Comment - August 2010
Solar panels - how easy is it?
You may have seen the headline ‘Faiths told of prophet in sunlight' which has been picked up and featured by a number of publications and websites It's a story from British Gas, or rather their public relations company, reporting how places of worship could make £29m a year generating ‘green' energy from solar panels on their roofs. Sounds great!
The story also says that churches, mosques, temples and synagogues could save a further £5m annually under the scheme, as they would no longer have to buy their own electricity - hoorah to that!!
Any faith organisation reading these reports will understandably want to investigate and may already be on the phone to their nearest solar supplier with a view to making hay whilst the current bumper harvest of sunshine is still with us. But DO take advice from experts - this website has a number of case studies in its press release section and it may be worth giving one of these churches a ring to see if solar panels would work for you.
In the meantime do take into account installation costs, the payback time and the planning applications not to mention the limitations placed on our buildings by protection and heritage requirements and the size of the roof. But thanks to British Gas for raising the issue.
Meanwhile Shrinking the Footprint is encouraging every one of the Church of England's churches, church buildings, schools, clergy houses and offices to look at every opportunity to save energy and if they really see the sun as a saviour, to fit solar panels only if they can find the ways and the means.
Shrinking the Footprint began looking at the Church's use of energy, but this year as part of its extension into other environmental issues the programme has been involving biodiversity which takes me onto the second story.
The National Trust, claims the important issues affecting the countryside have been overlooked because of the focus on the problems of climate change. Their story points out that during the last Government major legislation was introduced to cut carbon emissions in order to tackle global warming.
"But now there is a need to introduce new laws to protect the environment that is suffering right now. Honey bees are in crisis, 97 per cent of flower rich meadows have been lost since 1930 and house sparrow numbers have decline by 10 million in the last 25 years.
The National Trust's comments refer to a change of direction the new Coalition Government has promised to bring the focus back onto endangered animals, cleaner water and other aspects of the natural environment and the first environmental paper to be launched by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in 20 years will focus on protecting the countryside.
"We've lost sight of the benefits the natural world provides because they are not accountable within markets and everyone takes them for granted. Now is the time we need to start valuing all the benefits we get for free because they are being degraded." Say the National Trust.
Launching the discussion paper the Environment Secretary called on every area of society to contribute ideas to how Britain can stop the extinction of species on our own doorstep.
"We want everyone to contribute their views on the natural environment - whether they're concerned at the plight of the songbirds in their garden, the quality of air in their town, flooding problems worsened by people paving over their gardens or the fate of our wider countryside," she said.
"We have the opportunity to be the generation that puts a stop to the piecemeal degradation of our natural environment"
The Church of England is being encouraged to submit its views for white paper which will be published next spring and so we welcome your views and comments which can be part of the response.
Please let us have your suggestions by 1st September.
