Beef and the environment

Why going meatless saves the Earth. Michael Bluejay offers some reasons for becoming a vegan. Charts show how much fuel, water and land it takes to make one calorie of of protein from various foods.

This chart shows the calories of fossil fuel used to make 1 calorie of protein for various feeds:




Read more here.

Earth Hour

World Wildlife Fund is sponsoring Earth Hour around the world. According to a press release:

With less than a week to go, participation in Earth Hour has grown dramatically as nearly 200 cities, including 35 in the U.S., join millions of individuals and businesses around the world in turning off their lights on Saturday, March 29th from 8 – 9 pm local time in a dramatic symbolic gesture in support for action on climate change.

Find out more here.

Christian Science Monitor reports plans in Chicago:

Guests at the Inn of Chicago on the city's Magnificent Mile will walk into a darkened, candle-lit lobby. And when they look out at the iconic skyline, it will look different: the Sears Tower, the Hancock Building, the Ferris wheel on Navy Pier, and some 200 downtown buildings plan to turn out the lights at 8 p.m.

It's all part of "Earth Hour," an international climate-change awareness campaign that started last year in Sydney, Australia and that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is taking global this year. Starting in New Zealand, and rolling out through dozens of cities, including Bangkok, Thailand; Dublin, Ireland; and Tel Aviv; the campaign is urging individuals, businesses, and landmarks to go dark between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Read more here.

Healing Our Planet Earth

Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12, a national Episcopal conference seeks to engage the Church in understanding and actively addressing the crisis of climate change. While this conference is hosted by Episcopalians, it welcomes participants from other denominations and faith traditions.

“The crisis of climate change presents an unprecedented challenge to the goodness,interconnectedness and sanctity of the world that God created and loved." Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

“Ultimately, the control of climate change and the welfare of the environment is an issue of survival for everybody. It’s not a question that can be addressed by one society alone, by one religious tradition alone, by one state alone; it’s something that demands collaboration…. So the challenge that faith communities in particular face at the moment is the challenge of holding up before our governments and our societies, a clear moral vision.” Archbishop Rowan Williams

Now is the time to step forward as people of faith - all faiths - to address the crisis of global climate change. We invite you to join others from around the nation to learn how we can "get the word out" and join in a covenant to make a difference.


Watch Bp. Charleston's Sermon on the Genesis Covenant at Washington National Cathedral on February 24, 2008


Major Presenters
Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori is the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA. In addition to her theological expertise she has a Ph. D. in oceanography and worked for NOAA for twenty years.

Dr. Steven Charleston is President of the Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA. Prior to this position he served as the Episcopal Bishop of Alaska. He is a Native American elder.

Dr. Sallie McFague is a Distinguished Theologian in Residence at Vancouver School of Theology, in Vancouver, B.C. Prior to that she was Professor of Theology at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. She has written extensively on environmental theology.

More information on The Genesis Covenant here.

To register for the conference Click here.

How it all ends

YouTube Video Series Leads Global Warming Discussion

By Holly Van Woerkom, BYU Newsnet, February 19, 2008.

Exploding balloons and test tubes? Check. Average-looking guy with a funny hat? Check. Low-tech filming techniques? Check. These elements included in the… video How It All Ends [10 min] may have contributed to its extreme popularity among YouTube viewers. But unlike other YouTube sensations, which are typically anything but thought provoking, this is a video with a cause - its creator hopes to change public opinion on global climate change. Oregon high school teacher Greg Craven's quest to spark discussion about global climate change began in August 2007, when he posted a video on YouTube.com called The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See [9 1/2 sec] which quickly gained more than 3 million hits in its first six months. After thousands of comments and criticisms from viewers, Craven created the equally successful How It All Ends, part of a 44-part, six hour expansion pack, which he says 'answers every single objection or question to my argument that I've come across to date.'

Listen to the Wombat

Carbon Fast for Lent

Episcopal Cafe has a proposal for a greener Lent.
By James Jones

Traditionally people have given up things for Lent. Last year in the Diocese of Liverpool many parishes took part in a Carbon Fast. Through it we were able to focus on God’s Earth and its poorest people in whom, Jesus said, we were to find him.

This year, in Lent 2008, we invite as many as can to join us in a Carbon Fast.

Suggestions for the first week:

Ash Wednesday: Remove one light bulb (without inviting danger).

Thursday: Check your house for draughts with a ribbon or feather. If it flutters, buy a draught excluder.

Friday: Whatever mode of transport you usually use, try to make at least one of your journeys more environmentally friendly.

Saturday: Consider whether or not you’re using all available avenues for recycling (don’t forget that charity shops play a valuable role).

Week 2

Sunday: Find the most environmentally friendly way you can to get to church today (e.g. walk, bike, car share).

Monday: Turn your central heating thermostat down by one degree. If you have separate thermostats on radiators, adjust them to suit the use of the room.

Tuesday: Check that all electrical equipment is switched off rather than on standby when not in use. Screen savers do not save electricity.

Wednesday: As chocolate is still on the menu this Lent, be sure to reward yourself with Fair trade chocolate.

Thursday: Ensure your mobile phone charger is unplugged when not in use.

Friday: Plan your menu for next week and buy only enough food to avoid waste.

Saturday: When shopping, employ the LOAF principle – that is buy Locally produced, Organic, Animal friendly, and Fairly traded goods.

All six weeks here.

More resources here.

No impact man

A guilty liberal finally snaps, swears off plastic, goes organic, becomes a bicycle nut, turns off his power, composts his poop and, while living in New York City, generally turns into a tree-hugging lunatic who tries to save the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his baby daughter and Prada-wearing, Four Seasons-loving wife along for the ride.

So says No Impact Man at his blog. Lots of links and ideas for going green.