Event:   An Extraordinary Low Carbon Adventure
Date:     Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Time:     6.30 – 8.00 pm AEDT via Zoom
Host:      CLC Victoria supported by CLC Australia

RSVP:     vicexco@gmail.com by 31/10 then a Zoom link will be sent to you before the event.

Adventures in Sustainable Living from the streets of India to Middle Class Australia

This event outlines the extraordinary journey of Mark Delaney’s life of Christian service to vulnerable people in India and his fight for Climate Action in both India and Australia.  The story is a great example of Christian faith in action.

Mark and his family have radically re-shaped their lives with extraordinary living choices in both Australia and India. Living for 20 years in one room in the slums of India without refrigeration or even running water, their toilet a hole in the ground.  The next phase of their radical experiment was returning to Australia, and experiencing reverse culture shock, while trying to convince Australians of the benefits of reducing their carbon emissions amid the escalating climate emergency.

He speaks from the heart about what sustainable living really means, providing great insight into how we can all think about and change how we impact the planet every day.  Mark and his family’s story calls into question what we really need to live and be happy and challenges all of us to do more to protect the planet we depend on.  As we know our world is in trouble.

What will we learn?

Mark explains that the loss of the things that most of us strive for has been enrichment for the whole family. Living in an area occupied by the underbelly of Indian society has been an inspiration to his two sons, replacing the urge to acquire and consume with an innate sense of social justice and community. His son Tom expresses a deep understanding that “nothing is as important as helping others”.

Mark will take us through the family’s journey in Australia to reduce their environmental footprint using lessons from their life in India. Learn how the Delaneys’ low carbon journey in one year has resulted in their annual carbon emissions being about half that of the average Australian.

Many of the solutions to the climate crisis require other people (politicians, corporations etc) to change. But we have limited power over them. The only person we have with full power to change is ourself. This event looks at the ways we can change our own lifestyle to have a much lower carbon footprint, and thereby be part of the solution to the crisis.

In this presentation, Mark will speak powerfully about the fulfilment that living among the poor has brought him and his family, the enjoyment of being free from money and possessions which no longer define their lives.

Who will be presenting?

Mark Delaney studied Law & Commerce at the University of Queensland before practising law briefly. He married Cathy in 1993 and they left for India in 1995. Their two sons, Tom and Oscar were both born in India and have spent much of their lives there. As a family they have lived and worked with the poor in slums in north India for much of the last 26 years, assisting residents to become literate, and to access government entitlements.

With the climate emergency threatening to wipe out many hard fought developmental gains in India and elsewhere, Mark’s focus has shifted to the climate emergency in the last 5 years. This led to his co-authoring ‘Low Carbon and Loving It’, with his son Tom, published in 2018.