Winter Updates
All three churches, St Gregory's, St George's and St Mary's have been awared the A Rocha Eco Church Bronze Award.
More information will be provided in due course.
Helpful links to information about COP 27
Subscription to daily links about CCOP27
Day 1 update - COP27 (Call for action)
Updates from the final day of COP27
Carbon Literacy Quiz and Information
Did you know?
We can help the generations coming after us by becoming “carbon literate”.
We can learn to judge the comparative carbon emissions of products in the same way as we can judge what is
likely to cost more money. We judge automatically that champagne is more expensive than fizzy lemonade!
Can we learn to judge automatically which products are likely to be more expensive in terms of carbon emissions?
If we can, we can lower our carbon footprint. That is Good News!
Did you know?
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Greenhouse gas emissions which cause global warming are measured in metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). This includes carbon dioxide as well as other gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and refrigerants.
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A tonne (contains 1,000 Kg. A kilo contains 1,000 grams) = 1,000,000 grams.
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Most of the measurements are approximations (there are so many variables), but scientifically calculated.
Have at go at these questions.
1. For how many tonnes of CO2e is the average Briton responsible p.a.?
2. What is the average temperature rise across the world compared with preindustrial levels?
3. How many years are left at current emissions level until we reach 1.5C,which many consider a tipping point?
4. Can you put in order the average annual carbon footprint of the following citizens? From least to highest?
Malawian, Australian, Chinese, N American, Briton, world citizen average
Have a go at guessing the CO2e emissions for the following items. The lowest is given to give you a start.
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100 g carrots - Local, full size, in season – 28g; Local, baby, in season ..... Full size shipped within Europe ....
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An apple- local seasonal - 32g Shipped seasonal .... Shipped, out of season, from cold store ...
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200 gr boiled potatoes- local, boiled gently, lid on - 106 g Cyprus, shipped ... Cyprus, shipped, boiled furiously, lid off ...
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1 Kg tomatoes - large, local, in season – 1.3 Kg Baby plum UK summer/Spanish winter ...
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Organic vine cherry, in hothouse in UK, in March ...
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Flowers - bunch of snapdragons, local – 110 gr 15 local stems, grown outdoors ...
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A rose, hothouse Dutch or outdoor from Kenya by air ...
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Bunch of 5 of the above, with 5 Dutch lilies and 3 Kenyan gypsophila ....
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A bouquet of imported flowers bought every week could add how much a year to CO2e emissions?
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Punnet Strawberries - in season, local, - 490 g Frozen ...... From S Africa (air)/local hothouse
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Asparagus 250 g- local and seasonal – 270 g Airfreighted from Peru ...
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Toilet paper, roll recycled – 450g Virgin paper (toilet paper usage can account for 1.7% of a 5 tonne lifestyle.)
And lastly
• How much CO2e do 2 big weekend newspapers account for in a year, even if recycled?
• If you wanted to offset the emissions of a 5 tonne lifestyle by planting trees, how many sq metres of trees
would each person have to plant every year to achieve this?
Answers
1. About 13, some sources say a bit lower. Down from 15 a few years ago mainly due to
2. 1.2 C
3. 10 at the most
4. Malawian - 0.2 tonnes, world citizen average -7 tonnes, Chinese -8 tonnes, Briton -13 tonnes,
Australian - 20 tonnes, N American -21 tonnes,
100 g carrots
Local, full size, in season – 28g; Local, baby, in season, 83g Full size shipped within Europe, 90g
An apple
Local seasonal - 32g Shipped seasonal, 80g Shipped, out of season, from cold store, 290g
200 gr boiled potatoes
Local, boiled gently, lid on - 106 g Cyprus, shipped , 240g Cyprus, shipped, boiled furiously, lid off, 340g
1 Kg tomatoes
Large, local, in season – 1.3 Kg Baby plum UK summer/Spanish winter, 4.9 Kg
Organic vine cherry, in hothouse in UK, in March, 28.2 kg
Flowers
Bunch of snapdragons, local – 110 gr 15 local stems, grown outdoors, 1.7 Kg
A rose, hothouse Dutch or outdoor from Kenya by air, 2.4 Kg
Bunch of 5 of the above, with 5 Dutch lilies and 3 Kenyan gypsophila, 32.3 Kg
A bouquet of imported flowers bought every week could add 1.5 tonnes pa to CO2e emissions.
Punnet Strawberries - in season, local, - 490 g Frozen, 770g From S Africa (air)/local hothouse, 3.65Kg
Asparagus 250 g - local and seasonal – 270 g Airfreighted from Peru , 4.7Kg
Toilet paper - recycled – 450g Virgin paper - 730 g
And lastly
• How many CO2e pa do 2 big weekend newspapers account for in a year, even if recycled? 200 Kg (the pro-
duction process is very carbon intensive.)
• If you wanted to offset the emissions of a 5 tonne lifestyle by planting trees, how many sq metres of trees
would each person have to plant every year to achieve this? 100 sq metres
Planting trees is of course a very good thing, and helps the environment and the planet in all sorts of ways, and we need more of them, but tree planting by itself is not the answer to carbon levels!
Can you see any common themes as to what raises a carbon footprint? Of course the lowest footprint of all comes from home grown food!
The source of all this information is “How Bad are Bananas?”, by Mike Berners-Lee, a book recommended by the Carbon Literacy Course sponsored by the Diocese. In the book readers are encouraged to attain a total annual carbon footprint of 5 tonnes, which for now is a big step forward; together we can make a difference.
“Terrific! I can’t remember the last time I read a book that was more fascinating and useful ad enjoyable all at the same time”. Bill Bryson
And a final word from Mike Berners– Lee - “. This full stop has a footprint of @ 1/50th milligram of CO2.
We have become a powerful and, of late, such a destructive species. Our world is now in crisis. We need
to get much better at pausing for thought. If just a few readers ... have spent just a few seconds in quiet,
low-carbon contemplation of this black dot, then it will have paid back its impact many more times over
than the world’s best offshore wind farms can ever hope to achieve. If it has distracted just a few of us for
just a few seconds from our shopping sprees, ski holidays, car journeys and imported asparagus, then for
its size, it will have made a truly outstanding contribution to the low-carbon world.”