Amazing hummingbird tongues

If you don't get fed you don't get bred!

Circle Connections shares this prayer by Akasa Wolfsong for Earth Day:

Earth Mother, Our Mother…

I thank You deeply for Your
sustenance each day so that
I might live.

Remind me daily of the beauty
I see in You, through wondrous
cloud, the ant busily working,
the dandelion blooming, the
bee busy gathering nectar,
the birds of the air soaring on
the thermals.

Remind of your Waters that
are home to the creatures that
share the planet with me.

Remind me to stand in amazement
for all good things which come
from You, Blessed Mother.

As I am reminded then Mother Earth,
let me say a silent prayer, one
which sprouts from a glad heart,
one which feels Your Love as You
continually support me, so that I
may feel Your grace within, so that I
may always stand in amazement.

Bless You Earth Mother…

A’HO!

Our Sister Mother Earth gets equal rights

A Franciscan Spirituality blog, Dating God, about legally recognizing "Our Sister Mother Earth:"

Bolivia, the poorest nation in South America, is leading the way toward recognizing the inherent dignity of creation in a legal way, seeking to grant equal rights enjoyed by humans to nature. In an age when the United States Supreme Court can grant equal rights to corporations so they can spend unrestricted amounts of money on political campaigns, among other activities, it seems that granting creation equal rights with humans — recalling the creation is also living, whereas corporations are a human construct — The Mother Earth Law, as it is being called, makes much more sense.

Good Friday and Earth Day

The Anglican Church of Canada has prepared additional liturgical materials for this year's Good Friday Earth Day:

April 22, 2011, is Good Friday as well as Earth Day. The Greening Anglican Spaces Task Group has assembled a Good Friday Earth Day Reflection , a Good Friday Liturgical Resource designed to be interpolated into the Book of Alternative Services Good Friday rite, and has assembled a short list of liturgical resources which may be helpful to worship planners.

The task group has also partnered with Faith and the Common Good who have designed a Carbon Calculator so people can discover the hidden cost of our carbon use.

A Solemn Intercession:
Let us pray for God's creation and for the whole web of life.
for those people and creatures who have been betrayed by human greed and
faithlessness;
for nations and communities suffering deluge or drought,
for species on the brink of extinction,
for families and those dispossessed of home and land,
for future generations inheriting the fruits of human neglect and exploitation.
that God, Source of all life,
will show us anew the miracle of creation,
proclaimed in our beginnings, and promised in our future.

A Collect
Oh God, you created the heavens and the earth
and saw that it was good.
Give us the eyes to see your goodness
in all that gives life,
and give us the will
to put to death our indifference to your creation,
that rising with you to new life
we may participate in the healing and restoration of the earth.

From the Environmental Defense Action Fund:

Here are 10 startling facts we learned in 2009 that underscore the climate threat:

A study published in the journal Science reports that the current level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere – about 390 parts per million – is higher today than at any time in measurable history -- at least the last 2.1 million years. Previous peaks of CO2 were never more than 300 ppm over the past 800,000 years, and the concentration is rising by around 2 ppm each year.

The World Meterological Organization reported that 2000-2009 was the hottest decade on record with 8 of the hottest 10 years having occurred since 2000.
2009 will end up as one of the 5 hottest years since 1850 and the U.K.'s Met Office predicts that, with a moderate El Nino, 2010 will likely break the record.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that while a bit more summer Arctic sea ice appeared in 2009 than the record breaking lows of the last two years, it was still well below normal levels. Given that the Arctic ice cover remains perilously thin, it is vulnerable to further melting, posing an ever increasing threat to Arctic wildlife including polar bears.

The Arctic summer could be ice-free by mid-century, not at the end of the century as previously expected, according to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Recent observations published in the highly respected Nature Geosciences indicate that the East Antarctica ice sheet has been shrinking. This surprised researchers, who expected that only the West Antarctic ice sheet would shrink in the near future because the East Antarctic ice sheet is colder and more stable.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program completed an assessment of what is known about climate change impacts in the US and reported that, "Climate changes are already observed in the United States and… are projected to grow." These changes include "increases in heavy downpours, rising temperature and sea level, rapidly retreating glaciers, thawing permafrost, lengthening ice-free seasons in the ocean and on lakes and rivers, earlier snowmelt, and alterations in river flows."

According to a report by the US Geological Survey, slight changes in the climate may trigger abrupt threats to ecosystems that are not easily reversible or adaptable, such as insect outbreaks, wildfire, and forest dieback. "More vulnerable ecosystems, such as those that already face stressors other than climate change, will almost certainly reach their threshold for abrupt change sooner." An example of such an abrupt threat is the outbreak of spruce bark beetles throughout the western U.S. caused by increased winter temperatures that allow more beetles to survive.

The EPA, USGS and NOAA issued a joint report warning that most mid-Atlantic coastal wetlands from New York to North Carolina will be lost with a sea level rise of 1 meter or more.

If we do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the century, some of the main fruit and nut tree crops currently grown in California may no longer be economically viable, as there will be a lack of the winter chilling they require. And, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S. production of corn, soybeans and cotton could decrease as much as 82%.

2010: will you be greener?

Going Green DC (Washington, DC) gives 10 tips for a greener 2010:

1. Grow your own fruits and vegetables. No yard? A yard-sharing program matches people who have land with people who have a green thumb but no place to use it.

2. Get involved in a community garden or volunteer at one like Common Good City Farm.

3. Walk more, use public transportation, and consider buying or renting a bike.

4. Buy local ingredients whenever possible from farmer’s markets and other small purveyors.

5. Remember to bring reusable bags to the grocery store. The 5 cent plastic bag fee goes into effect January 1. (in DC)

6. Plant a tree in your backyard.

7. Reduce organic waste by learning how to compost.

8. Replace regular lightbulbs with energy-saving compact florescent lightbulbs, turn off lights when not in use, reduce the thermostat.

9. Stop buying bottled water and get yourself a chic stainless steel bottle instead.

10. Support environmentally friendly local businesses as much as possible.

Recyle bins in Changi airport