“Brazilian legislators pass a law easing environmental regulations, which conservationists say will fuel destruction of the Amazon rainforest… After months of at times acrimonious debate, the Chamber of Deputies voted to overhaul the Forest Code, as the legislation is known. Under the current law, 80% of a farm in the Amazon must remain forested; in other areas, the requirement is lower, falling to 20%.. .”

“We have come to the end of an era and are destroying our own ecosystem. Because the light has gone out in the inner world we do not have the potential for any real change or transformation. This is our present condition, and our lack of awareness or understanding of the inner world makes it especially precarious. And we do not appear to notice what is happening, or what this change might mean… Yet we sense in our souls what we can see in the ecosystem: that something is over, that the world will not return to what it was. And the collective, still caught in its dream of materialism, feels an anxiety, even anger, as it knows that this dream has passed its sell-by date, that its promises of prosperity are empty.”

“In this episode of Global Spirit, host Phil Cousineau speaks with BBC filmmaker Alan Ereira about his beautiful, sobering documentary: From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers’ Warning. This poignant film carries a strong warning from a remote South American tribe that cautions us, the “younger brothers”, to give up our self-destructive ways and honor the planet, before it is too late.”

“For the past seven years Earth Day New York has hosted EarthFair at Grand Central, a two-day festival of art, music and the environment on Vanderbilt Avenue and inside the majestic Beaux-Arts Terminal…Earth Day is more than a one-day event or annual environmental wake-up call. It is a catalyst for ongoing education, action and change. It simultaneously broadens the base of support and rekindles old commitments through highly participatory strategies.”

“Have you ever experienced a moment when the wafting fragrance of flower blossoms captured your attention and lifted you away? Or when the birdsong around you was louder than the chatter in your head? This exquisite moment of stillness or what I call, ‘stop time’, can occur anywhere and anytime: while you bask in the warm morning sun, while gardening or while hurrying to your car! At these times, you may have paused and looked around, drunk in the fragrant air and felt an abiding connection, for a brief instance, to everything around you.”

“The Sun has unleashed its strongest flare in four years, observers say. The eruption is a so-called X-flare, the strongest type; such flares can affect communications on Earth. Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft recorded an intense flash of extreme ultraviolet radiation emanating from a sunspot.”

“This week’s United Nations Climate Change Conference at Cancun, Mexico is a global forum in response to a global crisis. As well as considering cutting carbon emissions, the conference hopes among other issues to advance green technologies and fund safeguards to prevent further deforestation of the Amazon… Spiritual Ecology is an exploration of the spiritual dimension of our present ecological crisis. At the core of Spiritual Ecology is an understanding that our present outer ecological crisis is a reflection of an inner spiritual crisis… We cannot redeem our physical environment without restoring our relationship to the sacred.” The United Nations Climate Change Conference is taking place in Cancun, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010.

“ Shelley Yates and her young son were both killed in an auto accident. The story is riveting. While she was “on the other side” the Beings of Light told her how to bring her son back to life and that our planet is dying and what she could do to help jumpstart its healing by using the same approach they instructed her to do with her son who was restored to life. Her message is simple and heart gripping. Live in the moment. Enjoy every experience. There is no harm in pleasure. It’s what we were put here to do; to feel love, excitement, joy…”

“It was an honor to experience the potent medicine of the 13 Indigenous Grandmothers in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada through the sacred tool of the DVD. The Grandmothers’ debut in Canada was held in conjunction with Ottawa’s Peace Festival and National Aboriginal Women’s Awareness Week, The auditorium filled with aboriginal and non-aboriginal people, elders, grandmothers, children, youth, women and men.”