By Geoff Serpell
]Mountains; healthy or parched?
As well as “National tree Day”, I wish to call today Mountain Sunday because during summer, it is usually cooler as we elevate ourselves. It is where we place water tanks on our Nagambie property to use gravity to water our seedlings and a mountain is a place where I can feel closer to our heavenly father.
Based on all the recent weather events around the world, we need much more than planting trees to combat global warming and reduce carbon emissions. The good news is that it is generally known what action needs to be taken to reduce global warming. What is in doubt though is will mankind take enough action quickly enough to overcome what could be a calamity for our grandkids.
“National Tree Day” is a call to action for all Australians to get their hands dirty and give back to the community. The school of Ecosystem and forest Sciences at Burnley has given values for social and medical benefits which correlate with higher and more tree canopies such as lower heatwaves, quicker recovery after hospital treatment, increased human resilience under stress, longer life spans and higher levels of general health. You have received bookmarks today as a reminder of these benefits.
Patrick Viljoen from Certified Practicing Accountants Australia has explained the Australian Government’s environmental policy commitments as follows: “The pace of change will need to increase exponentially for Australia to make changes such as transitioning away from coal-powered energy generation”. Reductions in emissions from the top 215 biggest emitters is required today because yesterday has come and gone.
To avoid power blackouts, Australia must accelerate renewable energy generation projects particularly wind power as well as solar. In concert with this is needed 10,000km of new high-voltage power lines across the country’s East Coast currently being opposed by some landowners. Someone said that we are on the cusp of a vast, new economic opportunity but it requires our industry to redesign and rebuild the aeroplane while we’re flying it.
For incentives to get cracking we are now experiencing the worst wildfires ever, presently burning in Canada, Croatia, Greece, and Spain. We note that heat records are being broken consistently around the world peaking above 56 degrees in many areas. One third of the USA is currently under a heat alert. 61,000 people died during Europe’s last summer from heat related causes. The PM of Israel was caught outside in the heat without his hat on and was admitted to hospital as a result.
Other extreme weather effects include floods, droughts, rising sea levels and loss of food production. Failure to act in reducing greenhouse gas emissions will make it harder to mitigate the impacts of climate change in the future. The 2015 Paris Agreement set a goal amongst 196 governments to limit global warming to no more than an average temperature increase of 1.5 o C. Obtaining that limit at this juncture is estimated to require a reduction in greenhouse emissions of at least 45% by 2030 based on 2010 levels. The global effort is on track to increase emissions by 11% by 2030.
What can we do?
Our church Synod is considering setting up a fund to support efforts to reduce generated emissions covering church activities.
Our church’s local Presbytery has set up a Climate Action Network of which Leighmoor is an active member. We at Leighmoor, have attained a Presbytery award called the Five leaf Eco-Award, after we reported taking certain actions such as an energy audit, reduction in energy use, planting shrubs in our garden and participating in the annual planting of seedlings at the “Trust for Nature” covenanted property run by the Serpell family at Nagambie.
One area being considered here at our church is the replacement of gas driven heating. Victoria’s gas sector makes up around 17% of the net greenhouse gas emissions where we are the most gas dependent state in Australia. We could make fuller use of our 20 solar panels by alternative heating and the elimination of gas from the premises.
What better ways are you able to reasonably implement to further the cause?
The card you received on the way in today invites you to post it asking the Commonwealth Bank to stop funding thermal coal projects such as a loan of $2.2 billion in one instance for fracking in the Northern Territory. Give the Bank its due, they announced available green loans at 1.99% interest for its home loan customers to buy products for the home to be more energy efficient.
The discussion paper we handed out last week is included on our web site. How about a show of hands while I read them out, if you have tackled some of its suggestions to reduce emissions
Making use of eco friendly coffee cups could save or reduce anyway, the billions of disposable coffee cups that end up as landfill and litter.
I could go on and on but I will not. Enough talk. Let us have some meaningful action in our small corner of mother earth
I ask you again, what will our grandkids inherit?
A few assets to cash and splash along with a world racked with intolerable living conditions. It is still in our hands to make a difference.
The late Rev Gordon Dicker once said:” No opportunity must be missed for the service of God and the service of our fellow human beings. We are encouraged to live with the confidence that nothing, neither death nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Amen
A prayer
By his Holy Wisdom our Creator made the Earth bring forth a diversity of creatures who praise you. But we turn in on ourselves and away from our co-creatures. We close our ears to wise counsel. We fail to listen to the cries of the poor and the needs of the most vulnerable. We silence the voices of those who hold the traditions that teach us to care for the earth. We lament the loss of our fellow species and their habitats that will never speak again. Dear God, please breath on us. Open our ears and move our hearts. Turn us from our inward gaze. May we learn to walk lightly upon this holy ground.
In the name of the one who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ.
Amen
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