Chapter 6

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#669999" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Cherishing the  Earth</B><B>    </B></FONT><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cherishing the Earth"><U><B>home</B></U></A><B>      </B></div> <div> by Martin J Hodson and Margot R Hodson<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       </B></FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=175 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="052afc00egerdp.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="synopsis.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Book synopsis"><U><B>Book synopsis</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="aboutus.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About us"><U><B>About us</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="biblestudies.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bible studies"><U><B>Bible studies</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="commendations.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Commendations"><U><B>Commendations</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="upcoming.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Upcoming Events"><U><B>Upcoming Events</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="reviews.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reviews"><U><B>Reviews</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="howtobuy.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How to buy"><U><B>How to buy</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Chapter 6</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="05e93e50.jpg" border=0 width="147" height="229" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Chapter 6- Individuals can make a difference</B></div> <bR> <div> In this chapter we concentrate on how we can develop a sustainable lifestyle. We consider housing, transport, food and consumerism. We look at the incarnation as evidence of God’s commitment to our material world, and consider the Sermon on the Mount as a guide to modern life. We conclude that to live by the teaching of Jesus today, we need to seek to simplify our lifestyles. As we do this we will become salt and light to those around us.</div> <div> <A HREF="chapter5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 5"><U>Back to Chapter 5</U></A>                <A HREF="chapter7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chapter 7"><U>Forward to Chapter 7</U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> <B>UPDATE 1- Ecohouse</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="0b993c40.jpg" border=0 width="147" height="196" ALT="Averil's ecohouse nearing completion" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"></div> <bR> <div> One of the stories we featured in Chapter 6 was Averil Stedeford's <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.sageoxford.org.uk/ecohouse.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sageoxford.org.uk/ecohouse.ht"><U><U>Ecohouse</U></U></A></FONT>. On Sunday 30th December 2007 Averil appeared on a <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/songsofpraise/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes"><U><U>BBC Songs of Praise</U></U></A></FONT> programme entitled <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/songsofpraise/factsheets/20071230.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes"><U><U>Change One Thing</U></U></A></FONT>. The presenter, Pam Rhodes, met people who were setting out to make a difference in 2008 by changing just one thing. Averil was a star! The eagle-eyed amongst you may also have spotted several <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#00FF00" FACE="Arial" ><B>Sage</B></FONT> members who were filmed as "extras" holding a prayer meeting (Martin & Margot Hodson, Kaihsu Tai and Jennifer Gunraj who prayed). Well done Averil.</div> <div> In June 2008 the project is almost complete, and the last lot of photos have now been uploaded at: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.sageoxford.org.uk/ecohouseg/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sageoxford.org.uk/ecohouseg/i"><U>Ecohouse- work completed!</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0e4936e0.jpg" border=0 width="147" height="110" ALT="BBQ" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF3300" FACE="Arial" ><B>UPDATE 2- Food</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> We also covered food in this chapter and looked at both "organic" and "local" options. One of the real problems we found was in deciding between the two, as much organic produce travels considerable distances, and many "food miles". The Soil Association, the guardian of organic standards in the UK, are also aware of this problem. In October 2007, they announced  plans for new standards that producers would have to meet for their imports to continue to be certified "organic" if they were air-freighted. The BBC Food Matters site has a useful update on <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matters/organicfood.shtml" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matters/o"><U>Organic Food</U></A></FONT>.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/7185786.stm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/notti"><U>Demand soars for apples and pears</U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > - interesting article from the BBC suggesting that there has been a big increase in demand for British apples. The reason appears to be that the British shopper is wanting more from local sources, and are refusing to buy imports. Another example showing that consumers can have a real impact!</FONT></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0e693c40.jpg" border=0 width="147" height="196" ALT="Freeway, Pismo Beach, California, USA" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10"><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FF3300" FACE="Arial" ><B>UPDATE 3- Personal Transport</B></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Transport options at a personal level were also considered in this chapter. We are fully aware that reducing car mileage will be easier for some people than others. Living in Oxford, UK, it is relatively easy to do without a car for most of the time, but if we were living in more rural parts of this country it would be MUCH more difficult. But we have relatives and friends living in the United States- what do they do?? It has always seemed to us almost impossible to survive without a car there, but at least one person is trying:</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >Chris Balish wrote </FONT><A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Well-Without-Owning/dp/1580087574/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200236577&sr=8-1" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Well-With"><U><I>How to Live Well Without Owning a Car</I></U></A><A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Well-Without-Owning/dp/1580087574/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200236577&sr=8-1" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Well-With"><U> </U></A><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >(Ten Speed Press, 2006). Lots of useful advice for how to live in the States without a car. Not everyone will want to go the whole way, but you could always keep the car and use some of the advice to considerably reduce your mileage.</FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ________________________________________________________________________</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Web Links to Resources used in this Chapter</B></div> <bR> <div> For Averil Stedeford's ecohouse: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.sageoxford.org.uk/ecohouse.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.sageoxford.org.uk/ecohouse.ht"><U>www.sageoxford.org.uk/ecohouse.htm</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> The LOAF Food Campaign is on the Christian Ecology Link web site:  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/loaf.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.christian-ecology.org.uk/loaf"><U>www.christian-ecology.org.uk/loaf.htm</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="0bf93c40.jpg" border=0 width="147" height="196" ALT="Extension work under way" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="10">The Food Standards Agency, UK: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.food.gov.uk/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.food.gov.uk/"><U>www.food.gov.uk/</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> The Soil Association web site:  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.soilassociation.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.soilassociation.org/"><U>www.soilassociation.org/</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Porritt, J. (2007) Banana drama. Declining oil reserves will impact hugely on energy prices and the way we eat and farm. Is Britain ready for a new agri-culture? The Guardian. Wednesday January 24, 2007. Also available at: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://environment.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,1997432,00.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://environment.guardian.co.uk/food/s"><U>http://environment.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,1997432,00.html</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> The Asian Rural Institute: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.ari-edu.org/english/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.ari-edu.org/english/index.htm"><U>www.ari-edu.org/english/index.html</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >The Gleneagles G8 report, section 23 (e) at: </FONT> <A HREF="http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/PostG8_Gleneagles_Africa,0.pdf" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/PostG8"><U>www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/PostG8_Gleneagles_Africa,0.pdf</U></A></div> <bR> <div> Stewarding the Earth's Resources: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.earthresources.org.uk/index.php" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.earthresources.org.uk/index.p"><U>www.earthresources.org.uk/index.php</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Freecycle:  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.freecycle.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.freecycle.org/"><U>www.freecycle.org/</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Växjö diocese in Sweden and Oxford Diocese twinned in 2003: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/vaxjostift" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/vaxjostift"><U>www.svenskakyrkan.se/vaxjostift</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Worldwatch Institute: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.worldwatch.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.worldwatch.org/"><U>www.worldwatch.org/</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Smith, D. (2007) Stop shopping ... or the planet will go pop. The Observer. Sunday April 8, 2007. Also available at: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2052490,00.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/s"><U>http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2052490,00.html</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Living Lightly 24:1- <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.livinglightly24-1.org.uk" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.livinglightly24-1.org.uk"><U>www.livinglightly24-1.org.uk</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>