …. We are unable or unwilling to change the way we live, which is predicated on having more than we need, so much so that most of us don’t know what we need.” Elizabeth McAlister, 65, widow of Philip Berrigan and longtime peace activist. NCR 20 Jan

Environmental concern In the ancient world, religion helped people to develop a holistic vision. Gods, humans, animals, plants and other natural phenomena all participated in the same divine life; all were subject to an overarching order that kept everything in being and shared the same predicament. It is neither practicable nor desirable to recover this view in its entirety, but we could try to cultivate its underlying attitudes. First would be the awareness that everyone, without exception, was in the same boat: to destroy or maim any part endangered the whole. Second, there were no fantasies of omnipotence or omniscience: everyone was equally vulnerable. Third was the sense that everyone was responsible for the cosmos, and had to do his or her bit. Fourth, the natural world was not simply a resource but was revered as sacred, Finally there was the conviction that human behaviour could affect the environment for good or ill, and that society that did not respect the natural rhythms of the cosmos could not survive. It is no use hoping for the best or waiting until “they” have discovered a cleaner form of energy. In the ancient world, assiduous religious ritual and ethical practice helped people to cultivate their respect for the holiness of the earth. If we want to save our planet, we must find a modern way to do the same. Karen Armstrong. Source: Guardian Weekly Dec 23- Jan 5

Population threat to planet The world’s growing population is threatening efforts to combat global warming and other ecological problems, according to Chris Rapley. The director of the British Antarctic Survey, said the 76 million annual increase in global population was putting at risk “the welfare and quality of life of future generations.” The current population of 6.5 billion, which is expected to rise to eight billion by the middle of the century, meant that mankind was imposing an ever greater footprint on the planet. Advances in the battle to rein in climate change, such as the Montreal Agreement, could be wiped out by the need of each additional person for food, shelter, transport and waste disposal facilities, Prof Ripley added. Source: The Times 7 January

Gerald Danaher, a retired NHS GP with many years of experience in Zambia, adds these sombre notes. [Figures from UN World Population Prospects 2004 Revision] The world population increase of over 2 billion people in a century is in great part due to the spread of western medical expertise. The scale of this success in saving lives can be illustrated by figures for the decade 1990-2000: In Iraq numbers increased by over 6 million to 25 million. In Afghanistan, an increase of 9 million to 24 million. In Pakistan, 31 million, bringing the total to 142 million, and Nigeria increased by 27 million to 117 million. In 1950, the figures for these four countries were, 5 million, 8 million, 37 million and 33 million respectively. In the 1950s and 1960s it was generally accepted that this rate of increase, if left unchecked would make the eradication of world poverty impossible. In recent decades this insight has been almost completely lost.

Hard Facts to Swallow Researchers at the University of Chicago have calculated the relative carbon intensity of a standard vegan diet in comparison to a US-style carnivorous diet. The average burger man uses the equivalent of 1.5 tonnes more CO² every year than the standard vegan. Compassion in World Farming’s report Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat considers the amount of grain, soya and other feedstuffs needed to produce, chicken, pork and beef. The more meat we eat, the more hectares of land, the extra water consumption, the extra energy burned and the extra chemicals will be required. We are now prepared to get our food anywhere in the world, as long as the price is lower, and it meets minimum food safety and animal welfare standards. In a global economy food is treated like any other traded commodity. But it isn’t like that. It is the foundation of personal wellbeing and is inextricably interwoven into a nation’s culture, character and land use. Competition for land and water has never been fiercer: protests and riots over land use will become more common. A sustainable future depends on securing a thriving rural economy which in turn depends on keeping sustainable food production. That means policies that do not leave local farmers disadvantaged by overseas producers, that actively promote local sourcing, and that reduce carbon intensity in food production and distribution. Source: Jonathon Porritt. Weekly Guardian 13-19 Jan Sustainability, that seems to be the buzzword at the moment whether you talk to a politician, an environmentalist or a farmer. Unfortunately its meaning can be dependent upon the person you are talking too. The village where I live is in the process of providing an affordable housing scheme to local people. This is to ensure the sustainability of our community. It is proposed that the houses are constructed to the most modern standards to guarantee they too are sustainable. Unfortunately this may mean upvc windows, doors and rainwater pipes, polystyrene insulation and oil fired heating. Although the aim is laudable the means of achieving it are self-defeating. New development should return to using natural, local and renewable materials. Heating must be derived from renewable resources. This might be solar, wind, wave, biomass or a combination of differing types. Micro renewable power generation, where each house generates it’s own power, is now a practical proposition. Cars and lorries will soon be running partly on biodiesel, under the governments renewable fuel obligation, but we must ensure the biodiesel is locally grown and has not been shipped long distances where it was grown on land once rainforest, now slashed and burnt. Philip Swiers We need both While it is undoubtedly true that vegetarian and vegan diets are beneficial to the environment, there are practical considerations which mean consumption of meat and dairy products need to be part of a more environmentally and socially just future. 1. Ruminant animals (eg cattle and sheep) are able to make use of harsher regions which are unsuitable for cropping. Whether it’s sheep grazing the North York Moors or cattle kept by the Masai in the semi-arid regions of East Africa, these animals are able to produce food with relatively low fossil fuel inputs. 2. If we were to move towards a lower input agriculture, crop rotation, involving animals and crops would be beneficial. Animal traction is also very important in many regions. 3. Vegetarian diets often involve large quantities of imported foods eg nuts, soya, pulses. It is more environmentally friendly to encourage local production for local consumption and reduce the so-called ‘food miles’. It is also immoral that large areas of poor countries are devoted to export crop production (whether to feed our animals or ourselves directly) when there is so much hunger in those areas. 4. Currently it is over production and dumping which are major problems in the world food market and more vegetarianism would make this situation worse in the short term. So the environmentally friendly diet must involve more plants and fewer animals but meat and dairy products will still form part of a more sustainable future agriculture. Andy Welford

Sustainability

For those interested in continuing this debate, a meeting is being held in Emmanuel Church, Saltburn, at 7.30pm Friday 28th April at which the speaker will be John Madely, a writer on third world issues, and author of Hungry for Trade – A people’s world: 100 ways to make poverty history.

Young people speak Ashok Kumar, MP for Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland, addressed the Middlesbrough Youth Justice and Peace Group in late January, at an event kindly hosted by Middlesbrough’s St Francis Church. In an impressive speech that exceeded the expectations of the event’s organisers, Dr Kumar covered a wide range of issues in the jurisdiction of the Department of International Development, an area in which he has vast experience in his role as Parliamentary Private Secretary to DfID’s Secretary of State, Hilary Benn. The speech was followed by a question and answer session. Following the event Dr Kumar said that he had “enjoyed every moment of it.” Others attending the event, including many members of the local parish Justice and Peace group, were also pleased with what was judged to be a worthwhile evening by the twenty people who attended. Joel Mullan.

I suffer from a mild form of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), which causes communication problems and affects the way a person sees the world. It may not be one of the greatest concerns of our time but 1 in every 86 children has an autistic spectrum disorder and this number is rising rapidly. I still find it difficult to make eye contact with others and when I was younger I was terrified of speaking to other children. I had very unpleasant experiences of this ignorance through primary school and felt that teachers and older pupils should be made aware of this. At secondary school I was much happier because staff and pupils valued me for being individual and had more experience of AS. They had perhaps taught more pupils with the condition. At primary school I had severe problems with being different because the teachers were unaware of the condition. I believe that all schools, especially small ones who have not had experience with autism, should be educated about the impact school life will have on the affected pupil, the bearing this will have on other pupils and how the pupils should be treated to make them feel welcome. Victoria Trow

Victoria is a Year 13 student and her fluency and well argued case impressed us all. The treatment of people with disabilities is a justice issue. They have a right to expect better treatment and this will only come when we are all better informed.

Redistribution of wealth? (1) A report in December told of two bankers who went into a London bar and ordered the bartender to make them the most expensive cocktail he could concoct. He mixed cognac and champagne, fresh lemongrass and lychees and charged £333 per glass. The bankers ordered two rounds for their table of eight! Source: Guardian Weekly Dec 2-8

Redistribution of wealth? (2) An investigation into who gets the EU’s farm subsidies revealed that the biggest beneficiaries were not farmers but food producers. In 2003 and 2004 Tate & Lyle was given £227m, Nestlé was paid to export milk, GlaxoSmithKline, Boots, Eton College, Heineken, Grolsch, Shell and the tobacco company Philip Morris have all been given millions in farm subsidies. And KLM received a farm subsidy for “rural restructuring”: turning part of the Dutch countryside into a runway. Source: Guardian Weekly Dec 23 – Jan 5

Commission contacts Barbara Hungin Chair 01642 784398 Sr Mary Walmsley CJ Secretary 01904 464919 Nan Saeki Treasurer 01904 783621 Chris Dove Editor 01947 825043 email: dove.whitby@ukgateway.net or 22 Blackburns Yard Whitby YO22 4DS website:www.ayton.info/middlesbroughjp

PROGRAMME FOR 2006 Date Place Theme 18 March Middsbro’ Environment 20 May York AGM & WDM 15 July Hull Quiet Day 16 September York Asylum Issues 18 November Youth Forum

and a request…. This newsletter is supplied free but it costs money to produce especially for those who have it posted to them. If you find it of value, perhaps you would consider sending a donation to the Treasurer: Nan Saeki 55 Moorgate York YO24 4HP. It would be very much appreciated.

For Lent 2006 Here is a slightly broader vision of “fasting.”

Fast from criticism …....feast on praise. Fast from self pity …..... feast on joy. Fast from resentment …. feast on contentment. Fast from jealousy ….....feast on love. Fast from pride …....feast on humility. Fast from selfishness …..feast on service. Fast from fear …...........feast on faith.