Met Office Warns of severe warming by 2060

Read this sobering account summarising a report by the UK Met Office, commissioned by the Government: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/28/met-office-study-global-warming

Witney Allotment Campaign (WAC)

http://www.squidoo.com/allotmentswitney http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=101486584126 Witney Allotments Campaign is asking for Witney Town Council to spend the £400,000 it has been given form.action providing allotments for residents – they have a statutory duty to do so, and there is great demand from residents, with a waiting list over 2 years long. This is a worthwhile and well-run campaign; the ‘Squidoo’ site has a nice clear presentation of reasons, and the Facebook page shows an excellent example of letter writing campaign; it makes the case very clearly and positively

This cause seems well worth supporting, and we can learn and be inspired for all sort of other causes too. Click the links above to join in; and you and also reserve an allotment very simply, by ringing Elisa Snook on 01993 704379 or emailing elisa.snook@witney-tc.gov.uk.

Breathe Network's 'Promise of Life'

Breathe Network (www.breathenetwork.org) describes itself as 'A Christian network for simpler living: A space to think about how we handle money, time and possessions in a Christian way. Non-judgemental, realistic and simple to be part of.' They are challenging people to make their 'Promise of Life':

Promise of Life

Because life is a gift, we live thankfully

Savour what we have

Pray for what we need.

No longer hurried, distracted, or worried,

We’ll walk through each moment with God.

Because everything is a gift, we live with open hands,

Tread lightly on the earth

Share freely our homes and our things.

No longer restlessly chasing identity,

We’ll be known by our love not our logos.

Because giving is a gift we live generously,

Give ourselves deeply to family and community,

Give joyfully to those in need.

No longer caught in the consumer dream

We’ll invest our all in the kingdom of love.

Radically re-thinking our food supply

A "radical rethink" of how the UK produces and consumes its food is needed, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has warned. He was speaking at the launch of the government's assessment of the threats to the security of what we eat.The UK's food supply is fairly secure, but he warned that climate change and population growth could damage this.Producers, supermarkets and consumers are invited to suggest how a secure food system should look in 2030.

Defra’s detailed food summary table can be viewed at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/10_08_09foodsummary.pdf

Also note Fair Doers' previous post on 'A Farm for the Future' which presents another possible part of the solution: http://fairdoers.blogspot.com/2009/03/farm-for-future.html

ImechE report on Geo-Engineering

Many people are now talking about Geo-engineering - interventions which can control the planet's climate. This is a controversial topic because they present many risks and challenges of their own, but many top climate scientists (and others) now feel we need to consider such options seriously.

The Institute of Mechanical Engineers recommends a strategy for removing CO2 using ‘artificial trees’, rooftop algae-growing tubes, and reflective roofs. These are not as a replacement for lower emissions but to buy us time since relevant technologies (like large-scale renewables-based electrification) will take some time to develop. Their ‘front runner’ is 5 million ‘artificial trees’ that filter CO2 out of the atmosphere for storage..But they also recomment rooftop algae-growing tubes that extract CO2 by photosynthesis and are subsequently burnt for energy (similar/better than coal, wood etc). Because this creates Biochar as a by product (valuable for soil fertility) it has the net effect of locking useful amounts of carbon away long-term, as well as reducing fossil fuel demand. The rooftop reflectors work to reduce the ‘heat island’ effect of buildings (especially grouped in cities like LA or London) – rather than warming the planet, this energy reflects back off into space. They also cut air-conditioning use in warmer weather/climates. ImechE feels other approaches like space-based reflectors, seeding clouds ocean algae etc, would have higher capital cost and less predictable/controllable effects.

UK's Chief Scientist John Beddington predicts a 'perfect storm' of shortages

Sober scientific advice says we face serious shortages of the most basic things we need: food, water, energy – by as soon as 2030. Other top scientists add their comments too – note the quote that 25% of the world is effectively ‘fed on fossil fuels’. Don’t forget to click the page's other tabs for some more encouraging news - Science's Role, Mega-Cities, and particularly Lifestyles, which describes the effective actions of local people in West Oxford, and is especially worth seeing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8213884.stm

Recent talks by Shane Claiborne - The Simple Way

Shane Claiborne of the Simple Way community in Philadelphia (www.thesimpleway.org/) is an inspiring and provocative speaker, who we have discussed and featured before in Fair Doers. He recently spoke at Home Focus 09 (Holy Trinity Brompton’s summer camp), and his talks are available free on their website:

http://www.htb.org.uk/media/media/shane-claiborne/all/all/all