Eco-Congregation Ireland was delighted to take part in the fourth Climate Conversation – ‘Prophetic Voices’ -that took place in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, on 20th April. The event explored how spirituality and faith can help to rebuild a deeper connection and appreciation of nature, bringing together people from different faith and spiritual traditions and individuals from different generations charting their own path in response to climate justice.
The keynote speaker was Fr Seán McDonagh who talked about the urgency to take action to prevent runaway climate change. He said: “We are facing a real crisis; we need to have the courage to take decisions right now.”
Other speakers included Natasha Harty of Cork Quaker Meeting who, speaking on behalf of Eco-Congregation Ireland, talked about the practical steps she is taking to live a sustainable lifestyle, including growing her own vegetables, which she sells to people in her neighbourhood. She also talked about how she makes biochar -charcoal made by burning woody materials without oxygen – which she believes can help control climate change. Biochar, which makes a great compost, also acts as a carbon sink: when it is buried in the soil, the carbon in it is locked away safely for over 1,000 years. Biochar could therefore help reduce our dangerously high global CO2 levels.
You can watch a video of the ‘Prophetic Voices’ event here.
The full text of Natasha’s talk follows here:
Eco-Congregation was initially set up by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and it encourages environmental awareness and actions in churches. I used to be the Quaker representative to the ECI Committee, but these days I only get called in now and again to help with an environmental assessment of a parish or diocese, or to give a talk at an event like this.
I have been asked tonight to speak to three questions:
1. Why is acting on Climate Change important to me?
2. What are my aims and how do I feel about it?
3. What are my hopes for Climate Change in the Future?
I am going to leave those questions for the moment and start by telling you a little about what I think are some of the important things that I am doing.
Firstly, I am convinced that for most people the most efficient way to live sustainably is within our own local community. With that in mind my husband and I have hens, ducks and a vegetable garden. In selling our eggs and our vegetables from our door we are demonstrating very clearly to our neighbours that not all of our food needs to come from the supermarket. We are getting to know and be known by our neighbours. On my veg round in the new houses I am the one who ends up introducing neighbours to each other.
Secondly I am involved with Cork Lets, the Cork county-wide local currency. My Lets vegetable sales pay for gardening, the making up of our composting loo and bits and pieces from the Cork Lets market. It is my conviction that local currency, if embraced, has huge potential for meaningful occupation for people and a much better and more rewarding lifestyle.
The third thing I do on the Climate Change front is make and promote biochar. Biochar, ground up charcoal, can make two blades of grass grow where one grew before and it has the potential to make deserts bloom. It also very efficiently locks up carbon long-term in the soil.
In a nutshell, biochar is virtually pure carbon in a very stable form. Dig it into the soil and it will stay there! The tiny crevices and holes in biochar are a habitat for the microscopic beneficial microbes that are good for the soil, bringing it to life and making the nutrients more available to the plants. The microbes live in the biochar safe from their predators, too large to follow them.
To go back to my questions, why is acting on Climate Change important to me?
I am a Quaker and a committed Christian. We are told that the two great commandments are ‘to love God with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength’, and ‘to love your neighbour as yourself’
For me, acting on Climate Change is a no-brainer. I see loving God as minding His creation.
Loving my neighbour means looking out for them, reducing my own carbon emissions and doing what I can to reduce the risks not only to myself and my neighbours, but also to our global neighbours. The peoples of the great deltas and low-lying islands as they face the risk of annihilation by storms and rising tides and the peoples of the deserts who face drought and the millions who depend on the great glacier-fed rivers for their water.
From our Quaker tradition our founder, George Fox, exhorted us to be patterns, be examples in all countries, wherever we go that our carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people.
I hope that by attempting to live sustainably I might be an inspiration to others
In my quest for sustainability I have stumbled on great help and inspiration.
Most practically, my son Feidhlim gave me a subscription to Permaculture magazine: a magazine jam-packed with ideas for sustainable and low carbon living.
For a very short while Cork City had a Transition Town group. They hosted some inspiring speakers:
Nicole Foss spoke on surviving scarcer oil. She said take control of the essential things you need for survival. Invest in tools and skills. Make sure you have some source of local food, adequate shelter, and local fuel such as wood for heating and cooking.
Vinay Gupta urged us to build up and strengthen our local communities, get our networks up and running, put our local currency in place, so that when the government begins to fail, we will be ready to step in and take over the jobs that they can no longer do
I found these speakers most empowering. Suddenly my feelings of helplessness were lifted. I had things to do!
A third most wonderful speaker,Alastair McIntosh, Scottish Quaker and philosopher, was introduced to me by the teaching order, the Sisters of St. Louis.
Alastair spoke of community. He spoke of his life as a boy on the Isle of Lewis, fishing, hunting, farming, working with hands and body, enjoying ‘authentic fitness’ and education for life. He was critical of modern education, with its main emphasis on the intellect. He spoke of a visit to a remote tribal village in Papua New Guinea, welcomed with the words “Welcome to the University, the Village, the University of Life.”
He spoke of regeneration of community, remembering, re-visioning, reclaiming, re-connecting people with each other and with the elements. Creating a sense of belonging, re-establishing a culture of old-fashioned Christian generosity, re-kindling community.
What are my Climate Change hopes for the future?
I hope that we can learn and learn quickly how to do the right things and make the right decisions for a stable carbon future.
I hope there will be more people like Bill Laio of WeForest who has started planting a green belt across the Southern Sahara, already improving local climate where trees are growing. And Mary Robinson working tirelessly for Climate Justice.
I hope there will be more communities working towards local sustainability – many already have Green Schools. They could build on that with local food projects, local energy generation, efficient well-insulated housing, sustainable transport and a local fuel supply.
I would like to see strong well-informed Government leadership, with ambitious climate targets with sensible, supporting climate legislation.
I long for good Climate Change Governance.