Tonight was the Time 100 Gala, where Time Magazine celebrates 100 of the most influential people in the world today. This year, three religious leaders are included.

What Richard Cizik, Patriarch Bartholomew I, and the Dalai Lama have in common is that they’ve all made headlines from leading green movements within their respective faith traditions.

Richard Cizik

Cizik, an ordained Evangelical Presbyterian miniser and head of the Office of Governmental Affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals fights global warming by quoting the Bible and calling on congregations to practice “creation care.” Cizik challenges conservative evangelicals to recognize climate change as a serious threat to the health of the planet.

Cizik also makes friends with scientists such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Eric Chivian, ignoring a once perceived barrier between the religious and scientific communities.

Patriarch Bartholomew I

The leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians appeals faithfully to his ancient religious tradition to claim that ecological questions are essentially spiritual ones. Bartholomew appeals to the theology of his revered predecessors, claiming that creation bears the glory and revelation of God, to call for greater environmental responsibility among Orthodox Christians.

Rowan Williams, the head of the Anglican Church, writes, “Probably more than any other religious leader from any faith, Patriarch Bartholomew has kept open this spiritual dimension of environmentalism.”

The Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama’s infectious laugh in spite of chaos and oppression has puzzled some and inspired many. Under this surface, however, is a desire for a more peaceful human existence. This includes a more holistic approach to how we spend our time on the planet.

“We are the superior species on Earth but also the biggest troublemakers,” he once told Deepak Chopra.

Chopra recalls a piece of advice the Dalai Lama once gave him: “Without relying on religion, we look to common sense, common experience and the findings of science for understanding,”

Imagine this level of calm compassion practiced by all.

More on the Cizik, Bartholomew, and the Dalai Lama:

• Candidates Jump Through the Hoops of Religious Voters
• “Green Patriarch” Celebrates Leap Year Birthday
• Americans are Stupid When it Comes to Global Warming

Photo credit

Following, organized by region, are the top international environmental news for during the week of April 20 - 27. See an archive of top international environmental news here.

Asia

Working the land the natural way: Organic farming in China

It’s been almost four years since the project was launched, and of the nine households who have tried organic farming, only four are still at it. The others decided it just wasn’t worth it. Organic farming requires much more labor, the yield can be half or less of that of conventional farming, and besides, hardly anyone in Chengdu is eating organic. Our stock broker-turned-farmer estimates their customer base to be only 0.01% of Chengdu’s population.

Anlong farmer Gao Shengjian believes there’s a link between the use of pesticides and fertilizers on farms and the growing incidences of various diseases among the rural population.

Source: Crossroads China. Vote for this article in social media: StumbleUpon.

China down to 12 days worth of coal

China only has enough coal for 12 days of consumption, three days less than a month ago, state media reported Wednesday, sounding the alarm bells over the nation’s most important source of energy.

In certain parts of China, such as densely populated Hebei province in the north, reserves are down to less than a week, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the China Electricity Regulatory Commission.

In the period since early March, coal reserves have slumped by 12 per cent to 46.7 million tonnes, according to the commission.

Source: News.com.au. Vote for this article in social media: Digg.

Chinese execute Tibetans

Note: The above video contains long-distance video footage of people being killed. Please watch at your own discretion. Vote for this article in social media: Digg, Care2. Get involved: Students for a Free Tibet.

Europe

Europeans using cars less

Europe generally has far better public transportation than the United States, with workers in countries like Britain, Be

For China, having one of the leaders of Asia’s environmental movement refuse to carry the Beijing Olympic torch must sting. After all, China is jumping through hoops to carry out the Beijing Olympics as the Green Olympics. They are decreasing pollution by planting trees, recycling wastewater, paying car owners not to drive, and more. In addition, the games themselves will be carbon neutral.

But try as it might to impress the world, China has a tragic tendency to get it all wrong. For example, China’s attempts to “clean up” Beijing for the Olympic tourists has led the country to crack down on gays and kill half a million stray cats. Somebody needs to yell, “China, you’re going the wrong way!”

Mr. Choi explained his refusal of the Olympic torch.

“Green Korea does not only focus on environmental issues,” he said, “but also the ‘Realization of Non-violence and Peace’ as one of 4 principles. We oppose all kinds of violence and discrimination and support the peaceful co-existence of human and nature, man and woman, and among all living creatures.”

Clearly, killing Tibetans and Buddhist monks would go against these principles.

“I respect the spirit of Olympics,” said Mr. Choi, “to pursue world peace through sports games as a world citizen but the decision was unavoidable and it has been determined that the Tibetan crisis counters the spirit of Olympic.”

He added, “It is assured that the honor to be a torchbearer would not be neglected if the spirit for peace is known to world citizens through the decision. Nevertheless, the spirit of ancient Olympics should be respected which pursues peace and equity.”

Further reading:

The Olympics: Green or Bad?

Tangled Up In Green: Faster, Higher, Stronger, Greener

Refusing the Torch Relay for Tibet’s Peace

Beijing 2008, Green Olympics: Progress v Challenge

Beijing 2008, Environment

Photo credit: tomnono

There has been talk recently of boycotting the 2008 Beijing Olympics for any number of valid reasons. Whether it is for the freedom of Tibet, the atrocities in Darfur, or China’s environmental policies.

However, what would be achieved by boycotting the Olympics? Is China going to step back and say, “Whoa… the United States is right. We are all messed up and need to change.” Probably not.

And who are we to tell another country that they aren’t perfect? If the Olympics were here, who would be boycotting our games?

As a child I was led to believe that the Olympics were a coming together of different cultures and nations for the sake of sport and international cooperation. And in fact that WAS part of the basis for reinventing the Olympics in the first place. As the father of modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin once said,

“May joy and good fellowship reign, and in this manner, may the Olympic torch pursue its way through ages, increasing friendly understanding among nations, for the good of a humanity always more enthusiastic, more courageous and more pure.”

Of course, I grew up and found that most of my dreams and fantasies taught to me by society were pure poppycock. But do all of our childhood misconceptions about the world have to be disproved? I mean, Santa Claus is a given, but what about the concept of peace on earth and goodwill towards man?

Yes there is a ton of controversy in the Olympics and has been since Ancient Greece. But why not use it as a tool to make the illusion a reality? Let’s take the Adam Werbach approach and make the Olympics blue by working with countries for a better future. Let’s use it as a starting point of international cooperation to move forward with international blue and green initiatives.

We have everything to lose, and nothing to gain by boycotting the Olympics. It is not going to inspire change. It is not going to help the environment or Tibet.

But it is going to hurt our relationship with China. What happens next time North Korea wants to do some nuclear missile testing, and China boycotts our efforts to stop it?

Let’s make the Olympics a symbol of our commitment to working with the entire world to make it greener.

Protest photo by 3rd eye guy @ Flickr