Fair Doers - West Oxon

Met Office Warns of severe warming by 2060

2009-09-28T12:14:00.001+01:00

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)

2009-09-08T13:53:00.004+01:00

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'

2009-08-27T22:58:00.006+01:00

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

2009-08-27T22:49:00.005+01:00

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

2009-08-27T22:44:00.003+01:00

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

2009-08-27T22:35:00.004+01:00

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

2009-08-27T22:29:00.002+01:00

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

A Farm for the Future

2009-03-16T20:26:00.007Z

This programme is well worth watching; it gives an easily understood but informative introduction to the challenges of UK food production in the face of 'carbon rationing' and 'peak oil' - useful for anyone wanting to know more about these topics, including Permaculture and how it could form part of the answer. Originally presented on BBC, it now appears on YouTube:

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xShCEKL-mQ8

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0X25hMLXiE&feature=related

Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJQhRIKo5rA&feature=related

Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxsPfeSRIFo&feature=related

Part 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Ez5ViYKYA&feature=related

For editors which can join the 5 parts, see http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=707223

Costing the effect of damaging our environments

2008-11-07T00:02:00.004Z

New Scientist has an interesting article on estimating the cost of damaging our environment - by putting too much CO2 into the atmosphere, but also by other means. And some big cost figures are mentioned. Food for thought.. http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn15143-putting-a-price-on-the-ecocrunch.html?feedId=online-news_rss20

Life Audits, Social Business etc - Notes from 17/9/08 Chipping Norton meeting

2008-09-18T10:35:00.006+01:00

We had some stimulating discussion today about Muhammad Yunus' work and writings, Susan George's writings, Witney's Meller Gallery, and life audits. A sample life audit document is attached, for info. Clearly very sketchy at this stage. group had various comments about this, including that it needs to be broken into short chunks, needs more open questions, more balanced selection of questions, should not be intimidating, etc. For next month we agreed to try and think about what a life audit should be, and come with our own ideas and suggestions ready to discuss them next month. Muhammad Yunus is the founder of the Grameen Bank and pioneer of microcredit banking and social businesses. His two books (listed below) give a very stimulating vision of how to tackle poverty effectively, wherever it is found. Well worth a read (in Marcus' opinion):

'Banker to the Poor' - the story of how Grameen Bank developed
'Creating a World Without Poverty' - introduces his concept of a Social Business, and gives a far reaching vision of how they can be used to tackle much of the poverty and injustice in our societies across the world.

Susan George has actually written several books concerning international debt, including some more current ones - see the following:

The Meller Gallery in Witney is an inspiring example of how christian thinking, creative arts, business and humanitarian concern can come together in a highly effective way - see here:

http://www.veritasse.co.uk.

What can I do about Justice and Sustainability?

2008-08-04T15:05:00.006+01:00

Understand our society

Develop credible values and views

Understand our influence, and how best to use it

Express our views!

Do our bit to help

Take the next step

‘twas ever thus..

Greed and Hatred (Selfishness, Prejudice) always creep in

We must be vigilant to recognise it; bold to speak and act against it

History

Our addiction to cheap plentiful energy

Technology; a powerful, double-edged weapon

The rise of the Company

Companies – originally a people-structure to harness resources, for sustainably benefiting people

But they have become something rather different..

The Established Order: ‘I must serve the Company’ – but does the Company serve Society?

What’s wrong

Deep injustice is still built into the fabric of Western society

Power is concentrated at the top (Boards of selfish white males)

Trade and labour conditions, trading and IP rules, favour the rich and powerful

Government influenced by selfish commercial interests (and selfish voters)

Media strongly reflect debased vision and values, not truth and justice

I am complicit

Ignorant

Turn a blind eye

Say nothing - Let it happen

Carry on doing things the same old way

We need to disentangle ourselves!

Yesterday’s challenges

18th-20th century, in the West

The Slave Trade

Labour conditions

Education

Votes

Social security

Healthcare

Today’s challenges - global

Stop Climate Chaos

Make Poverty History and the Millennium Development Goals

Fair Trade

Trade Justice

Drop the Debt (Jubilee Debt Campaign)

Stop the Traffik

Sweatshops – eg International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF)

Control Arms

Selfishly selective political/military interventions

AIDS, Malaria etc (eg www.unaids.org/en www.rbm.who.int)

Today’s challenges – local

Selfish Capitalist lifestyles and Mental Distress (depression, stress, addictions etc)

Centralisation

Community life

Solutions:

Engagement with beauty and the natural environment

Exemplary living

Counselling and support

What difference can it make?

People’s attitudes obey a ‘Bell Curve’ distribution, with The Crowd at the peak, and Activists at either extreme

A small group of Activists can pull the Crowd in either direction

Examples (negative): Nazism, Serbian nationalism etc

Examples (positive): The Slave Trade, Environmentalism

My circle of influence

We have unprecedented information, access and influence

I am directly connected to dozens of people and organisations

Do they all know what I want to happen?

Am I using my powers of support and veto?

Common interest/campaigning groups

Avaaz.org – web/email campaigns

Tearfund – prayer and campaigning updates; SuperBadger on Facebook

Oxfam – events, briefing sheets

www.writetothem.com – contacting MPs, MEPs, councillors

Our disposable resources

Finance

Knowledge and skills

Time and energy

Contacts and relationships

Can we harness them to better effect?

Search for ‘win-win’ redeployments

Actions

Lifestyle audits

Work out marginal benefits and costs of different actions

Prioritise

Review

Make myself accountable

Get together with others

The G8, Campaigning, Soundbite Society, Selfish Capitalism, and WAFTAG - useful discussions/info, from 7/7/08 Witney meeting

2008-08-04T14:16:00.006+01:00

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead (1901–78), cultural anthropologist and writer

The G8 summit

opened Monday 7th in Toyako (Hokkaido island, Japan). The news seems to be changing fast (see web links below). Statements have now been issued on fulfilling pledges made on poverty at Gleneagles, halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and ensuring biofuel investments don’t affect food prices/availability. However experts say these still leave many ends un-tied. So, very much a case for vigilant watching, praying and joining our voice with other people of good faith on these very important issues.

Do pray hard, and consider campaigning online – eg via Avaaz.org.

More info:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7494702.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7489993.stm

Campaigning

Speaking up for truth and justice is a key activity for Christians – but generally we do little of it. It can seem a daunting jungle of forums, claims and counter-claims, but we can make a worthwhile difference by speaking, writing, emailing etc, and there are organisations and websites that do a good job helping us tackle key issues. In Fair Doers we should eventually systematically review priority organisations and activities, but for now the following two are recommended – do sign up with them!

www.Avaaz.org – non sectarian, but one of the best in promoting focused, balanced, timely and effective action – and feeding back results.

www.Tearfund.org – highly regarded Christian charity, which puts emphasis on campaigning as well as helping on the ground.

Join their ‘Superbadger’ application on Facebook (contact Marcus if you’d like help).

Judging right courses in a ‘Soundbite Society’

The group discussed that some are sceptical of the current ‘climate’ of opinion (sorry for pun..) on global warming – is it real, or just a fashion? But some of the most questioning are also strong advocates of not polluting and living sustainably, so regardless of background reasoning, we probably all agree on practical strategy. However this raises the important issue of how we assess truth in a society that is strongly driven by media, marketing lobbies etc.

The answer probably lies in making the best assessment we can of the motivation, expertise and reputability of the key opinion sources, judging our actions on the balance of probabilities with careful reference to biblical priorities and the precautionary principle. And keeping our decisions under review. Marcus and Matt will try and do a study on this topic, and present back to the group in future. Any inputs and expertise welcomed – do let us know!

Selfish Capitalism

Oliver James is a clinical psychologist, writer, and documentary producer and pundit on TV and radio. In his books Affluenza and The Selfish Capitalist, he describes and illustrates scientific studies on mental wellbeing and its inverse association with Virus values – placing a high value on acquiring money and possessions, looking good in the eyes of others and wanting to be famous. Although we may think we don’t do these things much, his book shows that these values are surprisingly prevalent in all the English-speaking nations (including the UK). I (MJS) was certainly challenged on how they can exist in our local christian circles and in my own life.

The Vaccines to Affluenza are:

Have Positive Volition (not ‘Think Positive’)
Replace Virus motives (with Intrinsic ones)
Be Beautiful (not Attractive)
Consume what you need (not what advertisers want you to want)
Meet your children’s needs (not those of little adults)
Educate your children (don’t brainwash them)
Enjoy motherhood (not deperate housewifery)
Be Authentic (not Sincere), Vivacious (not Hyperactive), Playful (not Game-Playing)

These are explained in the book(s).

Although Oliver James doesn’t seem very sympathetic to organised religion, I’m struck by the parallels with Christian values of avoiding greed, envy and materialism rather than spirituality.

To what extent are we infected with the Affluenza virus of Selfish Capitalism?
How we can cultivate the ‘vaccines’ in our own lives and our local (or wider) society?

More info:

About Oliver James http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_James

His website http://www.selfishcapitalist.com/

Guardian article by him (provides a good summary of his arguments)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jan/03/comment.mentalhealth

Video - interview with Mariella Frostrup (good summary for those who prefer listening/watching to reading) http://www.selfishcapitalist.com/selfish_multimedia.html

Independent article by him; more politically focused:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/oliver-james-despite-ourselves-we-are-all-gordon-gekkos-now-774535.html

WAFTAG

Witney Area Fairtrade Action Group is Witney’s local group supporting and promoting fair trade. Although its campaign for Witney to become an officially-recognised Fairtrade Town is stalled while we wait for emotions to calm down on all sides, longer term there seems little real difficulty in achieving this, and actually it is merely the icing on the cake – the real benefit to both Witney and developing-country producers lies in creatively working with shops and other outlets to increase awareness and uptake of fairly traded goods.

There is lots to do constructively here, and anyone’s ideas or energy would be welcomed.

A current activity is planning an art competition for children, advertising fair trade during Fair Trade Fortnight in March 2009. This will link Witney’s schoolchildren with some of the poorest communities in the world, by increasing understanding, and sales of Fair Trade products in Witney. Witney’s Meller art gallery has a Christian ethos and supports fair trade. Maybe they could support the competition? Wendy will look into promoting the competition via the Meller gallery and Waftag’s Schools sub-committee.

More info:

www.waftag.blogspot.com

update from CCOW

2008-06-21T18:58:00.002+01:00

Dear Friends,

If you are putting together intercessions for Sunday, do please remember to pray for the situation in Zimbabwe and for the Climate Change Bill as it makes its way through the House of Commons. All the development agencies are also asking supporters to email their MPs about some critical measures in the Climate Bill.

There is a lot of material related to Zimbabwe available online. The Guardian has a very powerful video clip about the violence surrounding the current election campaign. In terms of the church response, you might want to look at material about the Zambian Catholic bishops' letter to the SADC ; the pastoral letter from the Anglican Bishops of Central Africa ; and the letter from the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches . There's also a good summary with prayer material from Christian Solidarity Worldwide. On an ongoing basis, you can receive regular updates from Tearfund by signing up for their regular Zimbabwe prayer email. Christian Aid sends out less frequent, but more in-depth updates drawing on the experiences of their partners. To join the mailing list for their "Voices from Zimbabwe" briefings, email cmoyse@christian-aid.org. We'll also be posting more on our website about Zimbabwe next week.

On the Climate Change Bill, there is plenty of material for prayer points and action available from CAFOD, Christian Aid, and Tearfund. The websites also contain the background information about the Bill, the Government's refusal to take on some amendments made in the House of Lords, and what needs to happen next. The email actions are quite important; there is very little time for campaigning. Please do encourage people to participate.

Thank you for your prayers and action!

God bless,

Maranda

New on the CCOW website: Report on "Journey to Justice," the commemoration of the 1998 Birmingham Jubilee Chain.

'Sisters on the Planet' - Inspiring Oxfam DVD

2008-06-07T12:55:00.002+01:00

This DVD shows how four inspirational women from Bangladesh, Uganda, Brazil and UK - are leading their communities in the fight against climate change. It launches an Oxfam campaign on climate change, focusing on how this affects the poorest people in the world and women in particular. Contact Marcus if you would like to borrow it.

Peak Water?

2008-06-06T16:51:00.003+01:00

'Water crisis to be biggest world risk' - from www.telegraph.co.uk, 6/6/08

Catastrophic water shortage could prove an even bigger threat to mankind this century than soaring food prices and the relentless exhaustion of energy reserves, according to a panel of global experts at the Goldman Sachs "Top Five Risks" conference.

Nicholas (Lord) Stern, author of the Government's Stern Review on the economics of climate change, warned that underground aquifers could run dry at the same time as melting glaciers play havoc with fresh supplies of usable water. "A few hundred square miles of the Himalayas are the source for all the major rivers of Asia - the Ganges, the Yellow River, the Yangtze - where 3bn people live. That's almost half the world's population," he said.

Soil carbon sequestration

2008-05-13T11:42:00.004+01:00

An interesting possibility for locking up large amounts of atmospheric carbon in currently-depleted soils. Highly applicable in australia but arguably other arid/semi-arid soils, and maybe worthwhile even in climates such as UK's? Carbon Coalition is a group of concerned Australians who believe that one of the most effective strategies for locking up atmospheric carbon is to be found in fostering deep-rooted plant species on land used for agriculture. If it can be paid for by carbon credits then this offers a great economic incentive for rolling out these methods very widely.

Changing farming practices, for example so that pasture is not grazed right down but livestock are moved on earlier and thus allow plants to grow more continuously, can help soils take up more carbon. Encouraging results are reported and prime minister Kevin Rudd is initiating a federal investigation into such approaches.

They maintain the following:

* The terrestrial biosphere currently sequesters 2 billion metric tons of carbon annually. (US Department of Agriculture)

* Soils contain 82% of terrestrial carbon.

* "Enhancing the natural processes that remove CO2 from the atmosphere is thought to be the most cost-effective means of reducing atmospheric levels of CO2." (US Department of Energy)

* "Soil organic carbon is the largest reservoir in interaction with the atmosphere." (United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation) - Vegetation 650 gigatons, atmosphere 750 gigatons, soil 1500 gigatons

* The carbon sink capacity of the world's agricultural and degraded soils is 50% to 66% of the historic carbon loss of 42 to 78 gigatons of carbon.

* Grazing land comprises more than half the total land surface

* An acre of pasture can sequester more carbon than an acre of forest.

* “Soil represents the largest carbon sink over which we have control. Improvements in soil carbon levels could be made in all rural areas, whereas the regions suited to carbon sequestration in plantation timber are limited.” (Dr Christine Jones)

more info:

http://www.carboncoalition.com.au/#soils_save_world

News - Could Wales become the first Fairtrade country?

2008-05-12T16:12:00.002+01:00

Fair Trade Country Campaign

On 8 May 2004 the National Assembly for Wales pledged to make Wales the world’s first Fair Trade country. The Wales Fair Trade Forum is encouraging everyone across Wales to get involved and take this important step towards making poverty history.

Criteria for Fair Trade Country Status To become a Fair Trade country we need people across the country to use Fair Trade products, promote Fair Trade and explain why it’s so important.

In order to measure this certain targets have been set, ranging from the number of towns and counties in Wales with Fairtrade status, through to commitments from the Welsh Assembly Government. These criteria were accepted by both the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Executive in July 2006.

Get Involved! If you would like to help to make Wales the world’s first Fair Trade country there are plenty of opportunities.

You can find out whether your town or county has a Fair Trade initiative to get involved with locally. Or you can get your school, university, church or workplace involved as well!

Click here to find out more about getting involved.

Biofuels

2008-03-12T20:36:00.000Z

This email from http://www.avaaz.org/ (copied below) is the best summary i have yet seen of the issue of biofuels - importantly, backed with good source references so we can verify reliability. In a nutshell:

1st generation biofuels - range from moderate carbon benefit to actually harmful
2nd generation biofuels - use non-food 'biomass' crops, and should be much more beneficial, but need to be developed into fully proven technologies
3rd generation biofuels - biodegradeable fuel from farmed algae; even more promising, but still less developed
More info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel - but read the Avaaz article also

Email from www.avaaz.org/en:

EU and US demand for biofuels is pushing up world food prices and increasing climate emissions. We should feed people, not cars--so join the call for global standards to clean up the biofuels industry: Click here now

Dear friends, Each day, 820 million people in the developing world do not have enough food to eat[1]. Food prices around the world are shooting up, sparking food riots from Mexico[2] to Morocco[3]. And the World Food Program warned last week that rapidly rising costs are endangering emergency food supplies for the world's worst-off[4].How are the wealthiest countries responding? They're burning food.Specifically, they're using more and more biofuels--alcohol made from plant products, used in place of petrol to fuel cars. Biofuels are billed as a way to slow down climate change. But in reality, because so much land is being cleared to grow them, most biofuels today are causing more global warming emissions than they prevent[5], even as they push the price of corn, wheat, and other foods out of reach for millions of people[6].Not all biofuels are bad--but without tough global standards, the biofuels boom will further undermine food security and worsen global warming. Click here to use our simple tool to send a message to your head of state before this weekend's global summit on climate change in Chiba, Japan, and help build a global call for biofuels regulation:http://www.avaaz.org/en/biofuel_standards_now/9.php?cl=60220600Sometimes the trade-off is stark: filling the tank of an SUV with ethanol requires enough corn to feed a person for a year[7]. But not all biofuels are bad; making ethanol from Brazilian sugar cane is vastly more efficient than US-grown corn, for example, and green technology for making fuel from waste is improving rapidly.The problem is that the EU and the US have set targets for increasing the use of biofuels without sorting the good from the bad. As a result, rainforests are being cleared in Indonesia to grow palm oil for European biodiesel refineries, and global grain reserves are running dangerously low. Meanwhile, rich-country politicians can look "green" without asking their citizens to conserve energy, and agribusiness giants are cashing in. And if nothing changes, the situation will only get worse.What's needed are strong global standards that encourage better biofuels and shut down the trade in bad ones. Such standards are under development by a number of coalitions[8], but they will only become mandatory if there's a big enough public outcry. It's time to move: this Friday through Saturday, the twenty countries with the biggest economies, responsible for more than 75% of the world's carbon emissions[9], will meet in Chiba, Japan to begin the G8's climate change discussions. Before the summit, let's raise a global cry for change on biofuels:http://www.avaaz.org/en/biofuel_standards_now/9.php?cl=60220600A call for change before this week's summit won't end the food crisis, or stop global warming. But it's a critical first step. By confronting false solutions and demanding real ones, we can show our leaders that we want to do the right thing, not the easy thing.As Kate, an Avaaz member in Colorado, wrote about biofuels, "Turning food into oil when people are already starving? My car isn't more important than someone's hungry child."It's time to put the life of our fellow people, and our planet, above the politics and profits that too often drive international decision-making. This will be a long fight. But it's one that we join eagerly--because the stakes are too high to do anything else.

With hope,Ben, Ricken, Iain, Galit, Paul, Graziela, Pascal, Esra'a, Milena -- the Avaaz.org team SOURCES: [1] World Food Programme. "Hunger Facts." Accessed 10 March 2008. http://www.wfp.org/aboutwfp/facts/hunger_facts.asp [2] The Sunday Herald (Scotland). "2008: The year of global food crisis." 9 March 2008. http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2104849.0.2008_the_year_of_global_food_crisis.php [3] The Australian: "Biofuels threaten 'billions of lives'" 28 February, 2008. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23336840-11949,00.html [4] AFP: "WFP chief warns EU about biofuels." 7 March 2008. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hpCFf3spGcDQUuILK5JFV-6NL1Dg [5] New York Times: "Biofuels Deemed a Greenhouse Threat." 8 February 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/science/earth/08wbiofuels.html [6] The Times: "Rush for biofuels threatens starvation on a global scale." 7 March 2008. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3500954.ece ... also see BBC: "In graphics: World warned on food price spiral." 10 March 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7284196.stm [7] The Economist: "The end of cheap food." 6 December 2007. http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10252015 [8] See http://www.globalbioenergy.org/, http://cgse.epfl.ch/page70341.html, and http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3489640.ece. [9] Government of Japan. "Percentage of global carbon dioxide emissions (FY 2003) contributed by G20 nations." http://www.env.go.jp/earth/g8/en/g20/index_popup.html ----------------------------------

Climate change FAQs

2008-03-06T14:18:00.001Z

Climate response resources

2008-03-06T14:17:00.001Z

I’ll keep it simple and start with these. More may follow laterm, but it’s important not to drown in stuff. http://www.livingwitness.org.uk/home_files/Personal%20GHG%20calculator.pdf work out your carbon footprint http://www.livingwitness.org.uk/home_files/ecological%20footprint.pdf work out your ecological footprint (what’s this? See wikipedia) http://www.livingwitness.org.uk/home_files/wcsl.pdf friendly 27-page guide – take it a step at a time www.livingwitness.org.uk more general resources from the Quakers’ national sustainable living initiative www.climatex.org what’s going on in Oxfordshire. www.climatecare.org if you can’t avoid emitting carbon, then consider offsetting. ClimateCare have a good reputation, and I’ve met many of their staff (including the director) who impressed me with their motivation and professionalism. http://fairdoers.blogspot.com/ last but not least, don’t forget our local discussion and action groups starting in Witney and Chipping Norton!

Initial meeting dates and venues

2008-03-06T13:59:00.000Z

Witney 7 April – contact marcus.simmons@talk21.com or ring 07803 753684 for details Chipping Norton 17 March - contact marcus.simmons@talk21.com or ring 07803 753684 for details 21 March – c/o Geoff and Sandra Coleman, 41 Lord’s Piece Road, OX7 5HT

Proposed format of meetings

2008-03-06T13:57:00.000Z

Witney – 1st Monday evening of each month; 7:30-9:30 pm
Chipping Norton - 3rd Monday evening of each month; 7:30-9:30 pm

Meet in a group member’s home
Bring and share meal to start (optional)
Group news roundup
Half-hour presentation from a group member, audio/video or visiting speaker
Group questions and discussion
Agree any relevant practical responses
Brief closing prayer

What is Fair Doers?

2008-03-06T13:44:00.000Z

We face great challenges over issues such as global justice (in trade, politics etc), climate change and our use of resources. These can seem daunting and confusing, and it may seem beyond us to make any real difference. But actually there’s a great deal we can do, and it’s not too hard, especially if we work together to help and encourage each other. And Christians should be taking a lead in these things! So, ‘Fair Doers’ is a new group starting in West Oxfordshire: * For all who want to be more effective in loving God and our neighbour, in a practical way... * ...or anyone who has a nagging feeling they should be more aware, informed, or involved in these... * Working together for - Balanced awareness and understanding of key issues - Mutual encouragement, inspiration, and motivation - Critical mass to achieve things we can’t do alone * Accessible and non-intimidating, even for the least experienced or active * Focused on practical applications and achievable steps * Informal and fun! * Supported by web resources, including (we hope) an online group forum, events calendar, and help links * Affiliated to Christian Concern for One World, (http://www.ccow.org.uk/) an established charity helping Christians in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire to pray and act on global issues. We are trying to connect with all who may want to be involved, so if interested please email Marcus.Simmons@talk21.com or phone 07803 753684. If you can think of others who may be interested, please let me know how to contact them, or better still, forward this notice to them yourself!

Welcome to Fair Doers!

2008-03-06T13:27:00.000Z

Over the coming days/weeks we hope to add more useful material to this site, to help and encourage local Christians to engage more effectively in justice and sustainability issues.

Fair Doers - West Oxon

Met Office Warns of severe warming by 2060

Witney Allotment Campaign (WAC)

Breathe Network's 'Promise of Life'

Radically re-thinking our food supply

ImechE report on Geo-Engineering

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

Recent talks by Shane Claiborne - The Simple Way

A Farm for the Future

Costing the effect of damaging our environments

Life Audits, Social Business etc - Notes from 17/9/08 Chipping Norton meeting

What can I do about Justice and Sustainability?

The G8, Campaigning, Soundbite Society, Selfish Capitalism, and WAFTAG - useful discussions/info, from 7/7/08 Witney meeting

update from CCOW

'Sisters on the Planet' - Inspiring Oxfam DVD

Peak Water?

Soil carbon sequestration

News - Could Wales become the first Fairtrade country?

Fair Trade Country Campaign

Biofuels

Climate change FAQs

Climate response resources

Suggested topics

Initial meeting dates and venues

Proposed format of meetings

What is Fair Doers?

Welcome to Fair Doers!