“Knowing is not doing; Doing is doing!” ~ Swami Chinmayananda
Loving Earth is the means through which we can serve individually and collectively to improve the health of our Mother Earth.
The flow of our Loving Earth effort is to move from education to implementation.
Each month our community will
🌱 learn from an expert in the field about an environmental concern
🌱 practice changing an aspect of our lifestyle to make a positive impact
🌱 actively support each other through sharing reflections and asking questions
🌱 have an opportunity to support organizations committed to the care of the environment, during the course of the year
Click “Join our CommUnity!” above to stay actively connected with this meaningful community effort! And follow CM Niagara on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube to receive updates.
Year in Review
Lest We Forget (our Mother): The Vision
Learn
Each month we will learn about an important environmental issue and ways we can change an aspect of our lifestyle to help the environment.
Engage
We will be given a practice to engage in to help us change our habits.
Support
As a CommUnity we will have the opportunity to share our experiences and progress.
Transform
We will gather monthly to give and receive support through discussion and dialogue, leading to a transformation in ourselves and our lifestyles.
Upcoming Workshops
December Workshop
Keep Thinking Deeply, Living Lightly
When: December 1st at 9pm ET
Enroll: https://www.chinmayaniagara.com/courses/lovingearth/
Reflective Resources
- Recommended Reading: The Secret Life of Plants (1973), a book by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird.
- Documentaries to watch
– Welcome to Earth (Disney)
– Don’t Look Up (?rating)
– A Strange Rock
– The Story of Stuff
– Kiss the Ground
– Planet of the Humans
- Planetary Health Resources:
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUV2AuYvwvk
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9o0VuEyGBs
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddfpo72ytzE
Carbon footprint calculator (US)
Calculate your personal impact on the environment using this carbon footprint calculator shared by Prakashji from our last Wellness Workshop, and identify 3 areas that you and your family can decrease your overall carbon footprint.
CommUnity Ideas
- How to be more sustainable?
- Refuse, reuse and recycle
- Food/ Grocery
- Plant based vegan diet
- 1-2 meals a day, no snacking
- Not drinking coffee/ tea (try Oat milk chai!)
- Intentional grocery shopping – meal planning, not wasting food
- Composting
- Reusable bags for grocery shopping
- Planting a vegetables/ herbs garden
- Reusable drawstring vegetable bags
- Transportation
- Walking/ biking whenever possible
- Utilizing public transport
- Car pooling
- Having only one car that is hybrid/electric
- Kitchen
- Use metal straws
- Use a metal water bottle instead of plastic
- Not using ziploc bags
- No sponges/ using coconut scrubs for scrubbing
- No paper towels
- Reuse water for washing rice/lentils/beans to water plants
- Not using paper plates and plastic utensils during get togethers
- Share party supplies & cutlery
- Replacement for all Saran Wrap
- Home
- Cold water laundry and line drying
- Setting thermostat lower in winter and higher in the summer
- Layering
- Lukewarm short showers
- Laundry Detergent Sheets
- ETEE household – A collection of over 40 unique plastic-free household items
- Toiletries/ clothing
- Non-fluoride toothpaste
- Wooden toothbrushes
- Capsule closet
- Using handkerchiefs
- Shampoo bar
- Not using leather products
- Applying kasturi turmeric paste to your legs and underarms daily (reduces the need to shave by more than half)
- Use shikai and besan flour and green moong dal flour as soap and shampoo instead of actual soaps and shampoos – for lather effect buy soap nuts
- Using a menstrual cup / Feminine hygiene products
- Use a metal razor with metal blades that are recyclable
- Other
- Plant local plants
- Be part of your local Buy Nothing group
- Buy most things from the thrift store
- Rain water harvesting
- Supporting local businesses that are ethically oriented
- Giving to projects (eg vibhooti tree) for birthdays, etc.
Helpful practices:
Harmful practices:
Hari Om,
3 Things I am doing:
-using produce bags and recyclable cloth bags at the grocery store
-using eco friendly period products (V-cup/cloth napkins)
-using eco friendly laundry detergent, and other soaps (Lush)
3 Things I can work on
We are at 37. Still a long ways to go!
Some ways we are helping:
Recently bought a hybrid car and next car will be electric. No leather seats
Using vegan make up and soaps
recycling
reusable bags at the grocery store
food storage in glass containers
buying shoes/belts/purses/furniture that are not leather
teaching kids about how to be more aware of our environment
Some ways we are harming:
still consuming dairy
using plastic bags (trash, ziplock)
taking hot showers (mostly me)
online shopping
buying cleaning products that come in plastic containers
using plasticware when having larger gatherings at home
Hari om i am currently at 4. Educating my self. Thanks for thought provoking article.
I was fortunate to listen Dr. Prakash Bhave presentation and thanks for inspiring us with your footsteps and initiative to care more for the place we live in . i wished to take higher course on Renewable source of energy after my completion of bachelors which didn’t happen but so happy to be the part of this community and join my hands along with each and everyone to care for our mother Earth.
I am in the yellow shade and looking forward to merge with the natural green with the help of the vision LEST
ways that i am showing my love
Recycling, using cooking utensils made of clay/ cast iron
Support local farms & store
car pooling( before this challenge)
using natural plant based cleaning products / cosmetics
using jewelry made of natural material
energy efficiency- layering and not increasing the heat
growing our own vegetable in summer / composting in summer
ways the areas i can improve my love for her
water efficiency particularly in cleaning dishes
composting all season( looking ways to combine with Black Earth compost for year long compost service)
solar panel for our home ( just registered)
increase my awareness and support the organizations that care for our mother
As a first step , i forwarded this link /flyer to my family / friends to join our hands
looking forward to hear from experts to engage / to show my love more …….
Hari OM. Prthvi Sevasanga – Such a great initiative!
3 actions i do +ve for the environment:
3 actions i do -ve for the environment:
Grateful for this initiative to make me think again in this regard. Pranams!
January 2022: Identify 3 actions you do that help the environment and 3 actions that harm it.
Help:1. Use reusable produce bags for fruits and vegetables and for purchasing bulk items like sunflower seeds rather than buying in a plastic package 2. Have subscribed to a curbside commercial compost service 3. Avoid use of styrofoam and if it does enter the home, drop off at special location for recycling
Harm: 1. Consume dairy 2. Home is not using renewable energy 3. Drive a gas-powered large vehicle
After using the carbon footprint calculator, I see that we are at 37% better than average, yet of course, there is room for improvement. I drive a pick-up truck, and although I don’t drive long distances, it doesn’t get good mileage. I am not planning on replacing it any time soon, however, as it’s just been paid off, and we tend to run our vehicles to the max. I typically shop at resale stores, but we can reduce our online shopping, particularly around the holidays. I appreciate this eye-opening experience. Thank you.
January 2022: Identify 3 actions you do that help the environment and 3 actions that harm it-
Actions we are actively engaged in that help-
In process-
Challenges-
Hari Om!
We have to attend two weddings this spring and instead of buying new clothes, I will be wearing my friend’s clothes as she is not attending any wedding. We decided to swap clothes instead of buying from now on,
Of course we recycle at home. Try not to buy things if we don’t need it. Have temperature control installed so the hot water comes when we are likely to shower. Turn down heat/AC when not at home.
Hari OM!
Some of the things we have already done are lowering thermostats, reducing shower time/temperature.,
not buying too many clothes, printing on both sides of the paper, etc.
The goal is to reduce personal carbon print by 10% this year.
Professionally working on power generation projects which use more green energy via green Hydrogen etc.
I am buying less goods, sorting recycling, and supporting a project to bury carbon in the soil for 50 years. I need to use less cleaning products, have more vegetables, use reusable bags for groceries. Our household footprint is 62.
Harih OM!
Our household footprint is 87! Looking to reduce water consumption for bathing, reduce the use of Dishwasher, i understand every run consumes 40 gallons of water, proud to go Vegan (LABELLING here 🙂 and boosting my ego ! – but that helps reduce the footprint. Composting is something to explore and how can i do that during winter months. Using used clothes is something i cannot get comfortable, but i can reduce buying new clothes
Thanks for the opportunity! Pranaams
Hari Om,
On any given day, I am either 4, 5 or 6 from the scale described above. Some of the things we do:
Hari OM!
As part of effort to initiate Prthvi Seva at Chinmaya Mission Portland, 10 BalaVihar kids and 5 adults planted 100 trees in collaboration with ‘Friends of Trees’, during MLK weekend. Next up is a ‘Get to know Prthvi Sevasanga event’ on Jan 22!