 We rarely turn off our mobiles and fill every waking moment with activity or information, with work and pursuit of our objectives. Modern life seems to be running ever faster but our bodies and minds need regular rest to face productive work and to stay healthy. Some people are asking "Why am I so busy and stressed?". Their lives are too complex. We may be living to 90 and beyond, yet we are still living as if we have three score years and ten. We need to better pace not just our resouces but our energy. Sundays as a day of rest unday is a different day, set apart from the week for a slower approach, more contemplative, relaxing and restorative. Traditionally, Sunday is the day for attending church at least once. Today, many people spend Sunday shopping, or carrying on working - as if Sunday were like any other weekday. For those who are obliged to work on Sunday, the same can apply to their 'day of rest'. In addition Christians are appointed stewards of Creation, and need to see how their lifestyle is ompacting pollution, noise polluution and cliamte change. The Lausanne Convenant also pointed to the Christian duty of aiming for a 'simple' lifestyle, even in the West. Some may only be able to achieve a 'simpler' lower carbon and less polluting lifestyle. The Slow Movement The Slow Movement is based on reconnecting people to their food, environment and locality. Ideas such as 'slow food' and 'slow travel' counteract the desire to pack action into every minute and instead encourage savouring the moment and creativity. Constant Work Constant busy activity creates carbon emissions. We are all aware of the threat of climate change. We are also becoming increasingly aware of related issues:
Sunday is already a slightly slower day than the rest of the week, a welcome breathing space to examine the bigger picture and our duties to people, locality, wildlife, the developing world and the disabled and elderly. Sunday can also give us a time and space to consider how to make small adjustments in our lifestyle. A focus on saving carbon also saves us money, as well as increases our knowledge. Stewards of the Earth We are also stewards of the Earth, of its biosphere, its wildlife and its purity. Naturally Earth would run in its own way, without mankind. Our distinctive role is to manage, tame - and preserve it. A 'steward' is a wise manager. Being in balance with regulated Nature is being a responsible manager of the Earth. However, our Earth has limited resources. This World Wildlife Fund carbon calculator tells us how many planets we would need if everyone else on Earth lived as we do, in the West. Consuming energy resources in such a way that we leave nothing for future generations is, to some extent, our choice. The solution is more energy efficiency which is about doing the same, with less energy. 35 years of carbon reduction If energy efficient lifestyles became mainstream, they could really help us meet our challenging new target of a zero carbon emissions by 2050. 31 years is the short window left before all buildings must zero carbon and carbon free electricity. Until 100% of our power is renewable, driving heat pumps and our heating is also renewable, the amount of carbon we each generate matters, because we are still relying heavily on fossil fuels. Those often flying longhaul are contributing a lot of carbon too as one round flight to Los Angeles emits the same amount of carbon as heating a two bedroom house for a year (two tonnes) and double the emissions from electricity (one tonne). Every kg of carbon saved over the coming decades counts. Keeping the lights on will also rely on demand reduction and energy efficiency, all of us using the minimum energy to achieve the same productivity, a concept known as "energy efficiency". The scale of the environmental challenge The environmental imbalance caused by burning fossil fuels is far too big for individuals to correct. Only Governments can decarbonise the electricity grid and raise investment to build carbon capture and new nuclear plants which deliver electricity without carbon. But we are, individually, directly responsible for our own added carbon emissions, We can take action as individuals, and as communities, to save and become energy efficient, even generating our own low carbon heat or power. Without our individual actions, the carbon reduction targets we need will remain out of reach. Why we all need to get involved Governments urgently need us all to contribute more - due to the scale of this huge challenge. But the challenge is complex due to the high cost of some train travel versus car travel and heat currently being carbon intensive and with no clearly easy alternatives. Project Sunday We believe that Christians should be helping to lead the way. By devoting free time on Sundays to properly examining our lifestyle and easy changes to becoming more energy literate, by creating a personal carbon reduction plan and by sharing this information with others, we are acting as 'good stewards'. The many benefits can start flowing and not just to the natural world but to our pcckets. Energy is not cheap and using less energy, or more energy efficient tools, will save us taxed income. Benefits We can save hundreds of pounds a year though gaining valuable understanding about energy. Another benefit is a sense of doing something for others and future generations to correct the impact of our affluent, wasteful Western lifestyles. Many feel this as a moral duty - but they do not know where to start. The purpose of this website is to describe the journey to a lower carbon footprint, step by step. Taking action need not take place on Sundays, but as in all good projects, initial planning and monitoring can. A more restful Sunday is a good time for doing this. First steps towards low carbon transition The first step is estimating our own carbon footprint. This will help us understand energy better and identify whether we are high, medium or low energy users. If you have to fly long haul often, for work purposes, we would still encourage you to get involved and treat these flights as the responsibility of your employer. |
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