On 31st July, Geoff Stratford from Lincoln enlightened an assembled chancel full of Horncastle people about the reasons why the climate is changing and the effects that this is likely to have on our lives.
His lively talk was illustrated with graphs and illustrations from the Meteorological Office that showed how our industrial society emits greenhouse gases that trap the warmth around the planet as if it is wearing an extra fleece. 11 of the last 12 years have ranked among the 12 warmest years since records began in 1850.
Melting of ice caps, rise in sea levels and increasingly chaotic and strong weather patterns: floods, hurricanes, water- shortages etc are just a few of the worrying impacts that climate change is likely to have.
This is all very gloomy but there are many groups of people working to make our world a better place before time runs out. Two of them: Tearfund and Christian Aid, are run by Christians and along with other international organisations are calling on governments to ensure legislation to decrease emissions is taken at Copenhagen in December. This follow up to the Kyoto Protocol is a crucial international meeting and the more people can show they care, the more hope there is to mitigate the worst extremes of climate change. Call in the office at St Mary’s to get a copy of the Tearfund publication to find out how you can make a difference and copies of the Christian Aid Pledge in the Countdown to Copenhagen. Or visit Tearfund and Christian Aid.
Governments tend to consider themselves hamstrung by the financial considerations of business economics. But, if all us ordinary people get together, we have a much greater chance of persuading them to act.
