About Us

This section is divided up into these key areas:

• History - An introduction to Save Our World

• Principles - What we stand for

• Spiritual - Dimension of Save Our World

• Positions - initially on Nuclear Energy

• Invitation - An invitation to join

• Contact Us - How to contact us

Short History

In November 1996 one of the founder members had an idea, out of nowhere, to organise a 'Save the World Day'. The purpose was to renew ordinary people's faith in the potential effectiveness of concerted action to save the living world, in the belief that such action is one interest that all sensible people have in common.

This idea changed and developed through someone suggesting environmental education in schools and others who were keen on putting on festivals. Both ideas came together in the form of a small Save our World Festival in South London at midsummer in 1998, including schoolchildren.

On the strength of it, SAVE OUR WORLD was formed as a not-for-profit voluntary Association with its own Constitution, Committee and Membership. This structure has continued up till now, overseeing two more and larger Festivals in 1999 and 2000. In September 2005 we attained charitable status in England and Wales, of which details can be found on our UK web-site.

Over the ensuing years, we have launched a number of positively expressed challenges to governments, starting with one to the US Congress on the Kyoto Protocol and greenhouse gas reductions at our festival in 2000, which is still just as relevant now as when it started - in the Clinton era! Others have followed: to get a global commitment to stabilising the climate at the Earth Summit in 2002, for a Sustainable Air Industry in the UK and for An organic Alternative to GM crops.

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Principles

Save Our World acts to help protect & sustain the natural world...

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The Spiritual Dimension

The spiritual dimension of Save Our World refers to supporting the state of being of all those who are opened to their awareness and caring, so that they protect and sustain the living world on the highest possible level of love and consciousness.

When this perspective is applied to the Key Points in our Principles, the significance of 'stating our truth' is grounded in the intuitive certainty of acting from the state of the Self, as expounded in such books as The Compassionate Revolution. To state awarely one's dissent from political expediency, half-truths and 'spin' is considered to be a compassionate spiritual activity. So also is 'standing one's ground' when, for example, 'pressing the government to halt exploitation of the environment in the pursuit of profit, corporate power and international trade'.

With respect to caring and compassion, the act of regarding 'our world as our larger body and our home' implies the holistic vision of being 'one with everything'. When I sought my Master's blessings in meditative visualisation, her action was simply to look out of her window at nature and say: 'Just love it!'. And in a public talk, in response to someone who sought her blessings on protecting a particular endangered species, she said: 'The heart is an endangered species'.

As to no amount of technique, strategy, change in political structure or reasoning achieving anything without deep and loving caring, Andrew Harvey stresses this message over and over again in his book The Way of Passion. So, too, did Saint Paul in his famous passage in The Letter to the Corinthians.

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Positions

Position on Nuclear Energy

Nuclear power is being promoted as the solution to the impending energy crisis. However, we do not believe this is the case. We therefore have carried out research among independent sources. As a result we have arrived at a number of reasons why nuclear is an undesirable alternative to other forms of energy for averting dangerous climate change.

Firstly, nuclear energy is expensive and uneconomic. Even the World Nuclear Organisation has admitted that the overall cost of nuclear is up to four times more costly than wind-power! Secondly, the planned nuclear developments will not be available in time to meet the government's targets - or, more significantly, the anticipated point of no return (10 years at most) for stabilising the climate. The most highly recommended variety of reactor to be built (Westinghouse Advanced Passive 1000) would take a minimum of twenty years to construct.

Nuclear energy is being claimed by the UK government to be a carbon-free alternative, but significant carbon-producing processes are involved in the mining of uranium, in the construction of power stations and in the disposal of waste. Energy requirements for these processes depend on high-grade uranium ore, which is expected to be exhausted within 50 years. Lower quality uranium then available will lead to energy prices soaring in the future.

With nuclear energy, there is always a risk of catastrophe, both at the level of management and on account of the technology involved. This can have very serious and far-reaching effects. No really effective technological or other means have yet been found to deal with nuclear waste, including burying it underground. Evidence has been produced of Leukemia rates around power stations up to twenty times the normal level. Radiation is considered still to be a hazard to farming in North Wales today, twenty years after the Chernobyl disaster! The availability of cooling water to regulate reactor temperature is likely to become a serious problem (it was in France during the heatwave in 2003), suggesting that climate change may actually put us at more risk from nuclear disaster!

There are also the risks of terrorist attacks on power plants, and of theft of radioactive materials by terrorist organisations. It is hypocritical to suggest that such materials will be safe here whilst preventing other nations from utilising them, deeming them untrustworthy (e.g. Iran, North Korea).

At present, nuclear power contributes 22% of UK's electricity, or 8% of the total energy demand. It cannot resolve the energy crisis facing our country, as electricity is only one variety of the energy we so rapidly consume. We are unpersuaded that nuclear energy is essential, provided we reduce our energy demands substantially. This is in any case required on account of our utilising the resources, on average, of three planet Earths! Much of the political case being made for nuclear energy rests on the assumption that an exponential rise in economic growth is both desirable and unstoppable. Pseudoscientific arguments are being utilised in its favour, and the case for reducing energy demand ignored. Government and big corporations appear to be pursuing their own agenda, using misleading methods to advance their position.

If one third of Britain's electricity consumers simply installed wind systems or solar panels, this, it is reliably claimed, would match the electricity capacity of the UK's nuclear program. To tackle the energy crisis safely and ethically, decentralisation of power production makes eminent sense. This would greatly reduce energy waste, and be more flexible and economic, as well as providing the most effective, democratically managed means of meeting the energy needs of remote villages in developing countries.

[Prepared and updated by Jude Laing with Jim Scott 03/01/2006]

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Invitation to Join

f you are interested in becoming a member of Save Our World, please take a moment of your time to fill out our application form. You can now use this link to send donations on line, and print out and send us bankers orders and gift aid declarations.

Since 1998 we have been campaigning, networking, conferencing, and corresponding with Government and international agencies. We have helped to block a potentially damaging international trade agreement and delay commercial planting of genetically modified crops. In 2000 we launched our on-line Petition to the US Congress to avert dangerous climate change. In 2002 we developed a personal correspondence, with the Minister for the Environment, over challenging governments at the World Summit to crucial reductions in greenhouse gases. Our main local way of inspiring and empowering people is currently through professionally produced Roadshows at festivals and Workshop projects in schools.

In order to do these things as well as build on the momentum that has been started, we need your help. Just by becoming a member you would be adding to the realisation of these dreams. By contributing your commitment and creativity we could take things much further. All you have to be is over the age of eighteen. All you have to do is to support our aims and send a £10 (£6 concessions) membership subscription with the application form completed. Please join us now!

Yours very sincerely,

Jim Scott, Chairperson, Save Our World

Contact Us

Tel: + 44 (0)20 76400492

Please use this form for genuine enquiries. No Spam!