Scottish and Bangladeshi churches team up on climate change | Christian News on Christian Today

Have a look at the write-up on Christian Today about the work that the church of scotland and the Bangladeshi church are doing in the area of climate change. the full report will be available shortly on the Eco-Congregation Scotland website and the Church of Scotland website as well.

Scottish and Bangladeshi churches team up on climate change Christian News on Christian Today

Artwork against Hunterston Power Station

Subject: Sand art event on Irvine beach, Monday, September 27th, 9am - 2.30pm


Hi all,
We're excited to announce that  Monday 27th September,  renowned sand artist Jamie Wardley will be creating a massive work of art on Irvine beach in North Ayrshire as part of the Say No To Hunterston Power Station campaign.

The event will run all morning, but if you want to see Jamie's picture, you'd better be quick! It'll be finished by 11am, and almost immediately, the tide will start to reclaim it. It will all be gone by about 2.30pm.

If you'd like to come along, either to watch or to help out, you are very welcome. Volunteers are needed on Irvine beach from 8am to help Jamie draw the picture (just reply to this message to let us know you'd like to help), or you could get creative and take part in the sand art competition.  If you're coming along, you can write your own name in the picture. If you cannot come but would still like to take part, join campaign against Hunterston on Facebook. you will soon receive an invitation and instructions, to get your name written in the sand as part of the artwork!

Hope to see you there...

The development of the "Green Fund"

Mexico will host in November of this year an annual UN climate meeting. This is one of the meetings scheduled as a result of the minimalist accord reached in Copenhagen which stated that deep cuts in global emissions will be required to maintain global temperatures below 2 degrees centigrate. The Copenhagen Accord stated that countries would take action in reducing their emmissions, but did not provide any teeth to enforce such cuts. On September 3rd, 50 countries started moving towards the development of a "Green Fund" to finance activities within developing countries to fight the impacts of global warming. Estimates of financing circle around $100 billion a year from 2020 onwards;  however as European countries tackle austerity programmes, the sums pledged are far smaller and there seems to be a move away from speaking about public funding, and instead address the issue through private funding via selling bonds in global capital markets. the International Monetary Fund has been involved in presenting proposals for the development of such a fund.

Who is Who in Climate Change?

Professor Steve Yearley, Director of the ESRC Genomics Policy & Research Forum, and a member of Edinburgh University's staff has been invited to serve as an international adviser to the American Sociological Association's ‘Task Force on Sociology and Global Climate Change’. The Task Force was established in February 2010 to produce a report applying a sociological analysis to the issue of climate change. prof. yearlye is the author of numerous books on climate change and sociology most notably Sociology, Environmentalism, Globalization which focuses on the construction of the global environment as a topic for campaigning. Using detailed analyses of the global impacts of climate change and ozone depletion, Steve shows how the "global-ness" of environmental problems is made, contested and resolved. He analyses the politics of the use of the 'global' label and shows how the recognition of global environmental problems is the outcome of diplomatic, scientific and economic struggles. One of his other books, The Green Case: A Sociology of Environmental Arguments, Issues and Politics provides a comprehensive and objective account of the basis of "green" arguments and their social and political implications.

World Water Week

World Water Week met in Stockholm from the 5th to the 11th of September. The conference was organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). The conference addresses issues related to water management, water pollution and climate change. Lack of water and sanitation is a main cause of poverty, therefore it is extremely important to address issues of water provision and sanitation, particularly in developing countries. Water management is also crucial to address issues of hunger. If more land gets flooded, there is far less opportunity to farm and harvest. It is therefore crucial to address water management issues when speaking about climate change.

In this year's conference the issue of water pollution was in focus. Apparently over 70% of industrialised waste is still being pupmed into rivers in developed countries and 2 million tonnes of human waste are dumped into watercourses worldwide every day. The pollution in our water sources is on the increase. According to SIWI there is an "invisible threat" of nano particles, chemiclas and pharmaceutical residues enter our sewage system. These pollutants can be linked to health problems in fish as well as humans. Read more about it in the EuroActiv website.

The Climate Change Debate: uncertain climate

Have you ever wondered on the role that the media has played on the climate change debate. BBC Radio 4 has been running a very interesting programme on the subject. the series is hosted by Roger Harrabin, environmental analyst of the BBC.  The series touches not just on the role of the media, but also on the scientific debate. It is worth listening to it. You can listen again by clicking here

Consumers in dark as light bulb phase-out continues | EurActiv

Consumers in dark as light bulb phase-out continues EurActiv

Everyone has been experiencing the phase out of non-efficient energy light bulbs. But do you know what to do with them? Do we just throw them away? do we place them with glass? This article presents some of the issues behind the disposable of these items.