September 21 was declared “a holiday for all peoples” – World Gratitude Day by the United Nations Meditation Group over three decades ago. Yes, there’s something special about this equilux time of year – the fullness of harvest in the north and promise of spring in the south – the equinox of equal day and night – a balance of yin and yang – not too hot and not too cold. It’s a time of year bursting with promise and ripe for celebrations and observances.
This decade the United Nations set the global ceasefire day, the International Day of Peace, (first declared in 1981), on September 21. This year, also by United Nations decree, Global Climate Week (September 19 - 25, 2009) is scheduled to coincide with the United Nations Secretary-General's High Level Summit on Climate Change on 22 September 2009. With a special focus each day, Monday September 21 is “Climate Change Assembly Day” focused on Youth and “Seal the Deal!” for Copenhagen 09, UN Climate Change Conference coming up in December.
The Zero Emissions Day movement is inspired by the awareness that earth civilizations have been accelerating exponentially fed by the consumption of our finite fossil fuel resources – and this hasn't stopped for over two centuries. It's occurred to many that it would be a really good idea if we put the brakes on what appears to be runaway and completely out of control. Many of us with millennium generation children and grandchildren are sincerely concerned for their well-being throughout the coming decades. Even more of us are concerning for the life support systems on our planet altogether. All of us realize that our current economic, environmental and energy crises are inextricably linked. There are scores of campaigns which deal with different aspects of the problems we face (and these are all to be commended). Until recently though, these generally would either focus protest and anger against such and such or encourage an orgy of energy expenditure to draw attention to a cause. ZeDay is completely different in this respect. It is simply stopping for a day. Going back to square one. It is not against anything. It's all inclusive, requires nothing save mindfulness, and promises general, universal benefit. The moratorium might go by any name really. The 'Z' in ZeDay, stands for zero, and yet could just as well signify that we really have come to the end of the line (alphabet) at this point. The recently calculated Earth Overshoot Day from the Global Footprint Network highlights how we as a species are dead-ending, using more resources than our planet can produce in any giving year at an alarming rate (and we’ve been living like this for over 20 years now!). You have the power to benefit everyone and everything on our planet. The Path is Easy!
The Guidelines are simple: 1.Don’t use or burn oil or gas or coal. 2.Minimize (or eliminate) your use of electricity generated by fossil fuels. 3.Don’t put anyone in harm’s way: All essential and emergency services operate normally.
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