Prayers for the Earth

Signed into law in 1952, the National Day of Prayer is observed on the first Thursday in May. This year, however, the Obama administration is appealing a recent court ruling that deemed the day of religious contemplation unconstitutional. Despite the controversy, many people of all faiths will spend a few extra moments asking for divine guidance.

As always, there's plenty to pray for. A creation care movement is growing in religious communities, and the eco-minded faithful might consider praying for the families of the workers killed in the BP oil rig explosion, the residents of the Gulf Coast whose livelihoods will be impacted by the environmental disaster, and the region's sea birds and marine animals. Devout environmentalists might want to include a plea for an offshore drilling ban. Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask.

--Della Watson

Preaching It: An Activist Reverend Takes on Mountaintop Removal

A group best known for exorcising cash registers and preaching about the sin of shopping recently turned its attention to mountaintop-removal mining.

On Easter Sunday, the NYPD arrested Reverend Billy Talen, leader of the Church of Life After Shopping, for piling mounds of "murdered mountain mud" inside Chase Bank. Chase, according to Reverend Billy and others, financially supports mountaintop removal. Police arrested Talen shortly after he placed an Easter egg atop a "mountain" made from mud that the group recently obtained from West Virginia. The egg contained a message for the bank's CEO, imploring him to stop investing in removing mountains and start helping communities.

Green Your Spring Holidays: Persian New Year

Spring is a wonderful time to honor the earth’s fresh bounty, so it’s no surprise that many holidays fall during this season of renewal. This week, we’re giving you tips for celebrating your spring holiday of choice in planet-friendly ways.

Tip #3: Green Your Nowruz

Friday is Sizdah Bedar, the 13th day of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. Several U.S. cities will hold festivities over the weekend, and families usually spend this day outdoors, picnicking and playing games. If you can incorporate a hike into that, go for it! Either way, pack organic food into reusable containers, walk (don't drive) to a local park, and enjoy everything spring has to offer.

An important Nowruz tradition involves collecting and displaying specific objects that represent rebirth and good fortune, including sprouted wheatgrass or barley, coins, apples, and vinegar. On Sizdah Bedar, participants toss the greenery in flowing water (or your compost pile) to banish bad luck. Consider keeping and using the other items, though, to reduce waste.

Share your tips: How do you green your spring holiday?

Green Your Spring Holidays: Easter

Spring is a wonderful time to honor the earth’s fresh bounty, so it’s no surprise that many holidays fall during this season of renewal. This week, we’re giving you tips for celebrating your spring holiday of choice in planet-friendly ways.

Tip #2: Green Your Easter

Christian families everywhere will celebrate Easter on Sunday. This year, though, dial down the consumption. Instead of buying a flimsy plastic basket that will be tossed Sunday evening, check your local craft or thrift store for a durable Easter basket that the kids can use year after year. Don't fill it with fake plastic grass, either. It's easy to substitute DIY paper grass instead. 

If you're hunting for organic, cage-free hard-boiled eggs, roll down the supermarket aisle past the egg-dying kits and food coloring (both are full of chemicals - bad for you and the environment) to the produce department, where you'll find the ingredients for natural, homemade egg dyes. 

As for candy, skip the over-packaged, artificially colored confections in favor of earth-friendlier treats. Many natural food stores carry organic, fair-trade Easter candy.

Share your tips: How do you green your spring holiday?

Green Your Spring Holidays: Passover

Spring is a wonderful time to honor the earth’s fresh bounty, so it’s no surprise that many holidays fall during this season of renewal. This week, we’re giving you tips for celebrating your spring holiday of choice in planet-friendly ways.

Tip #1: Green Your Passover

Passover begins tonight at sundown, so today will be spent cleaning and removing chametz (leavened products) from Jewish homes. If you do this, consider using cleaning products from a responsible company such as Seventh Generation or Planet.

Since food is such a big part of Passover, set a sustainable Seder plate: Choose free-range for the hard-boiled eggs, organic apples for the charoset, and for the maror, grate fresh horseradish instead of buying it in a jar. For the rest of the meal, opt for ingredients that were produced locally.

Tip #2: Green Your Easter

Tip #3: Green Your Persian New Year

Tip #4: Green Your April Fools' Day

Share your tips: How do you green your spring holidays?

The Newest Old Business Trend

Tithing — offering a percentage of income for a cause — dates back to the Old Testament. And lately its popularity is surging in the business world, though today's offerings aren't fixed at 10 percent, and are far different from the garments, dates, and barley that believers once donated to the church.

When Yvon Chouinard, owner of outdoor-apparel giant Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of fishing supplier Blue Ribbon Flies, joined forces in 2002 to give 1 percent of their sales to Earth-oriented nonprofits — and to recruit other executives to do the same — the result was itself a nonprofit: 1% for the Planet.

Today, the organization's thousand-plus member businesses, spread over 37 countries, donate directly to more than 1,900 approved environmental charities, including the Sierra Club. Many of the companies that slap the 1% FTP logo on their products — like Volcom, Sigg, and Clif Bar — are noticeably hip. But its biggest get might be Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records. The mellow singer-songwriter has sold more than 15 million albums, a mellifluous boon for the natural world.

Giving Up Carbon for Lent?

"Carbon fasting" during Lent is catching on: Many are using the 40-day period as an opportunity to reflect on their consumption habits and try out green lifestyle changes. Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday, and lasts until Easter.

The Church of England first encouraged carbon fasting in 2008, providing a 40-day plan to cut down on energy use. The plan included ideas like turning down the thermostat and checking your car's tire pressure. Several British bishops have renewed the call this year, urging fasters to give up their iPods or cell phones for a day to cut back on electricity use.

Movie Review Friday: Creation

Escape to the movies with one of our Movie Review Friday selections. Each week we review a film with an environmental theme that's currently in theaters or available on DVD. Seen a good eco-flick lately? Send us a short review and look for it in the next Movie Review Friday.

Creation (2010)

Now playing

Many amateur naturalists dream of what it would have been like to explore the Galapagos on the H.M.S. Beagle, Charles Darwin at your side, watching the scientist’s mind at work as he sorted out his budding theory. This film, however, provides an affecting portrait of Darwin (Paul Bettany) later in life, his discoveries mostly behind him, his tales of adventure merely stories he tells his children before bedtime.

Based on the book Annie’s Box,  by Darwin’s great-great grandson Randal Keynes, this earnest and visually appealing film centers around the death of Darwin’s ten-year-old daughter Annie in 1851, whom we meet through father-daughter flashbacks and through her ghost, which haunts the scientist to the point of near insanity. In the midst of this turmoil, Darwin wrestles with the implications of publishing The Origin of Species, a book his supporters predict will "kill God." Jennifer Connelly (Bettany’s real-life spouse) gives a convincing performance as Darwin’s devoutly religious wife, who supports her husband’s scientific pursuits but worries for his soul.

The Vatican Pans Avatar

James Cameron's new eco-themed movie, Avatar, is wowing moviegoers with 3-D CGI magic, but the film hasn't won any converts in the Vatican. L'Osservatore Romano, the official newspaper of the holy city, and Vatican Radio call the movie "bland" and say it "ends up falling into sappiness." The Vatican's criticism seems based, in part, on the movie's portrayal of a nature-based religion. According the Huffington Post, L'Osservatore Romano said that Avatar "gets bogged down by a spiritualism linked to the worship of nature."

The Christian Science Monitor reports that the Avatar review is part of L'Osservatore Romano's effort to become more accessible by weighing in on worldy topics like Harry Potter, the Simpsons, and the Beatles. In a 2008 article, the newspaper even forgave John Lennon for his infamous "more popular than Jesus" comment.

The Great Christmas Tree Debate

Christmas is just over a week away. Have you gotten your tree yet? If not, which option is greener: artificial or real trees? If you’re working to minimize your carbon footprint this Christmas, consider both the pluses and minuses for both options.
 
The National Christmas Tree Association vows that fake trees are worse than real trees. Real trees are now grown on farms so there is less deforestation and use of pesticides and chemicals are controlled on these farms. The association also argues that fake trees are often made in China with harmful plastics that are non-recyclable, while real trees are usually picked up and recycled into mulch.

On the other hand, artificial trees tend to cost less in the long run because many of them come with lights and stands meaning you don’t have to keep buying lights and decorations each year. Real trees require a stand, skirt, decorations, and regular watering. All these items can add up in the end. Not to mention, with an artificial trees you won’t be cutting down a real tree each year. You can keep the plastic tree for years, minimizing the driving done to pick up a real tree as well.