Bishop of Wolverhampton: God's Earth is heading for 'catastrophe'

I have, from an early age, been environmentally aware. The first poem I remember writing, at primary school, was on the subject of pollution and a few years later I remember giving a talk at an assembly inspired by a book called 'Earth in Danger'.

My budding environmentalism attracted some attention from my school friends and I well remember being taken to task by one who was trying to persuade me that my time would better be spent focusing on humans in need rather than animals in danger of extinction.

For much of the last thirty years environmentalists have had a very hard time trying to get Green issues anywhere near the centre of the political agenda. I would doubt if they have featured in too many sermons or Bible studies either, until perhaps recently. For now we know, beyond any reasonable doubt, that God's Earth is not so much 'in danger' as heading for catastrophe.

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, drawn up by more than 2,500 of the world's top scientists, confirms that we are rapidly turning the oceans acid through the same pollution that is causing global warming. It also predicts that nearly a third of the world's species could be driven to extinction as the world warms up and that harvests will be cut dramatically across the world.

The debate that my friends and I had a generation ago is now irrelevant. Environmentalists and humanitarians should be united in common cause as global warming will not discriminate between its victims. The polar bear and human inhabitants of coastal strips and pacific islands may be the first victims but all of us will be affected. Indeed the IPCC report predicts that 'the poor and elderly in both rich and poor countries will suffer most' as a result of the devastating impact that climate change will have on the world's economy. Woe to the economically inactive!

And yet there is still the opportunity to avert disaster. As the report concludes, while some climate change is now inevitable, its worst effects could be avoided with straightforward measures at little cost if only governments would take action. It is a question of political will.

In the democracy that we are fortunate to live in, political will is fashioned by popular opinion. I am in no doubt that it is our Christian responsibility to take a lead in shaping opinion on this subject.

For who should be the most committed environmentalists?

Those whose vocation is to be stewards of God's wonderful creation.

Who should be the most committed humanitarians?

Those whose vocation is to see God's image in the face of our fellow wo/man.

In his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul made an urgent appeal: "you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep."

In our present context those words, and the following passage about the need to adopt changed lifestyles, carry an extra level of prophetic meaning. How will we respond?

Some will find it easier to shrink their carbon footprints than others but one modest achievement within reach of all of us would be to do our shopping in the January Sales without using any additional bags. A drop in the ocean but, as the Jubilee 2000 and Fairtrade campaigns have shown, from small ripples, great waves of change can ensue.

+ Clive Wulfrun

PS If you want to do your bit, but don't know how, then I heartily recommend this year's Lichfield Diocesan Lent Challenge - a series of daily tasks and initiatives which will help you cut the carbon and take the environment seriously. You can download it free of charge from the diocesan website - www.lichfield.anglican.org/lent