Parvati.org and Truth Belts

Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary

You may know me as the founder and product designer of Truth Belts. But I also do volunteer work for an amazing organization called Parvati.org. This is the incredible story of how a group of volunteers in Canada got together to stop planning seismic testing in Canada and created a treaty called MAPS – Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary, to save planet earth. Here’s the video I made. If you’re not into watching videos, read below.

If you are a teacher at a school who would like me to present MAPS to your class, or know of anyone who would be interested in having me present to their class, please contact me at renia@parvati.org.

Parvati is the name of the founder of the organization. She is an extremely talented, gifted singer, songwriter, yogi, author and friend, who was inspired by the call of a whale.

In 2010 Parvati had recurring dreams of herself lying on ice, while a great blue whale swam underneath. She decided to act on this. Three weeks later, Parvati was in a remote village in the High Arctic where she spoke with elders, ecologist, students and teachers. Two Inuit elders greeted her saying, “We knew you were coming – the whale told us”.

She heard the unanimous message everywhere she went: ice is melting, animals are dying, and people are suffering. Tell the south to stop polluting.

Once at the North Pole, Parvati performed four of her songs. As you can imagine, it was pretty cold up there!

Upon return Parvati learned of planned Seismic testing to take place in Northern Canada off the shores of Clyde River. Parvati knew this should not happen. So she rallied together a group of friends together to found Parvati.org. Everyone including Parvati herself volunteered his/her time to create the world’s largest peace park. It’s called MAPS: Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary.

We all started calling the Canadian government daily, demanding to know who was behind the seismic testing and why they allowed it. It was one dead end after another.

Our persistence paid off. Someone sent us documents that showed Shell still had expired oil permits on the books with the Canadian government. Our discovery made national news and triggered a lawsuit that saw Shell relinquish it’s permits, paving the way for a marine protected area.

Wow!

Parvati.org has played a role in the key events of non-government organizations such as Climate Reality, 350.org and Blue Ocean Network. Our volunteer team has grown and has representation as far away as Uganda and Malawi. We have brought the MAPS treaty to COP21, COP23, UNGA 72 and COP 23.

Trees play a huge part in our ecosystem, because they help take carbon dioxide out of the air, and put carbon dioxide back into the air. Did you know whales also play a huge role in our eco system? Yup! It’s true.

The many whales that dwell in Arctic waters contribute to slowing climate change through the whale pump effect. They bring nutrients from the ocean depths to fertilize tiny phytoplankton at the ocean’s surface – which helps capture carbon out of the air, and then has a beneficial chain reaction through the entire ecosystem. Here is a wonderful video you can watch that explains this.

The arctic polar ice also plays a key role in our ecosystem. What most people don’t know is the polar ice is our planet’s air conditioning system. It secures balanced weather patterns globally so we have the food and resources we need to survive. The ice in the Arctic is melting. Animals are dying. People are suffering. What happens in the Arctic affects everyone. We are all one earth-family.

Our group created the MAPS treaty. MAPS protects all Arctic Ocean waters north of the Arctic Circle. We translated the treaty into the 6 official languages of the United Nations. All leaders of all countries have received a copy. When 99 countries sign the treaty, MAPS goes into effect and the Arctic Circle will be deemed a peace sanctuary, free from exploitation of any kind.

BIG NEWS! The first country has signed the MAPS treaty

Thank you Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi for your vision and leadership! Now, we only need 98 more signatures to make MAPS a reality! It’s happening!

I’M AVAILABLE TO GIVE PRESENTATIONS TO SCHOOLS!
My role in the organization is to collect petitions and to give presentations to high schools, universities and eco/environmental groups. I’ll give a presentation to anyone who will listen! If you would like me to come to your school to talk about MAPS (Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary), please email me at renia@parvati.org. 

Never before has there been a more apt time in human history for everyone to come together for one common goal. With the advancement of technology and the speed at which our environment is changing, this is a pivotal moment in human history. We must act now.

Let’s keep the vulnerable Arctic and our planet safe for generations to come. To find out more, visit Parvati.org.

Thanks for reading:-)