st oswalds glen iris

St Oswald's Anglican Church, 100 High Street, Glen Iris, Victoria, Australia

Climate Change

In conjunction with the City of Boroondara, St. Oswald’s hosted a series of workshops looking at ways in which we can improve environmental sustainability at a local level. The three workshops were as follows:-

Water in the Garden.. This included a presentation from Melbourne Water, raingarden demonstration, as well as a question and answer session with a green plumber.

Energy in the Home. Swinburne energy expert Trevor Plumridge presented energy tips for the home, such as heating/cooling, lighting, insulation, household appliances and energy ratings.

Green Cleaning and Healthy Homes. Expert presenter Bridget Gardiner gave a practical demonstration on cost effective green cleaning tips.

The workshops were held in the St. Oswald's Hall 100 High Street, Glen Iris and included free organic refreshments as well as products to try at home. For further information contact Dick Adams on 9885 1054.

PROPOSALS FOR SAVING THE ENVIRONMENT - ST OSWALD’S MOTHER’S UNION

1 Recycle plastic bags-use in house hold rubbish bins
2 Recycle magazine plastic instead of bought folders
3 Use grey water from washing on garden.
4 Save cellophane from cards/use for gift bags
5 Put babies back in cloth or hemp nappies.
6 Walk to the shops
7 Use public transport
8 Use the clothes line outside
9 Use clothers airers
10 Compost food waste and leaves.
11 Mulch leaves and garden waste
12 Recycle……
13 Recharge batteries as required - not overnight
14 Use energy efficient globes
15 Use water saving shower heads
16 Use material shopping bags
17 Make note pads from scrap paper
18 Save rinse water in buckets.
19 Shower with a bucket.
April 7th 2008

Top Ten Environmental TiPs - Save the World.

Start at Home
You can help protect the environment and save money at the same time by making a few simple changes at home

Here are ten easy ways to get started.
Theses simple tips can help you reduce your Ecological Footprint.

Save Energy
Over half your energy bill is likely to come from heating and cooling so set your thermostat to the optimum temperatures: Winter - Maximum 20°C. Summer - No less than 26°C. Every 1°C can make a big differencet o the amount of energyy ou use - up to 15% less.

Even on standby mode, most electricali tems still use electricity so make sure you turn of TV's, computer monitors and other electrical appliances at the power point when not in use. And save around $100 a year too!

Limit showers to 4 minutes - this can save over 25,000 litres a year on average. Better
still, also install water efficient shower heads and save around 10 litres of water a minute.

Turn off the tap whilst brushing your teeth or shaving. Leaving the tap running can waste up to 17 litres of water a minute.

Reduce waste and litter
Over 40% of an average Australian household's waste thrown away is food, garden or wood waste that doesn't need to be there. Compost or recycle your waste instead

Say NO t o plastic Bags. Take reuseable bags for shopping instead.

Chemical-free cleaning
Use less chemicals when cleaning. Bicarbonate of soda with water is great for cleaning benches, sinks & windows and deodorising carpets.

For cleaning floors and windows add a cup of vinegar to every 1 litre of warm water.

Leave the car at home
Ride your bike or walk wherever you can. By leaving your car at home for journeys up to 5km you could save around $1000 on fuel a year.

Alternatives for getting to work? Carpool, catch public transport or ride a bike or eectric scooter instead.

For more tips click here for the keep Australia beautiful web site.

Climate Change The Challenges and Opportunities in Society - Peter Johnson

Widespread drought across Australia has brought home to most Australians the reality of climate change. This has been reinforced by AI Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth", the Stem report from the UK, and Australian of the Year Tim Flannery's book, "We are the Weather Makers'.

Underpinning the rhetoric has been the recent report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This scientific report, based on the work of some 600 researchers from 40 countries concludes that "there is at least a nine out of ten chance that human action has created the climate changes we are now seeing."

In the face of these latest developments, policy makers in governments in Australia and internationally have had to respond. This change has been reinforced by statements from global leaders such as:

• "We are doing things (to the planet) that have not happened in 650,000 years.."
Rajendra Pachauri, UN IPCC Chair

• "This is not just an environmental threat International peace, prosperity, security and development are at stake."
Margaret Beckett, UK Foreign Secretary

• "This (report) marks the end point of the debate….The focus now shifts to policy….We have to show leadership. If we don't, the world will be in even deeper trouble than it is today, and the price of not acting will go up every year that passes.'
Achim Steiner, Head of the UN Environmental Program

What does this mean for Christians and others in their working lives and their personal lives and for society generally?
It should at least mean that we as individuals at least understand the issues and implications of climate change. It should also mean that we play our part in changing how we behave in our work and personal lives, and contribute to our parish, our communities and their future sustainability.

What are the key predictions on climate change that we should be aware of as a result of global warming and increased C02 levels in the atmosphere? They include:

• Average C02 levels are likely to rise of 550pprn from the current level of 382ppm.

• Without intervention, average global temperatures are likely to increase by between 1.8 and 6.4 °C with best estimates being in the range 3 - 4 °C.

• Sea levels are expected to rise by 59 - 79 cm by 2100.

• Seas are becoming acidified by increased C02 absorption which could reduce the pH of oceans by a further 0.14 - 0.35 by 2100.

What effects are we likely to see globally and in Australia as a result of this climate change?

• For a 2.4 °C rise, central North America becomes a dust bowl, the Greenland icesheet tips into irreversible melt, the Great Barrier Reef is wiped out and a third of all species on the planet faces extinction.

• If the rise is 4.4 °C, the melting ice caps displace 100 million people in places like Bangladesh and Shanghai, much of the sub tropics becomes uninhabitable, and agriculture in Australia collapses completely.

• In the worst case scenario of a 6.4°C rise, sub oceanic methane fireballs are released, deserts extend almost to the Arctic, hyper hurricanes cause massive flash floods, and humanity is reduced to a few survivors at the poles.

The recent bushfires around Australia have been an environmental tragedy not just because of km~ of forests, property, and wildlife but because of the greenhouse gas emissions, increased soil temperatures and impact on water flows. Unfortunately, the insurance industry tells us we are going to have to get used to more droughts, larger wind storms, more floods and other extreme events as global warming takes further hold.

As individuals, we can modify our own actions and behaviours towards climate change. Tim Flannery would suggest that, personally, we do some or all of the following:

• Use more energy efficient washing machines, refrigerators and other appliances

• Turn off our air conditioners or use them much less

• When we change over cars, buy one with much lower fuel consumption and emissions

• Build more energy efficient houses

• Find ways to be more efficient with water

• Make greater use of public transport

We can also encourage our governments to take action and set policies that drive down C02 emissions through reduced energy consumption, carbon emissions programs, sustainable development and more efficient use of water.

As a parish, we can show leadership in the local community and collectively develop ideas and approaches to parish life that demonstrate a commitment to a sustainable environment and care for our future. What might those things be? I would like to see St. Oswald's as an informed group in the community debate these issues and come up with a list of parish initiatives that shows our commitment to a sustainable future. Our children and grand children deserve it!

CLIMATE CHANGE SERMON and TALK to St Oswald's congregation, March 2, 2008.

I would like to begin by thanking Ken for the opportunity to be at St Oswald’s this evening. Also I want to thank you at St Oswald’s for your prayers and support for the Diocese of Bendigo and the parish you have partnered with – St Thomas’ Pyramid Hill.

It is nearly five years since I became Bishop and Bendigo and for that time, 90 per cent of the Diocese has been affected by drought. No woman, man, child, animal, plant, no living thing has escaped the impact of it spread.

People’s lives and spirits have been crushed

Farmers at Lake Meran near Kerang spoke about the impact of the loss of water

The burden of debt has been cruel

Towns look dry and worn out

Garden suffer: in many towns across the Diocese, lawns have gone forever - even if rain comes, they will not come back

Families suffer, parents and children look tired

Some good things have happened

Wimmera/Mallee pipe-line

Water recycling – Bendigo

It draws people together – communities have strengthened

Restore Rochester

But is also brings anger and frustration

North South pipeline

Some other positive signs

Rains in Queensland will impact down the Darling

There is a lot more talk, conversation, sharing about

Climate change

The environment

The future

Farming practices

Pooling resources

Back in the late 1980s, the former PM, Paul Keating, spoke about the recession we had to have – perhaps this was the drought we had to have!

In the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, reservoirs were built with the belief that they would drought-proof us! In our area, Eildon is currently at 15 per cent of capacity, and Lake Eppalock at 7 per cent.

The crisis is uneven: as a nation, we have not been brought to our knees. Our churches have not been flooded with people seeking answers. There has been a lot of praying, but on the part of many people I think there is even a feeling that God has let them down. It has been a difficult time for the Church to minister in central, northern and north western Victoria. On the one hand, our income is down, and yet at the same time we need to keep our clergy and congregations in place.

People do search for meaning and answers – and a good place to begin is to look at the readings we have had tonight. There is a message from God in them.

Our First Reading is a small section from the second creation narrative in the Book of Genesis. (Gen 2:8-9, 15-17)

The reading tells us that God made humankind and then the universe:

The Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food [ver 9]

Verses 15-17 tell us that God gave the earth to humankind and to take responsibility for it: to till it and keep it.

God also set some boundaries as expressed in the words but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. Having all the resources of the earth did not mean you plundered it! We are stewards of God’s creation. [I am not sure we have always been good stewards.]

In the Second Reading from the Book of Acts, in an address in Athens, Paul extends this theology of stewardship not just to individuals but to nations. It’s a magnificent speech and deserves a much more worthy consideration than I can give it in a few minutes.As one writer has put it:

The sermon from Paul is anchored firmly in the biblical tradition, specifically in its presentation of God as Creator, and that humans are living beings created to seek and discover God.

As Paul concludes:
As even some of your poets have said, “For we too are his offspring”.

Well, if we are the offspring, I believe it is incumbent upon us to take responsibility for the earth that God has given us.

So, where do we start?

In our houses

a. Use less electricity – check star ratings

a. Use less electricity – check star ratings
b. Use less water
c. Conserve water
d. Rethink, replant the garden

2. In our churches

a. undertake energy audits
b. recycle
c. look at building design – most churches are not well designed for the Australian climate
3. In our lifestyles, use public transport
4. Help/encourage/pressure Government to take action and set policies that drive down CO2 emissions

I suspect you know all this and that I am preaching to the converted.

There is much to be done, but at the same time there is much that we can do.

Just last week I had a visit from a recently retired Professor in Energy Engineering in France and he told me that Paris is supplied electricity largely by three power stations that burn the city’s rubbish. He felt that, because we have an abundance of resources in Australia, we are very slow to address many energy issues.

The drought has brought to centre stage that Climate Change, the Environment and Water need a radical re-examination and for our nation and communities to come up with a bipartisan approach to the challenges we face.

Please pray and do whatever you can to encourage this outcome.

Amen

Bishop Andrew W Curnow
March 2008

We, as the Vicar, Vestry and members of St Oswald’s parish are especially pleased that you have come to this service on Climate Change.

It was unplanned but ironic that today, March 2nd, also happens to be Clean Up Australia Day. This year’s campaign is targeting plastic bottle rubbish and greenhouse emissions.

In the last yeat, Australians bought 118,000 tonnes of plastic drink bottles, of which only 35% were recycled. That left 76,000 tonnes in landfills, or as litter, often in our local parks and streams. And it took 300,000 barrels of oil to make those plastic bottles.

Amazingly, water in plastic bottles costs about $2.50 a litre, and effectively you can get the same water out of the tap for less than one cent a litre.

So, if we all used tap water in refillable containers, rather than buying new plastic bottles each time, we would be using less energy, creating less waste, improving our environment, saving money, creating less greenhouse gases, and reducing the risk of climate change. All good outcomes!

This example shows that to maintain a sustainable planet, the issues of energy, waste, water, environmental pollution, carbon, economics, as well as climate change are all inter-related. To this list we should add demographics (population) and poverty.

Let me give you two more facts:

For every aluminium can collected and recycled we save nearly 1 kg of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of one wheelie bin of greenhouse gas emissions.

And something I only learned at an energy meeting on Friday. About 60% of the world’s energy resources is used just to bring energy, such as oil and gas and electricity, to energy consumers like us. What does that mean? It means that for every 1 litre of petrol you put into your car at the petrol station, it takes 2 litres to get it there. i.e. 2 litres to extract, refine and transport the one litre of petrol to your local garage. That is amazing! So, for every 1 litre of petrol you use less, you could save another 2 litres and get a threefold reduction in greenhouse gases.

So, you might ask, why is this initiative on Climate Change occurring at St Oswald’s?

Firstly, God has given us a beautiful planet, and while it now has a few rough edges it is still wonderful. I believe that we have a duty of care to hand it on to our children and grand-children in as good a shape or better than it is now.

Secondly, we are being challenged by the Archbishop of Canterbury and our own Archbishop Philip Frier to address climate change, as a major priority in 2008. And in this and other matters, our Archbishop is giving us great leadership, highlighting a range of social justice issues on poverty, homelessness, indigenous affairs and climate change. He is doing that very publicly through the media and out in the community of Melbourne.

Thirdly, as Christians we have a commitment to all living things and especially to those of our fellow human beings who are less well off than we are. Sadly, climate change and its effects are going to impact much more on the less privileged in our world. That is, there is a direct link between climate change and poverty. People likely to be affected include the Pacific Islanders who will be inundated as the seas rise. Poor communities in low-lying areas of New Orleans are likely to see more Hurricane Katrinas in their lifetimes. And poor farmers and fishermen in the Bangladesh river deltas will have floods evermore often. And, closer to home, farmers of Southern Australia are expected to have more and longer droughts, and generally lower rainfall.

So, we at St Oswald’s feel that we have a duty to act on climate change, and we want to broaden our influence by joining with other churches, local schools and community groups who also want to make a difference. We do so in the belief that there is still time to act if we do so quickly, and in that sense we hope for a better future.

So, a few facts on climate change

Concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are at their highest level for at least 650,000 years.

Currently, CO2 concentrations are at 385 ppm and accelerating rapidly, with the current rise above the average starting at the time of the Industrial Revolution – so this is not a normal cycle.

The global aim is to try to stabilize CO2 levels at 550 ppm by 2100 or before.

If we do that, the result is that global temperatures will still increase by between 2º and 4ºC.

If we are lucky and the temperature increase is only about 2º, there will still be a substantial impact. Predictions are, much of the U.S. agricultural land will be lost. The Greenland ice sheet will melt. Glaciers in the Andes will melt, leaving more than a million people without any water. And the Barrier Reef and almost all other coral reefs worldwide will disappear. A third of the world’s species will become extinct.

If we are unlucky, and we get a temperature rise of 4ºC, then melting ice caps and sea level rises will displace more than 100 million people in places like Bangladesh, Egypt and Shanghai. More than half the world’s plants and animals will be wiped out, and agriculture in Australia will collapse.

If we do not contain CO2 to 550 ppm and temperature rise to 6ºC, then the predictions are the world as we know it will disintegrate. Humanity will be reduced to a few people eking out a living in refuges at the poles.

What is climate change likely to mean for us, even in the short term at a local level?

We need to be prepared for:

More frequent major storms and flooding

Longer, deeper droughts

Many more insects, diseases, exotic diseases

Coastal inundation due to sea levels rising and storm surges – the Victorian Government is already doing studies of areas likely to be affected – Brighton, Mt Martha/Safety Beach, Lakes Entrance, Apollo Bay and many others.

A key question for many is whether the changes of climate are due to human activity or not? Well, the world’s leading scientists and engineers are 90% sure climate change is due to human activity. But there is not 100% certainty and there are sceptics and we must recognize their views.

However, in a sense it doesn’t matter. Since if we stopped adding any more greenhouse emissions now, today, we would not see any real effects for 30-50 years. So, if we wait to get a high level of proof, we will be too late and we cannot afford to take the risk.

So we need to act now:

We need to prepare ourselves for the short term effects of climate change and

We need to work hard at changing our personal, councils, national and global behaviours to avoid the worst of climate change effects.

At a global or national, we need to plan for:-

A 20% reduction in emissions by 2020.

A 60% reduction in emissions by 2050, although the Garnaut report is going to suggest an 80% or 90% reduction by 2050.

Why? Because the experience with the Arctic summer sea ice, until recently thought likely to disappear by 2050 or 2080, is now likely to be lost in 3-5 years time. That is, there is now an incredible acceleration in climate change, occurring even more quickly than the UN’s latest predictions would suggest.

And what is all this going to cost? And why should we do it? The answer appears to be, from economists like Stern in the UK and Garnaut in Australia, that if we don’t act, the cost will be much greater than if we start to act now.

So, we believe at St Oswald’s that we need to strive to influence public policy at the local, state and Commonwealth government levels. And we need to continue to educate ourselves on all matters of sustainability and climate change.

While governments around the world have been reasonably slow to act and to achieve global consensus, it is not stopping some people and groups taking on the challenge.

40 global cities have got together to plan actions on climate change, energy and water. Melbourne is one of them, along with New York, San Francisco and London. The congestion tax to limit vehicles entering London is one example.

160 of the world’s major corporations are working co-operatively on climate change initiatives. I am lucky to work for one of those companies, and well over 60% of our staff now walk, ride or take public transport to work. We subsidise their fares.

European cars such as the new Peugeot 308 model are now over 80% recyclable.

Locally, schools such as Glen Iris and Solway Primary Schools have climate change or sustainability programmes.

Communities such as Castlemaine and the Mount Alexander Shire Sustainability Group have community-wide action programmes. An example is the programme now in place to reduce energy use in schools by up to 35% in Castlemaine.

However, it is at the local level, in our own churches, in our own community groups, in our own churches, and in our own personal lives that we can really make a difference. As Tim Flannery, Australian of the Year says in his brilliant book “We are the Weather Makers”, you can’t change the world by yourself, but you can change things that you do yourself. That is a great place to start!!

So what can we do? Well, we are already doing some of the things like saving energy and water, and some people have already got very good at it. Some suggestions are:-

Don’t buy water in plastic bottles – refill bottles with tap water

Don’t buy drinks in aluminium cans – buy drinks in glass and recycle

Use your car less – walk or cycle to work, to the shops, to church – otherwise use public transport

When you change your car – buy a smaller and more fuel efficient one. For example, after reading Tim Flannery’s book I sold our 3.5l V6 Pajero and bought a 1.6 litre diesel car which gets 1100 km to the tank.

If you buy a new home, then buy a smaller one, not bigger. Buy one with eaves and have it built to sustainable design principles. Do you know some 30 to 40 years ago AV Jennings used to build houses on average of 13 squares. Now the average is 40 squares. This is not sustainable.

Rather than build a new house, with all the embodied energy required, it is more greenhouse efficient to refurbish your existing one; put in better insulation, install double glazed windows, use ceiling fans rather than AC units, shade windows, install solar hot water, add PV cells for power.

If you have an AC unit, use it less, don’t cool so much: in winter, heat less and wear more clothes.

At a kindergarten in West Brunswick they installed awnings and blinds, added ceiling fans and now don’t run their AC units.

Buy “green energy” from renewable sources, but make sure they are verifiable.

Turn appliances off at the switch; don’t use standby.

Don’t buy large plasma TVs – sit closer to the telly!! Do you know, people are buying larger AC units because of the much greater heat loads from their plasma TVs – a double whammy in terms of energy use and climate change impact.

Install rain water tanks.

Recycle water from showers, washing machines.

Recycle paper.

Don’t use throwaway plastic plates, cups, knives or forks.

Buy energy efficient washing machines and refrigerators, but only when you need to replace them.

If you have a cold, use handkerchiefs and not paper tissues.

These and many other similar approaches can reduce your greenhouse emissions by over 70%. If we can do it as individuals, then so can churches, schools, our companies, governments and all others.

Ultimately it is about living a more simple, sustainable and healthy lifestyle. Many people now think a total global economy built on aggressive and accelerating consumption is not sustainable. We need to set measurable targets, and work co-operatively to change our behaviour to meet those targets.

At St Oswald’s we are just starting on this journey. Today we are inviting those of you who are passionate about greenhouse emissions and climate change to join a small group to drive this initiative locally in this Glen Iris/Ashburton community. There is time to make a difference if we work together quickly. We are planning a meeting shortly to invite schools, churches, other community groups to form some sort of Sustainability Alliance on Climate Change.

The aims will be to

educate ourselves

help our respective organizations set goals and achieve them

help individuals contribute to greenhouse emission reductions.

We live in a world that is still a beautiful place. However, with climate change we cannot afford to wait. We can make a difference and there is hope for a better future. But it is now time for action, and our faith demands it.

Peter Johnson Principal ArupFire

Contact
Peter Johnson 0417 548 896