equinox

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EQ® is a new take on the idea of Earth Day.

In fact, it proposes two Earth Days – the equinoxes, which come around
every spring and autumn.

Equinoxes are the best days to focus on our home planet, thanks to two fundamental properties:

1) Equinoxes are true planetary events.
They are fixed events in Earth’s orbit around the sun. Billions have passed. Billions are yet to come.

2) We are equal under the sun at equinox.
Only on these two days are night and day equal at 12 hours each, right across the planet.

Together these irrefutable qualities give equinoxes unique power and resonance.

Equinoxes ARE Earth Days

We need a call to action on a date that is universally meaningful.

Equinoxes are the answer:

Twice a year gives a new rhythm, a new habit of action, every 6 months, in Spring and Autumn.

Fixed Planet Events Equinoxes are true planet events, fixed until the end of time. It’s logical to use them. With a planetary perspective you get to see the Big Picture. In the new One World era, we must have that vision.

Equal under the Sun Equi-nox means equal night. It’s when, each March and September, the entire Earth gets equal amounts of light and dark (12 hours night and day). You can say that at equinox we are Equal under the Sun©. There’s no better time to sense our common destiny and purpose – our global citizenship.

Make both the Spring Equinox (March 20th) & the Autumn Equinox (September 23rd) Earth Days. 

Taking Earth Day Action on the equinoxes will have more impact and build, year-on-year.

Planet Action Equinoxes are planet events – ideal moments for adding the individual’s “little bit” to the greater whole.

Rhythm Equinoxes are twins – the Spring-Autumn rhythm will work beautifully, harmonising with financial and academic calendars, giving summer and winter patterns. Then, whatever is achieved – action, resolution, celebration, link, audit – six months later we can check our progress, refreshing or redoubling our efforts.

Temperature Equinoxes are neutral – ideal for taking a planetary ‘temperature’ audit – a matrix of available data to judge our progress in tackling de-carbonising, pollution, biodiversity, etc.

®, led by equinox-logic, has come up with many neat ideas. Here’s one:

Daylight saving In March we sleep unnecessarily through morning daylight. There is a simple, fair, and logical equinox-based solution to daylight saving that could be applied internationally and save $millions in energy costs and tonnes of CO² completely cost-free!

Equinoxes ARE Earth Days: they clarify our relationship to our home planet. Now is the time to put them to use. We don’t have long.

A new initiative led by the young is taking root fast (clickable), adding pressure to act as if there is a future (for them). That’s the stick. And the carrot? – remember that science tells us climate change (clickable) is overwhelmingly caused by man-made global warming. If we made it, we can un-make it.

© Martin Nelson March 2019

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Earthrise. Blue Marble. Pale Blue Dot. A triptych.

This is the transcript of a reading given on December 15th at St Clement Danes Church as part of the Christmas Concert of the talented young choir Coro.

Apollo 8 was the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth’s orbit and head up and out into deeper space. The astronauts were Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders and they orbited the moon ten times during December 24, 1968. On the fourth pass, at 4pm GMT, as they came round again from the dark side of the moon Anders saw something emerging from below the lunar horizon: Continue reading →

Summer Solstice Sweden 2018

Happy Summer Solstice (not summer equinox, as Justin Webb had it this morning on @BBCR4Today). The Swedes get the equinoxes and the solstices – as do all high latitude peoples, and today these ancient rocks will be hosting al fresco parties, for they are at the end of the island of Smögen, a popular and picturesque shrimping port – and party venue. Continue reading →

Spring Equinox 2018: takes the long view

” ..but, eternally having sunshine in equal nights and in equal days, the good receive a less toilsome life, not vexing the earth or the water of the sea with the strength of their hands to achieve a meagre sustenance; instead, in the presence of the honoured Gods, those who delighted in keeping their oaths pass a tearless existence…”*

So recited Pindar, in his Olympian Ode 2 Continue reading →

Common and Kind: more in common in music

As it’s the Summer Solstice today I will end this post with a personal footnote, for I first met Michael Solomon Williams at the 1989 solstice in a magical performance of Britten’s opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He was six, and the ‘fetched’ Humble Bee to my Bottom. So more of that anon… now Common and Kind – which is Michael’s #JoCox #moreincommon -inspired initiative, subtitled more in common in music. Continue reading →

What are the Equinoxes?

As I peddle the EQ concept I am often astonished to discover how hazy is the concept of equinox. I have used this NASA image as background for new Facebook and Twitter pages as it clearly shows – in a real image from space – Earth at equinox.  Continue reading →

Earth Day

April 22nd is Earth Day – and you would be forgiven for not knowing or noticing here in the UK as it is a largely US-based event. More on this below, but it’s worth your attention: this year there was a March for Science on the National Mall, Washington DC, with as expected some pungent anti-post-truth banners.

There was a London March for Science too. I joined and was welcomed as an unreconstituted ‘artiste’, in moral support.

Continue reading →