Charles Flynn

Pray to whoever you kneel down to: Jesus nailed to his wooden or marble or plastic cross, his suffering face bent to kiss you, Buddha still under the Bo tree in scorching heat, Adonai, Allah, raise your arms to Mary that she may lay her palm on our brows, to Shekinhah, Queen of Heaven and Earth, to Inanna in her stripped descent. Hawk or Wolf, or the Great Whale, Record Keeper of time before, time now, time ahead, pray. Bow down to terriers and shepherds and siamese cats. Fields of artichokes and elegant strawberries. Pray to the bus driver who takes you to work, pray on the bus, pray for everyone riding that bus and for everyone riding buses all over the world. If you haven't been on a bus in a long time, climb the few steps, drop some silver, and pray. Waiting in line for the movies, for the ATM, for your latté and croissant, offer your plea. Make your eating and drinking a supplication. Make your slicing of carrots a holy act, each translucent layer of the onion, a deeper prayer. Make the brushing of your hair a prayer, every strand its own voice, singing in the choir on your head. As you wash your face, the water slipping through your fingers, a prayer: Water, softest thing on earth, gentleness that wears away rock. Making love, of course, is already a prayer. Skin and open mouths worshipping that skin, the fragile case we are poured into, each caress a season of peace. If you're hungry, pray. If you're tired. Pray to Gandhi and Dorothy Day. Shakespeare. Sappho. Sojourner Truth. Pray to the angels and the ghost of your grandfather. When you walk to your car, to the mailbox, to the video store, let each step be a prayer that we all keep our legs, that we do not blow off anyone else's legs. Or crush their skulls. And if you are riding on a bicycle or a skateboard, in a wheel chair, each revolution of the wheels a prayer that as the earth revolves we will do less harm, less harm, less harm. And as you work, typing with a new manicure, a tiny palm tree painted on one pearlescent nail or delivering soda or drawing good blood into rubber-capped vials, writing on a blackboard with yellow chalk, twirling pizzas, pray for peace. With each breath in, take in the faith of those who have believed when belief seemed foolish, who persevered. With each breath out, cherish. Pull weeds for peace, turn over in your sleep for peace, feed the birds for peace, each shiny seed that spills onto the earth, another second of peace. Wash your dishes, call your mother, drink wine. Shovel leaves or snow or trash from your sidewalk. Make a path. Fold a photo of a dead child around your VISA card. Gnaw your crust of prayer, scoop your prayer water from the gutter. Mumble along like a crazy person, stumbling your prayer through the streets. pray for peace - ellen bass

"I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance. That is my religion, and every day I am sorely, grossly, heinously and deeply offended, wounded, mortified and injured by a thousand different blasphemies against it. When the fundamental canons of truth, honesty, compassion and decency are hourly assaulted by fatuous bishops, pompous, illiberal and ignorant priests, politicians and prelates, sanctimonious censors, self-appointed moralists and busy-bodies, what recourse of ancient laws have I? None whatever. Nor would I ask for any. For unlike these blistering imbeciles my belief in my religion is strong and I know that lies will always fail and indecency and intolerance will always perish." Just thought he had a point. In case anyone thinks it is directed against the Bishop of Carlisle's recent alleged remarks about the floods being God's judgement on what he considers to be immoral behaviour such as gay marriages, the Bishop told me on Saturday in reply to my direct question that he had been misquoted. I accept he has been as really no one with any sense would have said this - and believe me Graham Dow is not a fool. He does believe in divine retribution though for man abusing our planet. Anyone with a little common sense knows that we shall reap what we sow, and by plundering this earth we are surely putting future generations at grave risk. We do not have three planets to cater for our extravagance.

Last week a group of us - pharmacists and members of the Society for the Preservation of the Manx Countryside & Environment (www.spmce.com) visited Kentraugh Mill which has been in existence since before 1506 when it belonged to Robert Qualtrough. It was a fascinating visit accompanied by expert commentary from Canon John Sheen whose wife Elizabeth is the owner. We were taken around the Mill and also the Chapel Garden the site of Kentraugh Mill Primitive Methodist Sunday School established in 1825. After the visit Mrs Sheen and several volunteers treated us to a sumptious meal. I can thoroughly recommend a visit. Just get in touch with Mrs Sheen who will be delighted to show a group of between 10 - 20 people around. All proceeds go to the Christian charity - USPG..

The petrol driven lawn mower has stopped working again only weeks after being serviced. The rain is due tomorrow and the grass was starting to look menacingly long. Anyhow we have decided that all this nonsense of depending on an engine has to stop - it costs money to buy the petrol, it costs to get it serviced, and you are straining with a heavy machine to keep in control. What is the solution? Electric - No! Wires everywhere and it is just as likely to break down and even kill you. Answer - a hand mower. We've bought a Brill Razorcut Premium 38 Push Mower. It's cost us £158.50 with carriage from Magic Mowers but they delivered it today (Friday) after I ordered it late on Wednesday. It has a 38mm cutting width and the cutting edge is adjustable from 14mm to 45 mm. There are 5 blades and moreover it weights just 7.4 kgms so is easy to push. This is environmentally friendly - no air pollution, no noise - you can hear the birds singing, rather than the neighbours cursing. The grass cut is excellent and I am getting exercise. You can go and cut the lawn anytime at the drop of the hat. What could be better? If your lawn is less than 250 sq. metres and is not hilly or bumpy I recommend changing. Any one wanting to buy a petrol machine, which needs just a small service, please get in contact. We do not need to use it again. Cost about £300 I think 2 years ago. Offers invited over £100. The last service was just 4 weeks ago Probably spark plug need attention or petrol changed. The new petrol could be the cause of it not starting.

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man." Albert Einstein "For if one link in nature's chain might be lost, another might be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal." - Thomas Jefferson "If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos." - Edward O. Wilson, - The Father of Biodiversity "To me the question of the environment is more ominous than that of peace and war.I'm more worried about global warming than I am of any major military conflict." - UN Weapons Inspector Hans Blix, March 14, 2003 "Our house is burning down and we are blind to it.The earth and humankind are in danger and we are all responsible. It is time to open our eyes. Alarms are sounding across all continents. We cannot say we did not know! Climate warming is still reversible. Heavy would be the responsibility of those who refuse to fight it." - French President Jacques Chirac, World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, August, 2002

A man is making a tour around England visiting churches. He starts in Canterbury Cathedral and spots a golden phone with a sign saying 'All calls £10 000'. Asking a steward what it is he is told that it is a direct line to heaven. He finds similar phones in Westminster Abbey, York Minster and Durham Cathedral. He finds them in Roman Catholic churches, Methodist chapels and even in hospital chapels. All golden with a sign saying 'All calls £10 000'. Finally he finds a little church in a coastal village in Northumberland. He goes in and finds a golden phone, but this time the sign next to it reads 'All calls 10p'. He finds the vicar and says, 'I've seen these phones all over the place, but everywhere else it costs £10 000 to make a call. Why is it only 10p from your church?' The vicar smiles, and says to him, 'It's very simple - here it's a local call!'

A mole can dig a tunnel 300 feet long in just one night! A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off - it dies from starvation! A crocodile always grows new teeth to replace the old teeth! A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle, a group of geese in the air is a skein! A hard working adult sweats up to 4 gallons per day. Most of the sweat evaporates before a person realizes it’s there, though! A hedgehog’s heart beats 300 times a minute on average! A hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4 foot tall child inside! A hummingbird weighs less than a penny! A ‘jiffy’ is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second! A lump of pure gold the size of a matchbox can be flattened into a sheet the size of a tennis court! After eating, a housefly regurgitates its food and then eats it again! Apples are more efficient than caffeine in keeping people awake in the mornings!

Globally, women are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to their social roles and status. In the UK and in other developed countries, increasing costs for energy, transport, healthcare and nutrition are likely to affect women, including single mothers, more than men. In developing countries, women are already suffering disproportionately more as a consequence of climate change: 70% of the world's poor, who are far more vulnerable to environmental damage, are women. 85% of people who die from climate-induced disasters are women. According to a recent climate change survey, what women of the UK want most is: Much more action in tackling climate change. 97% believe the Government and industry are not doing enough. 86% demand the Government to invest in more renewable energy. 86% want manufacturers to design more environmentally friendly products. 81% demand tougher carbon reduction targets. More help and guidance to reduce our impact on the environment. 85% want more green products and green labelling of goods. 85% want lower prices for environmentally friendly products. 82% more government grants and incentives to reduce carbon emissions. More women's involvement in UK Government (87%) and international policy making (86%), to find solutions to climate change. Remarkably, 94% have already begun to make lifestyle changes and are willing to do more in the future. What is needed now is the way.

This poem was written by Sam Levenson. In the age of consumerism and plastic surgery, we would do well to heed its message. “For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone ... People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed and redeemed. Never throw out anybody. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”

There was an interesting BBC 2 programme last evening about the Reverend Gilbert White, of Selbourne, the English naturalist of the 18th Century who inspired Darwin to become a naturalist. He is regarded by many as England's first ecologist and one of the founders of modern respect for nature. He recognised humanity as only one link in the whole chain of nature - the first principle of ecology. The earth worm was for instance most important, without them "the earth would become cold and therefore sterile." He was an ornithologist who described in beautiful descriptive language the pattern of behaviour of, for instance, his beloved housemartins - an inspiration for Keats and Wordsworth. He had an empathy with the natural world and was inquisitive about so many things connected with fauna and flora changing our culture. He was concerned about the agriculture of his day and the welfare of its workers. In 1788 he published his book "The Natural History of Selbourne" which has never been out of print. In 1792 he died, and was borne to his grave in line with his wishes by "six honest labouring men." Here is one of his poems: The Naturalist's Summer-Evening Walk To Thomas Pennant, Esquire. ... equidem credo, quia sit divinitus illis Ingenium. Virg., Georg. When day declining sheds a milder gleam, What time the may-fly haunts the pool or stream; When the still owl skims round the grassy mead, What time the timorous hare limps forth to feed; Then be the time to steal adown the vale, And listen to the vagrant cuckoo's tale; To hear the clamorous curlew call his mate, Or the soft quail his tender pain relate; To see the swallow sweep the dark'ning plain Belated, to support her infant train; To mark the swift in rapid giddy ring Dash round the steeple, unsubdu'd of wing: Amusive birds! -- say where your hid retreat When the frost rages and the tempests beat; Whence your return, by such nice instinct led, When spring, soft season, lifts her bloomy head? Such baffled searches mock man's prying pride, The God of Nature is your secret guide! While deep'ning shades obscure the face of day To yonder bench leaf-shelter'd let us stray, 'Till blended objects fail the swimming sight, And all the fading landscape sinks in night; To hear the drowsy dorr come brushing by With buzzing wing, or the shrill cricket cry; To see the feeding bat glance through the wood; To catch the distant falling of the flood; While o'er the cliff th'awakened churn-owl hung Through the still gloom protracts his chattering song;" While high in air, and pois'd upon his wings, Unseen, the soft, enamour'd woodlark sings: These, Nature's works, the curious mind employ, Inspire a soothing melancholy joy: As fancy warms, a pleasing kind of pain Steals o'er the cheek, and thrills the creeping vein! Each rural sight, each sound, each smell, combine; The tinkling sheep-bell, or the breath of kine; The new-mown hay that scents the swelling breeze, Or cottage-chimney smoking through the trees. The chilling night-dews fall: away, retire; For see, the glow-worm lights her amorous fire! Thus, ere night's veil had half obscur'd the sky, Th'impatient damsel hung her lamp on high: True to the signal, by love's meteor led, Leander hasten'd to his Hero's bed. I am , & c. Gilbert White

All Saints 13.05.07 CF/EP EP Matthew 28,1-10:16-20 In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. This evening we are going to discuss Jesus’ last words. Some people’s last words are memorable, some are obvious such as “I don’t feel good..” Nevertheless, seriously, last words can be very important, so what were Jesus’ last words? What did He want to get across to his followers following his resurrection and before his ascension? Well we have heard his final theme tonight, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you..” (Matthew 28:19-20). This is known as the “Great Commission,” and it is a commission, which applies to us today just as it did to his first disciples. It extends to us as believers. And Christ’s very last words? Well in Acts 1:8, as He spoke to the apostles on a hilltop, He told them, “…you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And then He was taken up into Heaven. The most famous last words of all time. So are we doing our bit as witnesses? Are we living the Great Commission? Have you converted anyone to Christ? You are not alone if you haven’t. Surveys show that less than 2% of professing Christians have done so. Are we forgetting the Great Commission? Do we think it is someone else’s job? Priests do that sort of thing. It is not for us lay people. I was interested in the question at our PCC last week. What is mission? Many were confused even though they have been coming to church for decades. It is very revealing. Well God’s mission is about transformation - transforming lives, communities and the world. It is about Christ’s disciples proclaiming the Gospel, teaching, baptising, and nurturing new believers; responding to human need by love; transforming injustice to justness; safeguarding creation and sustaining the life of the world. We are called as Anglicans to be a mission-based church. We are called to do this both locally and globally. Archbishop William Temple famously stated, “the Church is the only organisation that exists for the benefits of its non-members.” The Church is a mission body, the Body of Christ on earth. Church and mission are one. Mission doesn’t happen somewhere else. It happens here in this Parish. It happens globally. We are part of One World. We receive and we give. This week is Christian Aid Week. We go out from this building and tell others. We do not just wait for them to come to us. Waiting here for them to come to us is only part of the work we are called to do. Some of course are called to wait. Others are called to go out. In fact, this is our Lord’s command - GO! Although much of our attention is on church, the real mission field is outside the church walls. The real mission field is where we are every day. But we are not to stop there. We must do more if we can. Christ says in Matthew 28,v 19 “Go to all nations”. “Go” is what God told Abraham to do when sending him from his land; when sending Moses to Pharaoh; and when sending out all prophets to their mission fields. We need to appreciate that mission is in the very nature of God. God is a missionary God. He came to visit us. The O.T. is full of God visiting people. Creation itself is about God visiting and putting the world in order. Christians are called to visit people and put them right with God. Jesus came to us. Jesus spent His Ministry calling on people and sending them on God’s mission to Judea, Samaria and elsewhere. The Great Commission was started by God in the O.T. and carried on in the N.T. Mission is an extension of what we do in church every day. In church, we baptise. Those sent out are to baptise. Those sent out are to preach. The Gospel of Christ is to be heard through the word and to be seen through the celebration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. When we embrace the Gospel, we are commanded not to sit on our hands, but to go and make it known to others. We are to teach them. Christ emphasises the teaching role. Teaching is the means by which the converted is made to know what to do and what to believe- how to think biblically and act in line with bible concepts. Jesus commanded, “Teach them to obey everything I commanded you.” God has used people as the only tools of missionary work. He gave us the means to build his Kingdom - be it the gifts of skill, resources, time, health and of course the most important one of them all, the “Word” as revealed in the Bible. The Holy Spirit will use that Word to help believers to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. This happens in both the local situation as well as the global one. We are not just to sit in the pews and enjoy the service. We are to go. We are to evangelise and make disciples- to fish and to feed the lambs, to take up the Cross and forsake all for Christ’s sake. The Lord’s command, “go into all the world,” begins right here at All Saints’ Your testimony is no good to anyone if you keep it to yourself. Tell someone. What if no one had ever bothered to tell you. You are not alone. Remember Jesus’ promise: “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We must obey his command to go, make disciples, baptise and teach new Christians to obey Christ in everything. Supremely, we must trust his promise to be with us always and then rely on his strength. Amen. Let us pray. As we meet before you, Father God, we ask you to hear and answer the prayers of your people. May we listen for your call. We ask for courage and wisdom to share your peace in our world Lord in your mercy Hear our prayer. We pray for Bishop Graeme and for all who teach the Christian faith, and for the life of the church. Strengthen and encourage those who respond to your call. May they show your compassion and love. Give them peace as they minister to those in need. Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer. We pray for all those in missionary work, and those with a sense of mission. We remember all those who have made it their work to bring news of God’s love and fellowship to all people throughout the world. Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer. We know that while we have an abundance of material wants, much of the world is in terrible straits. We pray for the work of Christian Aid and all those who will be collecting on the island for the people of Haiti this week. We pray for the children of Haiti many of whom are abused. We pray for political stability and that Godly men and women will get involved in local politics. May thought for the needs of others lead to action in whatever way is in our power. Lord in your mercy. Hear our prayer. Lord, we pray for all who are desolate and in pain or sorrow this day. We pray especially for those known to us who are in trouble, need, sickness or adversity. We pray in a moment of silence as we think of Madeleine McCann……….. and name others in our hearts. Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer In the knowledge that we must all face judgement, we pray for those who have died and those who mourn especially the family and friends of .……………………….. Thanking God for his loving mercy, and entrusting our loved ones to God’s safe keeping. Lord, in your mercy Hear our prayer. Teach us, Good Lord, to serve you as you deserve, To give and not count the cost, To fight and not to heed the wounds, To toil and not to seek for rest, To labour and not to seek reward, Save that of knowing that we do your will. Amen.

Christian Aid Week runs from Sun 13 to Sat 19th May. This year all funds will go to support a project in Haiti which will improve milk production and also transforming milk into yogurt and sterilised milk, and then marketing them throughout Haiti to boost family incomes. All monies collected will be matched £ for £ by Tynwald's Overseas Aid Committee.

How to win Friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie is one of the most important books ever published and contains excellent advice. I suggest everyone reads it. The outline is: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People 1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain. 2. Give honest and sincere appreciation. 3. Arouse in the other person an eager want. Six Ways to Make People Like You 1. Become genuinely interested in other people. 2. Smile. 3. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. 4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. 5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests. 6. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely. Win People to Your Way of Thinking 1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. 2. Show respect for the other person’s opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong.” 3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. 4. Begin in a friendly way. 5. Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately. 6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking. 7. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers. 8. Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view. 9. Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires. 10. Appeal to the nobler motives. 11. Dramatize your ideas. 12. Throw down a challenge. Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment 1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation. 2. Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly. 3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person. 4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders. 5. Let the other person save face. 6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be “hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.” 7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to. 8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct. 9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest. Perhaps you could suggest it to your boss or become the boss yourself by following the advice it contains.

Tips - Make your own lunch Making your own lunch instead of buying from a sandwich shop saves on packaging, and could also save you approx �4 a day or �1,000 per year! Tips - Recycle old mobiles Avoid waste by saying no to mobile phone upgrades. If you need to recycle an old phone, many supermarkets, charity shops and mobile phone retailers offer recycling services. Alternatively try charity schemes such as http://www.recyclingappeal.com/scope/, http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_you_can_do/recycle/phones.htm or http://www.actionaidrecycling.org.uk/mobilephones.htm Tips - Get recycling from your doorstep! Use your kerbside recycling scheme - following the success of Friends of the Earth's Household Waste Recycling Act all councils will be required to collect two recycleable materials from every household by 2010. To call for better doorstep recycling, visit http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/waste/press_for_change Tips - Recycle old fridges Old fridges and freezers contain CFCs and HCFCs. When it's time to buy a new one, get a 'Greenfreeze' model. Retailer Comet will collect your old one for reconditioning when you buy a new one from them (there's a small charge). Tips - Avoid disposable batteries Use rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones - they'll save you money in the long term. You can buy solar powered rechargers if you want to reduce your environmental impact even further. Tips - Refuse plastic carrier bags Plastic carrier bags take generations to break down in landfill. Get a funky re-useable or cotton bag instead for your shopping trips and say 'no thanks' to plastic carrier bags. Tips - Recycle unwanted items By 'recycling' unwanted items, less will end up in landfill. One person's rubbish can be another's treasure - the ideal way to save cash and save the planet! Visit http://www.freecycle.org/ or http://www.rag-and-bone.co.uk/ When you want to find a new home for something - whether it's a chair, a fax machine, piano, or an old door - you simply asdvertise it. Or, maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself. Simply respond to an advert, and you just might get it. Tips - Cheaper rail travel Take the train - no getting stuck in motorway jams, no need to read maps, and you could save cash too. To cut the cost of rail travel, get a rail card or book in advance. There's always plenty of special offers too - see http://www.nationalrail.co.uk and http://www.thetrainline.com Tips - Waste less paper It's surprising how much junk mail arrives on the doorstep, but there's a few things you can do to reduce this as much as possible. Sign up to the Mailing Preference Service (http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/). Return to sender - send unwanted mail back - including any addressed to previous occupants - and ask them to remove your address from their mailing list. When you move to a new address, contact the companies whose mailing lists you're on, and give them your new address - or ask them to remove your details. Finally, put a 'No junk mail' notice next to your letterbox to avoid unwanted leaflets. Tips - The Phone Co-op The Phone Co-Op is a telephone service which is run for the benefit of its employees and customers, and they have a more environmentally responsible approach to business than some of the bigger providers. For example, they pay a voluntary levy to Climate Care to offset their carbon dioxide emissions and source their electricity from a green source. Because they're not set up to make money, their charges are competitive too - 1p minimum call charge (compared with BT's 4.2p), per second billing and no set up charges - find out more at http://www.thephone.coop/ Tips - Watch your waste line We throw away seven times our own body weight in rubbish every year. Most goes to landfill sites or incinerators. That's bad for people and the local environment. Find out what you can do about it: http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/campaign_express/18/ Tips - Oil for ape scandal Orang-utans could become extinct within 12 years as the palm oil industry relentlessly destroys their forest home. Palm oil is a vegetable oil found in one in 10 products we buy in the supermarket. Ask the Government for a law that makes UK companies take action to minimise this kind of damage. Email the Minister of State for Industry at http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/corporates/press Tips - Kyoto and beyond The only international agreement on climate change (the Kyoto Protocol) became law earlier this year. Now is a good time to look at what happens next. Clear tough targets are needed - but not everyone agrees. Contact Elliot Morley, UK Minister for Climate Change, to ask him to take tough action at the UN climate talks next month. Visit Tips - Recycle CDs and DVDs Give unwanted CDs and DVDs a new lease of life. CDs can be recycled into burglar alarms, street lighting and lenses. DVD cases can be recycled into birdfeeders. Collect yours, or set up a collection point at work, and send to Polymer Reprocessors. For details, visit http://www.polymer-reprocessors Tips - Recycle CDs and DVDs Give unwanted CDs and DVDs a new lease of life. CDs can be recycled into burglar alarms, street lighting and lenses. DVD cases can be recycled into birdfeeders. Collect yours, or set up a collection point at work, and send to Polymer Reprocessors. For details, visit http://www.polymer-reprocessors Tips - Recycling targets The Government is consulting on new recycling targets for local authorities in England. Unfortunately, the proposed targets are very low and do not reflect the rapid increase in recycling. Email Ben Bradshaw, the DEFRA Minister responsible for the consultation, to urge him to set higher targets: http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/waste/press...rgets_bradshaw/ Tip of the Day will take a break until the New Year. Festive wishes from Friends of the Earth for a happy - and green - Christmas! Tips - Stop increase in incineration The Government is about to publish a draft England waste strategy for consultation. The BBC has reported this could propose a massive increase in incineration. Friends of the Earth believes more recycling is a far better solution - it uses less energy, encourages less waste and causes less pollution. You can make a difference by urging your MP to challenge the Government - visit Tips - New homes - new emissions? Friends of the Earth is calling for the Government to take action on climate change. All areas of Government need to do their bit. Yet current plans mean large numbers of new energy inefficient homes could be built. Illogical? Yes. Please email your MP now to press for change at http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/climate Tips - Dress your hot-water tank properly Make sure your hot-water tank is dressed correctly. A British Standard lagging jacket costs approx �10 and the insulation for the pipe leading to the hot-water tank from the boiler costs �3 a metre. The yearly saving on your bill is �15-20. Tips - Bring a mug to work Save waste at work - use a mug or glass for your drinks instead of disposable cups, and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Tips - Real Nappy Week 2006 Real Nappy Week's 10th anniversary, from 24 - 30 April 2006, raises awareness about nappy waste prevention and celebrates with hundreds of events around the UK. Visit http://www.wen.org.uk/rnw/ to find out the environmental and health benefits of real nappies, as well as the financial savings compared with disposables. The website also includes a 'Nappy Finder' so that you can find your nearest real nappy retailer or laundry service - plus any incentives your local authority has to offer, including vouchers or free laundry trial services. Tips - Advertise in your local shop Want to find a good home for your unwanted goods, but your charity shop can't accept them? If you advertise items such as electrical goods, building materials or furniture as 'Free to a good home', it will save you the trouble of moving them and will keep them out of landfill. Make the most of your newsagent, post office or local shops by advertising in their window, and if there's a small charge, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're supporting a local business. Tips - Reduce toxics in the home When it's time for a spot of DIY, use water-based paints and choose those with the lowest VOC-rating (check product label). Try Auro Organic Paints http://www.auroorganic.co.uk, Ecos Paints http://www.ecospaints.com, the Green Shop http://www.greenshop.co.uk and Nutshell Natural Paints http://www.nutshellpaints.com. Tips - Save with every flush Add a water hippo to older toilet cisterns to save 3 litres every flush - this has a payback period of 8-12 weeks and could save you �20 a year on metered bills. They're available from most DIY stores - for more info, see http://www.hippo-the-watersaver.co.uk/ and http://waterwise.fortune-cookie.com/hippo-hotline/ A water-filled 2 litre plastic bottle could also be added to your cistern - but will need to be checked regularly to ensure it is not interfering with your flush lever. (Don't use a brick - they crumble and the dust can clog up working parts of your cistern). New dual or low-flush loos are 2-4 times as efficient at saving water, and are available from approx �180. Tips - Re-use envelopes Reduce waste by reusing envelopes. Simply cross out clearly the original address details and stamp, or use a label to stick over them. Alternatively, for just �2, you can buy Friends of the Earth's pad of 100 envelope re-use labels, printed on 100 per cent post-consumer waste. For more details, visit: http://www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfo/pubscat Tips - Don't let cash leak out of your house Plan ahead for the winter and check that your loft insulation is topped up. If you don't have any loft insulation at the moment, you could expect to see annual savings of �80-�100 for an outlay of �170 upwards if you do the work yourself or �220-�250 upwards if it's done professionally (using a three-bed, gas-heated semi as an example). If you are topping up insulation to the recommended depth of 250 mm, the cost is likely to be from �140 if you install it yourself (�200-�230 if done by a professional) and the savings �20-�30 a year. Tips - Fridges Help your fridge waste less energy - and save you money - by trying these tips. Dust down the coils at the back of the fridge - dusty coils can waste up to 30% extra electricity. Defrost your fridge regularly. Let food cool down properly before putting it in the fridge. Tips - Put carrier bags to good use If you have plenty of old plastic carrier bags, use them as bin liners, drainage systems at the bottom of plant pots and hanging baskets, or instead of bubble wrap when packing. See if your local charity shops would like any surplus bags, and get into the habit of taking a re-useable bag next time you go shopping, to avoid picking up more carriers. Tips - Make recycling work If there isn't a paper recycling scheme at work, set one up. To ensure success, make sure recycling bins are close to people's desks, so it's easier to recycle paper than throw it away. A quick scan through the phone directory should provide some numbers for recycling collectors, local waste paper merchants or national paper collection companies. As well as paper, many companies will recycle a range of other items too. Tips - Buy recycled Help create a demand for the stuff you recycle by buying products made with recycled materials. Visit http://www.recycledproducts.org.uk/ for more details including suppliers, many of which are high street names. There's over 3,000 products listed, from office stationery and wine glasses, to garden furniture, clothes and CD racks - and plenty more! Tips - Office parties Find out the nearest stockist of paper cups so you don't get tempted to buy plastic cups for office parties. Ideally use non-disposable cups, but if it isn't possible, paper cups are better than plastic. Tips - Do you have to drive? The Environmental Transport Association aims to raise awareness about the impact of excessive car use and help individuals and organisations to make positive changes in their travel habits. If you can't avoid the occasional car journey, read their Green Tips to help you reduce your impact on climate change - see http://www.eta.co.uk/greentips/ Get tips like this delivered direct to Tips - A3 paper Rather than recycling A3 sheets of paper from the office after they've only been used on one side, ask your local school or nursery if it would like them for children to draw on the back. Or see if any of your work colleagues have young children who can re-use the paper. Alternatively, use them instead of flipcharts in meetings. Tips - Refillable pen Instead of countless plastic biros, invest in a refillable fountain pen and a bottle of ink (not cartridges). Result - less plastic, nicer writing and people tend not to walk away with your pen. Tips - Think before you print A report by the government-funded Envirowise campaign, says that office paper consumption is rising by 20 per cent per year. Instead of creating the paperless office, technology means we print out more and more. On average each worker uses 50 sheets of A4 a day. So encourage your colleagues to print less by adding a message to your email signature, such as: Think before you print to save energy and paper. Do you really need to print this email? If you do, print it double sided. Tips - Radiators Summer is a good time to think about keeping warm in the winter months! While your radiators are switched off, put reflective material behind them - this will ensure heat is reflected back into your room and keep you toasty when the weather gets colder. You can buy radiator reflector foil from DIY stores (avoid those made from PVC), or you can make your own by wrapping tinfoil around cardboard. Tips - Cut laundry costs Anything that needs to be dry-cleaned will carry traces of tetrachlorethylene, sometimes called perchloroethylene, from the dry-cleaning process. Ideally remove these from the plastic when you get them home, hang up and air well (not in your bedroom). Exposure can cause dizziness, headaches and fatigue - the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a probable carcinogen. By only buying machine-washable items, or experimenting with hand-washing on dry-clean items, you can protect your health and the environment - and cut your laundry costs. Tips - Shut it Avoid leaving fridge doors open. Each minute the door is open takes three minutes of energy to cool down again. Tips - Avoid disposables We're using an increasing number of disposable products - for example plastic razors, cups, paper towels, wipes, nappies, plastic bags - even disposable cameras. These generally involve the consumption of more resources and energy than the reusable alternative - and they often cost more in the long run too. Try to avoid disposables, and choose a less wasteful alternative. Tips - Standby fuels climate change Tonnes of greenhouse gases are pumped into the atmosphere every year by appliances left on standby in the UK. The energy used is equivalent to powering around 600,000 homes every year, and is a significant contribution to UK emissions of climate changing gases. How many appliances around your home are on standby? Switch them off when not in use (check it won't reset the memory) - and unplug chargers once appliances are charged up. Just think how much money you could save! Get tips like this delivered direct to Tips - Hunt out biofuels Biofuels are renewable alternatives to petrol and diesel, produced from crops such as oil seed rape or sugar beet, and burning them results in lower emissions of climate-changing gases. Many cars can use biofuels with little or no modification to the engine, so ask your garage or find a filling station which already sells it - there are over 140 in the UK and the number is growing. See http://www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk Tips - Tea tree oil Tea tree oil is a great natural antiseptic and disinfectant. It's great for cleaning mould and mildew too - try a dilute mix of 3-4 drops in 2 litres of water (cold or hot). Soak mildewed items in this or spray on to trouble spots using a plant mister. Scrub, then rinse off. Tips - Use altermative transport Journeys less than two miles may be quicker and involve less hassle if you go by foot, bike or bus. If the kids are coming along, make use of buggy boards, scooters, skipping ropes, rollerskates and bikes. Don't buy all of those items - swap with neighbours! Tips - Light up your life Keep your electricity bills down by making the most of natural lighting and relying less on electric lights. Opt for pale-coloured walls, ceilings and floors, as well as mirrors, to reflect daylight. You can also encourage maximum light in through your windows by keeping ledges clutter-free, pull curtains back during the day and keep plants trimmed. Tips - Recycling: bin or box? Do you know exactly what you can and can't include in your recycling collection? Different councils collect different materials so log onto www.recyclenow.com and enter your postcode to get up-to-date information on your council's recycling. You can also use their map to find recycling sites that accept items you cannot recycle at home. Tips - Turn it down Current regulations recommend a temperature of 19 degrees for a house or flat. This is fine for living areas but way too hot for a bedroom where 15 degrees is sufficient and, in fact, will probably help you get a better sleep. Adjust the radiators in different rooms of your home to ensure a comfortable temperature. In rooms that you don't spend a lot of time in, turn the radiators down or off to reduce your energy consumption. And don't forget, when you go away on holiday, turn the thermostat down. Tips - Reduce waste and energy consumption in the workplace Contact Global Action Plan for advice on 020 7405 5633, or www.globalactionplan.org.uk. Tips - Use software to reduce paper usage visit www.software-partners.co.uk email: website_email@software-partners.co.uk phone: 01926 842998 for details of Fineprint which could save you 25% to 50% of your paper and toner usage. Tips - Reduce unwanted Mail Contact the Mail Preference service to remove your name from up to 95% of Direct Mail lists - visit http://www.mpsonline.org.uk to register. Tips - Turn appliances off Turn your appliances off if you aren't using them - items such as DVD players consume 85 percent of their total energy while on standby. Tips - Fairtrade Fortnight - get involved Fairtrade Fortnight lasts until 11th March - and there's plenty you can do to get involved, aside from buying Fairtrade tea and coffee. There's a whole range of goods available now - how about buying Fairtrade presents, like wine or cotton products? Get your workplace to buy Fairtrade. Bank with ethical banks like the Co-operative and Triodos which support Fairtrade. Find out more about what you can do at http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/ Tips - Printer cartridges Over 40 million printer cartridges go into UK landfill sites each year and this is increasing annually. Buying refilled cartridges are a good way to prevent this waste and are often cheaper than new ones. Cartidge World supply refilled cartridges and can refill your empty ones - see http://www.cartridgeworld.org There are also plenty of charity schemes around that benefit from recycling cartridges - see http://www.actionaidrecycling.org.uk/ or http://www.inkagain.co.uk/ If you're buying a new printer, opt for one that uses cartridges that can be refilled, or that can easily accept generic or refilled cartridges. Tips - Save energy and save cash Carry out a Home Energy Check to find out how to save energy and save cash. The online questionnaire takes a couple of minutes, and you'll be sent a free evaluation of the areas of your home where cost-saving, energy efficiency measures can be made - see http://www.est.org.uk/myhome/whatcan/hec/ Tips - Plastic bags Eight billion plastic carrier bags are handed out in the UK each year - or over 134 for every one of us. But it's easy to find yourself down the shops without any other way of getting your groceries home. So keep a reuseable bag - or your stash of plastic bags - by the door so you remember to take a couple when you pop out. Ladies, keep a couple in your handbag, for those spontaneous retail moments! And don't forget to make a point of refusing bags at the shops. Read more about waste and recycling at: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/waste_and_recycling ips - Drinking water Buying bottled water costs you money, and the bottles generate unnecessary use of glass or plastic. Drink water from the tap instead - our water is much cleaner than it was 15 years ago thanks to EU laws, and is perfectly safe to drink. Alternatively, get a water filter - some manufacturers recycle the plastic cartridges in the water filters (see for example http://www.brita.co.uk ) - or you can buy water filters with fabric sachets to filter the water ( see http://www.naturalcollection.com ). There are plenty of ways to cut emissions - and many will also save you cash. It's as easy as ABCO2. Do one thing Driving Holidays Food & drink At home Dinner time Power If you do just one thing Support Friends of the Earth’s biggest ever campaign, The Big Ask. This urges the Government to introduce a Climate Change Bill to cut UK CO2 emissions by 3 per cent every year.  Driving A small, fuel-efficient car is less polluting than a gas-guzzling 4x4 – and is cheaper to run as well. Switch off the engine if you think you’ll be stationary for more than half a minute. Idling this long burns more fuel than it takes to restart the engine. Avoid short car journeys whenever possible. Instead, walk or cycle and burn up some calories! Share the school-run with a roster of parents to cut congestion, reduce emissions and save on your fuel bill. If you have a diesel engine, consider biodiesel Not only is it carbon-neutral, it also biodegrades 98% within three weeks. You can even make your own homebrew biodiesel - download instructions (PDF†format - 123K).  Holidays Holiday in the UK. Amazing fact: one long-haul return flight can produce more carbon dioxide per passenger than the average UK motorist does in an entire year. Hire bikes instead of a car if you’re exploring locally. Not only will this cut emissions, you’ll save money - and benefit from some exercise.  Food and drink Cook with fresh, seasonal, locally grown produce. For your nearest farmers’ market, go to www.farmersmarkets.net. Avoid buying endless bottles of water – it’s a plastic nightmare. Fill up an old one with tap water and take it with you everywhere. Or buy a hiker’s water bottle from a camping shop. Use a toaster not the grill. It uses less energy.  At home If it’s winter and the kids are wearing T-shirts turn the thermostat down by just one degree. This can save up to £30 a year on your heating bill. It will also make a real dent in your household’s emissions. Anyone cold can pull on a jumper. An oldie but a goldie: insulate your loft. You can cut up to 20 per cent from your energy bill by installing good quality loft insulation. Avoid wasted heat energy by timing your heating to go off 30 minutes before the school run starts, and come on again 30 minutes before you are all due home. Only use a washing machine on full-load. Ninety per cent of the energy washing machines use is for heating the water. Switch to a cooler wash temperature: 40°C is usually adequate. Grubby whites can be pre-soaked to loosen dirt or use an eco-friendly stain remover.  Dinner time Saucepans with lids on heat much quicker, thus using less energy (obvious really). Get oven-wise. Don’t keep opening it to check food. This allows heat to escape, wastes energy and slows down cooking. Switch off a few minutes before your meal is ready. The oven will stay hot enough to finish cooking the food. Recycle drinks cans. The energy saved by recycling one aluminium can is enough to run a TV for three hours.  Power Count how many light bulbs are in your home. Now think what you’d save if they were all energy-efficient. One bulb uses less than 1/4 of the electricity of a standard model and can last up to 12 times longer. This will save you £10 a year on your electricity bill and more than £50 over the bulb’s lifetime. Resist stand-by. If all UK households turned off their TVs at night instead of leaving them on standby, we would avoid emitting enough CO2 to fill the Millennium Dome 38 times each year. Wash laundry loads on the low-temperature programme. Read our Top tips to cut waste > †To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com. †To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com. Image © freedigitalphotos.net Articles  Home, energy use, waste   Food, garden   Transport, travel, holidays   Work, finances, savings   Lifestyle   Home, DIY   Interviews   Ammunition for green arguments   A few of our favourite things  Last modified: Menu: Mar 2007 Content: June 2006 Copyright © Friends of the Earth | Contact Us | Support Friends of the Earth Top tips to cut waste Originally published in our supporter magazine Earthmatters, these tips on reducing waste proved an instant hit. At home In the office Out & about More from less At home If available, use your kerbside recycling scheme. Read how Friends of the Earth made this possible with the Household Waste Recycling Act. Avoid disposable batteries. Use rechargeable ones with a solar powered recharger from the Natural Collection. Cleaning the kitchen? Use cotton cloths - not disposable kitchen roll. Recycle your old clothes by donating them to your local charity shop. Buy reconditioned electrical appliances from organisations such as CREATE. Recycle old TVs and fridges - buy a new one from Comet and they will collect your old one for recycling (£15 fee). Same goes for other white goods. Take your empty cans to a Save-a-Can bank or visit the Steel Can Recycling Information Bureau. Polyprint Mailing Films accept clean polythene wrappers and bags for recycling. Stop mobile phone and printer cartridges going to landfill - recycle them through Oxfam, ActionAid or Rainforest Concern. Reduce the amount of annoying junk mail pouring through your door - sign up with the free Mailing Preference Service. Having a shower instead of a bath can save about 40 litres of water (avoid power showers though as they can use more water than baths). Install spray taps for new sinks, as they use less water than normal taps. Old spectacles can be given to high-street opticians to be donated to people around the world. Get a log maker from the Natural Collection to transform old newspapers into pulp logs, which will burn for up to an hour each. To recycle your drink and Tetrapak cartons, send them to a mill for recycling. Download address labels (not freepost) and instructions from The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment. Why not try eco-friendly sanitary products such as the reusable Mooncup.  In the office Start a paper recycling scheme at work - for more info about community recycling, contact the Community Recycling Network. Reduce waste and energy consumption in the workplace - contact Global Action Plan. Only print when absolutely necessary. If you do print, use both sides of the paper. Use software such as FinePrint to reduce paper usage by up to 50%. Turn off appliances such as PCs and TVs when not in use - and avoid leaving them on standby. Don't throw away old computers - sell them (eBay) donate them (digital-links / donate-a-pc) or recycle them (wasteonline). Does your company generate waste that could be used as craft resources for schools and youth groups? Find out more from the Children's Scrapstore. If each of the UK's 10 million office workers used one less staple a day, that could save 120 tonnes of steel a year. To buy a stapleless stapler, contact the Natural Collection. Install a roller towel at work instead of using disposable paper towels. Unwanted CDs? Contact the Beacon Press which runs a recycling scheme. Get a pad of 100 Friends of the Earth re-use envelope labels printed on paper made entirely from post-consumer waste for £2.50. Stop subscribing to magazines that you don't have time to read (and save yourself a few quid) - your local library will probably stock a range of periodicals. Vending cups can be recycled via the Save a Cup scheme. However, it's much better to encourage your company to use reusable cups and glasses rather than disposables.  Out & about Compost kitchen and garden waste. Contact your local council for details. Avoid energy-hungry patio-heaters in the garden - put on an extra layer to keep warm. Try candles for outdoor lighting in the evenings and save electricity. Citronella or beeswax candles will also keep insects away. Use retreaded car tyres instead of buying new. For more info, contact the Retread Manufacturers Association. If you have to use the car occasionally, reduce the environmental impact of your journey. Save water by installing a water butt - and water your plants without turning on your hosepipe.  More from less Refuse plastic carrier bags - keep a reuseable or cotton one handy when you go shopping. Send e-cards instead of paper ones to save paper and cash. Get fruit and veg from a local grocer or veggie box scheme instead of highly-packaged supermarket goods. Buy refills and save money for products you use in large quantities eg washing powders, condiments, liquids etc. Order fresh bottled milk from your milkman - glass bottles can be reused approx 20 times. Making your own lunch instead of buying over- packaged snacks could save you more than £4 a day. Join a toy library to borrow toys and give old ones to other families. Don't buy. Hire videos and DVDs, and borrow books from a library. Recycle old curtains or exchange them at The Curtain Exchange. Join the 15 per cent of parents who now use cloth nappies for their babies; contact the Real Nappy Campaign. Give cinema or concert tickets as gifts instead of disposable goods. Clearing out the attic? Try selling your stuff rather than taking it to the dump. Check out online auction sites like eBay where you can donate a proportion of your sale to a charity of your choice - including Friends of the Earth. Try reclamation yards, skips, auctions, and secondhand shops when doing DIY jobs. Mend, re-upholster or restore old furniture before buying new. Hire tools or borrow from friends or family for odd jobs, rather than buying your own. Donate unwanted tools to charities that send them to developing countries - visit Tools with a Mission or Tools for Self Reliance. For more tips on reducing waste, buy Friends of the Earth's book Don't throw it all away > Image © HomeRecycling Articles  Home, energy use, waste   Food, garden   Transport, travel, holidays   Work, finances, savings   Lifestyle   Home, DIY   Interviews   Ammunition for green arguments   A few of our favourite things  Last modified: Menu: Mar 2007 Content: June 2006 Copyright © Friends of the Earth | Contact Us | Support Friends of the Earth No cost ways to save energy These no-cost measures involve subtle changes to your habits which will soon become second nature. Heating Hot water Cooking Appliances Refrigeration Washing machines Tumble dryers Lighting Heating Turn the room thermostat down by 1 °C. This can save up to £30 a year. Don't put curtains or furniture in front of a radiator - they will block the heat. Pull on a jumper or warmer layers rather than turning the heating up. Hot water Some coffee shops refill mug-sized flasks. If you keep the flask (one-off price around £3.50) you don't need to keep chucking away all those paper cups. Turn the thermostat on your hot-water tank down to 60 °C rather than add lots of cold water to your bath. Saving: £10 a year. Put the plug in the basin or sink, especially when running hot water. Otherwise you are pouring money down the drain. An ordinary shower uses only two-fifths of the water needed for a bath. Power showers use as much as a bath, and sometimes even more. Cooking Match the size of the ring to the size of the saucepan or you will be paying to heat air. Put a lid on saucepans so the contents heat quicker and you use less energy. Cook several different foods on one ring with a pressure cooker or steamer. Microwaves save money because you don't waste energy heating containers or air. Appliances Switch off appliances such as microwaves, TVs, stereos and computers. 85% of the energy used by a DVD player is wasted when it is on standby. Saves up to £11 a year. Unplug equipment once fully charged otherwise they keep drawing electricity. Refrigeration Avoid leaving fridge doors open. Each minute the door is open takes three minutes of energy to cool down again. Avoid putting hot or warm food straight into the fridge. Allow it to cool first. Defrost your fridge regularly to keep it running efficiently and cheaply. If it seems to frost up quickly, check the door seal. Keep the freezer in a cool room or garage. Washing machine and dishwasher Wash laundry loads on the low-temperature programme. Modern dishwashers use more detergent than hand washing. Choose a plant-based detergent. Tumble dryers In summer dry your clothes outside and enjoy the fresh smell that only comes from line-dried clothes. Don't dry clothes on a radiator. It stops heat reaching the room, creates damp and encourages mould. If you have to use a tumble dryer, don’t put really wet clothes inside. Wring them out or spin-dry them first. Lighting Mirrors and light-coloured walls reflect daylight, making maximum use of natural light. De-clutter window ledges to get the most daylight in your home. Pull curtains back during the day and keep plants trimmed so they don’t block incoming light. This is an extract from Save cash & save the planet. Energy efficiency - how do you measure up? Try the BBC's quiz. Get advice from other organisations on energy efficiency. Image © Bananastock Articles  Home, energy use, waste   Food, garden   Transport, travel, holidays   Work, finances, savings   Lifestyle   Home, DIY   Interviews   Ammunition for green arguments   A few of our favourite things  Last modified: Menu: Mar 2007 Content: May 2006 Copyright © Friends of the Earth | Contact Us | Support Friends of the Earth

I have been asked to help the staff at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in London with some tips for pharmacists to be more environmentally friendly. As most of the material will be helpful to others apart from pharmacists, I list a brief summary below: ENVIRONMENTAL TIPS FOR PHARMACISTS. According to Sir David King, the Government’s Chief Scientist, global warming is the greatest problem facing humanity. It is therefore incumbent upon all sections of society to reduce their carbon emissions as carbon dioxide is accepted as the main gas responsible. Pharmacists are specialists in a health science so they have a special responsibility to arrange their pharmacies to be environmentally friendly to ensure humankind and countless other species are saved from extinction. Time is not on our side so we should take immediate action. A “green” pharmacy can be a great marketing ploy to boost the reasons why patients patronise the business. Pharmacists should be primarily good citizens not only in their pharmaceutical work but in their personal lifestyles as well. Below are some suggestions, which will help. Business Emissions. Heating your pharmacy uses 70% of the energy you use. So turn down your thermostat by 1 C and put on a jumper. Insulate your premises. Lofts should be insulated to a depth of at least 270 mm preferably with sheep’s wool or cellulose fibre saving up to 20% from the energy bill. Also if possible, have cavity wall insulation and insulate the hot water tank with a British Standard lagging jacket. Dust down the coils at the back of the fridge to save up to 30% of electricity. Defrost your fridge regularly. Avoid leaving fridge doors open. Each minute the door is open takes three minutes of energy to cool down again. Use low energy fluorescent light bulbs. They will last up to 12 times longer than the old bulbs. Do not put compact fluorescent light bulbs into the general rubbish otherwise, mercury will be released if the bulb breaks. Do not leave lights on after work or in unused rooms during the day or computer equipment on standby overnight. Switch off! Unplug chargers once appliances are charged up. Remove the plug from the mains to ensure the standby setting is disabled. Cars - drive efficiently, share your car, and change to a diesel or a LPG car instead of petrol. Hunt out bio fuels. If you can cycle or use a motorbike even better. Use public transport whenever possible i.e. train or bus. Cut down on aviation use! Instead of air conditioning in summer, open a window. Ensure your pharmacy is using electricity from a renewable tariff from a green source. Use recycled paper for photocopying and printing. Do not print out emails if possible. If you do, print double-sided. Inkjet printing is better than laser printing. Buy products made with recycled materials. Visits: http://recycledproducts.org.uk/ Food. If you get a refreshment break, watch what you consume. Local produce preferably organic as recommended by The Soil Association is best. This cuts down on food miles. Also, buy Fairtrade wherever possible - coffee, tea, soft drinks, biscuits and hundreds of other products are available which will ensure a fair price for the producer to help feed and educate their families. Bank with ethical banks such as the Co-op and Triodos, which support Fairtrade. Waste. Reduce, reuse, recycle the paper, glass and cans to save energy and stop some of the deforestation-taking place with the help of your local Council. Recycling just one bottle saves enough to power a television set for 90 minutes. Remove caps, which contaminate useful glass before recycling. Ensure any product put into the recycling bin can be recycled. Use your kerbside recycling scheme. Ensure any old fridges are disposed off properly. When it is time to buy a new one, get a ‘Greenfreeze’ model. Try a Savaplug to reduce consumption by as much as 20%. Oppose any increase in incineration. Reuse any plastic packaging and recycle it when it is no longer usable. Save water by adding a water hippo to older toilet cisterns so saving 3 litres with every flush. Reuse envelopes by crossing out the original address details or by using a stick over label. Buy refilled ink cartridges. General Use biodegradable bags rather than plastic, which take generations to break down in landfills. Use a mug or a glass for your drinks instead of disposable cups. Real nappies are more environmentally friendly than disposables. Recommend products, which do not have palm oil to save orang-utans and Sumatran tigers. Clean without chlorine to save the ozone layer. So look for chlorine-free detergents, toilet cleaners, disinfectants and bleach. Drip-dry your hands. Wash with cold water, which is perfectly adequate. Keep chemical waste out of waterways. Dispose with the help of your environmental protection department. Read online rather than hard copy where possible. Invest in an ethical pension fund. Pass old books on to students or others who will benefit from them. Ensure you are fully informed on environmental topics e.g. climate change before expressing an opinion. Bring your colleagues onboard so each learns. Get your organisation to employ an Environment Officer and has an Environment Policy. MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE.

Each of us need support as we go through life's journey. For a Christian this support comes through faith in the Lord Jesus. This is a story which will resonate with some. Others will be able to relate to it in one way or another because of a friend or a neighbour or a mother and father... One Night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him and the other to the Lord. Looking back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, I thought you promised to walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial & suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

All Saints EP 25th March 2007 Luke 22,1-13 In the name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Are you ever ashamed to be part of the human race? Today, is the 200th anniversary of the day the UK Parliament abolished the trafficking of slaves. A terrible indictment of man's inhmanity to his fellow man. When you watch TV or read a newspaper, you learn about awful things happening to your fellow men and women. The other day the cricket coach being strangled by apparently someone he knew. The father who kills his wife and then his children. The man who goes on TV to plead for the murderer of his wife to come forward, only to be convicted as the murderer himself. Then on a more personal level, the businessmen sending text messages to their staff telling them they no longer have a job, ignoring the effect this has on them and their families. Last Tuesday as part of the Lent course Mary gave us material explaining the purpose of the Gospels. Why were they written? Why was Luke’s Gospel written? Mary told us it sets out to put the record straight - to give an accurate account of Jesus’ life and ministry. Well, Luke tells us this right at the beginning of his Gospel “it seemed good to write an orderly account, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” Luke 19,10 goes on to say “The Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost”. ” What has been lost? Is it us? Have we lost the true spirit and goodness of humanity? We no longer know how to be what God had intended us to be. This applies surely to all mankind - people of every creed and culture. Terrible things happen throughout the world. However, we do not know what to do about it. We seem to have lost what it is to be human. St. Luke tells us to seek and save what it is to be human. He tells us the story of Jesus. He was born of a virgin. He tells us about the young Jesus and the rest of His earthly life. In particular, He tells us Jesus is the Son of Man. The Son of Man came to seek and to save. He puts His finger on what makes us tick. He came to seek and then to save that which was lost. He did this through the Cross and Resurrection. Luke established that Jesus was the Messiah as prophesised in the O.T. Jesus claims to be the Son of God and Luke backs this up with the evidence from eyewitnesses. This confirms that Jesus has complete authority over evil, over nature, over death so that we might have eternal life. Our reading from Luke is near the end of the Gospel. It was Passover time when Jews commemorated the Exodus from Egypt. Jesus was accompanied by his disciples but one of them was willing to plumb the depths. Judas is about to commit treachery. He is about to betray Jesus to the Jewish authorities. They wanted to do away with Jesus but they had a problem. Jesus was popular - men such Simon the Zealot would have defended Him. Therefore, to arrest him they needed to do it on the quiet away from the crowds. Jerusalem was crowded with up to 100,000 people during the Passover, so the Jewish leaders needed help to find Jesus. Judas coming along and telling them where to go to arrest him was an opportunity not to be missed. It is written in Luke 4,13 when Jesus was tempted by the devil who did not succeed that the devil “left him until an opportune time.” That time was now fast approaching. Satan was using Judas for his evil purposes. How low can you go? Judas went as low as you can. If there is something, which you do not like, you have a choice. You can ignore it, or respond to it and accept it, or you can destroy it. The Jewish authorities had decided to destroy Jesus using Judas who himself was being used by Satan. Judas in league with the authorities was to plumb the depths. Here were church leaders plotting to kill one of their learned brethren. The temptations of the devil embraced them. They show us the depths which mankind can reach. Jesus on the other hand through His actions -and through the plan that He had drawn up, gives us a sight of how He came to restore us. When we turn to Christ and acknowledge Him, we become Sons of Man and are saved. Throughout this episode, Jesus was in control. He knew exactly what Judas was up to. He knows what is in our hearts. He knew Judas inside out, and could have thwarted his plans yet He chose the path of suffering. But before that, He arranged one last teaching session with his disciples in the Upper Room. As our story tells us, He arranged a meal - the meal we know as the Last Supper to explain to His disciples what was to come. You can read this part for yourself. Luke has faithfully recorded the facts so that we can understand them. The writings have been handed down so that we may know the certainty of what happened. God’s Word has been fulfilled. He came to save by giving His life for us. Without His grace, we would be lost. Judas representing fallen humanity allowed Satan to enter him. Nevertheless, Jesus has given us the means to overcome the devil and for God to be a part of us. We are reminded of this each time we celebrate communion and enjoy fellowship with Jesus and with each other. We have a choice - our choice - humankind’s choice - the devil or God. So let us embrace God’s purposes for us. We can do this by loving each other. God is love and God sent His one and only Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. If we love one another, God loves us and Satan is lost. Do we embrace true humanity? If Jesus were in our situation, what would He do, what would He say? Jesus came to seek and save. Are we to be like Judas or will we take up Jesus’ offer and be like what we are meant to be? Amen.

Dear TravelWatch supporter. I am pleased to be able to advise that the TravelWatch ISLE OF MAN website is now up and running at http://www.travelwatch-isleofman.org/ thanks to a lot of hard work from Roy Beale. Obviously this is stage 1 and as TWION develops we will also be developing the website. Do please draw this to the attention of your friends, colleagues, neighbours and anyone else you think might be interested not only in TWIOM as an organisation but the large amount of useful information which is already there. Any comments or suggestions about the website would be welcome to me. Thanks for your interest in TravelWatch Isle of Man. Dick Clague

Kenya Experience 2007 a Freedom to Flourish project Info Sheet March 2007 Introduction A visit to a developing country can have a powerful and positive effect on a young person’s motivation, worldview and career. These days many opportunities exist to visit developing countries, but most often these are taken up by university students and graduates. So this trip is especially for Island young people who left school at 16, who may otherwise be unlikely to enjoy such an opportunity. By spending three weeks helping to build small dams alongside local people in an arid part of Kenya, around ten young adults from the Island will develop citizenship skills by broadening their horizons and growing in confidence, and indeed in their potential to flourish. As such this proposal has gained the approval of the IoM’s Positive National Identity (‘Freedom to Flourish’) Committee. ‘Excellent Development’, its aid project, and its Manx links Excellent Development (ED) is a charity which is working with communities in an arid part of Kenya to build dams and plant trees. It has an office in London, but has real Manx connections: a) it is funded by the IoM Government’s overseas aid committee (£15,000 in 2006-07); B) the Founder of ED is Manxman Simon Maddrell; c) groups of IoM young people have gone out to help and to learn for a few weeks in summer 2005 and 2006; a proven – and very positive - track record exists. A trip exclusively for IoM young people in summer 2007 Participants will be 18-24 years old, but they must have left school at 16. IoM College students (over 18) are welcome. The trip will be for three weeks in July 2007, and unlike previous trips with ED it will be exclusively from the Island. As before, the trip itself will be managed and led by Quest Overseas, an organisation which specialises in such visits and works closely with ED. It is important that participants will be required to ‘tell their story’ once back on the Island. The IoM One World Centre will help facilitate this, as well input into a pre-trip briefing day run on the IoM by Quest. Money Total costs will be in the region of £2,500 per participant, including international air fare, in-country travel and accommodation, and costs of ED and Quest. £2,000 of this is being generously sponsored by a range of local charitable trusts, companies, and bursaries. Each participant is required to raise £250 cash + travel to/from London + insurance & medical costs. It is estimated this will be about £500 all told. Key dates Deadline for submitting application forms: Mon 23 April Selection interviews (compulsory): Sat 12 May Briefing day (compulsory): Sat 16 June Kenya trip (approx): 7-28 July For further enquiries or an application form please contact Phil Craine (Freedom to Flourish Kenya Experience Coordinator) – tel: 672224; email: pcraine@christian-aid.org Links: www.excellentdevelopment.com www.questoverseas.com www.freedomtoflourish.co.im

"Give bread to the poor and may we who have bread hunger and thirst for Thee." This is a simple prayer—halting the mind and touching the spirit—that reveals the truth about ourselves and about God, about why we hunger and who fills us. It changes our relationship to the food in front of us, moves our attention from our lacks to our abundances—in other words, makes us grateful—and puts us in mind of the only One to whom we owe thanks for our daily bread.

ASH WEDNESDAY HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II Wednesday, 8 March 2000 1. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me" (Ps 51: 10-11). Today, Ash Wednesday, this is how the Psalmist, King David, prays: a great and powerful king in Israel, but at the same time frail and sinful. At the beginning of these 40 days of preparation for Easter, the Church puts his words on the lips of all who take part in the austere liturgy of Ash Wednesday. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, ... take not your holy Spirit from me". We hear this plea echoing in our hearts, while in a few moments we will approach the Lord's altar to receive ashes on our forehead in accordance with a very ancient tradition. This act is filled with spiritual allusions and is an important sign of conversion and inner renewal. Considered in itself, it is a simple liturgical rite, but very profound because of its penitential meaning: with it the Church reminds man, believer and sinner, of his weakness in the face of evil and especially of his total dependence on God's infinite majesty. The liturgy calls for the celebrant to say these words as he places ashes on the foreheads of the faithful: "Remember, man, you are dust and to dust you will return"; or, "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel". 2. "Remember, ... to dust you will return". Earthly life is marked from its beginning by the prospect of death. Our bodies are mortal, that is, subject to the inevitable prospect of death. We live with this end before us: every passing day brings us inexorably closer to it. And death has something destructive about it. With death it seems that everything will end for us. And here, precisely in the face of this disheartening prospect, man, who is aware of his sin, raises a cry of hope to heaven: O God, "create in me a clean heart and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me". Today too, the believer who feels threatened by evil and death calls on God in this way, knowing that he has reserved for him a destiny of eternal life. He knows that he is not only a body condemned to death because of sin, but that he also has an immortal soul. Therefore he turns to God the Father, who has the power to create out of nothing; to God the Only-begotten Son, who became man for our salvation, died for us and now, risen, lives in glory; to God the immortal Spirit, who calls us to life and restores life. "Create in me a clean heart and put a new and right spirit within me". The whole Church makes the Psalmist's prayer her own. These are prophetic words that penetrate our spirit on this special day, the first day of the Lenten journey that will bring us to the celebration of Easter during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. 3. "Repent and believe in the Gospel". This invitation, which we find at the beginning of Jesus' preaching, introduces us into the Lenten season, a time to be dedicated in a special way to conversion and renewal, to prayer, to fasting and to works of charity. In recalling the experience of the chosen people, we too set out as it were to retrace the journey that Israel made across the desert to the Promised Land. We too will reach our goal; after these weeks of penance, we will experience the joy of Easter. Our eyes, purified by prayer and penance, will be able to behold with greater clarity the face of the living God, to whom man makes his own pilgrimage on the paths of earthly life. "Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me" - this man, created not for death but for life, prays in exactly this way. Although he is aware of his weaknesses, he walks sustained by the certainty of his divine destiny. May almighty God hear the prayers of the Church which, in today's Ash Wednesday liturgy, lifts up her heart to heaven with greater trust. May the merciful Lord grant us all to open our hearts to the gift of his grace, so that we can all take part with new maturity in the paschal mystery of Christ, our only Redeemer.

Bury Me in a Free Land Make me a grave where'er you will, In a lowly plain, or a lofty hill; Make it among earth's humblest graves, But not in a land where men are slaves. I could not rest if around my grave I heard the steps of a trembling slave; His shadow above my silent tomb Would make it a place of fearful gloom. I could not rest if I heard the tread Of a coffle gang to the shambles led, And the mother's shriek of wild despair Rise like a curse on the trembling air. I could not sleep if I saw the lash Drinking her blood at each fearful gash, And I saw her babes torn from her breast, Like trembling doves from their parent nest. I'd shudder and start if I heard the bay Of bloodhounds seizing their human prey, And I heard the captive plead in vain As they bound afresh his galling chain. If I saw young girls from their mother's arms Bartered and sold for their youthful charms, My eye would flash with a mournful flame, My death-paled cheek grow red with shame. I would sleep, dear friends, where bloated might Can rob no man of his dearest right; My rest shall be calm in any grave Where none can call his brother a slave. I ask no monument, proud and high, To arrest the gaze of the passers-by; All that my yearning spirit craves, Is bury me not in a land of slaves. -- Frances Ellen Watkins, freed black woman who died circa 1920

A hymn on work Take my hands and make them as your own, And use them for your kingdom here on earth. Consecrate them to your care, Anoint them for your service where You may need your Gospel to be sown. Take my hands, they speak now for my heart, And by their actions they will show their love. Guard them on their daily course, Be their strength and guiding force To ever serve the Trinity above. Take my hands, I give them to you, Lord. Prepare them for the service of your name. Open them to human need And by their love they’ll sow your seed So all may know the love and hope you gave. Take my hands, take my hands, O Lord.

Here are some brief notes I made at the Acclimatise Steering Group meeting held last week: Notes on Climate Change Steering Group Report 1. Adaptation Policy Fundamentals and Executive Summary. In 2-3 weeks time a report will go to Government to enable a Tynwald debate for April/May. A number one priority is the security of energy supplies - gas, oil. Installation of solar panels would be of assistance with this. The Governments energy policy should bring NGO’s on-board. There was a short mention of the IPCC 4th Assessment Report involving some 146 countries including India and the USA. It shows that climate change is moving more rapidly www.ipcc.ch The Stern Report put the economic costs firmly on the political agenda. John Firth, M.D. Acclimatise thought “green” groups: a. had a responsibility to give out good science b. to act as unofficial auditors. c. to personalise with life choice stories d. to liaise with others such as the construction industry. Government can put in place policies for schools -threshold sensitivity; emissions and energy standards; emissions of CO2 by carbon neutral policies; DOT flood control; designing buildings for the future; ensuring the legal consequences are accounted for and foreseen; agriculture etc. This policy report is for Ministers; there will be a separate report for the public. Adaptation is aimed at Government and organisations; mitigation is in the hands of the public. A 10-point summary leaflet will be produced for both. Adaptation and mitigation should be balanced. An appraisal of the needs of each organisation should be carried out. A mention was made of fiduciary responsibility to ensure investor’s interests are protected both short and long term. The Government should look at its capital investment programme. Future of Steering Group. A Chief Executives Group exists. There should also be an environmentalist-sustainability group although there is unlikely to be any resources for sustainability groups. The appointment of a graduate as a Regional co-ordinator could drive the matter forward. An invite to a senior figure such as Nicholas Stern or Jonathon Porritt could launch the report. There also needs to be a link with the British-Irish Council. Extra Information subsequent to meeting: MEDIA ADVISORY IPCC adopts major assessment of climate change science Paris, 2 February 2007 – Late last night, Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) adopted the Summary for Policymakers of the first volume of “Climate Change 2007”, also known as the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). “Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis”, assesses the current scientific knowledge of the natural and human drivers of climate change, observed changes in climate, the ability of science to attribute changes to different causes, and projections for future climate change. The report was produced by some 600 authors from 40 countries. Over 620 expert reviewers and a large number of government reviewers also participated. Representatives from 113 governments reviewed and revised the Summary line-by-line during the course of this week before adopting it and accepting the underlying report. The Summary can be downloaded in English from www.ipcc.ch and http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu. A webcast of the final press conference has also been posted. The Summary will be available in Arabic, Chinese French, Russian and Spanish at a later date. The full underlying report will be published in English by Cambridge University Press. • Carola Traverso Saibante, IPCC Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland Phone: +41 22 730 8066; +41-79- 666-7134 (portable) E-mail: CSaibante@wmo.int • Kristen Averyt, IPCC Working Group I Technical Support Unit, Boulder, Colorado, USA. Phone: +1-303-497-4885; Email: ipcc-wg1@al.noaa.gov

That you will give us a quiet night and a perfect end: we pray to you, O Lord. That you will have mercy upon us and grant us your salvation: we pray to you, O Lord. That you will keep us this night without sin: we pray to you, O Lord. That you will guard us and give us your blessing: we pray to you, O Lord. That you will bring us with [N and] all your saints to glory everlasting: we pray to you, O Lord. Let us commend ourselves, and all for whom we pray, to the mercy and protection of God. Amen.