Instigated by UU Justice Florida and organized by the Florida Council of Churches, 80 people of different ages, means, skills, perspectives and faiths met in an evangelical church for the conference Bridging Spirituality, Healing and Action to talk about what needs doing in this giant verdant state—the one that’s #1 on the list of those most threatened by climate change. 

In just a few hours we took stock of what needs to be done and resisted the temptation to despair. We learned that there are vital changes within our grasp: It really is possible to win a ballot initiative that will make clean renewable energy available to hundreds of thousands. We can stop fracking and the construction of coal-fired power plants. We can lead the transition to a healthier and sustainable food system that will improve the health of our bodies, our water resources and our climate.

We searched in unlikely places and uncovered potential allies from across the religious spectrum and even from businesses—from Disney to farmers to waterfront realtors to tourism. Most importantly, we realized that we people of faith and conscience may be the ones to awaken the moral imagination of all those who love this state, its enormous natural bounty and its wonderfully diverse and resourceful people.

And we committed to respond. As we seed new partnerships, deepen our support for one another, and lend our hands to the work, it will bear fruit and we will build hope together. Thanks to Kindra Munta, Russel Meyer, and Gregory Wilson for making it possible.

Photos by Tim Heberlein

Our Climate Action Coalition in Portland, OR, was largely responsible for Mayor Charlie Hales' reversal of his decision to invite propane giant Pembina from our harbor and also initiated the recent "kayaktivist" protest against the icebreaker Fennica, as it moved out of repair to the Artic. We were joined by Greenpeace protesters who dangled from the St. John's bridge for 40 hours, to prevent movement of the ship, and these images went around the world. It's time for in-your-face protest, time for civil disobedience--we are in crisis. Every act that raises consciousness is important. Ultimately, we need a climate tax that all developed countries buy into, and this effort must be led by the US--and hopefully, China. Thanks for all the good work you are doing!

The Citizens Climate Lobby pushes a Legislative proposal to Tax (Fee) Carbon and disperse the funds as a Dividend to every household. This lets the market make decisions, not regulators. Join us lobbying to save the Earth. Rich Greene

Relationships are like farming, if you don't plant the seed, you'll have no crop to harvest. Rumi (M. Mafi, trans.) Gambling is like farming, if you don't play the game, you'll have no winnings. Economics is like farming, if you don't play the mutual cooperative game, you'll have no competitive winnings. Ecologic is like farming, if we don't play the mutual mentoring Climax Community game, we'll have no long-term sustainable, much less optimized systemic, winnings. Stay aware and purposeful in your search, for happiness is truly in the searching. Rumi Stay awake and purposeful in our research, for peacefulness, contentment, confluence, justice, ecological economies are true within this polycultural searching. Stay awake and mindful of polypathic meaning in your Regenerative Permaculture Designed Research, for happiness, confluence, equity, truth, Prime Relationship Balanced Teleology are truly within this self-optimizing SuperEco searching. How do we sleep while part of us is gone? Frogs and night birds, bats and insects cry out for company filling raucous warm luscious breeze gentle, caressing, carrying chicken soup songs of love not yet won, love wanted and needed with primal longing to belong back together for our first really great time. How do we sleep while part of us is gone? Night flight resolves revolving chatter, fractal spinning spiral-echoes haunting iconic timeless teachings from potential future Right-brain memory predicative facts, intuiting predictors, confluent, confident islands of prophetic sanity boundary inspiring polycultures, multi-open systems of optimal communication. How do we sleep in this racket of absent SuperEgo missing evil hope of flight tonight? God as the Doomed and Dooming Ground of All Being, under Whom we hide from shamed non-redeeming character, id-entity. We thought we were economically neutral on Goddess Moving Train of Earth, oblivious to Her climatic millennial warnings to ease up on the fire power, take a break, let's cool down, enjoy some slower peace and more mindfully inclusive justice. Remaining neutral in our farming cooperative relationships, admittedly a slower moving train, and yet it helps to confluently comprehend we are spinning with Common balancing thermodynamic balance, and how fast is too fast, too Yangish, and how slow is too slow, too Yinnish, and when we might slow down to rebalance Yang with Yin, and how much we might slow down emerges permaculturally predicated as [+Yang = (-)(-)Yin] = [+PolyNomial 0-sum equivalent to (-)Not-PolyBiNomial-4-Prime Spacetime Dimensionally Balancing Vortex] Open Natural Systemic or +1/(-)0 = space/time binary Closed MetaSystem fractal-holonic-octaved reverse-hierarchical balance, to sustain our permacultured rich teleological neutrality on Gaia's regenerative train. How do we wake when part of Us is gone? How do we awaken our search for polycultural economic justice standards for researching well-being sustenance, self-optimizing regeneration with SuperEco Mindfulness Intent? Planting regenerative seeds, to grow redemptive pay-it-forward gift economies, winnowing metasystemic research to optimize repurposing meaningful purpose, EarthTribe's ecological self-redemption future day covering love, peace, happiness, contentment, justice, information, confluence roots with threats, opportunities, strengths, weaknesses systemically balanced compost, learning faith and hope in suffering dissonance as cooperative redemption, evolutionary research, incarnation, karma, ecology, the Permaculturalist Economic Tao: sleep and wake and absorb others, as you would have them be you NOW we re-emerge our SuperEcoTribe's cultural therapeutic, polypathic scientific natural-spirituality. Natural systems are to spiritual systemic comprehension, as Physics is to Metaphysical Universe (B. Fuller's definition), as Yang is to Yin, as Polynomial Information is to Double-Bound Negative Polynomial Information Balancing Trends. Polypathic and multisystemic relationships are like therapeutic organic farming, if you don't plant fractal-holonic DNA/RNA-encrypted seeds, you'll not have an Optimized PermaCultural crop to harvest. Ain't nobody here ceptin us Chickens and somehow we all landed in this soupy mess together. Let's start lickin each other's wounds.

An opportunity to support Lummi Elder Darrell Hillaire’s new project through Setting Sun Productions, an educational film on climate impacts on Native communities for UN Summit on Climate Change in Paris https://www.gofundme.com/teachings Setting Sun Productions is making a film called, “Teachings,” which features a group of respected leaders sharing their wisdom about living a good life on this earth. The mission is to share our, “Way of Life,” with the world in hopes of transforming mankind’s treatment of the planet and of each other. The film will be gifted to Oren Lyons, Onondaga Chief who is attending the UN Summit on Climate Change in Paris, France on November 30, 2015. The film, “Teachings,” will be made November 14 at the Wexliem Building on the Lummi Reservation. The public is welcome. Speakers List: · Honorable Timothy Ballew II, Chairman of the Lummi Indian Business Council. Chairman Ballew is serving the Lummi people to preserve, promote and protect the Schelangen (Way of Life). · Steven Point, Former Lieutenant Governor of Canada, BC Provincial Judge, Sto’Lo’ Nation Leader, Healer. · Dr. Gwen Point: University of Fraser Valley University Chancellor, Sto’lo’ Nation Leader, Healer. · Eugene Harry, Squamish Nation, respected elder and Cast Salish speaker. Eugene played Chief Seattle in the play, “What About Those Promises?” · Jewell “Praying Wolf” James, Hose of Tears Carvers, Lummi Treaty Protection Leader, Healer. · Deborah Parker, Tulalip Women’s and Children’s rights advocate, Healer. About the Director: Darrell Hillaire Darrell is a tribal member of the Lummi Nation. He started Setting Suns Productions to make Native American themed performance arts, and the culture and the history of Native American people accessible. His original plays "What About Those Promises?" and "Sonny Sixkiller Buys the Redskins" sold out multiple performances in the Pacific Northwest.

Solar panels may possibly be a better financial choice, but we switched to 100% wind because it was easy and cost little more than conventional sources.

http://billmoyers.com/2015/04/09/lead-dont-follow-climate-justice/?utm_source=General+Interest&utm_campaign=82a11efdc5-Midweek12171412_17_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4ebbe6839f-82a11efdc5-168282713

The HO was based on one KD Moore provided during UUC's Climate Action Week in February. It consisted of suggestions under 3 major headings: "Stop Making It Worse"; "Protect, Restore, Rehabilitate" and "Start Over". The opposite side contained numerous resources including organizations, suggested readings and value statements from the Native American community including the principles of the "Honorable Harvest" and the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois nations) "Basic Call to Consciousness” to the UN (1977) "The original instruction directs that we who walk the earth are to express a great respect, an affection and a gratitude towards all the spirits which create and support life." It was included in the order of Service and at our Earth and Ocean Appreciation Month events.  We also posed weekly questions for introspection and discussion in our ENews based on C2R's weekly themes. 

A lay led service explored, with words and images, the impacts and injustices of Carbon Pollution inviting congregants to examine the array of emotions, possibly repressed surrounding the topic. It was followed by a forum to openly share congregants' reactions.

We need to move faster and stronger on climate change, with policies that actually make a difference. Here’s a suggestion: Citizens’ Climate Lobby supports a carbon pricing plan in which all funds are returned to citizens. It’s based on the successful policy implemented in 2008 in British Columbia. Analysis shows that by 2025, carbon fee and dividend in the U. S. will raise employment by 2.1 million, reduce carbon dioxide pollution by 33 per cent, and increase gross domestic product by $84 billion.