The Earth, Our World - Believing in Our Future

     It's important to believe - in ourselves, in human nature, in our evolution of understanding. Like the French proverb on my little poster says, "It is by believing in roses that one brings them to bloom." Abraham-Hicks says it another way: "Our attention to something keeps it growing, our thoughts keep it active." As long as I can remember, I've been a positive thinker. I prefer to think positively about everything, and to find the beauty wherever I can.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Venice recently sponsored an Environmental Film Festival, showing a documentary film every Monday evening in March. The first was "Ingredients" - exploring the movement to eat locally to "create a healthier, more sustainable model for living and eating well."  I missed the second week, but the film shown was "Tapped" - about "bottled water and the industry that thinks we should buy it." Next came "Trashed" - about recycling and where our trash goes. And finally, "Deep Green" - about "solutions to stop Global Warming now."

I learned things, of course. I've been going to Transitions meetings here in our area. And, I've been exploring shared housing and intentional communities. I know change is coming. For me and for us all. It's exciting, actually. I believe it's a wonderful time to be alive. Keeping our thoughts positive and within the realms of possibility, happiness, and positive resolution for all while learning about climate change and global challenges takes some focus, but it's worth it.

As I viewed these films during the month of March, I felt a subtle shift of new awareness open up within me like a lotus blossom. Each film presented another look at new movements taking hold across our planet. I felt pride for the people who are on the leading edge, people who are already changing entire companies and countries for the good of future generations. The interconnectedness of life, and of things, became even more apparent to me than before. Take composting, for instance, which I learned reduces methane gas in our landfills, thus protecting the atmosphere even in a small, individual way. I didn't know that. I thought composting was just for people who liked to garden.

I look at the baby hawks in the cypress tree in my back yard, and the new bud on an orchid that survived the seasons, and marvel at our beautiful world. We can do this. We can educate ourselves about energy efficiency. We can support local organic food growers. We can think about what we buy and what we throw away. We can bring consciousness to more of our environment and what we can do in our individual daily lives that will be good for each other. We can take responsibility for choices we make that impact our world and future generations. We can believe in the goodness of people. We can trust each other to cooperate and keep making changes that will help us all. One awareness at a time. One choice at a time. I have confidence in the human race. I believe in our global future.
- Raphaella Vaisseau

President Obama takes big step to fight global warming

According to a CREDO Action Alert: Today, President Obama set new national policy on climate change by making cars and trucks more fuel-efficient by requiring an average fuel economy standard of 35.5 mpg by 2016.

Today, President Obama announced the first national standard for greenhouse-gas emissions for automobiles, which will tighten emission and fuel economy standards that have been delayed for decades. The new rules, which will take effect in 2012, require an average fuel economy standard of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 and are built on California's tough tailpipe standards by requiring that cars be more fuel efficient. CREDO continually fought to pass these standards, but the Bush EPA illegally blocked them. The plan would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 900 million tons through 2016.

Earth Hour Around the Globe - pics via The Big Picture

Started in Sydney, Australia in 2007, Earth Hour quickly grew into a global observance. More than 1,000 cities in over 80 countries observed Earth Hour 2009 on Saturday March 28th, as homes, office towers and landmarks turned off their lights for an hour starting at 8.30 pm local time to raise awareness about climate change and the threat from rising greenhouse gas emissions. Check out the pictures in javascript of cities and monuments going black via Alan Taylor's The Big Picture.

In Venice, Florida, I did my part and sat in the dark with the light of a candle and a smiley-faced crescent moon to light my journal as I wrote a stream of consciousness for 45 minutes of the hour. The last fifteen minutes I blew out the candle and meditated on global peace, harmony and wellness from the micro to the macro, from the core of the earth to the highest realms of spirit.

Note from the future: Ten years later and I'm still doing this every year. In 2019, 188 countries participated to inspire urgent action for the environment. Join us next year on Saturday, March 28, 2020 8:30pm local time.