Category Archives: stewardship

16th Annual Earth Awareness Fair – April 26 10am-3pm

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Springfield, IL is holding their 16th annual Earth Awareness Fair at a new site this year – Lincoln Park, near Nelson Center.  Lincoln Park is at 6th and Sangamon, near the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Just a sampling of the educational activities and environmental information:

Flyer for the event – PDF 926kb
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Wind Electrical Generation In Illinois – #1 in 2007

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We installed the most generation capacity in the nation in 2007! Yahoo

http://www.illinoiswind.org/news/index.asp

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News

Section 9006 Program Funds for Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements
Posted 3/7/2008 1:56:33 PMThis message is from Molly Hammond, USDA Rural Development- Illinois, April 7,2008USDA published a notice yesterday (4/6/08)in the Federal Register announcing it is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2008 to purchase renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements for agriculture producers and rural small businesses in eligible rural areas. Funding will be available in the form of grants, guaranteed loans, and combined guaranteed loans and grant applications. For FY 2008 there is approximately $15.9 million in funding for competitive grants and $205 million in authority for guaranteed loans. Funding for grant and loan combination packages will be funded from the same allocation as loan guarantees.I have attached the Federal Register document to this email. Please read it carefully. Pay particular attention to the mention of the Environmental Assessment. The environmental process should begin right away. Please contact me for information on environmental requirements for specific projects. This year there will be two competitive grant cycles. The first deadline is April 15, 2008. Applications that are not funded in the first competition will automatically be considered under the second competition. Grant applications in the second cycle are due no later than June 16, 2008. Loan applications and grant/loan combination applications will be evaluated on a bi-weekly basis until June 16. These will be funded on a first-come first-serve basis. I would suggest submitting a combination application as soon as possible. Please note that combination applications must score at least 84 points to remain eligible.

Please see the following websites for more information on the program:

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/farmbill/index.html – Section 9006 website

A copy of the regulation can be found at the above website, but a more reader-friendly version is available at this link: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/regs/regs/pdf/4280b.pdf

Application templates and other useful items can be found at the Environmental Law and Policy Center website. Please note that this is not a USDA Rural Development website.

www.farmenergy.org

http://www.agmrc.org/agmrc/provider_search.asp – Link to a list of grant writers.

I look forward to working with you, and feel free to contact me with any questions.

Molly K. Hammond
USDA Rural Development – Illinois
Business Cooperative Specialist
Phone: 217-403-6210
Fax: 217-403-6215

But Illinois is not without resistance.

Rail splitter project may

 `

be caught in turbulence

By TIM LANDIS

BUSINESS EDITOR

tim.landis @sj-r.com

One of the nation’s largest developers of wind energy hopes to have 67 turbines churn­ing out electricity by the end of this year along a stretch of interstate highway about 50 miles north of Springfield.

The $175 million to $200 million Rail Split­ter Wind Farm would produce enough power to meet the annual needs of 30,000 homes.

“Assuming we get approval, we hope to begin construction in May and to have the project online by the end of this year,” Bill Whitlock, a project manager for Horizon Wind Energy, said Wednesday.

Whitlock said the company plans to file for a construction permit in Logan County or,-Monday, and already has filed in Tazewell County for the right to build on 11,000 acres of farmland shared by the two counties.

The site is on both sides of Interstate 155 near the community of Delavan, between Lin­coln and Peoria. Whitlock said 38 of the 380-to 390-foot towers — the state Capitol, by com­parison, is 361 feet to the top of the dome — would be in Tazewell County and 29 would be in Logan County.

Whitlock said the company also continues to negotiate leases with farmers whose land is needed and is exploring markets for the power.

Horizon Energy’s first major project in cen­tral Illinois, the 240-turbine Twin Groves Wind Farm near Bloomington, ran into a va­riety of legal challenges, including from landowners, before it began producing elec­tricity last year.  The U.S. Department of Energy r nois at 16 among the top 20 states for wind-energy potential.

But the head of the Illinois Wind Working Group — a consortium of utilities, rural elec­tric cooperatives, farm organizations and eco­nomic development agencies — said Wednes­day he expects commercial wind farms to re­main controversial.

“There are probably going to be lawsuits, and counties really have to be careful to make sure they follow legal procedures,” said David Loomis, who also is an associate professor of economics at Illinois State University in Nor­mal.

Even on a residential scale, wind turbines can be a touchy subject with neighbors, ac­cording to Bill Fabian, owner of Midstate Re­newable Energy Services in Champaign. The home-based business has sold about a dozen residential turbines the past two years.

“You always have the proximity issue with neighbors who may not be as enthused about wind power as you are,” Fabian said.

He said the typical home unit costs $15,000 to $19,000. The tower is usually 60 feet, tall enough to get above most treetops.

“I think it’s going to remain mostly a niche market for residents who can not only afford it, but have the commitment to make it work,” he said.

Officials in Logan County have estimated the Rail Splitter project could generate about $234,000 in tax revenue the first year. The Tazewell County Zoning Board of Appeals has set three public hearings in April on the pro­posal.

GateHouse News Service contributed to this report. Tim Landis can be reached at 788-1536.
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But Sangamon County? The leader in all things innovative? Not so much…

Flat ground won’t work

By TIM LANDIS

BUSINESS EDITOR

tim.landis@sj-r.com

It isn’t for a lack of wind. But Sangamon County is considered too flat in most spots when it comes to commercial wind development.

Nearly a year and a half since the county approved rules for wind-tur­bine construction, exactly two per­mits have been approved. Both were for what amounted to do-it-yourself home projects in the wind industry.

“It was for two mini-systems,” said county zoning and building ad­ministrator Randy Armstrong.

The wind rules were approved in the fall of 2006 after a commercial developer approached the county about the possibility of a local wind firm. After the initial inquiry, noth­ing more was heard, Armstrong said.

“They said they were interested, so we thought maybe we’d better get something on the books,” he said.

The director of the Illinois Wind Working Group at Illinois State University explained that potential turbine sites are graded ,m a scale of 1 to 7. The higher the number, the more suitable the area for com­mercial wind development.

“Most of Illinois is a class 3-plus or a 4. Usually, a class 3 or 4 is the minimum they’d consider to be commercially viable,” David Loomis said.

Loomis said Illinois also has the advantage of large population cen­ters that make it financially feasible to build projects at lower wind speeds compared to sparsely popu­lated states such as North Dakota that rank at a “6” or higher.

But he said the suitability of ter­rain varies considerably, even from county to county.

“If you look at McLean County (Bloomington-Normai), you’d say, ‘Gee, it’s as flat as Sangamon County. But in reality, there’s a slow rise upward, and it ends in a ridge on the eastern side of our county,” he said.

The Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, based in Auburn, is waiting for equipment to begin con­struction of a single wind turbine on a reclaimed coal-mine site about 30 miles south of Springfield, along Interstate 55 at Farmersville.

The turbine would supply about 500 homes.

Tim Landis can be reached at 788-1536.

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Cars That Kill – How the gasoline powered car has destroyed the planet.

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Most people when considering the Automobile as an environmental plague think mainly of oil and its various impacts. While it’s true that the vast network of oil drilling platforms, the refineries and the gasoline spewed by billions of internal combustion engines from D13 Catepillars to Leaf Blowers has befouled the world. But lets not forget that the refining of oil led to the creation of plastics which now bob up and down all over our oceans. The creation of Rubber Tires led to the enslavement of huge tropical regions of the world. The energy consumed just to make the damn things is incredible. But what about the impact of the world’s population commuting to work?

Suburbs and Bedroom communities have been called the single largest misallocation of resources since the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China. We all know what happened to those folks…..

http://www.howestreet.com/articles/index.php?article_id=6219

In preparation for doing a post on the locals that are competeing in the Progressive Automotice XPriz here is another look at the world ending car:

Originally published here:

http://www.whiskeyandgunpowder.com/

By:

Whiskey and Gunpowder is your source for up to date financial editorial and insight into the effect finance has over the world of commodities.

Together, with Jim Amrhein (personal liberties), Byron King (economics with historic and geologic intertwinings), Dan Amoss (macroeconomic trends and institutional analysis), Adrian Ash and Ed Bugos (gold markets), and Jamie Ellis who covers everything in between. Plus a rotating cast of characters that keep up the standard of excellence in both content and delivery that Whiskey & Gunpowder insists on providing its readers.

Featuring insightful articles that explore a range of topics including commodities, politics, technology, nature, history and anything else our writers could possibly dream up, Whiskey & Gunpowder offers the kind of analysis that the mainstream media will never give

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Turn the Curve”By Byron King
April 16, 2008

Every automobile on the roads of the world reflects a long and complex chain of industrial production and energy usage. Yet we live in a world where many of the highest quality resources and energy supplies have already been exploited. And lower quality resources are more expensive to extract and exploit, if they are even available. So the world’s automobile industry is in the midst of a revolution in both resource availability and energy consumption.

Thinking about Basic Materials and Energy

Today the automobile business is vast. It is a global industry that has evolved by leaps and bounds in the 100 years since Henry Ford made his famous remark in 1908 about building “a car for the great multitude.” The worldwide customer base includes at least a billion people — spread over six continents — who have income sufficient to buy a car or small truck. According to figures assembled at the MIT Sloan Automotive Laboratory, there are about 700 million automobiles and light trucks in the world. About 30 percent of those vehicles are in North America.

Every car requires steel, aluminum, copper and lead. Each car requires rubber, plastic, and myriad of other petroleum and natural gas by-products. And there is much else in the long industrial ladder of automobile production. Just think in terms of the energy that goes into processing materials, fabricating parts, building components, assembling a finished product, and all the transportation along the way. In addition to the basic energy and material resources that go into manufacturing an automobile, the sheer number of vehicles reflects a lot of fuel tanks to fill with gasoline and diesel. And this does not even touch on the energy and resources that go into building road systems.

While America dwaddled,

There has been even more progress in the fuel efficiency of diesel engines over the past 25 years. Diesel power trains are no longer the sooty, “knock-knock” devices that they were back in the days of disco. Most cars sold today in the European Union (EU), for example, are powered with clean-burning, fuel efficient, smoothly running diesel engines. In fact, the demand for diesel fuel in Europe is such that EU refineries routinely ship surplus gasoline to sell into the North American market. And in North America the relatively low prices for gasoline throughout the 1980s and 1990s discouraged the use of diesel engines.

So there have been significant improvements in automobile power train efficiencies over the past couple of decades. But have these improvements translated into any overall reduction in demand for fuel? No. In 2007 motor fuel consumption in the U.S. was high as it has ever been. (Although according to the American Petroleum Institute, demand for motor fuel may be at a plateau due to price increases at the pump in 2006 and 2007.) In the past 25 years we’ve seen more people driving more cars for more miles. But compounding the fuel issue, the cars that people are buying and driving tend to weigh more and offer higher performance.

The Future of the Automobile

(sad but true even these folks think there is one)

It helps to view the age of the automobile — and its future — as a systemic whole. And some social critics are out in front of the broad discussion, with a sharp focus on the automobile and what it has brought us as a society. James Kunstler, for example, author of highly regarded books such as The Geography of Nowhere and The Long Emergency, believes that the car-dependent suburban build-out of the U.S. may be “the greatest misallocation of resources in all of human history.” That is, in an era of expensive energy and scarce resources, a car-dependent culture has no real future and is in fact a hindrance to progress in other directions. That is quite a viewpoint, well-presented by Kunstler in his writing. It’s depressing, but it sure gets your attention.

And criticism of the automobile culture is not confined just to social commentators like Kunstler. Another remarkable indictment comes from no less an automotive insider than Prof. John Heywood, the director of the MIT Sloan Automotive Laboratory. He has stated that “cars may prove to be the worst commodity of all.” According to Prof. Heywood, cars are “responsible for a steady degradation of the ecosystem, from greenhouse emissions to biodiversity loss. What’s worse, even if we improve vehicle efficiency, turn to fuel hybrids or make rapid advances in hydrogen-based fuel technologies, the scale for slowing down the degradation may run to the decades. Turning the curve won’t be easy.”

You can agree or disagree with the broad themes of Jim Kunstler or John Heywood. But there’s no argument with one of Prof. Heywood’s points. Wherever we are going, it will not be easy to “turn the curve.” Looking forward, the oil just is not there to fuel cars in the future in the way that we did it in the past. So a lot of people are going to have to do things differently.

Worldwide, the automobile industry has seen the handwriting on the wall. Fuel is expensive, and is getting more so with each passing year. So the industry has invested tens of billions of dollars in improving engine and power train efficiency. In addition, auto designers are coming up with new ways to eliminate weight and drag. (At higher speeds, up to 70 percent of the energy used to turn the wheels on a car goes just to push the air out of the way of the chassis.) The auto industry is looking towards different sorts of fuels, and moving towards what is called fuel-flexibility.

Hopefully this will lead us to a great new investment in the car of the future.

Until we meet again…
Byron King

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State Journal Register – They publish a very good editorial calling for efforts to combat Global Warming

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I like this approach as an educational tool.

Our opinion: It’s foolish to do nothing about climate change

 

Published Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Last week, representatives from more than 160 countries started meeting in Bangkok to discuss an international climate treaty to replace the decade-old Kyoto Protocol. Again, the United States is shying away from a leadership role. Some of our concerns have merit — we can’t commit economic suicide while China goes sprinting by.“The primary concern is the so-called leakage issue,” U.S. negotiator Harlan Watson told The Associated Press. “If you take commitments and you have energy intensive industries, they might want to move to other countries which don’t have commitments.”

Signing on to an agreement that then sends our industry fleeing to countries that don’t commit to pollution control would make no sense. Yet arguably our grumbling isn’t getting us anywhere, either.

Which makes us wonder: If an asteroid was hurtling toward Earth would the Bush administration likewise sit on its hands? Would it argue that since the asteroid is a naturally occurring event there’s nothing man should do to prepare for, or mitigate, its impact?

Of course not.

So I wrote this letter trying to support their point, sigh….they did not publish it so I’m putting it up here.

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Editor

State Journal Register

One Copley Plaza

Springfield, IL 62701

 

Emailed – 04/14/08

 

Dear Editor:

 

Thanks for your recent Editorial supporting attempts to help prevent Global Warming. There is no need to apologize for supporting such efforts though, because when America stops doing things that make no economic sense, America makes money and produces jobs every time. We do 2 things that are creating Global Warming.

 

The first thing that we Americans do that is leading us to Global Warming is we “throw things away”. How much economic sense has that ever made? Think about it. We pay good money for stuff and then throw part of it away. We buy things in packaging and we throw it away. We buy food and we throw part of it away. We buy coal and then we throw part of it out the smoke stack. We buy gasoline and throw part of it out the tailpipe. So if we quit throwing things away we automatically make money and I might add create jobs to deal with all that stuff we now throw away.

 

The second thing we do that is leading us to global warming is we “burn stuff up”. Plain and simple, we strike a match and burn something up that we paid good money for. Why not just stack some paper money on the ground, pour a little gasoline on it and strike a match? We burn coal, uranium and natural gas to make electricity. There are many ways to generate electricity without burning things. Yet we persist. We burn gasoline to transport our things and ourselves. We know that there are other ways to do this, and yet we persist. If we stop burning things up, we would save money and create jobs. Conservation is not bad for any economy.

 

So the next time you throw something away or you “strike a match” look at your hand and ask yourself, “Do I really want to do that?” Join us at www.censys.org.

  

Doug Nicodemus

948 e. adams st.

riverton, IL  62561

629-7031

dougnic55@yahoo.com

Weird Bird Friday – TGI(WB)F

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Yes its time for our weekly tribute to the birds in our lives. This weeks image comes from San Francisco’s own John

Mitchell:

http://www.jungle-life.com/?query=john+mitchell&amount=0&blogid=1

strange.jpg

Being a print by John Mitchell it’s important to take a closer look where you may notice the flowers giving birth to these strange birds through their delicate vaginas.

Strange Birds by John Mitchell

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Dedicated to Pa Martin and Ma Kay, 6th generation farmers who saved this bloggers life by warning him about the impending earthquake that hit Illinois last night. They called me up and said, “The cattle was a acting funny.” So I slept in my car last night. Thanks guys. 

For Better Or Worse – it is true, someone should take my scanner away

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:}Its true. Our children should be worried. Our grand children? They shoul be very afraid.
 better-or-worse.jpg

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Oh to see more: http://www.fborfw.com/strip_fix/

Illinois Environmental Council :} Normally I don’t post on Saturday but…

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Illinois EnviroBulletinApril 8, 2008
Global Warming, Lobby Day, 2008 Briefing Book, 2007 Scorecard, Legislation

NEW COALITION SAYS ILLINOIS CAN REDUCE GLOBAL WARMINGCleaner Cars Will Pave the Way
The Illinois Climate Action Network — Illinois CAN — a new broad-based coalition of environmental, conservation and faith organizations aimed at combating global warming, debuted April 1 with a Springfield press conference calling for clean cars legislation. The Illinois Clean Cars Act (HB 3424 / SB 2238) would significantly benefit both the environment and the health of the state’s residents. 
For more information: www.illinoisclimateactionnetwork.org
Take action: http://illinoisactionproject.org/showalert.asp?aaid=915

CONCERNED CITIZENS FLOOD SPRINGFIELD TO FIGHT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
In a show of force not seen in years, about 150 citizen lobbyists converged on the state’s capitol April 2 to speak to their legislators face-to-face about global warming and other environmental concerns.  Organized by the IEC and member groups including Faith in Place, Sierra Club and Environment Illinois, Environment Day at the Capitol revived an old tradition and was a huge success.  
For more: http://www.ilenviro.org/news/?item=95

IEC RELEASES 2008 BRIEFING BOOK AND 2007 SCORECARD
Recently IEC released Priorities for a Healthful Illinois: 2008 Illinois Environmental Briefing Book, laying out the top issues that must be addressed in the coming year if the state is to make a significant difference in the quality of life for its citizens. The 2007 Environmental Scorecard casts a view back over the past year to assess how Illinois legislators responded to the IEC’s previous Briefing Book recommendations, and holds legislators accountable by highlighting how they voted on key issues.
For more: http://www.ilenviro.org/news/?item=90

IEC PUSHES PRIORITIES; FIGHTS NEW NUKE PLANTS AND FUND RAIDS
IEC has been busy working on a number of bills ranging from global warming to mercury to e-waste to recreational liability. At the same time, we’ve been playing defense on a number of issues. The governor’s proposed budget cut general revenue funding to the Department of Natural resources by 38%, cuts open space and land acquisition funds by 40 – 60%. Just last week, a bill surfaced to give the governor virtually unlimited authority to raid dedicated funds, while another bill would lift the moratorium on building new nuclear plants in Illinois until there is a solution to the radioactive waste problem.
More on the DNR budget: http://www.ilenviro.org/news/?item=92
More legislative updates: http://www.ilenviro.org/legislation/updates.php
IEC Bill Tracker: http://www.ilenviro.org/legislation/billtracker.php

The Illinois EnviroBulletin is a publication of the Illinois Environmental Council and the Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund.



=======================================

Jonathan Goldman

Executive Director

Illinois Environmental Council

Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund

1608 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Suite 511

Chicago, IL 60647

Tel: (773) 252-5954

Fax: (773) 252-5953

Cell: (312) 388-7358

In Springfield:

107 West Cook Street, Suite E

Springfield, Illinois 62704

Tel: (217) 544-5954

Fax: (217) 544-5958


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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