Category Archives: Bali Protocols

Universal Unitarianism And Environmental Groups? Are there any or is the Church just one big one?

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This post is dedicated to Carol Kneedler who you can find at: carol kneedler <carol@o3internet.com>,

and who is a Universal Unitarian. She is a our web Diva and genius, and she along with Shane Bumgarner and Lanny Montgomery make this web site possible.

But First, “What is Unitarianism?”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarianism

Unitarianism is the belief in the single personality of God, in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity (three persons in one God).[1] It is the philosophy upon which the modern Unitarian movement was based, and, according to its proponents, is the original form of Christianity. Unitarian Christians believe in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as found in the New Testament and other early Christian writings, and hold him up as an exemplar. Adhering to strict monotheism, they maintain that Jesus was a great man and a prophet of God, perhaps even a supernatural being, but not God himself. Unitarians believe in the moral authority, but not necessarily the divinity, of Jesus. They do not pray to Jesus. Their theology is thus distinguishable from the theology of Catholic, Orthodox, mainline Protestant, and other Christian denominations, who hold the Trinity doctrine as a core belief.

Some Evangelicals hold a unitarian theology in that they see God as a single person, and are thus antitrinitarian, but because they perceive Jesus to be God himself do not fall into the general theology discussed here, which sees Jesus as subordinate to God and a finite being. Instead see: Sabellianism, Oneness theology, Oneness Pentecostalism, Monarchianism, Binitarianism.

While there are both religiously liberal and religiously conservative unitarians, the name “Unitarian” is most commonly associated with the liberal branch of this theology.

Conservative (Biblical or Evangelical) unitarians strictly adhere to the principle of sola scriptura and their belief that the Bible is both inspired and inerrant and uphold “fundamentals” of belief. This version of unitarianism is more commonly called Nontrinitarianism, rather than Unitarianism.

Unitarians sum up their faith as “the religion of Jesus, not a religion about Jesus.” Historically, they have encouraged non-dogmatic views of God, Jesus, the world and purpose of life as revealed through reason, scholarship, science, philosophy, scripture and other prophets and religions. They believe that reason and belief are complementary and that religion and science can co-exist and guide them in their understanding of nature and God. They also do not enforce belief in creeds or dogmatic formulas. Although there is flexibility in the nuances of belief or basic truths for the individual Unitarian Christian, general principles of faith have been recognized as a way to bind the group in some commonality. Adherents generally accept religious pluralism and find value in all teachings, but remain committed to their core belief in Christ’s teachings. Liberal Unitarians value a secular society in which government stays out of religious affairs.

OK are you asleep yet? But as a Red Letter Christian I find it all very interesting.

Wiki goes on:

The term “Unitarian” has been applied both to those who hold a Unitarian theological belief and to those who belong to a Unitarian church. A hundred years ago, this would not have made much of a difference, but today it is a distinction that needs to be made.

Unitarian theology is distinguishable from the belief system of modern Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships in several countries. This is because over time, some Unitarians and many Unitarian Universalists have moved away from the traditional Christian roots of Unitarianism. For example, in the 1890s the American Unitarian Association began to allow non-Christian and non-theistic churches and individuals to be part of their fellowship. As a result, people who held no Unitarian belief began to be called “Unitarians,” simply because they were members of churches that belonged to the American Unitarian Association. After several decades, the non-theistic members outnumbered the theological Unitarians.[2] A similar, though proportionally much smaller, phenomenon has taken place in the Unitarian churches in the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and other countries, which remain more theologically based.

But I guess I could have let them speak for themselves….

 subsection-photo-visitors.jpg:}
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http://www.uua.org/visitors/index.shtml

Welcome to Unitarian Universalism!

Unitarian Universalists are a caring, open-minded religious community that encourages you to seek your own spiritual path. Our congregations are places where people gather to nurture their spirits and put their faith into action by helping to make our communities—and the world—a better place.

Explore our website,visit a congregation in your area and discover Unitarian Universalism. We invite you to join us.

Unitarian Universalism: 
Nurture Your Spirit.  Help Heal Our World.

Find Out More!

Unitarian Universalists are committed not only to spiritual growth and transformation but also to involvement in the world.  Read these Unitarian Universalist Perspectives to see how we live out our values. 

  • Ecology, Justice, and Compassion
  • Affirmation of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People
  • The Relationship Between Religion and Science
  • The Role of Religion in American Democracy
  • Religion, Morality, and Sexuality

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Please note that their FIRST issue is Ecology! Is that cool or what? But then there is the pretty picture syndrome:

http://uuministryforearth.org/mfe_overview.htm

uuaworld.jpg

UU Ministry for Earth (formerly the Seventh Principle Project) is an affiliate organization of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Our mission is to facilitate and support the work of Unitarian Universalists by affirming and promoting the Seventh Principle of the UUA, “Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” Our members believe that the Earth is in peril from human activities, and for us as people of faith, this is a moral and spiritual crisis of utmost importance.

We sponsor the congregation based Green Sanctuary Program which provides a framework for study and reflection, and encourages individual and collective action for responding to the call to heal the Earth. In addition, our annual programs and exhibit booth at General Assembly provide hundreds of Unitarian Universalists with education and collaboration opportunities around critical environmental issues.

 So there you have it…it is the Whole Church. Pretty amazing actually…

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Respect Existence

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Jainism and Environmental Groups? It seems that every religion has one so I guess

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Religiously Exhausted – I am going to do 2 more posts on religion and the environmental movement in part because I am exhausted mentally. Learning a whole new religion everyday is extremely grueling. Also I am running out of religions. I mean at one level there are 4,200 seperate religions in the world. Out of what is left on the list Shinto, Cao Dai, and Tenrikyo are Japanese and Vietnamese indigenous religions that share much with the other indigenous religions. Some even lump them in with Taoism or Buddhism. I actually treated one as a premier religion under the banner of Chinese Tradional Religion simply because of the shear number of people that practice it so please see either the post on Indigenous Religions, African Traditional Religions or the Chinese Tradional Religion to get the general drift.

Also on the list are Neo-paganism, Rastifarianism and Scientology. All I can say about that is NO WAY. I will not write a post about people who are “trying to be pagans”. Heh you either are or you ain’t. A religion based on smoking weed? I don’t need an excuse for that. A religion based on a missing science fiction writer. WOW.

Then there is Zoroastrianism, along with Buddhism and the Indigenous religions it is one of the oldest practised religions in the world. But it is dieing. And there is nothing pretty about that. One of the first monetheistic religions in the world it could have contributed to some of the foundations of Jewish thought as well. But in the last decade or so it has dropped from 2.6 million adherents to 200,000. Not good. So why a post on Jainism which isn’t in much better shape? Because I always wanted to talk about naked priests. And why finish with Unitarianism? Because my web mistress and Diva goes to that church and she is worth it!

I had never heard of Jainism before the early 1990’s. I was working on a Homeless Project at Tulane University and one of the students that was a Tracker on the Project said that there was an Jainism Exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art. He was going to play some weird African musical instrument on Sunday afternoon. Would I come? I was a member of the museum anyway so I said I would go. I was really impressed. They had a complete Alter that filled one whole room. It was some of the best carved wood and ivory that I had ever seen before or since. The music was exotic. But the blessed thing was the film they had to accompany the exhibit. It was about a naked Priest that wandered from village to village in India begging for food.

But first the obligatory pretty picture:

  http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/jainism/index.html

 jain_mountain.jpg

http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/jainism/index.html

The Jain Faith in History
The Jain religion originated more than twenty-five hundred years ago in India. It developed a path of renunciation and purification designed to liberate one from the shackles of karma, allowing one to enter into a state of eternal liberation from rebirth, or kevala, which is roughly equivalent to the Buddhist concept of nirvana. The primary method of attaining this ultimate state requires a careful observance of nonviolent behavior. Jainism emphasizes nonviolence, or ahimsa, as the only true path that leads to liberation and prescribes following scrupulous rules for the protection of life in all forms.1The origins of Jainism are somewhat difficult to trace. The tradition holds that twenty-four great teachers, or Tirthankaras, established the foundations of the Jain faith. The most recent of these teachers, Vardhamana Mahavira (also known as the Jina) most probably lived during the time of the Buddha. Recent scholarship suggests that the Buddha lived in the fourth century BCE. However, the traditional stories of Mahavira indicate that he was born into a family that followed the religious teachings of Parsvanatha, the twenty-third Tirthankara, who possibly taught during the eighth century BCE. Because virtually no archaeological ruins can be found in India for the period from 1500 to 300 BCE, exact dates cannot be determined. However, the first excavations of northern India during the Hellenistic era (ca. 300 BCE) include statues of Jain images. Furthermore, the earliest Buddhist texts discuss Jainism in some detail, suggesting that it was a well-established tradition even before the time of the Buddha.

Jainism and Environmentalism
The common concerns between Jainism and environmentalism can be found in a mutual sensitivity toward living things, a recognition of the inter-connectedness of life-forms, and support of programs that educate others to respect and protect living systems. For the Jains, this approach is anchored in a cosmology that views the world in terms of a cosmic woman whose body contains countless life souls (jiva) that reincarnate repeatedly until the rare attainment of spiritual liberation (kevala). The primary means to attain freedom requires the active nonharming of living beings, which disperses the karmas that keep one bound. Jains adhere to the vows of nonviolence to purify their karma and advance toward the higher states of spiritual attainment (gunasthana). For Jain laypeople, this generally means keeping to a vegetarian diet and pursuing livelihoods deemed to inflict a minimum of harm. For Jain monks and nuns, this means the need to avoid doing harm to all forms of life, including bugs and microorganisms (nigoda).

Harvard listed no Jain Environmental groups or sites, but referred people to the also normally reliable Alliance of Religion and Conservation. I could find only one group their:

 http://www.arcworld.org/

http://www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=47

Young Jains is a UK-based organization for the young and not so young that encourages the discussion and exploration of Jain philosophy, spirituality and its practical importance to life, in an open and friendly environment.

This site also is for Young Jains but it seems to be based in the US:

http://www.yjponline.org/index.asp

And that is about it for the web at least. But what about the naked priests you say? Their monks or priests are so afraid of hurting living beings that they cover their mouths for fear of killing microbes..

 jain-monk1.jpg

But no force on earth, police or otherwise, can triumph over the unquestionable purity of a great Jain sage, and the day we were taken to see His Holiness, by Mr. Ratanchand Hirachand, a wealthy Jain shipping merchant, Shri Nemi Sagarji Maharaj was, as usual, completely naked.

So I am really sorry to say that I could only find one image of one of the naked priests. Which is too bad because the movie ended showing this cute little old skinny priest from the rear walking down a dirt road with 2 deveotees in front of him sweeping bugs out of the road with tree branches so he would not step on them and kill them. What a sweet devout man.

naked1.jpg

This is the only picture i could find of a naked priest and it is too small to really see but he is standing by the river chanting until someone comes up and feeds him. Oh they don’t wear clothes because they can not be sure that something was not harmed to make them. Some priests get around this by making their own simple clothes like a wrap around blanket. But if you are desiress of simplicity or no good at spinning and weaving well there you go.

Found a lot of these though:

naked2.jpg

Please Harm No One Today

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Bahai Environmental Groups? They Integrate Faith and Sustainability

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I dedicate this page to my friend Jim Johnston who is recovering from a serious illness. Please, all who come here – pray for him. 

Baha’i: 7 million

The Baha’i Faith and the Environment

Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change volume 5:
Social and Economic Dimensions of Global Environmental Change

by Richard M. Landau, B.A., M.A.Volume ed. Peter Timmerman, series ed. R.E. Munn
John Wiley and Sons, 2002

table of contents online at www.wiley.co.uk/wileychi/egec/vol5a.html

The Baha’i Faith, which was founded in 1863, is the world’s second most geographically widespread religion with more than 6 million adherents living throughout the world’s nations, territories, islands and outposts. Following the example and teachings of their prophet-founder Baha’u’llah (AD 1817-1892), the world’s Baha’is consider themselves to be the citizens of one country. Baha’is regard the world as one organic unity.

The Interconnectedness of Humanity and the EarthThe Baha’i view on environmental conservation and sustainable development holds that: a) because the natural universe is a reflection of the majestic qualities and attributes of the Supreme Being, it inspires and should be accorded the utmost respect; b) all of creation is interconnected; c) that the unity of humanity is the essential truth and compelling force in this age. Of this, Baha’u’llah wrote: “The earth is but one county, and mankind its citizens.”[3]

The concepts of world citizenship, prudent stewardship of the earth, and the interconnectedness of all things is the essence of the Baha’i Faith.

Abdu’l Baha (tr. Servant of the Glory), the son of Baha’u’llah amplified this point:

For every part of the universe is connected with every other part by ties that are very powerful and admit of no imbalance, nor any slackening whatever. . .[4]

In another reference, he remarked:

Cooperation and reciprocity are essential properties which are inherent in the unified system of the world of existence, and without which the entire creation would be reduced to nothingness.[5]

At the very heart of the Baha’i view of the relationship between humanity and the natural universe is the belief that all of creation is an expression of the many names and attributes of an all-powerful God. Like the many different attributes of God, the natural realm has diverse “causes” or ideal environments in which it flourishes and expresses itself. Life is tenacious and can adapt itself to such diverse climates as polar, temperate, tropical and desert.

Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator. Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. Nature is God’s Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world.[6]

Every man of discernment, while walking upon the earth, feeleth indeed abashed, inasmuch as he is fully aware that the thing which is the source of his prosperity, his wealth, his might, his exaltation, his advancement and power is, as ordained by God, the very earth which is trodden beneath the feet of all men. There can be no doubt that whoever is cognisant of this truth, is cleansed and sanctified from all pride, arrogance, and vainglory. . .[7]

Yet, while nature is seen as the repository of the many attributes of God, Baha’is are not pantheists. They do not worship nature or hold it in high esteem for its own sake. The natural realm exists to serve a humanity that has as its task the carrying forward of an ever-evolving divinely ordained world order that will usher in universal peace and harmony. As such, Baha’is believe that humanity must act as a wise steward of the natural realm, though neither nature nor humanity is at the core of the universal design. Rather, it is God.

The Environmental Challenge & Solutions

According to the Baha’i International Community, the unfettered exploitation of planetary natural resources is one symptom of a “sickness of the human spirit”. Thus, any lasting solution to the environmental and developmental challenges will need to recognize the spiritual nature of each human, the interdependency of all humans, and their relationship with the environment. In other words, development will need to be more than simply for short-term economic advantage; it must also further and benefit the minds and spirits of all humanity.
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And they have a pretty aggressive approach to Environmental Issues:

http://www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=2

 First the requisite pretty pictures:

lotusdelhi.jpgtreeplanting.jpg

This is their temple in New Dehli and a Tree Planting project by devotees nearby.

The site provides these links:

For more information see the Baha’i on-line newsletter, ‘One Country’, ‘Reshaping God’s holy mountain’

Examples of Baha’i development projects are described on their web-site bahai.org

Background information on Baha’i ecology is available on the One Country on-line newsletter Environment Stories section.

Other sites I found online:

http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=367&Itemid=2

http://origin.org/ucs/sbcr/bahai.cfm

http://news.bahai.org/story/167

One World, One Life, Protect God’s Mountain

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Juche – a simple name for a nasty idea. Kim Il Sungism

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Jodie Foster, Pregnant Man, Iran, Prince Philip, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, American Idol, Obama, China, Beyonce, Rolling Stones. (sorry for the deception but please read below)

Normally I wouldn’t bother to cover this but since it’s on the list I felt I needed to “dis” it as much as I could. I even took the time to get Buzzes top searches for the week to punch it up a bit. I even checked every category Energy Tough Love has to publicize this human indignity. The list of “Religions” that I used to start this meditation on the relationship between Religion and the Environment placed Juche well down on the list but with 18 million adherents that still alot of folks. I had never heard of it before and I even asked a couple of people if they had heard of it. Imagine my suprise when I typed it into a search engine and up popped this Prick who claimed he was god:

www.dictatorofthemonth.com

kim.jpg

During his lifetime he forced millions of people in North Korea to worship him. Can you imagine anything more degrading or disgusting then a man who points a loaded gun at your head and demands that you treat him like a god. You must pray to him. Oh most Divine Leader. Makes me want to puke. But then he is followed by this buffoon:

www.beconfused.com

jong.jpg

Now they are “worshiping” something no better than a trained monkey. If they had an ENVIRONMENTAL group in North Korea, I wish them the best of luck but I ain’t gonna publish it. I ain’t even gona type it into a search engine. If anybody ever deserved to get a nuke shoved up his poop shoot. This would be it.

Sikhism and the Environment? I got my doubts.

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I may be wrong but after yesterdays frustration I am coming to the realisation that maybe there is an enabling level of adherents. That is maybe there is a threshold of the number adherents to a religion reached before they take on “side issues”. But it also could be an access to technology issue. Maybe the ATR’s don’t have easy access to the web. Whatever the reason I found not one (bumpkis, nada, zero zilch) African Traditional Religious groups involved in Environmentalism. If I strike out today, I may be done with religion for now. 

Sikhism (IPA: /?si?k?z?m/ (help·info) or /?s?k-/ (info); Punjabi: ?????, sikkh?, IPA: [?s?kk?i?] (info)), founded on the teachings of Nanak and nine successive gurus in fifteenth century Northern India, is the fifth-largest religion in the world.[1] This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat (literally the counsel of the gurus) or the Sikh Dharma. Sikhism originated from the word Sikh, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit root ?i?ya meaning “disciple” or “learner”, or ?ik?a meaning “instruction.”[2][3]

The principal belief of Sikhism is faith in V?higur?—represented using the sacred symbol of ?k ?a?k?r, the Universal God. Sikhism advocates the pursuit of salvation through disciplined, personal meditation on the name and message of God. A key distinctive feature of Sikhism is a non-anthropomorphic concept of God, to the extent that one can interpret God as the Universe itself. The followers of Sikhism are ordained to follow the teachings of the ten Sikh gurus, or enlightened leaders, as well as the holy scripture entitled the Gur? Granth S?hib, which includes selected works of many devotees from diverse socio-economic and religious backgrounds. The text was decreed by Gobind Singh, the tenth guru, as the final guru of the Khalsa Panth. Sikhism’s traditions and teachings are distinctively associated with the history, society and culture of the Punjab. Adherents of Sikhism are known as Sikhs (students or disciples) and number over 23 million across the world. Most Sikhs live in the state of Punjab in India and, prior to the country’s partition, millions of Sikhs lived in what is now known as the Punjab province of Pakistan

Then again maybe I was wrong. I found this neat site and it lists Jains and the B’hai as well so I will be at it for a couple of days at least.

http://www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=57

 But first the Pretty Pictures

banner_main_image.jpg

Way to go Punjabians.!.

Realisation of Truth and Truthful Living for all.
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Hindu Environmental Groups? I know that there are Indian Environmental Groups

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But what about specific HINDU Environmental Groups?

First a note of clarification, Energy Tough Love (ETL) has been suffering from what our Web Diva calls bad code. ETL is more of an accumulator or an aggregator than an original poster. There is so much Energy/Environmental stuff out there that I just pick what interests me at the moment OR occassionally what is the hot topic of the day. We do original blogs on local issues but even then we usually “borrow” from our local newspaper – most notably Tim Landis – who does some of the best writing in the Springfield area and the AP. I have never had any problems with this approach from a production stand point in the 7 months that CES had issued this blog. We can debate the ethics of it over a beer…but besides sizing problems, the nuts and bolts of it has been fairly straight forward. That is until I got to this series on Religious based Environmental Groups…Right – go figure. One of the Muslim/Islam and one of the Jewish Websites had viruses embedded in them!!! Yah and I loaded them up to the blog.

It has taken Web Diva and me the last 5 days to get all of the yuck cleaned out and I am now studying each blog post by the coded line to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

On to the Hindu Environmental groups. Harvard is turning out to pretty much have cornered the market on Religion and The Environment…Why am I not suprised by that?

http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/hinduism/projects/spirit_nature.html

and the requisite pretty pictures:

hinduism.jpg

Hindu Engaged Projects

Spirit in Nature (SpIN) Interfaith Path Sanctuary

pirit in Nature (SpIN) Interfaith Path Sanctuary is a non-profit organization that brings together people of diverse religious traditions to promote reverence and care for the earth. Through education, dialogue, and spiritual reflection in nature, SpIN seeks to awaken people to environmental problems, promote environmental action that is spiritually or religiously rooted, and provide a replicable model for engaging diverse religious traditions in caring for the Earth. Seeking to create an opportunity for people of diverse traditions to meet, meditate, walk, and worship in a setting that is conducive to spiritual reflection on nature, SpIN established a network of eleven “faith paths” in the foothills of the Green Mountains, near Ripton, Vermont. Nine of the paths represent different religions (Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Pagan, Quaker, and Unitarian Universalist), while the other two, including the children’s path, are inter-religious. The paths meet at a sacred circle, highlighting the interconnections between different religious traditions and between humans and the environment. SpIN encourages reflective walking along the paths, which are marked with “nature notes” indicating special points of interest in the natural surroundings. The paths have benches and quotes from each religious tradition about connecting with the earth. Located on seventy acres of land, the Vermont path center now has six to eight miles of paths with more than 6,000 feet of river and brook frontage. In addition to maintaining the paths, SpIN sponsors public events geared toward stimulating dialogue and action on behalf of the earth, such as its Bread and Soup Speaker Series, Earth Day Fair, discussion groups, guided walks and experiential activities at the path center. Each year SpIN publicly recognizes a person who has contributed to the connection of religion and ecology with its annual Eco-Spirit Award. “Spreading the Seeds” workshops are available for people interested in starting SpIN path centers at other locations, and the quarterly Spirit in Nature newsletter keeps readers informed about events, activities, and political issues related to religion and the environment. The Spirit in Nature Handbook, which contains information about SpIN and the Vermont path center, is available in print and on-line. At present, SpIN has more than 270 members nationwide, about one third of whom are not affiliated with any particular religious organization. New SpIN groups are forming in Boston and western Massachusetts; Norwich, Vermont; and Saratoga Springs, New York.

There is this Blogger:

http://kalyan98.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/setu-violation-of-environmental-protection-norms-and-coastal-peoples-livelihood/

Who sites this newspaper article:

http://www.livemint.com/sethusamudram.htm

Which cites this group:

COASTAL ACTION NETWORK

Contact Addresses

Jesu Rethinam, 546, Selva Prabha Complex, Public Office Road, Velippalayam, Nagapattinam – 611 001.                            

Ph: 04365 – 248674, Tele / Fax: 04365 – 248907; E-mail: coastalactionnetwork@rediffmail.com

Ossie Fernandes, No. 10, Thomas Nagar, Little Mount, Saidapet, Chennai – 600 015.Ph : 044 – 223 53 503, Fax : 044 – 223 55 905,

E-mail – hrf@xlweb.com,

hrf@md3.vsnl.net.in


Then there is this site if you want to get into the hardcore stuff

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/taka/past/2003/June/June_04_2003/

“To the Hindu the ground is sacred. The rivers are sacred. The sky is sacred. The sun is sacred. His wife is a Goddess. Her husband is a God. Their children are devas. Their home is a shrine. Life is a pilgrimage to liberation from rebirth, and no violence can be carried to the higher reaches of that ascent. While nonviolence speaks only to the most extreme forms of wrongdoing, ahimsa, which includes not killing, goes much deeper to prohibit the subtle abuse and the simple hurt. Rishi Patanjali described ahimsa as the great vow and foremost spiritual discipline which Truth-seekers must follow strictly and without fail. This extends to harm of all kinds caused by one’s thoughts, words and deeds–including injury to the natural environment. Even the intent to injure, even violence committed in a dream, is a violation of ahimsa. Vedic rishis who revealed dharma proclaimed ahimsa as the way to achieve harmony with our environment, peace between peoples and compassion within ourselves. The Vedic edict is: “Ahimsa is not causing pain to any living being at any time through the actions of one’s mind, speech or body.” Aum Namah Sivaya.”

Gurudeva

Then there is this report:

http://www.foe.org.au/media-releases/2002-media-releases/mr_25_11_02.htm

November 25, 2002

US Corportions fund Right-Wing

 Indian Hindu Groups

Hindutva, the Hindu supremacist ideology that has under girded much of the communal violence in India over the last several decades, has seen tremendous growth outside India over the last two decades. This report focuses on one US based organization–the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), which has systematically funded Hindutva operations in India. “The Foreign Exchange of Hate” establishes that the IDRF is not a secular and non-sectarian organization as it claims to be, but is, on the contrary, a major conduit of funds for Hindutva organizations in India

And if you want to CHAT it up well:

http://www.hindunet.com/forum/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=environmentalism

Sanatana Dharma

Jewish Environmental Groups? I thought this could be a lot of fun

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While I was working on the last 2 posts, a thought came to me. Are there religious based environmental and energy advocacy organizations around the the country or the world?

http://www.coejl.org/resources/israelorg.php

And quick as you can say Holly Moelly Batman, I find this site and they got pretty pictures too.

banner.jpg

Israeli Environmental Issues and Organizations

Adam Teva V’Din: The Israel Union for Environmental Defense

info@iued.org.il
http://www.iued.org.il
Protection and restoration of Israel’s environment through research, grassroots organizing, litigation, and political advocacy.

Alma – Association for Environmental Quality
A citizens group involved in promoting the use of environmentally-friendly products and organically-grown produce, in encouraging industry to reduce waste, in advancing recycling and in forming an environmental youth movement.

The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES)
Email: info@arava.org
http://www.arava.org/
AIES offers the foremost environmental studies program in the Middle East. Participants come from The Palestinian Authority, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and a variety of other nations including the US, Canada, Sweden, China, and Australia.

Council for a Beautiful Israel
Email: cbi@israel-yafa.org.il
http://www.israel-yafa.org.il/
CBI is active in promoting environmental awareness, protecting the natural beauty of Israel, preserving historical sites, promoting the rehabilitation of run-down urban areas and developing public recreation sites and gardens.

Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME)/EcoPeace
Email: contact@ecopeace.com
http://www.ecopeace.com
A consortium of Egyptian, Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian environmental non-governmental organizations that work jointly to promote sustainable development in the Middle East.

For Bicycles
Email: taba@bike.org.il
http://www.bike.org.il/
Local associations for the promotion of bicycles as a means of transportation in Israel’s cities.

Green Action
Email: info@greenaction.org.il
http://www.greenaction.org.il/
An association fighting against environmentally damaging projects by means of colorful demonstrations, attracting media attention to issues.

Greenpeace Mediterranean
Email: mmedia@diala.greenpeace.org
http://www.greenpeacemed.org.mt

Green Course (Megama Yeruka)
Email: megama@green.org.il
http://www.green.org.il/
Students’ group aimed at promoting environmental issues inside and outside the universities, colleges and other higher education institutes.

Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership
Email: heschel@heschelcenter.org
http://www.heschelcenter.org/about_eng.html
Integrates environmental ethics into Jewish and Israeli education through seminars, teacher training, curricula development, and research.

Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI)
Email: iccijeru@icci.org.il
“http://www.icci.org.il/
The ICCI is an umbrella organization of over 70 Jewish, Muslim and Christian institutions actively working towards interreligious and intercultural understanding in Israel and the region.

Israel Economic Forum for the Environment
Email: ecoforum@netvision.net.il
The forum encourages industry, transportation, agriculture and other economic sectors to incorporate environmental concerns into their development planning alongside economic and operational concerns.

Israeli Green Party
http://www.green-party.org.il/

Israeli-Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) (Environmental Programs)
Email: ipcri@ipcri.org
http://www.ipcri.org

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
Email: jcpa@netvision.net.il
http://www.jcpa.org/jep.htm
List of recent Jewish Environmental Publications

Jewish Global Environmental Network (JGEN)
Email: jgen@coejl.org
http://www.jgenisrael.org
The mission of the JGEN is to develop partnerships and collaborative initiatives through which Jewish environmental leaders in Israel and around the world work together toward a sustainable future for Israel.

Jewish National Fund
Email: communications@jnf.org
http://www.jnf.org/
Forestry and land reclamation in Israel; education; Israel trips; campus programming.

Kibbutz Lotan
Email: lotan-office@lotan.ardom.co.il
Email: lotan-programs@lotan.ardom.co.il
http://www.kibbutzlotan.com/
Kibbutz Lotan offers creative approaches for integrating the study of Liberal/Progressive Judaism, kibbutz, desert ecology, and environmental protection.

Life and Environment
Email: sviva@sviva.net
http://www.sviva.net
An umbrella organization to coordinate environmental activities among Israel’s non-governmental organizations.

Ministry of Environment
www.sviva.gov.il/

Neot Kedumim
Email: Gen_Info@Neot-Kedumim.org.il
http://www.neot-kedumim.org.il
Nature reserve dedicating to restoring the flora and fauna of biblical Israel; publication of educational materials.

New Israel Fund
info@nif.org
http://www.newisraelfund.org
New Israel Fund pursues an integrated strategy of grantmaking, technical assistance and coalition building to support national and community-based public interest organizations in Israel.

Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI)
Email: international@spni.org.il
http://www.spni.org.il/e, birthright mission: http://israelnature.com/

Israel’s largest environmental organization advocates environmental protection and offers a wide variety of educational programs and tours.

American Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (ASPNI)
email: aspni@aol.com
http://www.aspni.org/

Teva Adventure Israel
Email: info@tevaadventure.org
http://www.tevaadventure.org
Teva Adventure is a new not-for-profit informal Jewish educational organization that combines outdoor, environmental & adventure education with Jewish programming.

SHALOM

Some Of My Favorite Energy Blogs Are Going Silent

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Where the Rubber meets the Road
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What Some of My Favorite Blogs are Thinking Today

 thefraserdomain.typepad.com/ 

The Energy Blog


The following are the posts that define The Energy Revolution. They describe the causes and solutions as I envision them. I hope that you will find them useful in providing a background for your journeys in exploring The Energy Revolution.

Consumer technology

March 18, 2008

FYI: GE Demonstrates World’s First ”Roll-to-Roll” Manufactured Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs


Press release – GE Global Research and GE Consumer & Industrial in conjunction with ECD announced the successful demonstration of the world’s first roll-to-roll manufactured organic light-emitting diode (OLED) lighting devices. This demonstration is a key step toward making OLEDs and other high performance organic electronics products at dramatically lower costs than what is possible today.  . . .OLEDs have the potential to deliver dramatically improved levels of efficiency and environmental performance when compared to traditional products.

GE researchers provided the organic electronics technology and were responsible for developing the roll-to-roll processes, while ECD provided its unique roll-to-roll equipment-building expertise to build the machine that manufactures the OLED devices.

When commercialized this technology will make possible low cost high, efficieny lighting. Lighting currently comsumes about 22% of the total electricity generated in the U.S. and about 25% of the average homes electric bill.

Thanks to Tyler at Clean Break for the tip.

Sadly one of  the only true commenters on CES’ blog has not up date his blog since August. So disappointing to see a commenter to go quiet.

alt-e.blogspot.com 

Then there is the ever present and all encompassing:

www.energyblogs.com 

1-20 of 348 items listed     

Most Commented and Most Viewed 03/21/2008 at 05:03 PM   |   Jose Antonio Vanderhorst-Silverio – Electricity Without Price Controls Blog   This is a take of a snapshot of today’s EnergyBlogs stat. Most Commented (7 EWPC articles) Response to Professor Banks (46) I… 

Missing From Gridwise 03/21/2008 at 04:30 PM   |   Jose Antonio Vanderhorst-Silverio – Electricity Without Price Controls Blog Missing from the GridWise approach is the need to restructure as soon as possible the power industry to eliminate the barriers imposed by “the … 

MON DIEU – FRENCH HYPOCRISY 03/21/2008 at 06:48 AM   |   Martin Rosenberg – From the Editor’s Desk Blog With the world shrinking and all, I have made it a policy of keeping an eye on what goes on in Europe. Some of if is fascinating. New technologies are… 

Again sadness, another one has not been updated since December 2007, but I missed it so here it is:

www.energyplanet.info/blog 

Central Florida Homebuilder Goes Solar

Sebring Builders, a privately owned Builder/Developer is hoping to become a trendsetter. In 2006, Sebring Builders started planning to build Stone Ridge, a private, gated community in the small central Florida town of Sebring. With single family homes starting just under $200,000, they thought this development had everything to offer, great location, clubhouse with many amenities, maintenance fee that included lawn care, wireless internet and cable TV, etc. Then, in early 2007, Florida Solar Innovators contacted owners, Rick Bennett and Randy Bean, about using one of the model homes in Stone Ridge to install a Photovoltaic System and possibly offering this as an option to home buyers. Read more…

December 12th, 2007

Last one for today:

curtrosengren.typepad.com/alternative_energy

Support from an unlikely source. This place hasn’t been up dated since February. Maybe I need to get some new best friends.

T. Boone Pickens voices alternative energy support

In another indication of the momentum building behind alternative energy development, T. Boone Pickens, a man who made his billions in the oil biz, recently voiced his support for alternative energy.

…Pickens, who heads the $4 billion BP Capital Management hedge fund, also voiced some support for alternative energy development, saying a half-trillion dollars a year is leaving the United States economy to buy oil.

Pickens said solar power technology is “almost there,” and there could be “corridors” of wind power developed from Texas through the Great Plains and west to California.

The Peak Oil People Are Unsure – Is this their halcyon dream or their worst nightmare?

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The cost of oil is hovering around $110 per barrel and Gold is at $1000 a troy ounce.

http://www.peakoil.com/

http://www.theoildrum.com/

And this is the AP’s take on it:

http://www.ap.org/

OPEC blames U.S. for

–

 fueling record oil prices


 

By WILLIAM J. KOLE

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS____________

VIENNA, Austria — OPEC on Wednesday accused the U.S. of economic “mismanagement”

that it said is pushing oil prices

to record highs and rebuffed calls to boost output, laying the blame on the Bush administration.

Oil prices surged after the OPEC announcement and the re­lease of a U.S. government report

showing a surprise

drop in crude oil stockpiles. Light, sweet crude for April delivery jumped $5 to

settle at a record $104.52 per bar­rel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would maintain current

production levels because crude supplies are plentiful and demand is expected to weaken

during the second quarter.

OPEC President Chakib Khelil said the global market is being af­fected by what he called

“the mis­management

of the U.S. econo­my,” and that America’s problems were a key factor in the cartel’s

decision to hold off on any action.

“If the prices are high, definite­ly they are not due to a lack of crude. They are due to

what’s happening

in the U.S.,” Khelil said. “There is sufficient supply. There’s plenty of oil there.”

Khelil’s comments came one day after President Bush lashed out at the organization,

warning Tuesday:

“I think it’s a mistake to have your biggest customers’ economies slowing down as a

re­sult of higher energy prices.”

White House spokesman Dana Perino said Wednesday that Bush

was “disappointed” OPEC didn’t do more to rein in prices, which some say are pushing

the U.S. economy into recession.

Analyst John Hall, of John Hall Associates in London, said OPEC probably should have

added oil to the market as Bush had asked.

“But in this time of intense geopolitical tension, it would be difficult for Saudi (Arabia) or

any other producer to

acquiesce sim­ply because President Bush had asked them to,” he said. “In the short

term, any true respite for the

 consumer is still out of reach.”

The Net result is without dispute, Gasoline Prices Skyrocketed:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-04-19-world-gas_N.htm

Gas prices on April 17 or 18 2007. Data for EU countries were provided by the AA Motoring Trust. Prices are listed in U.S. dollars
United Kingdom

$8.37

Netherlands

$7.52

Norway

$7.33

Belgium

$6.95

Denmark

$6.95

Germany

$6.72

Portugal

$6.65

Finland

$6.57

France

$6.50

Sweden

$6.50

Hungary

$5.63

Poland

$5.63

Slovakia

$5.59

Austria

$5.40

Ireland

$5.40

Slovenia

$5.36

Switzerland

$5.17

Spain

$5.14

Czech Republic

$5.10

Greece

$4.91

Italy

$4.80

Lithuania

$4.72

Latvia

$4.61

Estonia

$4.30

Luxembourg

$4.27

Japan

$4.16

United States

$2.88

Kazakhstan

$2.75

Russia

$2.68

Mexico

$2.38

China

$2.19

Nigeria

$1.92

Saudi Arabia

$0.45

Venezuela

$0.19

Joel Lou from the EPA cites these prices for Europe as of March, 2008

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/gas1.html

(U.S. Dollars per Gallon)

Date Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands UK US
3/10/2008 8.37 7.95 8.24 8.07 8.91 8.10 3.44

Did the Saudi’s really blame our Mortgage Fraud Scandal and Economic Collapse for the high price of Oil? No matter what, however, our shattered Economy and resulting dollar devaluation will do nothing but drive up the price of oil further. 

>

Energy News – Why CES’ does not do many original blogs

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Just type in Energy News into any Search Engine like Yahoo, MSN or Google and you turn up thousands of pages. 5 entries off the first page are listed below:

http://www.forbes.com/energy/2006/11/27/china-india-energy-biz-energy-cx_pm_1127energy_slide.html

 China and India are Asia’s two largest emerging economies. Both have large populations, industrializing economies and rising living standards and energy consumption. This slide show compares energy production, consumption and efficiency of both countries head-to-head and the environmental issues both are confronting as a result of their growing energy use. The numbers are drawn form official statistics, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Energy Agency and are the latest available full-year estimates. The energy intensity comparison is based on purchasing power parity conversion rates.

 Forbes of course pointing out that China and Indian will pretty much kill off our species. 

http://www.green-energy-news.com/arch/nrgs2008/20080016.html

energylogo.jpg

February 22, 2008 – Vol.12 No. 48

A SOLAR POWERED WORLD?

Arizona Public Service (APS) has announced plans to build a 280-megawatt concentrating solar power plant in the desert 70 miles southwest of Phoenix. The Solana Generating Station, if it were operating today, would be the single largest solar power plant on the planet. Solana, with its thermal energy storage, will be able to operate 24/7 providing power for 70,000 homes.

As big and impressive as it sounds it’s only a tiny fraction of what’s possible: According to the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation (TREC), the energy potential from sunlight striking the world’s deserts is 700 times that of the world’s primary energy demand today. Further, solar power generated in the world’s deserts could reach 90 percent of the world’s population. Australia, Asia, Africa, North and South America all have expansive deserts. By satellite measurement there are 13,500,000 square miles (35 million square kilometers) of hot, dry, sunlit desert on the planet.

Like the APS project, solar thermal power generation is the best option for the world’s deserts. Not only is it a time-tested technology that can provide low cost power, cooling water from the plants can be used for desalinization of sea water. (Energy from clean sources is a major global need right now. So is fresh water.)

Further, made of glass and steel there are no supply constraints to solar thermal power generation equipment as with purified silicon needed for photovoltaics.

The TREC concept, known as DESERTEC, is to build solar power plants in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and build power lines – a Euro-Supergrid – connecting the plants to Europe.

  http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/

Let’s see that would be Africa getting ripped off by Europe AGAIN!

Alternative Energy News

News » Energy | Biofuels | Environment | Hydrogen | Solar | Transportation | Wind

Alternative Energy News

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The Most Efficient Washing Machines Of 2008

March 10th, 2008 · 1 Comment

lg-steam-washer-energystar.jpg

At MetaEfficient, I evaluate appliances based on a number of factors, namely: energy efficiency, effectiveness, reliability, and price. This holds true for washing machines, because all of these factors need to be considered and weighed against each other (I’d also like to include lifecycle analysis, but  there’s no information available for washers). For raw efficiency data, one can turn to the Energy Star ratings, to work out which machines use the least amount of energy and water overall. Based on the Energy Star data, the most efficient washing machines for 2008 are made by LG Electronics and Kenmore.

Three LG washers received the best Energy Star ratings, and four Kenmore washers followed very close behind the LG machines. These ratings are based on the Modified Energy Factor (MEF) which is a way to compare the relative efficiency of different units of clothes washers (higher is better). The second factor is the Water Factor which is the number of gallons per cycle per cubic foot that a washing machine uses (lower is better). Here is a listing of the highest rated washing machines according the February 2008 update:

This site has a real cool video on its home page, but I could not get it to load up on our Blog. The article is from a sidebar. Please look at the video though. 

http://energy.sourceguides.com/news.shtml

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Environment: THE ENERGY CRUNCH AND THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

Rising fuel costs mean lost growth for some

Asterio Takesy


Few places have been hard hit by the recent rise in energy costs as the Pacific islands countries (PICs). While the impacts are felt around the world, islands societies are already on a financial razor’s edge—rising fuel costs being more than many can bear.Making matters worse is that an estimated 90 percent of total electricity generation and the fuel for the entire sea, land and air transport in our region comes directly from fossil fuels. In many of our members, fossil fuels represent a full 100 percent across the board.It is estimated that for every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of crude oil, national incomes for the Federated States of Micronesia and Kiribati reduce by over 4% and by at least 2% in Tonga, Tuvalu, Palau and the Solomon Islands. Considering the price of oil has increased by approximately $45 a barrel since 2002, this translates into at least five years of lost growth for some islands countries.Consider also the impact on the balance of trade. It is estimated that fuel imports are now triple the value of merchandise exports in Kiribati, Samoa and Federated States of Micronesia. In the case of Fiji, its combined export earnings in 2006 from three of the country’s major industries, gold, sugar and textiles, only accounted for two-thirds of the country’s total fuel import bill.

All this points to the continuing need for the development of renewable energy resources throughout the Pacific region (and the world). PICs have the highest renewable energy potential per capita in the world.

We are in the midst of the largest ocean on earth with its unlimited wave, tidal and ocean thermal energy. The tropical wind is always blowing and we are along the Pacific “Rim of Fire” with its potential for geothermal power generation. So why hasn’t adoption of renewables happened more quickly?

Let’s see the Islands of the Pacific have not moved ahead with renewables and alternative generation BECAUSE they are in the stranglehold of the Energy Corporation. Man what a surprise

 Again, the above is a side from:http://www.islandsbusiness.com

And finally (wipes brow, takes long drink of water and fans face): 

http://www.newenergytimes.com/news/2008/NET27.htm#FROMED

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EDITORIALS AND OPINION

1. Editorial: Will India Surprise the U.S. (Again)?

By Steven B. Krivit

A recent lecture tour by Michael McKubre of SRI International, Mahadeva Srinivasan, former associate director of the physics group at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre on low energy nuclear reaction research, and me found an interested and receptive audience at the center and other science institutions in India. 

But what’s happening in the U.S. and other more developed nations with LENR research? Rumors reaching New Energy Times suggest that people in the U.S. government are taking notice – but quietly. A few of them now have active LENR research programs.

Only one U.S. government group, the Navy’s SPAWAR San Diego (a different entity from the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.), has published LENR papers (19) and does research openly. Some of the other government groups recently received internal funding to begin research, but they have been told not to publish.

Is this a good thing for science? For the U.S.? Probably not. On the other hand, the science community in India has come to terms with the fact that it missed out on 14 years of research on LENR. Will science leaders in the U.S. and other nations take notice of India’s newfound interest?

Glowing articles about the LENR revival in India have been published in Nature India and New Energy Times. However, no journal papers from India have been published recently.

In 1974, researchers at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay, India, not-so-quietly unveiled a not-so-little secret: They had developed nuclear weapons technology. U.S. intelligence and the rest of the world was caught by surprise. Will India surprise the U.S. again with LENR?

 The U.S. may take a wait-and-see attitude with LENR research. The rest of the Western World also may wait. India is not likely to wait. Its people cannot afford to take precious food and burn it in their cars. Their hydro power is maxxed out. Their coal, while plentiful and providing 67 percent of India’s total electrical power, is low-grade and dirty.

Think pollution is bad in Los Angeles? You ain’t seen nothin’ if you haven’t been to a major city in India. They don’t have enough uranium for their current-generation fission reactors, and according to Rajagopala Chidambaram, principal scientific adviser to the government of India, it will take at least another 20 years to bring the next-generation reactors online to take advantage of India’s thorium reserves

Smart people in India understand science, technology, and innovation. And they have ambition and necessity, key ingredients for technological growth.

For those of you who had the patience to read this far Low Energy Nuclear Research has been know as Cold Fusion in the past.