4C Newsletter

4c has launched an e-mail newsletter, which aims to be short and snappy, featuring encouraging stories from churches and individual Christians. If you would like to sign up for the newsletter, please click here. You can also read past editions below.

Edition 10- April 2015

4C Snippet

Just a quick e-mail to let you know about an exciting event which is being put on by Tearfund at St George's Church Leeds. Please come along and also invite your friends. If you want to advertise the event at your own church, you could use the graphic below which is also available on St Georges's website. There is also a video on the website which can be used to promote the event. Also if you would like to help serving refreshments at the event please reply to this e-mail.

Edition 9- January 2015

Green Resolutions

Isabelle Jones

Better late than never. I have finally got round to reading my friend Jenny Cooke’s excellent blog posts from January 2014, where she calculated her carbon footprint and set out some green resolutions for 2014. It’s an interesting read. What particularly caught my eye was that despite not owning a car, Jenny’s land transport emissions were only just below the UK average. Like Jenny, I travel by train a lot. It’s worth remembering that how far/ how often I travel is important as well as how I get there.

On the other hand, I was surprised to see how much of the average carbon footprint comes from food and from energy use in the home. As Jenny points out, there are effective actions that most of us can take in these areas. According to the ‘Carbon Detox’ book, which Jenny used to calculate her footprint, switching to organic cuts food carbon by 50%! Clearly there are dilemmas here, e.g. do you buy organic food from further afield or local non-organic produce? However, it is encouraging to think that these everyday choices do make a real difference.

Jenny decided to take action in 2014 in four areas:Personal (reducing her own carbon footprint), Political (campaigning), Professional (through her work as a civil engineer), and Prayer.

So, inspired by Jenny’s example, my resolutions are:

1. Try to calculate our carbon footprint (Jenny is going to lend us the ‘Carbon Detox’ book)

2. Email my pension fund through www.greenlightcampaign.org.uk to ask them to invest in the low carbon economy.

3. Try to work from home more, as Jenny has done, to reduce my travel miles.

Edition 8- January 2014

Changing the Climate in Our House

Isabelle Jones

My husband and I live in a typical Leeds back-to-back terrace, which we love. However, for the last two winters we have had to choose between having the heating on constantly, and getting very chilly whilst trying to save a little energy. Like many people living in old properties, we have found that loft insulation and double-glazing are not sufficient to achieve affordable and sustainable warmth. Many people think that there is nothing further that can be done to improve these properties, which do not have cavity walls to insulate. However, thankfully we knew otherwise. With help and advice from Andy Walker of SURE Insulation

(http://www.sureinsulation.co.uk/index.shtml) , we have embarked on a DIY programme of improvements. The biggest task has been installing internal wall insulation. This involves sticking insulation board to the inside surface of the external walls and then re-plastering and re-decorating. So far we have insulated the spare room, and the difference is dramatic- it is now the warmest room in the house. The process took around five days with four of us helping, however much of the time was taken up with the re-plastering and re-decorating, rather than the actual insulation work. We found Andy Walker’s input invaluable, as there are certain things that have to be done quite precisely to prevent damp from gathering in the insulation. However, once he had set us off on the right track, we felt able to finish the job ourselves. Andy was also able to suggest a cunning way to insulate our draughty old stained glass front door - can you spot the insulation and double glazing in the photo? For anyone who is really interested, my husband is writing a blog: http://insulatingmyhouse.wordpress.com/ But beware, there is a lot of detail on there! There is also a very useful guidance manual available on ‘Very Low Carbon Building Improvements for Leeds Victorian Terraced homes’ (http://www.sureinsulation.co.uk/ha/index.shtml)

Gluing the insulation to the wall

The finished room

Edition 7- June 2013

Our Hope for God’s Creation

This month we have been very much encouraged by the inspiring short film ‘Our Hope for God’s creation’. Commissioned by the archbishop of York, John

Sentamu, this 20-minute film features examples from around Yorkshire and the North East of how churches are taking action on climate change and creation care. From the insulation of a draughty church building in Sheffield, to creation of a wildlife-friendly and educational churchyard in Calverley, this film features churches from many different contexts and traditions. It is food for thought for those of us who are interested in tackling climate change in a church context, and hopefully it will also inspire others to take up this vital cause.You can watch the film on the Diocesan website:

www.riponleeds.anglican.org/environment1.html

On this page you will also find suggested outlines for an ‘Environment Sunday’ service, and a set of small-group bible studies on the subject of sustainability called ‘Renewing God’s Earth’. If you have trouble watching the video on this page, it is also available on Youtube, where it may play more easily.

Edition 6- June 2012

Something to reflect on...

Ewan Jones

It's amazing what you can achieve in a morning's work. Last week we met at Cragg Hill Baptist Church to fit reflective foil behind the radiators. Most of us hadn't done this before, but in about 3 hours we were able to do 17 radiators with 5 people working. The cost of

materials was only around £3 per radiator, since we had bulk-bought the

foil, which makes it significantly cheaper. This is a cheap and effective way to reduce heating bills. Much of theheat from a radiator can get absorbed into the wall behind it rather

than heating the room. Fitting reflective foil can increase the useful

output of a radiator by as much as 12%. The type of foil that we used

was like silver bubble wrap, which also has an added insulation effect.

4C are keen to support other churches to do this too. In particular, we

hope to bulk-buy the materials and pass them on to churches at cost

price, or even to subsidise the cost where necessary. Also, we can help

to show you how to do it. There is a detailed guide to the method we

used (as recommended by Andy from SURE Insulation on our website.

Edition 5- 5th January 2012

So far in ‘4C Snippets’ we have focused on what churches and their members are doing to respond to climate change. This time we would like to focus on a great new council initiative:

Free Insulation

Isabelle Jones

‘Wrap up Leeds’ is offering homeowners and private renters in Leeds free cavity wall and loft insulation, measures which can save the average three-bedroom household up to £300 a year on their fuel bills and 550kg on their carbon footprint. Well done Leeds City Council. However, 4c would like to suggest that there is a role for us all in making sure that this scheme reaches those who are most in need of it, those who struggle to heat their homes and live in fuel poverty. The scheme is only available to 15,000 households, on a first-come first serv

ed basis. So, if you know someone who would really benefit from this, why not tell them about it, and maybe help them to clear out their lofts in preparation? To find out more contact Wrap Up Leeds free on 0800 052 0071.

Fuel poverty is an issue that 4c have been exploring in the last year. In 2009, 21% of UK households were in fuel poverty*, and the resulting negative impacts on physical and mental health are well evidenced, especially for vulnerable groups. On talking to other groups in Leeds, we have discovered a huge groundswell of interest in this issue, which combines energy efficiency and UK poverty agendas. Out of these conversations, a new network called Leeds Fuel Poverty Action has emerged. The group is still finding its feet but we hope to tell you more about its activities in future snippets.

*Meaning that they'd have to spend more than 10% of their income on fuel in order to maintain a comfortable temperature inside of 21°C in the main living area and 18°C in the rest of the house.

Edition 4 - October 27th 2011

Bearing Witness

Claire Geeson

On the eve of the Conservative Party conference at the start of October last month, hundreds of Christian Aid, CAFOD and Tearfund supporters joined to process through the streets of Manchester from the Cathedral to the Conference venue and onto a candlelight vigil in Albert Square.

The purpose was simple: to hold David Cameron to account on his pledge to 'be the Greenest Government ever' - despite some small progress, there is a mountain to climb before this can be claimed to have been achieved.

Before the procession I attended Christian Aid’s workshops on Climate justice and Tax justice. The speakers were passionate and informed, providing the perfect platform for participants to proceed on to the Cathedral. Three important characteristics were reiterated throughout the day:

Optimism - Never give up hope
Impatience - Climate change is happening and impacting NOW
Persistence - Campaigning and lobbying of MPs and Business DOES make a difference

I left the day humbled - feeling hopeful and at peace to have been part of such a positive showcase of the power of people and of faith. We were certainly noticed by the many passers by in Manchester – and we hope, by the Government too.

For more event reviews, please see: http://www.christianaid.org.uk/ActNow/climate-justice/bearingwitness.aspx and http://www.celi.org.uk/archives/804.

Edition 3 - October 17th 2011

This month’s 4c Snippet contribution comes from St Edmund's Church in Roundhay:

Roundhay's Solar-powered Parish

On 8^th August St Edmunds Roundhay celebrated the installation of 21 photovoltaic solar panels on their church hall roof. By the time we went to see the panels on 15^thSeptember they had produced 680kWh of electricity, earning the church around £350 in Feed In Tariff payments and saving roughly the same amount of carbon as an average car would emit on a return journey between Norwich and Aberdeen.

Project co-ordinator John Irving explained that the project was first inspired two years ago, when the church hall hosted an ‘energy fair’ organised byREAP. Whilst implementing low-tech energy saving solutions such as adding an inner door to the hall to keep in warm air, John began to explore the possibility of getting solar panels. He secured a 50% grant from the Community Sustainable Energy Programme, with the condition that insulation was also installed, which increased the costs substantially because of the nature of the building. Nevertheless, the whole project, including insulation, is expected to payback in 11 years (compared to 8-10 years for an average solar panel installation). After this, the church will make a profit through Feed In Tariff payments which are guaranteed for 25 years. John told us: ‘I was surprised at how much the church supported the project. Although funding for capital improvements is very tight, the Parochial Church Council could see the benefits of taking the plunge at this stage to reduce our carbon footprint.’

Edition 2 - August 2011

This month’s 4c Snippet contribution comes from Bill Phelps, a member ofHarehills Baptist Church Justice and Community Group and active campaigner withLeeds TIDAL:

Our 10:10 Story

Bill Phelps

Together with my business partner I run a small graphic design company in Leeds. Last year we signed up to10:10 and pledged to reduce our carbon emissions 10% during 2010. As we have no gas supply and hardly ever travel on business, this effectively meant cutting our electricity consumption by 10%.

One strategy we adopted was to leave the laser-printers switched off until we needed them, which made sense, as we tend to print less nowadays anyway.

But by far the greatest energy consumption has always been our storage heaters, which (in winter) charge up every night on cheaper rate electricity. Our plan to save energy was to turn them off every Friday and on again on Sunday, so that the office would be cosy again by Monday morning.

It was a bit of a hassle cycling to work on a Sunday to turn on the heaters! Occasionally I'd forget and have to run fan heaters all day on Monday.

However, when I did the sums, it transpired that we had cut our annual electricity consumption by 16%. We're currently saving hundreds of pounds a yearcompared with a few years ago.

For most people, cutting annual CO₂ emissions by 10% is likely to be an achievable target if they set their minds to it. Give it a go yourself and see how low you can get!

Edition 1 - July 2011

Driving Down your Footprint

Richard Chappelle

St George’s Church was promoting a greener lent this year and as part of that I decided to reduce my speed on the motorway to work (a 23 mile stretch).I used to end up sitting in the middle/outside lane doing about 70mph with the constant accelerating, overtaking and slowing as the traffic changes on a frequent basis. Over lent I decided to try reducing my speed to 60mph on the motorway, in the end I found the easiest way to achieve this was to sit behind a lorry doing 58mph (their speed limited maximum) for most of the journey. The first thing I noticed was that being in the inside lane the traffic kept a much more constant pace than the outside lane and thus my need to constantly accelerate and break was greatly reduced. Secondly I found that before trying this, a full petrol tank of unleaded would last me about 4 and a half days but after a week of reducing my speed I still had 1/4 of the tank left. In the end I reckon it’s probably increased my journey time to/from work by an average of 5 minutes each way and probably saves me £15 a week and I’ve kept doing it ever since.

Bearing Witness

Lindsey Pearson

Christian Aid is joining up with CAFOD & Tearfund to push our government to take strong action to stop climate change on Saturday 1 October in Manchester, on the eve of the Conservative Party conference. The day includes workshops arranged by the three organisations, followed by a service in Manchester Cathedral at 5pm. There will then be a procession and candlelit vigil outside the Conservative Party conference venue. We are excited to have an outspoken South African theologian Tinyiko Maluleke speaking on how the global church and Christians can lead action on climate change.

There’s more info at www.christianaid.org.uk/bearingwitness. The Leeds Christian Aid office has fliers, church magazine articles and posters to help publicise this and might be looking into arranging transport locally. If you’d like to help publicise the event or share transport please contact Lindsey Pearson: lpearson@christian-aid.org

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