written by Sr. Patricia Siemen
Happy Earth Day 2014!
We at the Center for Earth Jurisprudence are celebrating Earth Day in a variety of forums this year. Two weeks ago (to avoid scheduling conflicts at the Barry Law School), CEJ participated in hosting Dr. Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed, who spoke to the law school community on the concept of “Creation Care.” CEJ also has a presence at the Barry University main campus Earth Day activities on Tuesday, April 22.
I will also be speaking at a Winter Park Earth Day event, and then joining, via internet, the international community in celebrating International Mother Earth Day as the United Nations General Assembly presents its third Interactive Dialogue on Harmony with Nature. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and General Assembly President John Ashe will preside. Linda Sheehan from the Earth Law Center will be moderating the panel, which will discuss the implementation of the rights of nature and other strategies consistent with CEJ’s approaches to achieve Earth-centered public policies—and the cultural changes which support these governance changes. We invite you to check out these international initiatives.
Lots of fun and educational Earth Day events occurred this weekend. In keeping with CEJ’s commitment to the rights of Florida’s springs to be healthy, we continue to monitor and educate on the Springs Protection Bill wending its way through the Florida Senate—but with zero traction in the House. The outcome looks very dire as the proposed legislation continues to be gutted of any significant mandate to insist that the water has a right to be freed of waste and pollution. Nor does the current legislations insist upon a water budget to allocate sufficient water to the springs and rivers so they can be healthy—and so we learn to live responsibly within nature’s limits.
Continuing that theme, we are pleased to promote Equinox Documentaries’ forthcoming film, Hidden Secrets of Florida’s Springs, which will be released and made available on PBS stations soon.
Wherever you live, make sure to take time on Earth Day to recognize Earth’s gifts, and our humble place in the web of life. Earth is an unending source of wonder, awe and resiliency. However you say thank you, take the time to savor nature’s abundance and commit to acting responsibly for the sake of the common good. Now go, and get outside!
Suwannee Cypresses (photo by Jane Goddard)