ECUMENICAL FORUM OF EUROPEAN CHRISTIAN WOMEN

 

Fourth Ecological Summer School 16^th to 21^st September 2007, Berlin (Woltersdorf)

 

Twenty women from five European countries, belonging to five different denominations, met in Woltersdorf, near Berlin, to study the theme Women and Energy.  More than half of the participants travelled from Belarus.  There were no problems in understanding Russian, German or English due to good language skills and reliable simultaneous translation.

 

 

The women came from different backgrounds and had different approaches to the theme.  They came from countries in favour or neutral to use of atomic energy [Britain, Romania and Slovakia] or sceptical [Germany] or, in the case of Belarus, from a country which, following the Chernobyl disaster continued to have a negative view of the use of atomic energy.  The Belarusian women told stories of how their own lives had been affected.  In all these countries alternative forms of energy, if considered at all, played a subordinate role.

 

 

 

The Summer School began with a comprehensive presentation about the problem of Climate Change.  It is caused by burning of fossil fuels [adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere] and this is indisputable.  It results in an increase in extremes e.g. heatwaves, storms and floods. 

 

 

There were discussions about tackling climate change for individuals and the community.  One possibility is saving energy.  Another is using alternative forms of energy but an evaluation of these sources shows that not all of them are suitable for sustainable use.  The third possibility, the use of atomic power, we resisted as atomic power has risks.  It is also expensive and uneconomical. There are better ways of saving carbon dioxide, sources of uranium are limited and it is not clear yet how to dispose of atomic waste.

 

 

After a time of study, when we did not always agree with one another, we sought others to help us in our debate.  On our first visit to the Parliament we met Sylvia Kotting-Uhl MdB [member of the German Parliament], speaker on environmental issues for the Green Party and Lutz Mez Researcher on environmental issues at Free University Berlin.  Our second discussion was with the Member of Parliament Florian Toncar MdB (FDP) who also is a member of group for human rights issues.  The energy policy of the Green Party and the FDP are fundamentally different.  The Greens support immediate withdrawal from use of atomic energy whereas the FDP support the extending the life of existing atomic power stations for up to 50 years i.e. some until 2035.

 

 

Lutz Mez said that the argument that atomic power was irreplaceable wasn’t valid.  Even in France with its large programme of atomic power only 17% of its total output is from atomic plants.  In Germany and Britain the equivalent is 6%.  We found a lot to agree with in our discussion about lifestyle with Brigitte Dahlbender.   Florian Toncar offered to help the Belarusian women in their search for Health Rights or with other helpful information he might have.

                  

 

 

 

 

There was an inspiring talk by Elisabeth Raiser ‘Women, Creative and Domestic’.  Where did we get the energy to do both?  How might we achieve separating the two? We must have a clear strategy and our own behaviour must reflect this.

 

We had an outing to a farm near Prenzlau to study the practical side of our project. We observed production of energy from sun, wind and biogas.  The change in sources of energy was not only desirable but possible.

 

Meditation, morning and evening, supported our learning and working together.   One evening we were helped to relax by dancing.   Some of us enjoyed playing in a recorder ensemble together.  The guests were pleased that some sightseeing was possible.  This included a short time to walk in Prenzlau, and we viewed the sights of Berlin from the dome of the Reichstag.

 

 

The roundtable discussion at the end of the week showed that the participants had found the Summer School very constructive.   The Belarusian women wanted to pass on what they had learnt and to use the contacts they had made.  In addition the participants agreed to write to EFECW National Coordinators meeting to request that Climate Change, The Use of Energy, and Sustainable Living are given priority in the overall Forum programme.                                                                  

 

Elisabeth Buecking and Dorothy Knights.