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Muslim Morocco using Music as a bridge between world faiths?
As Saudi Arabia held its first ever conference on interfaith dialogue Morocco is hosting its 14th festival of World Sacred Music.
The president of the festival, Mohamed Kabbaj, said:
"Religion is too important to leave to clerics alone"
There was even a Christians & Muslims performing together which was shown on France24 on its 'Culture' Magazine.
Other performers from across the globe include a Christian singing in Syriac related to Aramaic the language of Jesus (pbuh) & Indian Madhup Mudgal who will sing in Hindustani (classical Indian) even using Hindu scriptures like the Vedas. A Greek Othordox choir & other Muslim sufi perfomers also performed.
The city of Fez has been the spiritual & cultural capital of Morocco & has ties with Europe such as Andulusia, (modern day Spain) as it use to be part of the Islamic Empire where Muslims, Christians & Jews use to live & coexist peacefully. As Saudi Arabia held its first ever conference on interfaith dialogue Morocco is hosting its 14th festival of World Sacred Music. ... more -
Frances Jewish & Muslim leaders unite to encourage tolerance
The French Muslim & Jewish communities have both choosen their new leaders this sunday which are vowing to make their faith more tolerence & more openess to those outside their faiths.
Mohammed Moussaoui- the head of France's Representative Muslim Council called for launching open days for Mosques to allow the public to visit.
Gilles Bernheim- tapped to be the next Grand Rabbi of France- called for the Jewish faith to reach out to non-Jews though talks aswell as writing.
France is home to the largest Muslim & Jewish communities in Europe. The French Muslim & Jewish communities have both choosen their new leaders this sunday which are vowing to make their faith more t... more -
Christians: No One Path to Salvation
"Americans of every religious stripe are considerably more tolerant of the beliefs of others than most of us might have assumed, according to a new poll released Monday. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life last year surveyed 35,000 Americans, and found that 70% of respondents agreed with the statement 'Many religions can lead to eternal life.'" "Americans of every religious stripe are considerably more tolerant of the beliefs of others than most of us might have assumed, accor... more
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Turtle Island Project Director Some rich view Indigenous Peoples as "expendable co...
TIP Dir. Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard:
I think we have here two different forms of religion. Ands its this religion of my ancestors that I participate in that I think really has been the problem. I think we have to come to understand that religious consciousness evolves just like anything else does. It's not just the material world that evolves but also our cultural world evolves and the realm of the concept evolves. We are going now, as a people - there was a time from prehistorical religions to historic religions. the religions of the book Judaism, Christianity, Islam to this historic period. Now I think that is transending to this transrational understanding of spirituality. And as part of this transrational understanding of spirituality is an appropriation of this knowledge and spirituality of Earth-based cultures. I think we have to be open now to what John Trudell called ‘spirit making and escape.’ I love this idea. My spirit needs to make an escape from my religious consciousness. The racial and cultural genocide that still goes on today inside this country . Judaism is an inherently ethical religion except you have to be a Canaanite. You may get your ass kicked or your head cut off but basically it's OK. But sky Gods and cultures that worship sky Gods are traditionally barbaric - Read the Old Testament - Wow! Talk about patriarchy. But we are in a war. It is not a war of my choosing.But we are in a war I truly believe that - a war fore our hearts and our minds. We have to continually fight.It's multi-generational. We fight against great principalities and powers. It's amazing. If you stick your head up out of the foxhole just a little bit and you start speaking on behalf of the poor. Those bullets are flying. I said something about a corporation. I said we created these corporations and political structures that aren't moral entities because you have to say things like: ‘I'm sorry. I made a mistake.' You have to admit your humanness. When's the last time your heard a politician ever admit a mistake unless they were forced to? ‘I did not have sex with that woman - I did not inhale - yes I smoked but I did not inhale' And I said corporations are liked this too - they are not moral entities because they cannot do these things like apologize. Well, good Lord that's attacking a sacred cow - there's a guy in my congregation who just went ballistic - who quit the church because he had spent his entire life benefiting from, working for, a non-moral entity. I did not say all corporations were liked this - I just said some corporations are like this. Well that's all you have to say. Rev. Hubbard said Americans and all people who call Earth home need to protect the environment. He said we have lost the sense of the sacred - a lesson that can be learned from Native Americans and other Indigenous peoples. I understand this because I feel desperate. What John Trudell was talking about is the same way. We've lost our way. We do not have any spiritual sense because we have lost any sense of the sacred. A great historian of the religions Mircea Eliade who was at the University of Chicago where I for many years - I did his funeral. Mircea Eliade had this notion that in order to have a hierophany, an experience of the sacred, you have to have sacred space. If this Earth is not sacred to you, which it isn't to Mickey Mouse, then you can't have an experience of the sacred. I deal with people every day in my congregation who have lost or are losing any sense of the sacred. And it's not only - like you were saying this relationship between Earth and women - and the earth and man. If you do not have power in a capitalistic society, you become part of and you are thought of in terms of the Earth. Women who have less economic power, children who don't have any power at all unless somebody gives it to them, Indigenous communities, you are all thought of as expendable commodities. TIP Dir. Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard: ... more -
Earth Healing, EPA Great Lakes Challenge: Kalamazoo June 21 medicine collection fo...
Residents of the Kalamazoo and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect the Great Lakes during a free public pharmaceutical collection later this month.
Old and unwanted medicines and personal care products will be accepted on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo.
The event is sponsored by Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that provided a grant for the project.
The collection is part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge involving over 100 projects in eight states across the Great Lakes Basin.
Southwest Michigan residents can rid their home of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals plus personal care products.
Items that will be accepted include:
Prescription medication, such as antibiotics, birth control, and insulin
Medication samples and over-the-counter medication, such as ibuprofen, aspirin, cold medicine
Personal care products, such as medicated ointments, lotions, and shampoos
Veterinary medications
Items that will not be accepted include:
Medical waste like sharps and syringes and products containing mercury like thermometers.
The collection is free to southwest Michigan households.
Organizers say the collection is important to protect Lake Michigan and other lakes/streams like Arcadia Creek.
An investigation by the Associated Press found a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers and hormones, in the drinking water of 41 million Americans.
Most medications pass untreated through wastewater treatment plants because those facilities are not designed to remove the chemicals.
The pharmaceuticals are discharged into local rivers or groundwater.
For more info call 269-373-5211.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was collecting/recycling of one million pounds of e-waste plus the collection/proper disposal of a million pills. The goals were exceeded by 500 percent..
The Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) offered interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches/temples to participate in the Earth Day events in their area.
This video on EPA Challenge projects was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA Region 5 office in Chicago, the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office in Chicago with the non-profit Interfaith EHI in Marquette MI
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment.
I’m Greg Peterson Earth Healing TV
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Related Links
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Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services
http://www.kalcounty.com/hcs
Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Bureau
http://www.kalcounty.com/eh/index.htm
Kalamazoo County
http://www.kalcounty.com
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EPA Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
http://www.epa.gov/ppcp
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EPA Region 5 Office
http://www.epa.gov/region5
Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org
Southwest Michigan First
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/index.cfm
Kalamazoo Downtown Central City website
http://www.central-city.net
Wikimedia
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo%2C_Michigan
Kalamazoo River
www.kalamazooriver.net
Loy Norrix High School
http://www.kalamazoopublicschools.com/education/school/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loy_Norrix
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
1-847-733-3559
Residents of the Kalamazoo and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect the Great Lakes during a free public pharmaceuti... more -
Earth Healing founder, Lutheran Bishop, Zen Buddhist priest: Start interfaith envi...
The founder of two interfaith environment groups is often asked by others to explain the best way to start effective interfaith groups in their own community.
Along the shores of Lake Superior, creating interfaith environmental groups was discussed by leaders of the Earth Healing Initiative and the Upper Peninsula Earth Keeper Initiative, both based in Marquette, Michigan.
The non-profit Earth Healing Initiative provided interfaith volunteers and participants top numerous cities during the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
The challenge recycled of millions of pounds of electronics and properly disposed millions of pills and other meds in April 2008 from over 100 projects across eight states that make up the Great Lakes Basin.
This warm day in May 2008 produced ripples in unusually calm Lake Superior as wildlife heralded spring in the background. A perfect serene setting to discuss interfaith environment work and how it can be created in other areas.
EHI founder Rev. Jon Magnuson co-founded the Earth Keeper Initiative that started when nine northern Michigan faith leaders signed the Earth Keeper Covenant in 2004.
The bishops and other faith leaders pledged to reach out to Native Americans and actively participate in interfaith environment projects.
This video includes thoughts of Rev. Jon Magnuson, director of Lutheran Campus Ministry (LCM) at Northern Michigan University (NMU) in Marquette, MI; and Rev. Tesshin Paul Lehmberg, head priest of Lake Superior Zendo, a Marquette Zen Buddhist temple; and Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Rev. Lehmberg and Bishop Skrenes were among the nine original signers of the Earth Keeper Covenant.
The non-profit Cedar Tree Institute (CTI) co-founded the interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that works closely with ten faith traditions on a wide range of environment projects that include college students, at-risk teens, American Indian tribes and others.
Rev. Magnuson is CTI executive director.
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The CTI Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative is developing relationshipS with the same faith communities across the Great lakes.
The faith communities include Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, The Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as the Quakers) and Zen Buddhist.
The EHI assisted challenge organizers by offering interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches/temples to participate in the Earth Day events in their area.
This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office - also in Chicago - with the non-profit interfaith EHI in Marquette, Michigan.
The Earth Healing Initiative involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal protect and defend the environment" said Rev. Magnuson, Earth Healing founder.
The next project during the summer of 2008 involves encouraging bee and butterfly pollenization through means that include creating habitat thanks to help from at-risk teens and American Indian tribes. The pollen project is important because billions of bees have died prematurely across the country and the problem has become alarming in the Midwest. More on this project in the near future.
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Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
EPA Region 5 Office in Chicago
http://www.epa.gov/region5
Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org
The Lake Superior Interfaith Communication Network
http://www.lakesuperiorinterfaith.com
ELCA Northern Great Lakes Synod
http://www.nglsynod.org
ELCA:
http://www.elca.org The founder of two interfaith environment groups is often asked by others to explain the best way to start effective interfaith groups... more -
Mosque steps in to help raided church
A theif who strolled into St Alban's church (ilford) and stole charity money raised for Christian Aid has been replaced this week by Muslim worshippers from the nearby Ilford Mosque.
Ghazanfer Ali- Chairman of the Mosque says:
"We have a very good relationship with the church and we were all sad to hear the news. It's an absolute tragedy...We are friends and neighbours and we look after each another...There are people out and about who commit these awful crimes," he added.
Mr Ali meets with Father David Milnes on Redbridge Three Faiths Forum. A grateful Mr Milnes thanked members of the mosque.
He said: "It is a lovely gesture, I am really pleased".
Liberal Democrat Cllr Ralph Scott said:
"I'm delighted to be given this news of a practical example where one faith is being assisted by another, at a time of crisis.
"The mosque has always been an outward looking group, and shows Redbridge has reached maturity in building good community relations."
The theif is white, in his early 20's, has short hair & has a tatoo on his right arm.
A theif who strolled into St Alban's church (ilford) and stole charity money raised for Christian Aid has been replaced this week by M... more -
Saudi king reiterates call for inter-faith dialogue
Saudi King Abdullah reiterated today a call for dialogue between Islam and other religions during a gathering of Muslim scholars to discuss eventual inter-faith talks.
"You meet today to tell the world ... that we are the voice of justice and moral human values and the voice of coexistence as well as just and reasonable dialogue," he told the opening session of the three-day International Islamic Conference in the Muslim holy city of Mecca.
However, the monarch pointed out that among the major challenges now facing Muslims is combating a growing extremism.
"The challenges facing the (Muslim) nation are difficult at this time, as its enemies -- including those extremists among its own people -- have joined forces in a flagrant aggressiveness to distort the ... rightfulness and tolerance of Islam," he said.
The King said we will start the dialogue with our belief in God and added :
"The way to reach out to the other will be through the common values that were preached by God's messages, which were sent for the good of the human being,"
This comes as it was revealed in March this year that Saudi Arabia is to retrain its 40,000 imams in a bid to counter-terrorism & extremism. Saudi King Abdullah reiterated today a call for dialogue between Islam and other religions during a gathering of Muslim scholars to di... more -
Saudi King's call for inter-faith dialogue welcomed by the World Jewish Congress
The King of Saudi Arabia's call for inter-faith dialogue has been welcomed by the WJC. King Abdullah has the support and approval of Saudi Arabia’s top clerics to pursue the idea.
WJC President Ronald S. Lauder said:
"Despite all obstacles that may still be in the way, King Abdullah's initiative is a laudable step forward. We hope that other religious and political leaders throughout the world will be encouraged to join."
Inter-faith dialogue will allow people from different faiths understand each other and not hate or fear one another.
Transl. of Holy Quran 49:13:
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).
This comes as Qatar recently held a inter-faith dialogue in the inter-faith centre in Doha. The King of Saudi Arabia's call for inter-faith dialogue has been welcomed by the WJC. King Abdullah has the support and approval of S... more -
Imam speaks at interfaith dinner
On May 4th Imam Hamid Slimi made history as the first imam to speak at a Neighbourhood Interfaith Group dinner.
The annual dinner was hosted by Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. Beauchamp, who is an Anglican, said he encourages people of all the different faiths to sit together on the same table to encourage dialogue.
The Moroccon-born imam spoke about Islam and its beliefs:
“Islam is very simple. There’s one God in heaven and God is merciful,” he said. “There is this unfavourable thinking of Islam and Muslims. I can’t deny that there are extreme thoughts – it happens in every religion.”
The imam dispelled the myth that all Muslims are taught to hate the Jewish people:
“Everyone is loved by God,” he said. “I grew up in a district where we had Jews and Christians. We were never taught to hate [them.] The prophet said that [Muslims] can marry Jews and Christians, who are the people of the Book.”
Rabbi Schild reminded them all their have something in common:
“We’re all citizens of Canada...In Canada, people with different ethnicities and religions can live together in harmony.”
On May 4th Imam Hamid Slimi made history as the first imam to speak at a Neighbourhood Interfaith Group dinner. ... more -
Florida Gathering Lasts Two Months
Thousands of people from across the globe have been flocking to Lakeland, Florida to witness so-called "supernatural healings." After people started proclaiming marvelous miracles had happened to their bodies early last April, the worship meetings led by Todd Bentley have been continuing for two months now. The event has changed locations several times to host the massive crowds, and several popular news sources have reported on the phenomena (including MSNBC). As seen on the film of this event, many testifying of having received a miracle bring medical documentation to try and back their claims. Thousands of people from across the globe have been flocking to Lakeland, Florida to witness so-called "supernatural healings." After ... more
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Britain’s first interfaith game show launched by the Islam Channel
An interfaith game show which will see different religious groups competing against each other for cash prizes is to be launched in Britain commissioned by Islam Channel in a bid to foster good relations and better understanding between different faiths.
The show will be hosted by comedian Jeff Mirza where two teams of four will compete but instead of questions of celebrities & soaps they with each other where they will be expected to demonstrate their religious knowledge.
The show is expected to feature all of the flashing lights, buzzers, puns and cheesy smiles common to ordinary game shows. As well as being challenged to identify key figures such as the Dalai Lama and the Pope from grainy images, there will be multiple choice questions where contestants answer questions about their own, or another contestant’s religion.
Abrar Hussain, the shows producer, has also produced a competition to find Britain’s best mosque.
Islam channel brodcasts on sky channel 813 aswell as on www.islambox.tv
An interfaith game show which will see different religious groups competing against each other for cash prizes is to be launched in Br... more -
Bishop Thomas Skrenes - EPA Great Lakes Challenge: "We are all environmentalists"
Bishop praises interfaith success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
Marquette, Michigan - A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in interfaith Earth Day recycling projects for four years in a row said.
"Celebrate - what a great day Earth Day has been 2008," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "The Earth Healing Initiative has been a great success this year."
"Congratulations Earth Healers - you've done it, it has been a success," Bishop Skrenes said. "The EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge has been a great success."
"Computers have been recycled, pharmaceuticals have been brought together for proper disposal," Skrenes said. "Congratulations to those members of the faith communities and others who have been a part of this."
"We are all environmentalists," said Skrenes of Marquette, MI. "All of us want clean air to breathe, all of us want clean drinking water. We all enjoy the outdoors and nature."
"No matter our political understandings are, no matter where we are on the liberal and conservative line - no matter what we think of any of the big issues facing thee one of us - world today - all of us can agree that it is in all of our interests."
"We can all certainly conserve and save and bring back and then give to the next generation what has been given to us."
Bishop Skrenes said interfaith environment projects like the challenge ensure a better future for all humans.
"It is a sign of great significance that people can join hands and work together," Skrenes said.
Bishop Skrenes thanked the EPA, faith communities and "people of goodwill throughout the upper Midwest who have been a part of this work."
"Thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency for their help and assistance in all of this work," Bishop Skrenes said. The EPA challenge "has been a part of the lives and will be a part of the future of this whole area."
"It is a wonderful opportunity to begin to look at what it is that we hold in common," Skrenes said. "What we hold in common is this wonderful Great Lakes basin."
"This is a wonderful place with lakes and streams and forests everywhere in the Midwest, and the great plains and the great fields," Skrenes said. "We have been a part of saving some of this and making a difference."
"Sometimes we become so focused on what divides us, what disconnects us, what separates us - and there are important things that sometimes do that - but yet we can all have loyalty and allegiance to this world that has been our home and this of the world that we have been blessed with by God."
"God has given us the privilege of living here in the midst of these lakes and all of this beautiful nature," Skrenes said.
"When people of faith, whether they be of Christian traditions or of other traditions, gather together to work on what connects us. One of those things that connects us is respect and awe for the creation that surrounds us."
"We are part of a movement together in these early years of the Twenty-first Century to save what has been given to us by the generations before us and what God has provided to us," Skrenes said.
Bishop Skrenes is one of nine faith leaders who signed the Earth Keeper Covenant in northern Michigan in 2004 that lead to many interfaith projects.
The Cedar Tree Institute co-founded the interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that works closely with ten faith traditions on a wide range of environment projects that include college students, at-risk teens, American Indian tribes and others.
The EHI is developing the same relationship with faith communities across the Great lakes.
The faith communities include Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, the Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as the Quakers) and Zen Buddhist.
"Everyday is Earth Day," Skrenes said. Bishop praises interfaith success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge ... more -
Lutheran Bishop Thomas Skrenes praises interfaith work: EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth...
An Earth Healing message, thank you and congratulations from Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes about the success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in interfaith Earth Day recycling projects for four years in a row said "the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge has been a success."
Celebrate - what a great day Earth Day has been 2008," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "The Earth Healing Initiative has been a great success this year."
"Computers have been recycled, pharmaceuticals have been brought together for proper disposal," Skrenes said.
"What a great opportunity it has been to be part of the ecumenical work and interfaith work of assisting others to see the environmental concerns set before us," said Bishop Skrenes of Marquette, Michigan.
With hundreds of thousands of people participating across eight states in the Midwest and Northeast, Bishop Skrenes said interfaith environment projects like the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge will help ensure a better future for all humans.
"It is a sign of great significance that people can join hands and work together," Skrenes said. "So celebrate - it is a good day for the environment and it is a good day for all of us together."
Bishop Skrenes thanked the EPA, faith communities and "people of goodwill throughout the upper Midwest who have been a part of this work."
"It has been a great day, a great week, a great Earth day 2008," Skrenes said.
"The EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge has been a part of the lives and will be a part of the future of this whole area."
Bishop Skrenes is one of the original nine faith leaders who signed the Earth Keeper Covenant in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in 2004 that lead to many interfaith projects
Background: Earth Healing Initiative and the Michigan Earth Keeper Initiative
The Cedar Tree Institute (CTI) co-founded the interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that works closely with ten faith traditions on a wide range of environment projects that include college students, at-risk teens, American Indian tribes and others.
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The CTI Earth healing Initiative is developing the same relationship with the same faith communities in northern Michigan and others across the Great lakes.
The faith communities include Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, The Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as the Quakers) and Zen Buddhist.
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For more information:
Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
906-401-0109
An Earth Healing message, thank you and congratulations from Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes about the success of the EPA Great Lak... more -
EPA says e-waste, drug collections protect Great Lakes, environment and Earth
EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge removed a huge amount of electronic waste and pharmaceuticals from eight states.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills.
These goals were exceeded many times over.
A few examples:
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In Milwaukee, WI: 32 tons of electronic waste and 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals were turned in.
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At the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin near Green Bay: Approx. 4 tons of e-waste was collected plus thousands of pounds of other trash cleaned from reservation Tribal members turned in over 23 pounds of medicines including 100 bottles of pills, more than 25 computers and dozens of related components like hard drives, printers, keyboards and speakers; televisions, radios, DVD players, 12 cell phones and over 100 small batteries.
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In Traverse City, MI: Over 28,750 pounds (over 12.5 tons) of computers and other e-waste was collected.
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The electronic waste is recycled, and the pharmaceuticals are incinerated in state-of-the-art EPA -license facilities.
So why is this important?
The old and broken electronics - like computers, cell phones and TVs - contain heavy metals that can leach into the groundwater if dumped into landfills.
The unused pharmaceuticals can end up in your drinking water if they are flushed or poured down the drain.
That’s because most wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove chemicals from these pharmaceuticals including hormones, narcotics, seizure medication and many more - that end up back in your drinking water.
In an April 2008 press conference in Milwaukee, EPA and other officials explained why the Great Lakes Challenge and similar projects are important to protect the environment and your health.
Pharmaceutical chemicals are sent back out into the Great Lakes, rivers and other places were people recreate and are the intakes for drinking water.
Studies show that the chemicals are appearing in the nation’s drinking water in small amounts - the long term effects are not known - however they have been linked to mutations in fish and other wildlife.
Also - these medicines can be stolen, diverted or accidentally ingested by children - if they languish in your medicine cabinet.
Around the country many e-waste and pharmaceutical take back programs have been developed by governments and local businesses.
Please check with your local officials to find out details for your area.
Because every day should be Earth Day.
This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office also in Chicago in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, Michigan.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal protect and defend the environment" said EHI founder Rev Jon Magnuson of Marquette.
I’m Greg Peterson and you’re watching Earth Healing TV EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge removed a huge amount of electronic waste and pharmaceuticals from eight states. ... more -
Milwaukee collects nearly 36 tons of e-waste, drugs in EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth ...
Milwaukee area residents turned in 32 tons of electronic waste and 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals during two events in EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
About 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals were turned during Medicine Collection Day on Saturday, April 19, 2008 organized by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD).
The Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW) organized an electronics collection on Saturday, April 26, 2008 that garner about 32 tons of electronics. The site off-loaded an average of three cars per minute. About 700 cars dropped off electronics called e-waste.
More than two thirds of the collection was computers and related equipment.
The DPW collected 643 computer monitors weighing over ten tons; 338 televisions weighing over 5 tons, over 7 tons of personal computers and nearly 5 tons of computer printers. Eight percent of the collection, nearly 5,000 pounds, involved miscellaneous e-waste like cell phones.
The challenge was important because scrap electronics are the fastest growing segment of municipal solid waste stream.
E-waste may contain hazardous materials including lead, mercury and heavy metals that can pose a risk to human and environmental health. The EPA awarded $500,000 in grants to numerous cities participating in the challenge including the city of Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said the "recycling televisions and computers reduces the risks of toxins contained in these products being released into our air and water."
Event partners included the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, city of Milwaukee Department of Public Works (DPW), Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, the Italian Community Center, Midwest Computer Recyclers and WISN-TV.
About 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals were turned during the Milwaukee area's Medicine Collection Day sponsored by the MMSD.
The collection name was a "prescription for clean water and safe kids."
Veolia Environmental Services incinerates non-controlled substances at a federally licensed facility.
Medicine collection partners:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Milwaukee Police, Milwaukee Brewers, City of Milwaukee, Aurora Pharmacy, Columbia St. Mary's, City of Racine, Racine Police Department, Burlington Police Department, Western Racine County Health Department, Caledonia/Mt. Pleasant Health Department, Ozaukee County Public Health Department, Ozaukee County Sheriff's Department, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Village of Saukville, Washington County, Washington County Sheriff's Department, and City of West Bend Sewer Utility.
For more information call MMSD Public Information Manager Bill Graffin at 1-414-225-2077
The MMSD distributed nearly 200,000 postcards promoting the event that has been widely publicized by area media.
The Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) distributed the final 5,000 cards to interfaith contacts in the Milwaukee area.
The EHI local interfaith liaison is Rev. Brad Brown, campus pastor at Marquette University Lutheran Campus Ministry in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee events were among about 100 projects involving hundreds of communities across eight states around the Great Lakes basin that participated in the EPA Earth Day 2008 challenge.
The goal was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills.
The EHI assisted challenge organizers by offering interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches and temples to participate in the Earth Day related events in their area.
This video was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 office and the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office in Chicago to the EHI in Marquette MI.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal protect and defend the environment" said founder Rev Jon Magnuson of Marquette. Milwaukee area residents turned in 32 tons of electronic waste and 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals during two events in EPA Great Lakes 20... more -
Group puts faith in dialogue
Visitors were invited to a Heckmondwike mosque to learn about the links between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Members of the Kirklees Discussion Group were shown around the prayer hall at the Jamia Mosque on Jeremy Lane, before a question and answer session.
Masoud Razaq, of the mosque said:
"The purpose of the visit was to explore the common similarities between the three great Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
"We made it clear to our guests to be open and frank with and ask any questions they had in mind.
"An interesting discussion took place and we could have gone on talking for hours, about the five pillars, the role of women in Islam, the Koran, as well as looking at extremism in all different faith communities."
President of the mosque, Haji Aurangzeb Khan said the mosque was committed to community cohesion.
"We shall try to do everything in our power to make sure people from different racial, ethnic or faith groups can live together in peace and not be influenced by a tiny minority of far-right racists and extremists," he added.
Visitors were invited to a Heckmondwike mosque to learn about the links between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. ... more -
Saudi Arabia: Muslim World League to promote debate between religions
The Muslim World League is going to promote a international Islamic conference to debate the dialogue between followers of different religions and civilizations and the promotion of common values among them. This will begin on the 31st in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This information was disclosed by the Saudi embassy to Brazilian capital Brasília.
The objective of this meeting is to prepare the Muslim world for the start of this dialogue between religions and cultures.
The king of the Kingdom- Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud will open the 3 day event and should count on the presence of scientists, researchers and professors of all Muslim countries as well as representatives of Muslim communities in other nations, like Brazil.
The Muslim World League is going to promote a international Islamic conference to debate the dialogue between followers of different r... more -
A lebanese Muslim tries to help Jewish Lebanese community
A Lebanese Muslim -Aaron-Micaël Beydoun is trying to raise awareness about Jews in Lebanon and with the help of his website (thejewsoflebanon.org) he is trying to stop the segregation of this tiny minority.
In Concordia University Beydoun said:
"Let the Jews of Lebanon live," The 21-year-old said his mission is to help Jews of Lebanon realize "that they are not alone in their country." With his website, he helps Jewish Lebanese communicate with fellow Jews living all around the world.
"We can all live together," he said. Currently a member of the Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce and a contributing journalist for an alternative magazine in Beirut, Beydoun also started a NGO to help needy Jewish Lebanese through monetary assistance and to take part in projects such as renovating Beirut's great synagogue. It has become harder for Jews to practise their faith in Lebanon due to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Beydoun said the violence directed toward Jews must stop. The young man said the Lebanese youth is tired of sectarianism, "a cancer" as he called it. "The society is still sick of this mentality," he said. Beydoun added that the Lebanese youth does not want to continue on the path their parents and grand-parents paved before them.
The second topic of discussion at the event was the history of Sepharadi Jews. The chairperson of Spanish Language studies at Université de Montréal, Oro Anahory-Librowicz, said that culture must be preserved through a dynamic process. She explained that Sepharadi Jews are descendants of Spanish Jews who were expelled by the King of Spain. They settled in the Ottoman Empire, in Turkey and Lebanon.
A Lebanese Muslim -Aaron-Micaël Beydoun is trying to raise awareness about Jews in Lebanon and with the help of his website (thejewsof... more -
German State Plans Center For Islamic-Christian Dialogue
Prime Minister Christian Wulff of Lower Saxony - a federal state of Germany, said he is planning to establish a Centre for Islamic-Christian Dialogue in the city of Osanabruck, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday which will cost two million euros.
Wulff from the Democratic Christian Party said that the Centre will be a major one in Germany and the neighbouring European countries. He also expressed optimism that the Centre would be supported by some Muslim countries.
The Centre will organise European and international conferences with the participation of scholars from the two religions in addition to scientists in medicine, astronomy and other human sciences.Wulff pointed out that the dialogue should be a comprehensive dialogue and not confined to the religious sciences and differences between the two religions.
Earlier on this month Dohar (in Qatar) held the 6th inter-faith dialogue in one of the Gulf's first interfaith centres which included two Rabbi's from Israel. Prime Minister Christian Wulff of Lower Saxony - a federal state of Germany, said he is planning to establish a Centre for Islamic-Chr... more
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