Operation Noah: the churches climate c hange c ampaign.

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

The NEW Operation Noah Website, launched on 7 July 2007, is now running. For the moment this Ark-in-a-box page from the old site has been left as it contains some very useful resources.You will find that the New direction of Operation Noah is to encourage the government to take action too!

Ark in a Box

The resource centre for
Operation Noah
Everything you need to create a climate of justice for the poor and future generations.

Events

News and History of Operation Noah

	The basics: all you need to get you started
	Making an impact
	Briefings on climate change and policy
	Answering questions on electricity supply
	Telling local leaders about the campaign
	Driving the message home
To save time, Download a zipfile (1.4 MB - 8 min with a modem) which contains all the material below except 16. short (15 min) powerpoint show 17. longer (30min) powerpoint show 26. C&Canimation and 10. Prayers-for hope in the face of Climate Change

A whole host of ideas for ways to present Operation Noah are available below.

Most of the material below is suitable for any audience. Some documents refer to churches or the Christian tradition. Feel free to adapt it for your audience, removing religious material if it is not appropriate, and adding your own.

Documents and Resources

		Name of document	What it tells you about Operation Noah

The basics: all you need to get you started (top)	1.	The future is in your hands	The essential campaign leaflet. You can order printed copies from the helpline (2006 version: pdf file 614KB)
	2.	Welcome aboard the Ark!	Introduces Operation Noah (116 KB)
	3.	Climate change - Call to conversion as web page \| as doc file	What the scientists are saying about climate change, and what the Bible says about care for creation ( 49 KB)

Making an impact (top) (top)	4.	Build your own Ark	Step-by-step guide to the most effective way to run Operation Noah, if you can manage it (155 KB)
	5.	Sign the Climate covenant	Sign the Climate Covenant and invite others to do so (155 KB)
	6.	Cool Church Tool Kit: New!!!	Cut your church's greenhouse gas emissions
	7.	Posters	Two posters with Bible texts to put up in the church or hall (to follow)
	8.	Time to Build the Ark Again	Article for a parish magazine (written as the CEL parish magazine article, March 2004)
	9.	Magazine articles	Various articles to get people 'warmed up' before you tell them about it. (127 KB)
	10.	Prayers for hope in the face of climate change/	a) prayers to use b) the opportunity to join CEL's Community of Prayer.
	11.	Press release, and people to send it to	In preparation (to follow)
	12.	Newsletter notices	Teasers and alerts for around the time of a talk or presentation (53 KB)
	13.	Children's activity Please email for information about a copy of this	Let the youngsters show the grown-ups why they should come on board! (to follow)
	14.	Bible study	Ideal for house-groups, justice & peace groups (47 KB)
	15.	Two talks for an adult audience Talk 1 Talk 2	Take your pick ... or write your own (53 KB)
	16.	Powerpoint presentation 1	Noah Slide Show A power point presentation on climate change for you to use in a service or discussion meeting or youth group. This is about 2.7 MB so takes 15 to 20 minutes to download on an ordinary modem. It has 16 "slides" including helpful notes for you to use if you give the presentation. To see the notes, save the file, (Right click, then save the target/link as...) If you open the power point directly from the web you won't see the notes. The talk takes 10 to 15 minutes to give. The presentation works best given directly after reading Psalm 104.
	17.	Powerpoint Presentation 2	Climate Change and Operation Noah As above, but with 30 slides and more detailed talk. Try both and see which is most useful for you.
	18.	Animated computer presentation C&C 1MB	Aubrey Meyer used this Contraction and Convergence presentaion at the Operation Noah Launch in Coventry. More details and notes at www.gci.org.uk Well worth downloading.
	19.	Video 'Operation Noah: Creating a Climate of Justice'	Now also availabel on DVD (April 2006)
	20.	Video/DVD study guide	Helps you make the most of the video 'Operation Noah: Creating a Climate of Justice'
	21.	Talk for an all-age audience	Ideal for family services and schools (48 KB)
	22.	Drama sketch	'The Ark in the Garage' revives the Noah story in a humorous and thought-provoking way (56 KB)
	23.	Worship resources and Ark Procession	Readings and hymns and sample services. Also ideas for a procession which will turn heads in the High Street (53 KB)


Briefings on climate change and policy (top)	24.	What can Christians do? as web page- \| as doc file	An informative introduction to climate change for Christians, taken from CEL's series of Topic Leaflets
	25.	Operation Noah aims	Describes in detail the policy outcomes which Operation Noah is seeking.
	26.	Contraction and Convergence	The only safe and equitable scheme for climate safety
	27.	Impacts of climate change in the UK	What we can expect to happen at home (50 KB)

Answering questions on electricity supply (top)	28.	Comparison of Green electricity suppliers	There are various Green electricity suppliers one can use. Friends of the Earth used to run a page comparing suppliers, a Green electricity league table as some suppliers are "greener" than others, but the situation keeps changing, and it was costing FOE too much to do the research to compare suppliers.. They encourage us to email the government to compare the energy suppliers on our behalf. So please do that. Email Mr Buchanan, Ofgem’s Chief Executive See also http://www.greenenergyworks.org.uk/electric.htm a Green Party Site looking at different enregy suupliers Quote from EcoCongregation website: When buying green electricity it is important to decide what you want your company to be investing in: encouraging more consumers to play their part by buying electricity from renewables? Investing in new development of generation? Making renewables more accessible to people in other parts of the world? Where do you want your premium to go? The reality is that the Government requires generating companies to produce 'green' electricity anyway (an increasing percentage every year under the Renewables Obligation), but currently consumer demand for renewables is less than is actually being produced. So it is really important that as consumers we show the Government that we do want our electricity produced by renewable means... and that we are prepared to REDUCE our demand.
	29.	Recommended Companies	Two suppliers which Operation Noah recommends are Good Energy on 0845 456 1640 and Green Energy on 0845 456 9550. If you use etiher of those please tell them that you heard about them through Operation Noah because then Operation Noah will get £7-00 commission from these companies. Another firm "Ecotricity" provides "green energy"
	30.	Other ways to reduce CO₂ emissions	Other energy-saving and cost-saving ideas
	31.	Frequently asked questions	Ideas on how to answer difficult questions! Let us add your questions too. Call the helpline if you need immediate advice

Telling local leaders about the campaign (top)	32.	Campaign prospectus	A summary of what it's all about
	33.	Minister's letter	A sample letter you can give to your priest, minister or church leader
	34.	Build a climate of justice (1)	Introductory report - tells your church council the basics
	35.	Build a climate of justice (2)	Detailed report - takes your church council into more detail
	36.	Ethical energy for your church	A step-by-step guide to helping your church switch to green electricity (49 KB)
	37.	Choosing ethical energy	A sample report for your church council encouraging them to choose green electricity (57 KB)
	38.	Financial background	Operation Noah's need for funding, and why we have an agreement with Good Energy and Green Energy (50KB)

Driving the message home (top)	39.	Engaging the Powers	This document helps you to understand how some people will respond to your message, and how to engage with the forces of denial, inertia and fear which motivate all of us. Read it before you engage people in discussion, and be encouraged!
	40	Follow-up meeting	Describes a simple meeting which will remind people you gave cards to to 'get round to it'! (47 KB)
	41	How did you find it?	A feedback form to help us make further improvements to Operation Noah (50 KB)

You are welcome to photocopy the material described above provided you acknowledge CEL.

USEFUL LINKS:

POSTnote 245: (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) concisely summarises current knowledge of rapid climate change and reviews possible policy options. (4 side pdf file)

A Rocha's VERY USEFUL material on Noah's Ark for Environment Sunday 2005

Stop Climate Chaos Operation Naoh is a member of this coalition, formed on 1 Sept 2005

www.risingtide.org.uk. Excellent material for speakers

ECEN (European Christian Environment Network) Climate Change Coalition page - WCC links.

'Energy and Christian Responsibility' Study Pack of UK Methodist Church - to help people share in the debate about energy production and use, and to take action as individuals, families or churches. The pack contains six programmes for group study and a CD ROM with more detailed papers for further reading.

Solidarity with victims of climate change (Jan 2002) (119 KB pdf file)- Important document by The World Council of Churches . This led to an:

Ecumenical call to action by many signatories in November 2002. Dr David Hallman ( Climate Change Programme Coordinator, World Council of Churches dhallman@sympatico.ca ) writes: "It would be helpful to keep circulating the statement and have additional churches and ecumenical organisations endorsing it so that we create a broader base on which we can build specific actions." CEL is currently investigating how it can sign this document.

Flying off to a warmer Climate - a fun site which calculates for you the air pollution caused by any flight route you choose. It will make you think twice about your next air trip. And it's a fun site to visit

Climate Concern UK
UK-based campaign group, specifically focussed on spreading the word to the general public to recognise the human-induced climate change problem and to encourage reductions in energy consumption.

Climate Change Speaker Network: Nationwide network with speakers available to give climate change talks to schools, community groups, societies, faith groups, councils, etc.

Climate Change Pentathlon Enjoy Computer Games? Try Tearfund's Climate change Pentathlon. Fun

Other CEL pages on climate change:
Global Warming Report on the event of 19 Nov 2003 at St James Piccadilly, London, with Michael Meacher, Aubrey Meyer, John Oliver and Michael Grubb

Online videoclip recommending Contraction and Convergence - Jan 2007

Renewable Energy for Schools

from an article by Meyer Hillman:

In the UK, the average individual's annual carbon dioxide emissions are about 10 tonnes – roughly half -5 tonnes-from personal use and half from industry. That total is 2.5 times the world average which, in turn, must be reduced by 60% to about 1 tonne for personal uses, in the opinion of most climate scientists.

..... within the next 20 years, mileage by air alone is forecast to triple, thereby exceeding current mileage by road and rail combined. Yet the carbon emissions from a return flight from London to New York alone is equivalent to about 3 times what the annual personal ration for all our fossil fuel purposes must come down to!

Operation Noah: the churches climate change campaign.

Operation Noah: the churches climate c hange c ampaign.