P.S. CAMPAIGNS INTRODUCTION

Introduction

The P.S… network believes that any effective Buddhist practice in today's world must include an ecological perspective fully integrated into our everyday lives. At the same time it recognises that the complexity of modern life makes simple "do-this-and-you'll-be-saved" commandments impossible.

It has therefore adopted five eco-precepts pointing towards general Buddhist principles we can apply in order to be more environmentally friendly in many areas of our lives. At the same time it is adopting a rolling program of specific campaigns focusing on different aspects of the general precepts.

The current campaigns are:

1. "Switching to Renewable Electricity…" (launched April 2002)

2. "Going Carbon Neutral…" (launched Sept 2002)

3. "What you do when you're out shopping". To include issues around food-miles, simple living, and organic food issues. To be launched April 2003: suggestions & sources welcome. See 'STOPPING THE GREAT FOOD SWAP - RELOCALISING EUROPE'S FOOD SUPPLY' by Caroline Lucas MEP for an introduction to food-miles issues.

P.S… CAMPAIGN INFO SHEET #1

Switching to renewable electricity

Renewable Electricity…
Electricity may appear to be a clean and almost pollution-free source of energy. In reality, as with many things in modern life, the consequences of our consumption are simply out of sight. Power stations are responsible for acid rain, carbon dioxide emissions, and of course nuclear waste - among many other things.

Switching electricity suppliers
Due to recent changes in the market for UK electricity, it is now possible to choose your electricity supplier - some of whom produce electricity solely from renewable sources such as wind power, wave power, or solar power.

P.S… recommends
P.S… recommends that all FWBO individuals, communities, Right Livelihood businesses, and centres switch to a renewable electricity supplier such as UNIT[e]. UNIT[e] is probably unique at present in the UK in that 100% of its output comes from renewable sources. Other alternatives are JUICE (www.npower.com/juice) and ECOTRICITY (www.ecotricity.co.uk).

Click here for campaign progress report so far.

P.S… - environmental campaigning in the FWBO
for more information:
www.ecopractice.fwbo.org
enquiries@ecopractice.fwbo.org

Some basic information about unit[e] follows, taken from its website.

Introducing unit[e] - power for a positive future.
Do you look forward to a positive future where electricity will be generated by clean, safe and efficient technologies - a future that harnesses the power of the wind and water, reduces polluting emissions and poses no known long term threat to our environment?

You can choose that power today, supplied to you by unit[e].

You can save around 2 tonnes of the global warming gas carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year by purchasing renewable electricity from unit[e] for your home.

What does it cost?
With unit[e], your electricity bill will be around £3* a month more. That may seem a lot. But it's not, when you consider that traditionally generated electricity involves an environmental cost, which is not reflected in the price you pay. Traditional electricity may seem cheaper. But it isn't. With renewable electricity from unit[e] the price you pay is real. There are no hidden costs to the environment.
*Based on average domestic household consumption of 3,300 units per year, paying standard domestic tariff.

What makes unit[e] special
* unit[e] is independent of traditional utilities;
* unit[e] has no investments in traditional electricity generation;
* unit[e] is independently audited by Future Energy to verify that the content of its product is made up of renewable electricity.

Contacting unit[e]
Telephone: 0845 6011 410
Postal Address: unit[e] FREEPOST (SCE9229) CHIPPENHAM SN15 1UZ
Email: enquiries@unit-e.co.uk
Web: www.unit-e.co.uk

Or see the leaflets available in your local Buddhist centre.

P.S… CAMPAIGN INFO SHEET #2

Going Carbon Neutral…
Climate change has come to be widely considered the most pressing environmental concern of our time. Five modern 'necessities', electricity, natural gas, air travel, car travel, and imported foods may all appear clean and innocent conveniences, but as with many things in modern life, the consequences of our consumption are simply out of sight. All of these consume enormous quantities of fossil fuels, releasing into the atmosphere carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) which has been locked up underground for millions of years. Carbon dioxide is a significant greenhouse gas, acting as a planetary duvet. The more of this that is released into the atmosphere, the higher the world's temperature becomes, changing our climate with potentially catastrophic results.

P.S… recommends
P.S… recommends that all FWBO individuals, communities, Right Livelihood businesses, and centres follow this 3-step program:

1. Become aware of the issues. Reading this, you have already begun this process! More background information and sources to follow up are given at the end. As part of this, complete the P.S… carbon questionnaire. This will show you just how much carbon dioxide you are responsible for emitting each year.

2. Do whatever is feasible to reduce your carbon emissions, especially by cutting down on unnecessary consumption of fossil fuels.

for example:
electricity: Switch to a renewable electricity supplier such as unit[e]
heat: Invest in energy-efficiency such as better home insulation or a modern boiler. Phone 0800 512 012 for free advice. Wear sweaters indoors: live in a cooler environment.
car: Choose public transport. Invest in a modern car which will be far more efficient. Drive slowly. Carshare. Get your car converted to run on LPG.
air travel: Think before you decide to fly anywhere. Aeroplanes burn huge amounts of fossil fuel. Air flight is so cheap because they pay no fuel tax. Is it right to fly wherever we want to just because it is so cheap and convenient?
product-miles: Become more aware how far your food has traveled to get to you. Buy local produce where possible.

Then complete the questionnaire again to see how far your consumption has fallen and how much remains.

3. Having done whatever you can to reduce your carbon emissions, and knowing how much remains, take positive action to offset it, for instance by giving money to a tree-planting organisation such as Buddhafield, Dhanakosa, or Future Forests. By taking this last step you can go "carbon-neutral", the goal of this P.S… campaign.

Offsetting carbon emissions is best done by contributing to the establishment of new woodland. Using figures provided on the questionnaire, you can look up the number of trees you need to plant to offset your carbon emissions.

For most people this may most practically be done by giving money to specialist organisations dedicated to establishing and protecting new woodlands, for instance Future Forests. Trees absorb harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and give the gift of oxygen in return. Furthermore, a well-thought-out new woodland in the right place will help maintain the diversity of our wildlife - another goal of P.S…

Please note that the figures you have calculated refer to annual consumption, and any tree-planting donations will have to be repeated each year if you are to stay carbon-neutral.

Tree Planting within the FWBO
Both Buddhafield and Dhanakosa Retreat Centre have active tree-planting programs and are able to accept donations from people wanting to go carbon-neutral. Contributing to FWBO tree-planting initiatives has the added bonus that the land will be used for spiritual practice and enjoyed by Buddhists for the indefinite future.

tree-planting contact details:
Buddhafield: contact Lokabandhu at lokabandhu@buddhafield.com or call 07810 822 786
Dhanakosa Retreat Centre: contact Nayaka at natsuud@lineone.net or call 01877 384 213
Future Forests: check www.futureforests.com for full details

More background information on going Carbon Neutral and climate change
(taken from the Future Forests website www.futureforests.com)

An introduction to carbon dioxide emissions and global warming
Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by animals breathing and the decay of organic matter. It is removed from the atmosphere by plants and used to create sugars (including carbon) and oxygen.
The decay of organic matter doesn't just contribute carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. In certain conditions the carbon dioxide forms fossil fuels such as peat, coal and oil. The burning of fossil fuels has led to an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide is a significant greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases act as a planetary duvet, maintaining the world's temperature and allowing life to thrive but the effect can also be negative. The more greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere the higher the world's temperature becomes, changing our climate with potentially catastrophic results.

Burning of fossil fuels
Since the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased by 25% and the burning of fossil fuels to run vehicles, heat homes and power factories now counts for about 70% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

Greenhouse effect
The average global temperature has risen by 0.6 degrees in the last 130 years and it is projected that temperature could rise between 1.5 and 4.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the next 100 years, if we continue to do business as usual. If greenhouse gas levels continue to increase, it has been predicted that we will witness flooding caused by the rising of sea levels, the extension of deserts and increased melting of glaciers and ice caps.

Deforestation
The world's forests are being destroyed at a rate of twenty football pitches a minute. Such rapid deforestation releases approximately 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is the method by which plants create sugars to feed themselves. Using chlorophyll to trap the sunlight's energy, sugars are made from carbon dioxide and water, and oxygen is produced as a by-product. So basically plants absorb harmful carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and give us the gift of oxygen in return.

Future Forests bases all calculations on carbon dioxide assessments conducted by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management (ECCM, www.eccm.co.uk/counting.htm) which is a world leading centre of expertise on the role of forests within the global carbon cycle.

More information…
Other web-sites which might be of interest are available at these addresses:
Climate research: www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/climon
UN Convention: www.iisd.ca/linkages/climate/ba
Kyoto Protocol: www.iisd.ca/linkages/climate/ba/mechanisms
Convention for Climate Change:
www.cop3.de/
www.iea.org/clim/cop4/final.htm
See also Future Forests' own publicity.

Sample figures:
* Air travel - 9 hours air travel (eg a one-way ticket to India) = 1 tree
* Car travel - 10,000 miles in a medium-sized car = 6 trees (only three for a diesel car)
* Gas and electricity - every £125 spent on electricity or every £45 spent on gas = 1 tree
(can set personal targets of x2 or x3 offsetting)

* Cost of a tree
For planting and caring for a tree until fully established: £7
(figures taken from the Future Forests website at www.futureforests.com)

P.S… - environmental campaigning in the FWBO
for more information:
www.ecopractice.fwbo.org
enquiries@ecopractice.fwbo.org