Some Secular and Non-Secular Perspectives for Earth Day

Gary Berg-Cross

Earth Day (ED) is, as they say, a 2^nd chance to the wearing of the green in Spring. It’s celebrated in many ways and not just on the 22^nd.  There is a nice   spill over for working folks into the weekend with Green events. And you can find any number of Inspirational Quotes for Earth Day. A favorite for the Deist crowd might be Frank Lloyd Wright’s:

I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.

Some years ago Yahoo music has its Top 10 Earth Day Songs:

Top 10 Earth Day Songs

1. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye

2. Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell

3. Paradise - John Prine

4. Shapes Of Things - The Yardbirds 

5. Nature's Way - Spirit

6. Don't Go Near The Water - The Beach Boys

7. If A Tree Falls - Bruce Cockburn

8. Don't Go Near The Water - Johnny Cash

9. Mother Earth (Natural Anthem) - Neil Young

10. I Remember California - R.E.M

It’s a good list although what about Pete Seeger singing Garden Song (Inch by inch)

 Since this is a day to raise children’s consciousness there are ones just for children with some good values, if some take a religious tone about god’s creatures.

I like the Celebrate Earth Day in Images that Google provided along with its  Animated Google Doodle.

But to all of these joyful connection there are a few suffers out there since Earth Day seems too secular a holiday celebration.  The New America site had a disgruntled Bob Adelman who started out noting that, “some consider it (earth day)the most holy of secular celebrations, the culmination of more than four decades of indoctrination of the theme that it’s moral to force people to go green.”

Yep, and his analysis provided this revelation for the selection of the April 22^nd ED date.

Various theories are extant about why April 22 instead of March 20, including trying to set the date during spring break, avoiding true religious holidays such as Easter and Passover, while honoring green believers. One of them, conservationist (not an “environmentalist” by today’s definition) John Muir, was born the day before, 132 years earlier, on April 21, 1838.

Perhaps more conveniently, April 22, 1970 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Lenin, the first totalitarian to inflict his own view of Earth Day onto the hapless citizens of the Soviet Union. Called a “subbotnik,” the first day of enforced cleaning of streets and public parks occurred on April 12, 1919.

Wow.  Shades of conspiracy and the very Jewish Bob Adelman commiserates with Steven Landsburg who complained that his four-year-old daughter was being subjected in public school to the indoctrination without proof. Here’s the Landsburg scree:

At the age of four, my daughter earned her second diploma. When she was two, she graduated with the highest possible honors from the Toddler Room at her nursery school in Colorado. Two years later she graduated from the preschool of the Jewish Community Center, where she matriculated on our return to New York State.

At the graduation ceremony, titled Friends of the Earth, I was lectured by four- and five-year-olds on the importance of safe energy sources, mass transportation, and recycling. The recurring mantra was "With privilege comes responsibility" as in "With the privilege of living on this planet comes the responsibility to care for it."

Of course, Thomas Jefferson thought that life on this planet was more an inalienable right than a privilege, but then he had never been to preschool.

I think I know what side of this issue the Deist-like and naturalist Jefferson would have been on. As a fiddler he’s be playing some of the songs listed above and didn’t Jefferson say this?

“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands”

Thomas Jefferson

Happy Earth Day

by Gary Berg-Cross

Along with natures' freebie of the 17 year brood II cicadas we have Earth Day to celebrate this spring in DC. It's one of my favorite things to celebrate and  I wrote this to enjoy and remember it with my grandchildren.

You and I are part of the earth, connected & united with all its life, and everything else that is on this planet and home we call EARTH.

It deservers our love, respect and care.

Today especially, but every day you, me and everyone else should wake up with the idea that we will  be a good steward for the planet. 

Wake up with the idea that you (and I) will do something special to make our home earth a better, stronger and safer place for all life.

  

WASH MDC talk by Dr. Robert Cahalan (NASA) "Appalachian Impacts of Global Warming: Reasons For Hope"

by Gary Berg-Cross

For Earth Day weekend Dr. Robert Cahalan (NASA) will present a free talk on "Appalachian Impacts of Global Warming: Reasons For Hope."

The talk will be held from 2-4 pm at the Chevy Chase Library in Bethesda, Maryland (basement level).

Here is Dr. Calahan's Abstract:

Global disruptions of Earth's climate and biosphere are leading to
loss of biodiversity and ecosystem collapses, depletion of fish and
forests, loss of fresh water, ocean acidification and species extinctions.

What can be done to address these challenges?
Can individuals actually make a difference?
Is there a legitimate reason for hope?

Brief Bio
Dr. Robert Cahalan is Director of Sun-Climate Research at
 NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Maryland.
 He recently retired as Chief of Goddard’s Climate and Radiation
 Laboratory, and President of the International Radiation Commission.

He has been doing science research for more than 40 years,
is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and a recipient of
numerous awards for scientific research including the United States
Outstanding Leadership and Service Medal.

Nature has Rights

This Earth Day you can read the proposed Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth at:

http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/db_article.php?article_id=238

This declaration was adopted by the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, in Bolivia on April 22, 2010.

Essentially the draft United Nations treaty gives "Mother Earth" the same rights as humans. Bolivia proposed this at the UN having passed a "Law of the Rights of Mother Earth", which Bolivian President Evo Morales enacted in January.

That document speaks about Bolivia's natural resources in reverent terms ("blessings") while granting the concept of "Earth" or perhaps Nature a series of specific rights analogous to people such as include rights to life, water and clean air; the right to repair livelihoods affected by human activities; and the right to be free from pollution. The law established a Ministry of Mother Earth, and provides the planet with Representation. That is, there is a Nature ombudsman whose job is to hear "nature's complaints" as voiced by activist, activist groups, and state organizations.

Pablo Salon, Bolivia's ambassador to the UN, describe it this way to Postmedia News.

"If you want to have balance, and you think that the only (entities) who have rights are humans or companies, then how can you reach balance? But if you recognize that nature too has rights, and (if you provide) legal forms to protect and preserve those rights, then you can achieve balance."

Closer to us Canadian activist Maude Barlow who is former Senior Advisor on Water to the President of the UN General Assembly and chairperson of the Council of Canadians. She is a leading contributor to The Rights of Nature and among global environmentalists backing the UN drive with a book (The Rights of Nature) the group will launch in New York during the UN debate o whether Nature Has Rights. Here is how she makes the argument:

"The case for acknowledging the Rights of Nature cannot be understated." Every now and then in history, the human race takes a collective step forward in its evolution. Such a time is upon us now as we begin to understand the urgent need to protect the Earth and its ecosystems from which all life comes. The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth is a crucial link in this process and will one day stand as the companion to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as one of the guiding covenants of our time. "

Of the campaign Barlow said:

"It's going to have huge resonance around the world," . "It's going to start first with these southern countries trying to protect their land and their people from exploitation, but I think it will be grabbed onto by communities in our countries, for example, fighting the tar sands in Alberta."

You can see an interview with Barlow and others talking about this topic on this at http://blip.tv/file/5047387

Earthy, Scientific and Transparent Spring in DC

There's always things going on in the DC area and Spring is a great time for them. Natural beauty is here with the Cherry Blossoms and quickly prepares the way for Earth Day on the mall April 16 - 17. See http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/EarthDayMall.htm.
(I hope the new budget allows the Environmental Protection Agency to host this annual event with its National Sustainable Design Expo that features a wide array of college students showcasing Earth friendly ideas.)

Even before this there's a great science talk:

"To Be and Not to Be a Monkey: The Myth of the 1.23% Difference" with Alain Prochiantz, CNRS Researcher in Neurobiology and Professor at the Collège de France presented Tuesday, April 05, 2011 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM at the Embassy of France. It's free and followed by a wine reception.

You can register at www.rdv-cnrs.eventbrite.com

A HAPPY B-DAY to PAUL ROBESON! April 9th.

And April is a great time for the Robert G. Ingersoll Washington, D.C., Walking Tour (see http://www.ingersoll.wash.org/content/tour/index.php)

There are 2 great, secular speakers talking in the area in April. Philosopher A. C. Grayling is discussing his new work "The Good Book: A Secular Bible" at 6:30 pm on Thursday, April 14th 2011 at Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St NW in DC (walkable from the 14th & V / U Street Cardozo Metro). Grayling has apparently been working on this opus for several decades, and the result has been described as a rich manifesto for rational thought.

Later that week Freethinker Susan Jacoby takes on anti-aging hype in her new book "Never Say Die" at at 4:00 pm on Sunday, April 17th at the downtown Busboys and Poets 5th & K, 1025 5th St NW. It;s been described as an "impassioned, closely reasoned critique of the myth that a radically new old age - unmarred by physical and mental infirmity, financial problems, or loneliness - waits the baby-boom generation. "
You can these and more at http://www.busboysandpoets.com/events.php and http://www.busboysandpoets.com/events.php?loc=2

At the end of the month there's a really neat 2 day workshop called Transparency Camp run by the Sunlight Foundation. This is held in the form of an unconference , which means it is highly informal and a happening - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference.
This year T-Camp is being held in Bethesda and it is a really neat meeting for people interested in transparent and open government. The Open Gov movement is still a work in progress, but progress is made each year as Sunlight helps us make information more accessible and transparently understandable. If you haven't seen Sunlight fact check political speeches you've missed an experience.

For more event details, visit the event page at http://tcamp11.eventbrite.com.
The weekend is basically free with just a $10 charge for 2 lunches.

Maybe I'll see you there. From there it is only a few days to the National Day of Reason, It's the 1st Thursday in May every year, to provide an alternative to the National Day of Prayer. See http://daysuntil.com/Day-Of-Reason/index.html

Earth Hour and 2011 Secular Spring Holidays

It’s March and with longer daylight hours things are thawing things out. I look forward to the change of seasons and some secular festivals options that this offers. It's interesting, for example, to look at the list of Holidays listed at http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/. The enumeration there includes 138 "holidays" in the US. At a glance there are roughly equal numbers of religious and secular holidays. Some are well known and many others are small ones such as Wright Brothers Day and Maryland Day 2011, coming Friday, March 25, 2011.



To me the Spring equinox is an obvious secular Spring event, Celebrate -The Renaissance, The Enlightenment, and Astronomy. There's a nice write-up on how to celebrate at http://www.secularseasons.org/march/spring_equinox.html.
Earth Day on Friday April 22nd (which is also Good Friday this year) is another secular event I look forward to. With an estimated half a billion people around the world celebrating Earth Day, is one of the world's largest secular holidays (some people count New Years as a bigger one). In light of the recent oil gusher in the Gulf it’s interesting to recall that senator Gaylord came up with the Earth Day idea after witnessing the environmental consequences of the Santa Barbara Oil Spill of 1969. Perhaps this will make the 2011 one a reflective reminder of what we celebrate and what we dread. See http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/EarthDay.htm for Earth Day events in the DC area.


Recently I was surprised to learn of one other secular environmental events in the same environment spirit as Earth Day. The United Nations holds a similar event known as the World Environment Day held on June 5th(http://www.unep.org/wed/intro/intro.html). World Environment Day is one of the UN's principal vehicles through to:

stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and

enhance political attention and action among the member nations.

This year the World Environment Day theme is: "Forests: Nature at Your Service". For ways to get involved see http://www.unep.org/.

Another event is coming even sooner. March 26th we have the 2011 Earth Hour(8:30pm-9:30 local time). Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney Australia when an estimated 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change. It has become an annual global event, organized by the non-profit World Wildlife Fund. In 2008, for example, it became more of a global sustainability movement when over 50 million people who own homes and businesses across 35 countries participated by:
"switch(ing) off their lights and to stop using electrical equipment for one hour in order to raise awareness about the effects of global warming and climate change." See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour

It's a nice, focused effort to make our world a better place and a platform for collective action, although not much energy can be saved or CO2 reduced in an hour. The real value is symbolic and personal. I take it this way as a suburban Maryland dweller. I'm not in the city to see the big lights go off, but I can darken my house and take a slow walk around the neighborhood seeing some darken houses and meeting neighbors walking.
This year the effort aims at building personal commitments that go beyond just the hour with an emphasis on sharing personal acts with the world - see http://www.earthhour.org/About.aspx.

The WWF folks are asking people to make pledges about they will do to make a difference after the lights go back on. Each day the core group is sharing people's self describe inspiring actions with friends on Facebook and Earth Hour followers on Twitter as well as other Social Media. You can see more about what people have already pledged and http://beyondthehour.org/.