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Bury Christian Justice & Peace Group's Display

The Bury Christian Justice & Peace Group is an ecumenical group in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. We have been working for peace continuously for more than 30 years, taking on a range of activities including local demonstrations, vigils, letter writing and talks. We number about a dozen, now long in the tooth. We regard global warming as a justice issue because it is the poor who will suffer first from its effects. We have created a display (pictured below) that looks at the causes and effects of global warming but majors on what individual people can do about it. It is going round the local churches, staying for two weeks in each one. So far seven have booked it and I expect some more to do so.

Martin Tilley

Small Actions that Can Be Taken (we have got to get serious, particularly in light of this survey):

1.     Do not leave equipment on standby. Would you watch a tap dribbling and not turn it off?

2.        Switch off your car engine when you stop for more than a few seconds. It's a very expensive and wasteful means of keeping cool or warm. The car will start again.

3.     Fit low energy light bulbs wherever you can. You have to get used to a new shape but they last for years and are much, much cheaper to run.

4.     Don't turn up the thermostat when it gets a bit colder. Instead put on a jumper so that you can turn the thermostat down.

Actions that Require More Effort

5.     Fit a reflective sheet behind radiators. You don't want the heat going into the garden. DIY stores normally stock them.

6.     Switch to an electricity supplier which uses renewable energy sources. e.g. Ecotricity. It won't save you money but it will help to save the planet.

7.     Walking and cycling are beneficial. You just need to change your mindset and buy a bike (perhaps second-hand). Walking and cycling save money and oil, reduce pollution and  global warming and improve health. Wow!

8.     You need to use the car sometimes but forward plan and do several things on each journey. In other words, make fewer journeys.

Bigger Actions

9.      Plan journeys and change your mindset so that you can travel at 60mph instead of 70mph. on the motorway. It saves fuel and CO2.

10.    Thinking of changing your car? Consider very seriously what the replacement should be. Hybrid cars (electric/petrol) are very fuel efficient and low polluting. Fill up with petrol and a computer does the rest. Find out about the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Ima.

11.    Solar panels will give you hot water throughout the summer and warm up your water in the winter. They save a lot on fuel bills. Expensive and a long-term investment but it needs to be done nationwide.

12.    Flights produce prodigious amounts of CO2. If you fly, donate to a charity that plants trees or gives solar panels to poor countries (e.g. http://www.carbonneutral.com).

These are only some examples of what can be done. Keep searching.

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