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Wading into the Jordan River, the pastor blessed his flock, tapping the believers on the head before sending them into the hallowed waters to be baptized.  The Carbon Fast has one directive for each of the 40 days of lent. Some of these suggestions are cumulative ("remove one light bulb and live without it for the next 40 days") and some of them are one-day actions ("can you talk about your Carbon Fast at church today?"). While some of the acts - talking at church, praying to Jesus, etc - are quite obviously specific to Christian faith, many of the directives are just good ideas for lessening our carbon output. The Carbon Fast has gained popularity among observant Christians (and a few of us non-Christians...) in the U.K. and Ireland and also in Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, Switzerland, Australia, Canada and the United States. If you want to learn more, visit Tearfund here.
What? - The group known as the “Green Hanukkia” has been trying to spread the word online to keep one or more Hanukkah candles unlit for this holiday season to save the environment. The group has calculated that each candle that burns completely emits 15 grams of carbon dioxide. They feel that since one million Jewish families celebrate this tradition in Israel for eight days, that the damage to the atmosphere could be a lot.
Hindu Cremation Customs Hindu cremation customs involve preparing the body and then taking the body to a large outdoor area where mourners can gather to observe the cremating ceremony. Wood plays a big part in the traditional ceremonies, symbolizing the Earth, as the body is burned and the spirit is set free.
When the cremation is over, the families gather the remains in a pot and take them to one of the rivers identified as “holy” in Hinduism. They then release the ashes into the water. If a holy stream cannot be accessed, then a river leading to the ocean will work also.
Catholic leaders have spoken in support of environmental protection with increasing conviction over the past few years, as many interpret the relationship between God and man to include man's stewardship of the earth. Pontifical Council Chair on Justice and Peace, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino said in a press release, "Man must cultivate and safeguard God's Creation." KlimaFa is also in talks with the Pontifical Council on Culture to develop a carbon calculation method for individual churches around the world and subsequent plans to make each church entirely neutral. The project marries the interests of three parties: it is the first major account for KlimaFa, which is a subsidiary of Planktos, the successful eco-restoration firm based in San Francisco; it enables the Vatican to spread a message of environmental responsibility; and it provides a good use for Hungary's abandoned farmland, which had to be decommissioned to comply with European Union agricultural protocol. In different parts of the world, people deal with death and dying in a variety of ways, with as many different funerary rituals as there are fish in the sea. The same is true for the ways in which different human groups 'process' and/or 'preserve' their dead. As I see it, plastination is yet another method of processing albeit a recently developed method. The plastination of human bodies is generating much discussion and controversy as the exhibits increasingly gain mainstream publicity. Extremely simplified, the process of plastination, the polymer impregnation of perishable biological specimens is the dehydrating of the body using acetone, followed by the insertion of liquid plastic polymers into the various soft tissues, (veins, muscles and organs). The body is then placed in a vacuum chamber, where it hardens and is ultimately preserved. This process can be done on any body human or animal in whole or in part. Some spectacular images of before and after neighborhood in Beirut. The destruction is just unbelievable and far more spread then the destruction of the World Trade Towers in New York. I hope that this conflict can and will die down, I couldn't image living throughout World War 3. |
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The push to bring the environment to the forefront of peoples’ minds in their everyday routines may have stretched too far through an environmental group in Israel this holiday season for Jewish families.
Cremations in India have started taking its toll on the country’s natural resources. With a population of over 1 billion, trees are cut down at an alarming rate to support the demand for wood in cremation ceremonies. Traditions of taking the ashes of loved ones to the various holy rivers are creating pollution for water sources as well. And this Hindu custom that have been passed down for hundreds of years is resistant to change in this area.
