CELEBRATE EARTH DAY WITH THE LOTUS INSTITUTE FOR MINDFUL LIVING

CELEBRATE EARTH DAY WITH THE LOTUS INSTITUTE FOR MINDFUL LIVING

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JOIN US FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE!

Here are some easy suggestions to help you Celebrate Earth Day Mindfully Everyday:

• Honor the Earth Mother by calling on our leaders to formally sign COP21 on April 22, 2016 in New York city: The COP21 Climate Conference held in Paris in December was an historic event of tremendous significance. For the first time, all nations of the World agreed to take action on climate change. We are now calling on the Leaders of those 195 nations, to "Sign Us Up for LIFE!". That LIFE is the future of all species, now so dependent on the follow-through of commitments made at COP21. We are individually asking our own national leaders to formally sign the COP21 Agreement on our behalf: LEARN MORE HERE (http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=2937#.VxRC5vq3NdZ) and HERE (http://www.earthholder.org/contemplation-and-action#sign-us-up).

• Sign the Interfaith Climate Change Statement to World Leaders 2016: (http://www.interfaithstatement2016.org/#sign_as_individual) Add your name, as Individuals and Groups. It will be delivered to the President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark on 18th April 2016 at an official event in New York.

• Honor Mother Earth by adopting an Earth-friendly Diet and Pledging to Take Extinction and Cruelty Off Your Plate (http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15304): From habitat destruction and massive greenhouse gas emissions to wasted water and fouled skies, our nation's voracious appetite for meat is causing great harm to our planet and its wildlife.
Cutting just one-third of the meat from your diet can save as much as 340,667 gallons of water, more than 4,000 square feet of land and the greenhouse gas equivalent of driving 2,700 fewer miles a year. By pledging to reduce your meat consumption by one-third or more, you'll have a huge impact on the environment and the hundreds of species threatened by livestock and Big Agriculture. Already consuming mindfully? VEGANS AND VEGETARIANS WELCOMED to sign the petition and spread the word!

• Honor all residents of Planet Earth by celebrating National Pollinator Week: (https://www.meetup.com/LotusSangha/events/169667412/) Insects such as bees, butterflies, moths and beetles, as well as birds, bats and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us 1 out of every 3 bites of food we eat. Unfortunately scientific evidence points to the fact that many pollinators are in trouble. Some species have seen a 90% decline in their populations over the last decade. In the United States alone, bees have declined from 4.5 million in 1945, to about 2 million. Without the actions of pollinators our food supply, agricultural economies, and surrounding landscapes would collapse. It is easy to help make a difference by taking some simple steps. LEARN MORE HERE (https://www.meetup.com/LotusSangha/events/169667412/)

• Honor our beautiful Planet by taking action now and urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ban the import and trade of large, exotic snakes imported for the pet trade (http://action.biologicaldiversity.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=15293) (such as pythons) that are threatening treasured natural habitats in the State of Florida and wreaking havoc in the Everglades: In 2009 scientists identified nine snake species that pose an unacceptable risk as invaders. And yet the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service only banned four species, refusing to take action on the other five, which account for 70% of the trade. Unless these five exotic serpents are added to the Lacey Act's list of "injurious" species, their trade will continue to threaten our environment.

• Get together with friends to generate the positive energy of awareness and compassion, and keep the aspiration to LIVE MINDFULLY alive: With the support of mindfulness practices and friends on the path, we can support each other to see clearly what we can do together to help.

MAKE A COMMITMENT TODAY AND REMEMBER: EARTH DAY IS EVERY DAY!

Resources for Taking Action Locally and Globally:

• 350.org (http://www.350.org/) Building a global climate movement through online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions coordinated by a global network active in more than 188 countries

• #Climate (http://www.hashtagclimate.org/)Social media app that aggregates climate activism opportunities

• Center for Biological Diversity (http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/index.html) Seeing diversity as having intrinsic value and working—through science, law and creative media—to secure a future for all species threatened with extinction

• Environmental Defense Fund (http://www.edf.org/climate) (EDF) Envisioning a clean energy economy, getting the laws right, forging unique partnerships, implementing global incentives to curb pollution and deforestation

• Climate Reality Project (http://climaterealityproject.org/) Founded by Vice President Al Gore to help solve the greatest challenge of our time

• Friends of the Earth (http://www.foe.org/) Defending the environment and championing a healthy and just world

• Greenpeace (http://www.greenpeace.org/) Independent campaigning organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and to promote solutions essential to a green and peaceful future

• World Wildlife Fund (http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/climate-change) WWF's climate change initiative works to advance policies to fight climate change, engage with businesses to reduce carbon emissions, and help people and nature adapt to a changing climate

• Low Carbon Diet (http://www.empowermentinstitute.net/index.php/community/low-carbon-diet) How to cut 5000 lbs. off of your carbon footprint in a month

• Climate Parents (http://www.climateparents.org/) Mobilizing parents and families to push policy makers and energy companies to stop prioritizing dirty energy and to scale up “kid-safe and climate-safe” energy instead

• Zero Footprint Baby (http://keyachatterjee.com/) A book and website helping parents save the planet while raising a healthy baby

• Community Power Network (http://www.communitypowernetwork.com/) Resources to help individuals and communities switch to solar power

• Earth Policy Institute (http://www.earth-policy.org/) Dedicated to planning a sustainable future and providing a roadmap of how to get from here to there

• The Heat is On(line) (http://www.heatisonline.org/main.cfm) Website tracking climate-related developments, including extreme weather events, campaigns of deception and disinformation by the fossil fuel lobby, and solutions to climate change

• Resource Innovation Group (http://www.theresourceinnovationgroup.org/) Addressing “the human causes, impacts, and solutions to complex socio-economic-ecological challenges, with a special emphasis on climate change”; see programs on climate preparedness & resiliency, climate education, and climate economics

• Climate Justice Alliance (http://www.ourpowercampaign.org/cja/) Collaborative of more than 35 community-based and movement support organizations rooted in Indigenous, African American, Latino, Asian Pacific Islander, and working-class white communities throughout the U.S. working to forge a scalable and socioeconomically just transition away from unsustainable energy toward local living economies to address the root causes of climate change

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We and the Earth thank you!

Your Friends at the Lotus Institute For Mindful Living, Inc.

(c) 2016 Lotus Institute For Mindful Living, Inc.