Recently watched The End of the Line, which is currently available in the UK on More4 using  4 On Demand (The End of the Line – 4oD – Channel 4) and soon to be out on DVD.

It is an incredible story about the shocking decline in global fish stocks – sadly not a film about what might happen in the future, but what has happened already… well worth watching.

The film asks that consumers should choose only sustainable seafood – which means, first and foremost, that they agree to avoid eating actively endangered species, for example, the bluefin and bigeye tunas and the common skate. Details of what to do in restaurants here and when buying fish here.

Rowan Williams is in the news this week talking about the climate crisis and our human dignity and spirituality, and our connection to the earth’s rhythms. It comes as he gave the Operation Noah lecture last night, which I’m sure will be available  online soon:

“If I ask what’s the point of my undertaking a modest amount of recycling my rubbish or scaling down my air travel, the answer is not that this will unquestionably save the world within six months, but in the first place it’s a step towards liberation from a cycle of behaviour that is keeping me, indeed most of us, in a dangerous state — dangerous, that is, to our human dignity and self-respect.”

via Dr Rowan Williams says climate crisis a chance to become human again – The Guardian.

He said that Britain had to get back in touch with the “natural rhythms of the seasons … the fact that the Earth turns, things grow here and not there, now and not then”. He added: “More people ought to have allotments. It’s part of reconnecting — the sense of connectedness to natural processes.”

via Dr Rowan Williams: ‘Dig for victory over climate change and grow your own food’ – Times Online.

I first saw the Earth from the Air photograph exhibition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand years ago at the Natural History Museum in London and it was, and still is, fantastic. His photography is breathtaking and inspirational – and the exhibition has always had at its core a goal of inspiring people to act on what they see… Well he has recently released a film that brings his distinctive style of photography to the big screen.

Exploring the miracle and mystery of the earth the film looks at the beauty of the earth and all its creatures… and follows the story of humans short presence on the earth, both our creative use and mindless destruction. Just like his photograph exhibition the film weaves history and facts through story with a back drop of amazing photography. The film producers say:

We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth’s climate.

The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.

There are a few films out at the moment that bring the environmental impact of humans on the earth to life, and which hope to call us all to action ahead of the Copenhagen climate talks in December (the follow up to Kyoto)… Age of Stupid being another I saw recently (more of which I will blog about soon)… but with the Home film you can currently watch the whole thing for free (until 17th July) on youtube: Home – Youtube minisite. If you miss it on youtube I think the DVD will be out soon after: Home Film website.

Watch it whilst you can… no in fact don’t just watch it, lets respond to it and take our part in our collective responsibility to humanity and the earth.

The CMS Crowther Centre regularly welcomes experienced mission thinkers and practitioners to help reflection and learning… and one of the things the community house we are part of will be doing is hosting these thinkers – known as the missiologist in residence…

The first such missiologist to join us will be Rene Padilla (‘South American author and pastor, who is one of the most influential voices in the rediscovery of the radical nature of Christ’s call to transform lives and society’)… As part of Rene’s time in the UK CMS is hosting two events:

Enough is enough revisited: In a global community, how do Christians define and live “enough”?

Firstly the CMS Crowther Centre & Christian Concern for One World are hosting a day in October with him and others to explore how we live justly in a world of plenty. I’ll miss it but I’m sure it will be great… details below:

Saturday 25 Oct – 10am – 3.30pm at CMS, Watlington Rd Oxford OX4 6BZ

• A Theology of Enough Rene Padilla – Former International President of Tearfund
• Seminars on: Community – Jenny McIntosh, Pastor and counsellor, co-founder of Spirited Exchanges NZ; Patrick Mukholi – CMS mission partner from Kenya working in the UK with young people; Food – Mike Rayner, Director of the British Heart Foundation Health Research Group, Oxford University; Travel – Jo Rathbone, National Co-ordinator for England, Eco-Congregation; Creation – Dave Bookless, National Director, A Rocha UK
• A Theology of Flourishing by Sabine Alkire – Director, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative

£8. Concession £6. Lunch included 12.30 – 1.15pm

Find out more and book here.

Tomorrow’s World Weekend

An opportunity to meet and hear Rene Padilla as part of a residential weekend for 20-40 year olds, 21-23 November 2008 at Windmill Farm in Oxfordshire.

The weekend costs £99 for ‘early bird’ bookings (before 30 September) or £120 (from 1 October). Find out more here.

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.

The Story of Stuff is a great little film about consumption and our involvement… potentially a good discussion starter on sustainable living for groups…

A few people have asked me recently about where we get our fruit and veg from… so I thought it was time I mentioned the delights of Riverford Organic deliveries, especially when I noticed that this week they have announced that they now deliver, through local farms, to most of England and south Wales.

We used to live near the mother Riverford farm in Devon and so when we moved to Oxford were keen to see if we could reinstate our deliveries – their sister Upper Norton farm covers Oxford and the south…

It’s organic, it’s fresh and it’s local… and good value… personally I wouldn’t choose to put anything else in my body… and it means that we very rarely have to visit a supermarket, as with a weekly delivery and a local Co-op means we can avoid the temptations of the super-hyped world of Tesco et al. They also do meat, dairy and a host of extra’s.

You can now get paid (in vouchers) for taking old M&S to your local Oxfam shop… find out more – although you’ve gotta shop at M&S first to make that one work… anyone?

“Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world’s scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.”

So say the makers of An Inconvenient Truth – a new film following former US Vice President Al Gore as he tours the world in a bid to alert people to the imminent dangers of climate change. The film hasn’t made it to Zambia yet, but is now showing in UK cinema’s, and by all accounts is accessible and entertaining -arguing that global warming is not just about science, nor is it just a political issue: it is a moral issue and we all have a responsibility to do something about it.

If you want to do something about it…. Tearfund is campaigning on climate change and part of the Stop Climate Chaos coalition which is planning a huge rally in London’s Trafalgar Square – the I Count rally will take place on Saturday 4 November from 1-3pm in case you can go.

Thought you might like to know about the Generous project – which I first came across at the Greenbelt festival. It is a growing community of people who commit to making small changes in our everyday lives to look after our planet and its people. You can sign up as a household – and share wisdom and learn from others mistakes. At the beginning of each month new actions are highlighted, which you can then sign-up to doing.