What is JAEI?

JAEI has been formed to:

• an awareness among Johannesburg Anglican Christians of environmental concerns
• Encourage parish environmental projects
• Develop the concept of the eco-congregation among parishes
• Network widely with all groups concerned with sustainable development and environmental issues
• Be a resource to the Christian community in terms of environmental issues
• Encourage environmental education
• Develop position papers on major environmental issues to serve as guidelines for theological reflection and diocesan advocacy

JAEI falls under the auspices of the Diocesan Social Responsibility Portfolio (DSRT).

JAEI Steering Committee
At present, JAEI consists of a steering committee and several portfolios, such as Eco-congregations, Theology and Ethics, Eco-breakfasts and Spirituality and Liturgy. The advisory and consultative groups consist of a network of associate and permanent members representing various fields of expertise and experience in environmental matters.

Networking
Many groups, parishes and individuals within the diocese are already involved in environmental projects, e.g. peace gardens, organic farming, use of environmental liturgies, interest groups and outings, waste management and energy saving practices. JAEI would like to be both a further resource to some of these projects and also a network hub where people can share their projects with others.

NEWS & EVENTS

Events   (> Jump to News <)

St Martins Water Wise Picnic
St Martins-in-the-Veld is hosting a water wise picnic at Emmarentia Dam on 15 November. The event starts at 11am, and attendees are invited to bring their families and friends along.

Rand Water has agreed to run a range of children's activities on the day, focusing on the water conservation theme, and a speaker from SRK Consulting will be giving a talk on the status of South Africa's water, wetland preservation and water wise solutions / conservation. Both the talk and the children's activities will commence at 11am. Families are invited to bring a picnic along and to enjoy a picnic lunch after the talk, on the lawns next to the water.

> read more <

Eco-congregations share their experiences
A valuable learning and reflection opportunity

Representatives of all parishes in the Johannesburg Diocese are invited to JAEI's second eco-congregations sharing and learning event. You do not have to be registered eco-congregations in order to attend

Several parishes have recently become eco-congregations or have expressed interest. We encourage all parishes who might be interested in becoming eco-congregations to attend.

This is an opportunity for us all to reflect on progress, to share what we have learned and to learn more for the journey ahead.

> read report <

• When: Saturday 27th September, 9am.
• Where: St Michael and All Angels, 1123 Cornelius Street, Weltevreden Park
• RSVP: St Michael's, 011 475 1314, office@stmikes.org.za

Past Events   (> Jump to News <)

Eco-congregations share their experiences
A valuable learning and reflection opportunity


Participants at an Eco-congregations sharing and learning workshop held on 21 June 2008 at St Catherine's, Bramley

Representatives of all parishes in the Johannesburg Diocese are invited to JAEI's first eco-congregations sharing and learning event. You do not have to be registered eco-congregations in order to attend

Four parishes were 'pilot' eco-congregations during 2007 and others have recently become eco-congregations or have expressed interest. Beyond these existing groups we encourage all parishes who might be interested in becoming eco-congregations to attend.

This is an opportunity for us all to reflect on progress, to share what we have learned and to learn more for the journey ahead.

• When: Saturday 21st June, 10am to 2pm.
• Where: St Catherine's, 62 Dalene Road, Bramley
• RSVP: Alistair Clacherty, 083-300-3719, alistair@clacherty.co.za
• Catering: We will provide a light lunch as well as tea/coffee, so please do notify us so we have an idea of numbers.

Seeding Sustainable Living
The national conservancies conference in June, arranged by NACSA (National Association of Conservancies of SA).
The speakers and topics are chosen to be practical, informative and energising.
The conference is at Sizanani in Bronkhorstspruit, about an hour's drive from Joburg, half an hour from Pretoria.

If you want more details about the conference, the speakers, session times and cost, contact Mercia Komen on mkomen@nacsa.co.za. Details also on the website - www.nacsa.co.za.

> read more <

INVITATION "A Global Energy Update"
Dr John Ledger, Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Society of Southern Africa and former EWT Director will give an illustrated talk about rapidly changing perspectives on global climate, energy, biofuels and electric vehicles. With the oil price now above US $120 a barrel and possibly heading for $200, what are the prospects for future individual transport?

• Date & Time: Tuesday 10th June 2008, 18:30 for 19:00
• Venue: The Country Club Johannesburg, Napier Road, Auckland Park.
• Dress: Smart Casual
• Cost: R140.00 per EWT/CCJ member, R145.00 per non members, including supper
  R40.00 per EWT/CCJ member, R45.00 per non members, talk only.
  Prices are inclusive of vat.

Past Events   (> Jump to News <)

ENERGY EXPO
St Martin's-in-the-Veld
43 Craddock Ave, Dunkeld, Johannesburg
Sunday, 18 May 2008
08:00 - 13:00
R25 per person
R10 per pensioner
No charge for children under 12

Information, tools, tips and retailer displays ...

• Renewable energy sources
  - solar, wind, gas, kinetic devices
  - lighting, heating, cooking and other devices ...
  
• Backup power solutions
  - battery, generators, invertors ...
• Energy-saving devices
  - timer switches, light bulbs, insulation, home and office appliances ...
• Low energy usage devices
  - compressors, water heaters & coolers, air conditioners, radiators, pumps, heaters, home and office appliances.

A GREENER WALK - INVITATION FOR THE 19 OF APRIL 2008
YOU ARE INVITED TO HAVE A GREENER WALK WITHIN THE INNERCITY, JOIN US - Green House Project and Pioneers of Change - in exploring what it means to have a greener walk. As well as creative ways that will be demonstrated to put our waste to good use. Arts and crafts, Poetry, A look at the greenhouse project and we can have a look at how nature serves us. What do you love about your Earth/Environment... let's raise our consciousness around the environment in the wake of Load Shedding and the many things we see happening to our environment. The Greenhouse is happy to provide us with a light lunch from their Organic Garden.

Programme from 09:00 - 15:00

What you can bring:

• Bring us some waste either, in the form of last nights food, or plastic bottles or even paper,
• If you can: Do bring R20 - 50 to support the event and the people hosting it, it’s also for coffee and snacks
• Do bring a friend
• Wear comfortable clothes you feel comfortable in
• Do bring your most present and alert self
• Leave all your worries behind.

NATIONAL WATER WEEK/MONTH CELEBRATIONS
National Water Week is seen as a powerful awareness-raising opportunity to highlight the value of water, the need for sustainable management of this scarce resource and the role water plays in our everyday lives. It is an opportunity to become "Water Wise".

As part of their awareness-raising campaign for 2008, Rand Water, through its Water Wise Education Team and in partnership with Delta Environmental Centre, has planned a wide range of activities. The intention is to raise awareness and stimulate action-taking amongst all age groups concerning the importance of protecting our water from being wasted and polluted. We all need to become "Water Wise".

Our celebration of "water" is planned to take place from 3 March to 11 April 2008.
> read more <

28 February – Launch of Biowatch DVD - SEEDS OF CHOICE
We have completed a 15 min documentary about our approach to outreach work. We are having a launch of the documentary on Thursday, 28 February 2008 from 17h30 to about 19h30 at the TH Barry Theatre at the Iziko SA National Museum in Queen Victoria Street. SEEDS OF CHOICE will be on sale through our website (www.biowatch.org.za) and through our offices (021) 447 5939 or biowatch@mweb.co.za) after the launch at an amount R100. Free to NGOs.

20 February – Public discussion forum on pesticide control
Biowatch and UCT's School of Public Health and Family Medicine Occupational and Environmental Health Research Unit are jointly hosting this discussion.  Dr George Ekstroem, an international expert in the field, will lead the discussion.  Wednesday, 20 February 2008 at 17h00 for 17h30, Conference Room 1 & 2, Barnard Fuller Building, University of Cape Town, Medical School Campus, Anzio Road Observatory. Please RSVP to biowatch@mweb.co.za or ring Nicci on 021 447 5939 by Friday 15 February 2008.

News/notices

NECCSA Update: August 2008

1. CHURCHES MUST LEAD THE WAY ON REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS (Extract from article written by Jane Still.)
2. ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE (Extract from the Archbishop of Canterbury Concluding Presidential Address to the Lambeth Conference 2008 in the United Kingdom.)
3. BISHOPS HAVE 'NO OPTION' ON CLIMATE CHANGE (By Lambeth Daily staff reporter)
4. SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT'S CABINET AIMS TO LIMIT GLOBAL WARMING TO 2°C (Report by Harald Winkler, Associate Professor at the Energy Research Centre, UCT.)
5. GOD IS ECO-CENTRIC (An extract of Anglican Bishop Geoff Davies's sermon delivered at the Anglican Communion Lambeth Conference Environment Weekend on July 27, 2008 in the United Kingdom.)
6. AFRICAN CENTRE FOR BIOSAFETY PETITIONS AGAINST GM POTATOES

African Church Leaders' Statement on Climate Change and Water
A statement by church leaders representing National Christian Councils and Churches from the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in Southern Africa [FOCCISA] and the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great lakes and Horn of Africa [FECCLAHA] under the auspices of AACC met from 3rd - 5th June 2008 to consult on the subject of climate change and water at the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Ecumenical Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

> read more <

ECO-TWINNING
Making links between churches sharing in the planet's future.

> read more <

Climate Change and Public Health - Threats and Opportunities
World Health Day was celebrated on Monday 7th April, a date which marks the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948.

The theme this year is "Protecting Health from Climate Change", in recognition of the fact that climate change poses real and significant threats to the health of the public.

Please contact the People's Health Movement (Ms. Liz Welsh; 021 447 5770; liz@phmsouthafrica.org) for practical ideas on how to promote the theme of "Protecting Health from Climate Change" in schools, health facilities, the workplace, through the media and among the general public.

> read more <

The Pleasures of the Flesh
If you care about hunger, eat less meat.

> read more <

Energy efficiency in an imaginary megacity
Numerous energy efficient solutions are already available for use today with the potential to make considerable energy savings. These solutions are demonstrated here by presenting an imaginary megacity, incorporating real energy consumption figures for Germany as its basis. The megacity is a world champion in energy efficiency, reducing its primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by 50 per cent.

The combustion of raw materials such as coal, gas, and oil results in the emission of 26 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually. But what would happen if we used the most energy efficient technology? If we could start afresh, how much energy would an imaginary city of 10 million people require? This thought experiment leads to surprising conclusions.

Article contents:

• ENERGY REQUIREMENTS FOR AN IMAGINARY MEGACITY
• ENERGY SAVINGS IN INDUSTRY AND BUILDINGS
• ENERGY EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION
• RESOURCE EFFICIENCY IN POWER GENERATION
• ONE GAS TURBINE FOR 1.8 M INHABITANTS
• THE POTENTIAL OF HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND LIGHTING
• CONCLUSION

Vatican lists 'new sins', including pollution
Philip Pullella | Vatican City
10 March 2008 02:53

Thou shall not pollute the Earth. Thou shall beware genetic manipulation.

Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of "new" sins such as causing environmental blight.

The guidance came at the weekend when Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican's number two man in the sometimes murky area of sins and penance, spoke of modern evils.

Asked what he believed were today's "new sins," he told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the greatest danger zone for the modern soul was the largely uncharted world of bioethics.

"[Within bioethics] there are areas where we absolutely must denounce some violations of the fundamental rights of human nature through experiments and genetic manipulation whose outcome is difficult to predict and control," he said.

The Vatican opposes stem-cell research that involves destruction of embryos and has warned against the prospect of human cloning.

Girotti, in an interview headlined "New Forms of Social Sin," also listed "ecological" offences as modern evils.

In recent months, Pope Benedict has made several strong appeals for the protection of the environment, saying issues such as climate change had become gravely important for the entire human race.

Under Benedict and his predecessor John Paul, the Vatican has become progressively green.

It has installed photovoltaic cells on buildings to produce electricity and hosted a scientific conference to discuss the ramifications of global warming and climate change, widely blamed on human use of fossil fuels.

Girotti, who is number two in the Vatican "Apostolic Penitentiary," which deals with matter of conscience, also listed drug trafficking and social and economic injustices as modern sins.

But Girotti also bemoaned that fewer and fewer Catholics go to confession at all.

He pointed to a study by Milan's Catholic University that showed that up to 60% of Catholic faithful in Italy stopped going to confession.

In the sacrament of Penance, Catholics confess their sins to a priest who absolves them in God's name.

But the same study by the Catholic University showed that 3% of Italian Catholics believed that there was no need for a priest to be God's intermediary and 20% felt uncomfortable talking about their sins to another person. - Reuters

CALLING ALL CONCERNED CONSUMERS
South Africa requires GM crop permit applicants to advertise their application in at least three newspapers circulating in the area where the GM crops will be released. This is how the public - and that includes organisations like Biowatch - gets to know of a GM permit application. We don't have the resources to subscribe to all the possible newspapers in South Africa in which these adverts could appear. So, if you spot an advert for a GM application, please let us know by ringing 021 447 5939, faxing 021-447 5974 or emailing biowatch@mweb.co.za.

POLICY WATCH

• Consumer Protection Bill - It's anticipated that this bill will be introduced into Parliament in March, according to Parliament's 2008 provisional legislative programme. An early draft of the Bill called for genetically modified (GM) ingredients in food to be labelled. Subsequent drafts, however, omitted this clause. Will it be re-introduced when the bill gets to Parliament? In July 2007 Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism held a public hearing on GM food at which the issue of labelling GM ingredients in food came up repeatedly as an important means of enabling consumer choice.
• Amendment of Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations – The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism is expected to provide an update on the EIA streamlining process to Parliament's Select Committee on Land and Environment on 12 February. New EIA Regulations came into effect in July 2006.
• National Environmental Management Amendment Bill - This amended the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) of 1998 by providing for tools other than EIAs, among others. The Cabinet approved the Bill in July 2007 and Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism held public hearings on the bill in November 2007. The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy will meet jointly on 26 February to try to resolve controversial provisions in the bill related to the competent authority for EIAs in mining.

BIOWATCH COSTS APPEAL UPDATE
Biowatch is still awaiting the judgement of Judge Justice Poswa before making a decision about what its next steps will be around an order that it pay the legal costs of Monsanto South Africa (Pty) Ltd., the Minister of Agriculture, the Registrar Genetic Resources and the Executive Council for GM Organisms. In November 2007, two of the three judges who heard Biowatch's appeal in the Pretoria High Court dismissed that appeal. In the costs appeal judgment, signed by judges Fanie Mynhardt and Mpho Molopa-Sethosa, agreed that Biowatch, in its initial approach to the courts for access to information about the permitting of GM crops, had acted in the public interest, had been substantially successful in obtaining the relief it had sought and had been forced to go to court to get this relief.

Biowatch  had appealed before judges Fanie Mynhardt, Justice Poswa and Mpho Molopa-Sethosa for a withdrawal of the order that it pay the legal costs of Monsanto South Africa (Pty) Ltd. and for the statutory bodies to be ordered to pay Biowatch's legal costs. The costs order arose as a result of Biowatch's successful case for the government to provide access to information about the permitting of GM crops.

ORGANIC COTTON GETS A BOOST
Major food and clothing retailer Woolworths has committed itself to supporting locally-grown organic cotton. In January Woolworths announced it was setting up a pilot programme to source organic cotton in South Africa. The programme is a collaboration with ComMark, Cotton SA and Organic Exchange, an international charitable organisation promoting organic agriculture and the Agricultural Research Council's Institute for Industrial Crops. The three-year programme aims to develop a viable business model for organic cotton farming in South Africa.

This year it will involve pilot plots in North West, Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and the Makhathini Flats in KwaZulu Natal - where GM crops (GM cotton) first gained a foothold in South Africa. Demonstration plots in Makhathini Flats will focus on empowering small-scale farmers and research.

Woolworths is the third largest consumer of organic cotton in the world - after USA corporations Wal-Mart and Nike - and has committed to buying the crop from the pilot programme when it is harvested this year. In 2007, Woolworths used 1.8 million kilograms of organic cotton fibre and estimates that it will use about 2.2 million in 2008. But all the organic cotton they use is sourced outside South Africa.

The top 10 organic cotton-producing countries are Turkey, India, China, Syria, Peru, the USA, Uganda, Tanzania, Israel and Pakistan. Global organic cotton products earned 1 billion dollars in 2006 and estimates project a tripling of this amount by the end of 2008, according to Organic Exchange.

BIOTECH COMPANY WANTS CARBON CREDITS FOR GM CROPS
USA biotechnology company Arcadia Biosciences is planning to use money paid by green consumers to offset their flights and by companies that go carbon neutral to fund the planting of genetically modified (GM) crops. Arcadia is working with the Chinese government to reward farmers growing the company's GM rice with carbon credits which they can sell for cash. Arcadia says Its GM rice needs less nitrogen fertiliser and that farmers growing it would lower their emissions of nitrous oxide. The Chinese scheme is scheduled to be up and running by 2012. (The Guardian 8 January 2008)

INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE IS MAJOR CLIMATE CHANGE CONTRIBUTOR
More than half of all fertiliser applied to soil ends up in the atmosphere or in local waterways but agriculture has the potential to change from being one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters to a net carbon sink. So says a new report from Greenpeace International.

Solutions include reducing the use of fertilisers by applying only the amount that crops need, protecting the soil by increasing its carbon content through measures such as cover crops, improving rice production by keeping rice paddies dry out of season, adopting methods that increase yield without depending on fertilisers and cutting the demand for meat, especially in developed countries.

"The future of farming lies in agriculture that works with nature and with people, not against them. Millions of farms on all continents already prove that organic and sustainable farming can provide sufficient food, increase food security, replenish natural resources and provide a better livelihood for farmers and local communities," the report says. The report was written by Professor Pete Smith, a lead author of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and his research team at the University of Aberdeen.

SOUTH AFRICA'S CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION STUDY ALMOST COMPLETE
South Africa's long-term climate change mitigation scenario study is in its "final stretch", Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk has been reported as saying. Once the study is finalised it will be submitted to Cabinet which will use it as a reference - together with other related climate change documents - to deliberate on legislation to give effect to South Africa's policy.

MOUNTING OPPOSITION TO GM CROPS
More than 80% of consumers in the USA prefer to buy dairy products that do not contain the GM hormone rBGh (also known as rBST), surveys show. Rising consumer demand prompted Starbucks to making all its milk supply free of the GM hormone by the end of 2007, followed by USA grocery retailer Kroger and several major dairies that required their milk supplies to be free of Monsanto's GM hormone.

A report funded by the US Department of Agriculture found that 89% of Americans want mandatory labelling of food containing GM ingredients. A poll commissioned by the GM industry showed only a minority of Americans viewed GM foods in a favourable light. Since 2006, several US federal district judges have slammed the GM regulatory system in the USA and called for a halt on approvals of new GM field trials with weedkiller tolerant bentgrass until more rigorous environmental reviews are conducted and a halt to further commercial sales of GM alfalfa seeds.

About 70% of USA processed food contain GM ingredients. Like South Africa, the USA does not have mandatory labelling of GM ingredients in food. In South Africa, Monsanto was twice ordered to withdraw adverts claiming that GM food is safe. And South Africa's GM regulator turned down an application to use GM yeast in wine fermentation. A decision on a field experiment with GM grapevines is still pending.

France has introduced a ban on Monsanto's MON 810 GM maize - the only GM crop grown in that country. And European Union environment officials, having determined that two types of GM maize could harm butterflies, modify food chains and disturb life in rivers and streams, have proposed a ban on the sale of the maize seeds. Pioneer Hi-Bred, Dow Agrosciensces and Syngenta manufacture the seeds.

In Brazil, there were no GM approvals in 2007, following a federal judge ruling against the use of maize manufactured by Bayer, Monsanto and Syngenta.

Greece has extended its ban on GM maize seed for a further two years and has banned the import of GM maize. And Cyprus wants to declare itself GM-free, according to its Agriculture Minister.

Most consumers surveyed in the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou would not choose GM food (65%) and would not buy GM rice (77%). China is the world's top rice producer and has shelved proposals for commercial production of GM rice for the fourth time since 2004.

Forty-one of the world's largest rice exporters, processors and retailers have issued written commitments to stay GM-free and rice producers in the USA have called for a ban on commercial GM rice growing and all outdoor experimental planting of GM rice. This follows the major contamination incident in 2007 when an experimental and illegal strain of GM rice produced by Bayer was found in rice consignments exported from the USA.

Meanwhile, a non-GM drought-resistant maize variety has been developed in The Philippines. The maize variety, developed by a Philippines scientist was able to survive drought for 29 days.

In Kenya a non-GM maize has been developed to withstand the larger grain borer - one of the most damaging pests for maize. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) developed the maize strain.

Other non-GM crops that have been developed include allergen-free peanuts, Striga-resistant cowpeas, beta-carotene rich sweet potatoes, virus-resistant cassava, iron-fortified maize and Pierce Disease resistant grapevines.

(GM Watch 8 and16 January 2008)

BIOPROSPECTING POLICY - NEW ARTICLE TRACKS INTERNATIONAL DEBATE
The exploration of biological material for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical properties has the potential for major benefits - new drugs to cure diseases, innovative food and plant products, technology for developing countries and potentially rich rewards for those providing the biological material and knowledge. But bioprospecting has been bedevilled by mistrust, misunderstanding and regulatory confusion. New negotiations are now underway to develop an international access and benefit sharing system and to resolve some of the intractable issues.

Biowatch trustee and senior researcher at the Environmental Evaluation Unit at the University of Cape Town Dr Rachel Wynberg and Sarah Laird, director of People and Plants International examine the key policy issues in BIOPROSPECTING: TRACKING THE POLICY DEBATE, an article published in the December 2007 volume of Environment. A copy of the article may be obtained from Rachel Wynberg at rachel@iafrica.com or purchased from the journal at http://www.heldref.org/env.php

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