Don't forget SuperBadger

SuperBadger is Tearfund's Facebook campaigning application. It allows Facebook users to send emails direct from their profile to the people making the decisions. Whether it is badgering politicians about climate change, or badgering supermarkets to stock more Fairtrade products, start badgering now!

• Find SuperBadger on Facebook now (Facebook sign up required)
• You can also follow SuperBadger on Twitter and SuperBadger's very own blog

Cherish your churchyard

Thousands of growing churches are preparing to celebrate Cherishing Churchyards Week this June as part of the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity. The nationwide project is being run by conservation charity Caring for God’s Acre (CfGA) and is supported by the CofE’s national environmental campaign Shrinking the Footprint. There are an estimated 12,000 CofE churchyards.

The Towns That Chocolate Built

A blog post (from Edible Geography) discussing the impact of the Cadbury and Rowntree businesses on urban and social geography:

"chocolate’s architectural expression merits further study, as a lens through which to understand its cultural history"

Help make poverty an election issue

Now the General Election has finally been called, Christian Aid are asking supporters to help turn politicians’ minds to the crucial issues of tax dodging and climate change, as part of Christian Aid’s bid to keep global poverty high on the political agenda.

They are not suggesting who you should vote for! However, they hope that every new MP will have been asked, repeatedly, about his or her views on climate change and tax dodging before they enter office. Every MP should be fully aware that ambitious action to tackle these issues is exactly what many of their constituents demand.

Join the Christian Aid Election Campaign Trail and keep up with developmrents by becoming a fan of the Christian Aid Facebook page or follow on Twitter.

The Wave: march and pray for climate justice

March and pray for climate justice on Saturday 5 December, in London, as part of The Wave. The Wave is organised by the Stop Climate Chaos coalition ahead of the crucial UN climate summit in Copenhagen, and tens of thousands of people from all walks of life are expected to flow through the streets of London to demonstrate their support for a safe climate future for all. Paricipants are asked to wear blue or bring blue banners to join the blue wave.

There will be a church service at 11am, at which Archbishops Rowan Williams and Vincent Nichols will be speaking. This will be followed by a fun and peaceful march around the Thames.

Eat for the environment

Read about how "scoffing fish can save ecosystems" in Eat for the ecosysytem.

Calculate your personal carbon footprint

The Guardian's quick carbon calculator enables you to calculate the impact of your travel, home and shopping habits with our simple carbon footprint calculator. You simply drag the sliders to the left or right based on your spending and lifestyle patterns to compare your footprint to the UK average and other countries around the world.

• Find out more about the calculator's methodology
• Get some quick tips on reducing your footprint

Blog Action Day 09‏ (the ecocidal moment)

Today is Blog Action Day - an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. Blog Action Day 2009 will focus on climate change and will be the largest-ever social change event on the web. Follow the action on Twitter in anticipation, with updates from around the world every minute.

I've chosen to post a link to an essay from the Archbishop of Canterbury on the ecocidal moment. In this he discusses his view that the climate and financial crises reveal an amnesia about the human calling:

The Christian story lays out a model of reconnection with an alienated world: it tells us of a material human life inhabited by God and raised transfigured from death; of a sharing of material food which makes us sharers in eternal life; of a community whose life together seeks to express within creation the care of the creator. In the words used by both Moses and St Paul, this is not a message remote from us in heaven or buried under the earth: it is near, on our lips and hearts. And, as Moses immediately goes on to say in the Old Testament passage, "You know it and can quote it, so now obey it. Today I am giving you a choice between good and evil, between life and death … Choose life."

[The Guardian article is an edited extract from the 2009 Operation Noah lecture]

Day of prayer on climate change

Sunday 4th October is the suggested date for a Day of prayer on climate change. Churches are invited to set aside time to pray on this crucial issue. Prayer and other resources are available for download.

The day is promoted by the Environmental Issues Network, of which A Rocha UK is a member. The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd James Jones said, "I urge all Christians to pray for the earthing of Heaven on this day of prayer. Each day I make my own prayer with these words: Holy Jesus, Son of Man, come in glory and renew the face of the earth."

The kindness of strangers

The self-styled "water pilgrim", Maxim Laithwaite, has walked more than 600 miles and climbed the equivalent of four Mount Everests over the past two months. Throughout this time he has relied on strangers to provide him with food and shelter. Refusing to beg, he has used a simple phrase to prick the conscience of people he meets: "I'm relying on the kindness of strangers as I make my way". These 12 words have opened doors, literally, to homes of people just five minutes after meeting them. His strategy is not to knock on doors but to engage people he meets about water conservation, the issue for which he is raising money. Read more on Water Aid.

Green cleaning products

In the first of a new series of videos in the Guardian, Lucy Siegle discusses the merits of greener, and even homemade cleaning products. Lucy's new video series is part of a boost for green living content on the website as part of the re-launch of environmentguardian.co.uk.

"Let nothing be wasted"

In today's Thought for the Day, Bishop James Jones discussed the vast amount of food we waste in the UK, linking this to the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand.

"Long before people realised the earth wasn't a limitless larder and centuries before the word 'sustainability' appeared on anyone's lips Jesus was warning against a lifestyle groaning with greed and waste."

Archbishop's environment videocast

The Archbishop of Canterbury encourages ‘response to God’s hope for us’ in an environment videocast. Launched last week, the Ready Steady Slow videocast is available on the http://www.whywearewaiting.com/ website and on YouTube. In it, the Archbishop shares his concerns for the planet in a new videocast encouraging viewers to sign up in advance, via the Internet, to the Church of England’s environmentally-themed online Advent calendar for 2009, with its daily green challenges and thoughts.

Skyride Leicester

On Sunday 30th August, much of Leicester will be closed to motor transport for Skyride Leicester. This is one of five Skyride mass-participation cycling events, where the streets of major cities are closed to other traffic and cyclists take over. Each is a great day out for the whole family where you can meet members of the GB Cycling Team, experience live entertainment, take part in challenges and tricks and - fingers crossed - soak up the sunshine!

The Skyride Leicester route will be open and free of traffic from 10am until 4pm.Highlights of the route include: Leicester's cultural (and traffic light!) hub, the Golden Mile, Historic Belgrave Hall, the eye catching and iconic Space Centre, Abbey Park, and Belgrave Hall gardens (home of the Skyride Entertainment for the day).

Recycle thoughtfully and environmentally

The Guardian's EthicalLivingBlog is encouraging us to resist the dubious temptation of free air miles in exchange for your old mobile phones, as there are plenty of creative ways to recycle your used handset instead.

Do we really need to ban plastic bags?

There have been a number of blog posts about plastic bags - arguably the ultimate symbol of our throwaway culture. However, as the Welsh Assembly announces plans to tax plastic bags, some believe plastic bags are distracting us from more important environmental issues.

Plastic bag revolution

Government figures reveal that shoppers are rejecting plastic bags - the national use of plastic bags has halved to 450m since 2007. This has been heralded as a "small green revolution".

Sounds of summer

The chirp of crickets and grasshoppers is overtaking native songbirds as the sound of the British summer, reports the Guardian today.

The Happy Planet Index

The Happy Planet Index reveals the ecological efficiency with which human well-being is delivered. The index combines environmental impact with human well-being to measure the environmental efficiency with which, country by country, people live long and happy lives. The Happy Planet Index 2.0 was published earlier this month and reveals a surprising picture of the relative wealth and progress of nations. Learn about the ideas behind the HPI, how it is calculated, and why we need it on the HPI website.

Recycle Week 2009

Recycle Week 2009 takes place from 22-28 June. It's a campaign that wants you to do less, not more! This Recycle Week is all about the many, easy ways we can all waste less.

It’s easy to get involved this Recycle Week. We can all help by doing anything from re-using our carrier bags to recycling old electrical items – remembering to put as much of our recycling out, reducing our food waste and home composting of course! However you choose to waste less, it helps the environment and you might even save money in the process. To show how much we can contribute as individuals, the website includes a list of easy-to-achieve pledges.