In an effort to promote hope instead of despair for future generations, a group of children and teachers from the Exeter Cathedral School will be walking the ancient pilgrim’s way from Canterbury to London to petition parliament about the children’s concerns for their environment. As one eleven year old child said in class, “if global warming is really happening, we shouldn’t be writing essays about it, we should be running to London—and running all night—to let politicians know what we think.” So that’s what we are going to do.
The Archbishop of Canterbury noted this week that children are overwhelmed by anxiety of the age. We want to teach children that they can make a difference. The Archbishop’s team will be supporting our walk. (This week Prince Charles sent a letter of encouragement to our students suggesting they see the film, “An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore. We agree with Gore, climate change is a moral issue; and as the African proverb recommended in the credits, we will be “ praying with our feet” as we walk the route pilgrims have trod for centuries.)
In London, we’ll present the names of thousands of children
in the U.K. who are concerned about our treatment of the earth. We’d like to
send Devon students a digital diary of the pilgrimage as a template to excite
their activism. We’ll be sending these diary postings to the U.S. and the Far
East, so other children will realize that they can have a voice and that their
hope and idealism have a key role to play in preserving our earth.
Our walk begins on Oct 20th
and we’ll be petitioning Downing Street on the 26th. Our M.P. Ben Bradshaw will
be meeting with us in London to discuss the children’s hopes and fears for the
earth. As we walk the 90 miles, we’ll be planting biodegradable art markers
which show common species now endangered on the Red List in the U.K. .We’ll also
be off-setting our carbon footprint by planting trees in Devon.
“I think that humans should be responsible for earth’s ecology...one of Jesus’ parables is about a shepherd who lost a sheep...he had compassion for animals, why shouldn’t we? Have machines changed the way we think? "
Christopher T. Year 8“The consequences of not protecting our earth would be disastrous... because of climate change the human race urgently needs to put in force survival projects to save everything from remote tribes to golden toads from extinction.”
Ben H. Year 7“The problem is that humans are so powerful and we tend to use our power greedily. Every bit of life is just as important as the next and we are unbalancing the equilibrium of the earth. “ Hugh C. Year 8
The Petition says this:
As the human population rises from six billion, we must
learn to consume less. We must learn to live simply so that others may simply
live. It has never been more important for humans in the industrialized world to
make a change.
In an effort to protect our world, we the undersigned, request that our elected policy makers show a greater respect for our environment and a concern for global warming by passing laws which require that we reduce consumption, re-use materials wherever possible recycle.
Especially,
1. Requiring
schools in the U.K. and businesses to recycle wherever possible, especially
paper products; providing adequate recycling bins and collection services
Schools waste 615,000 tons of
paper, food and electronics each year. We would like to halve this waste output
by 2010. U.K. schools contribute 15% to public sector carbon waste. When linked
with waste officers, schools have cut this waste by 40%. It can be cut up to
90%. (The Guardian, June 27, 2006)
2. Encouraging schools and businesses to use sustainable energy and to buy recycled paper and used books and materials printed on recycled paper
3. Meeting targets set by the Joint Nature Conservancy and other conservation groups which protect species on the Red List, especially the Plant Diversity Challenge for 2010
4. Requiring
that new-builds in the U.K. are eco-friendly, using wherever possible,
insulation, solar panels, rain
butts and separate piping for dirty and recyclable grey water.
45 Billion has been budgeted for
building schools in the future. These school buildings should be sustainable.
5. Supporting increased investment in public transportation, making bus and train fares affordable for the young and old alike
6. Improving local bike lanes in all U.K. cities
7. Taxing environmentally destructive agents such as producers who use toxins, dangerous pesticides, unrecyclable and excessive packaging, gas-guzzling cars. While providing tax relief for eco-friendly businesses, local green grocers, organic farmers, local food schemes.
Editor’s Note: The petition was delivered to Tony Blair on the 26th of October, as hoped.
Dana Smith Bagnall teaches at the Exeter Cathedral School in Devon, England. She is a poet and has attended F@W women’s events. Email Dana at bigbooks@elysium.eclipse.co.uk
