Education

Teachers and school pupils play an important part in CiS. Contact the Education secretary Dr John Ling if you have any questions, or would like to contribute to the resources on this page.

Interview with John Ling: html version / pdf version (437 kb)
Teaching Science in School (pdf, 65 kb), article from Christianity.

Talks from the education conference

Recordings of talks from the education conference 2006, here.

Resources on Science and Faith for Teachers

The award winning Test of Faith has now adapted material for secondary schools, here.

Resources on Origins for Teachers

We have collected a series of resources suitable for use in schools, or as background reading for teaching on origins and creation, here.

Guidance on the place of creationism and intelligent design in science lessons:
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/docbank/index.cfm?id=11890

Traffic jams and electric cars

As I sit in the traffic jam in my G-Wiz electric car it uses no fuel and sits quietly until the cars move. It seems crazy to me to look at the cars around all pumping out CO2 to no benefit as they sit still. Even when I move, my G-Wiz is emissions free because I recharge it using 100% renewable electricity. Then they have to carry heavy gearboxes (electric engines have a good torque over a large range so don't need to use gears) and silencers (my G-Wizz is very quiet) and starter motors (an internal combustion engine needs an electric motor and battery to start it). Think of the millions of tons of metal that are being carried about unnecessarily (perhaps if you are steel company owner you'd rather not think about it). You can drive an electric car indoors if the doors were big enough because it doesn't emit any toxic gases so even garages are going to change. Funnily enough I don't miss those trips to the petrol station, the smell of the petrol or the queues at the till. It is only the work of a moment to plug my G-Wizz in at the end of the day to an ordinary three-pin socket. And when it's a cold morning I use the remote key from the house to warm up the interior off the mains, so it's defrosted and snug when I get in. So what's the downside? Well mine is the first model and it slows down to 20mph on steep hills, but otherwise is quite nippy enough. Another thing is that because of the range of 30-40 miles you keep an eye on the charge meter. The newer one (G-Wiz AC) has more punch and goes a bit further. I advertise my favourite Christian conservation charity ARocha on the back and get lots of smiles and questions when I'm out in it. I know a bike would be even more eco-friendly, but hey - it's raining and I have a heavy medical bag to carry on the rounds to visit my patients, but on the other hand as I'm sitting in a traffic jam….

There are now more than 500 electric cars in London. Most of them are the Reva G-Wiz (www.goingreen.co.uk). The G-Wiz is an electric car made in India which, when powered by a renewable electricity, is 100% emission free and consumes just one quarter of the energy of the average petrol car. The car only costs £1.64 per day to run (that's less than the bus), road tax is free, insurance is available at 10% cheaper than the lowest insurance bracket. It charges up from an ordinary three pin socket and does about 40 miles on one charge.

Other electric cars are becoming available. Recently the NICE Mega City car was introduced (server8.dedicateduk.com/~nicecar/). NICE stands for 'No Internal Combustion Engine'. At present cheap delivery and servicing of the G-Wiz and NICE Mega City are only available within the M25. The all electric Smart (www.smart.com) has been launched this year. It does 70 miles on a charge and accelerates faster than the petrol model. It will only be available on lease to companies at present.

In many parts of the country parking electric cars is free and they are exempt from London's congestion charge. Annually petrol cars emit between one and four tonnes of Carbon Dioxide, the main greenhouse gas implicated in Climate Change, but an electric car is potentially 100% emission free during use if it is charged with 100% renewable electricity. Electric cars would suit many commuters where walking, cycling or public transport is not appropriate.

Why should we protect the environment? Climate change threatens the world economy, from food production to water resources, with raising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather. In many parts of the world the poor will be the first to suffer. Climate change also threatens the planet's biodiversity, with many specialist species in danger. For a Christian view of the importance of conservation and action on climate change see www.arocha.org or www.tearfund.org.

Dr. Graham McAll
GP in Sheffield
October 2006