This month for New Forest Forest
Church, rather than a video, we felt that it would be nice to all go out in our
local area at 4 o’clock on Sunday May 10th, when we would usually be gathering,
so that we are all out at the same time, even if we aren’t together, and as we
walk to contemplate how the current lockdown is affecting the planet and the
natural environment.
As you walk slowly and quietly and
absorb the natural environment near you and the Divine presence within it,
contemplate what impact your life has on the planet, and what the current
situation shows us about the affect Western culture is having on the earth.
Below is some information to help your thoughts. Perhaps you
could find out more information.
Following your time out contemplating, why not come back
here and write your thoughts and comments so that we can share together in our
experiences?
While the world grapples with the
coronavirus pandemic, the slowdown in human activity is having some unexpected,
but positive impact on our planet. To combat the rapidly spreading virus
countries have put a lockdown resulting in limited travel and industrial
activity.
Across the globe wildlife and
plant life and aqua-life has been reported as increasing in its health and
activity. Limiting travel has led to a reduction in vehicle emissions and
cutting the amount of industrial activity has led to a drop in the number of
harmful particles put in the air and water.
According to Lauri Myllyvirta, an analyst at the
Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Finland, the restrictions
contributed to a 25 percent drop in China's carbon dioxide emissions over four
weeks beginning in late January, compared to the same time last year.
Myllyvirta's analysis also
found that industrial operations were reduced by 15 percent to 40 percent in
some sectors and that coal consumption at power plants fell by 36 percent.
In San Francisco, which is under
shelter-in-place orders to control the spread of the coronavirus, the
average concentration of fine particulate matter — tiny particles in the air
that are dangerous because they can be breathed deeply into the lungs — over five
days was almost 40 percent lower than the previous year; in New York City,
there was a 28 percent drop over the same period of time, and the
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue saw a 32 percent decrease.
Researchers who study the Earth’s
movement are reporting a drop in seismic noise — the hum of vibrations in the
planet’s crust — that could be the result of transport networks and other human
activities being shut down. Data from a seismometer at the Royal
Observatory of Belgium in Brussels, show that measures to curb the
spread of COVID-19 in Brussels caused human-induced seismic noise to fall by
about one-third.
Watch this video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxy5sBe2o5k
