Lynn Cheatham guides students at the Bolinas-Stinson Beach School in mindfulness. One goal is to increase empathy and reduce bullying. Photo by Susana Bates, Special To The Chronicle.

Room to Breathe documentary shares “mindfulness techniques” to reduce bullying and increase focus.

It wasn’t long after they started setting aside part of the school day for students to focus on deep breathing and silent reflection that teachers at Bolinas-Stinson Union School District said they started noticing a sense of “stillness” and “peace” in their classrooms.

The hallways of this small, one-school K-8 district in Marin County still clamor at times with restless, rambunctious youngsters. But officials here say they’be also started to notice the effects of teaching a form of meditation known as mindfulness - a practice that is increasingly popular at schools around the Bay Area and nationwide.

“I have noticed a huge difference,” said Lynn Cheatham, the meditation specialist hired by the school this year after an administrator saw a documentary [Room to Breathe] about a mindfulness program at a San Francisco middle school.

Read the full article here.

The International Space Station on the Horizon.

BELLA GAIA will be streaming live on NASA’s Digital Learning Network, that provides science, technology, engineering, and mathematics or STEM content featuring NASA missions and research, on April 22 (Earth Day) 12pm EST.  Join BELLA GAIA creator, Kenji Williams, and Climate Scientist, Dr. Claire Parkinson, at the Goddard Space Flight Center sharing a musical and visual tour of Earth from space.

Neurons in a mouse brain on the left and a simulated image of the universe on the right. Together they suggest surprisingly similar patterns found in vastly different natural phenomena.

The Baum Foundation invites you to attend the 9th annual Evening of Hope featuring our fiscal program BELLA GAIA on April 18th, 2013 at the Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries in St. Louis, Missouri. BELLA GAIA will showcase inspiring music and dance performances against a backdrop of new visualizations of Earth from space and neural brain networks to benefit the organization Hope Happens, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of people with neurodegenerative disorders by promoting collaborative translational research with the potential to fast-track new cures. Proceeds from the performance and gala will be applied to programs at the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders.

For more information visit http://www.hopehappens.org/.

BELLA GAIA: Orgin Stories of Japan.

Award-winning composer and director Kenji Williams brings a special version of BELLA GAIA (Beautiful Earth) to New York! Inspired by stories of astronauts who returned to Earth transformed after the view from space, and working with J-Collabo, “BELLA GAIA: Origin Stories of Japan” explores the relationship between humans and nature through ancient Japanese arts fused with modern expression and technology. The 70-minute immersive performance produced and performed by Williams, features Japanese traditional artists performing Live Noh (dance), Gagaku (ceremonial orchestra), and Shomyo (chanting).

Discover a new collaborative origins project with J-COLLABO which seeks to unite important Japanese historical monuments with prominent locations in the U.S. under the theme of Japanese culture and art.

POST SHOW DISCUSSION WITH SPECIAL GUEST PAUL MILLER (DJ SPOOKY) AND KENJI WILLIAMS.

Practicing mindfulness to improve education and skills building.

The Baum Foundation is proud to announce the film project Room to Breathe was the 2012 Winner of the “Platinum Reel Award” for a Feature Film at the Nevada Film Festival. In March of 2013, the film won the “Outstanding Merit Award for Social Impact and Civic XChange” at the Richmond International Film Festival.

An upcoming screening of the film will be at the Palm Beach International Film Festival Friday, April 5th at 3:00pm at the COBB Downtown at the Gardens.

Visit https://www.facebook.com/RoomtoBreatheFilm for up-to-date info on screenings.

Bill Becker, Executive Director of PCAP, delivers a presentation to Beaverton, Oregon audiences.

Just before delivering his address at the city of Beaverton, Oregon’s Sustainability Forum, Bill Becker, Executive Director of the  Presidential Climate Action Project, discussed his view that most citizens, regardless of political belief or economic background, believe — in one form or another — in the concept of sustainability. “It’s important to engage people where they are,” he said. “People from any value system can find some aspect that will appeal to them because it affects their life. Somewhere you find a foothold, a point of entry for the conversation.”

Read the full article here.

From Daniel Beltra’s SPILL Exhibit.

The G2 Gallery in Venice, California will premiere the exhibit SPILL: Images from the Gulf by acclaimed photographer Daniel Beltrá. Coinciding with the three-year anniversary of the disaster, SPILL features images from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. An opening reception for SPILL will take place on Saturday, March 9, from 6:30–9:00 pm. The images will be offered in limited editions and The G2 Gallery will donate all proceeds from art sales to the environmental non-profit, Greenpeace. The exhibit will run from March 5, 2013 through April 21, 2013.

See the power and artistic beauty of Daniel’s photography for yourself!

Space station over the Ionian Sea.

The Sea-Space Initiative was created to promote the synergies between the worlds of ‘outer’ and ‘inner’ space. During 2012-2015, the Sea-Space Initiative is organizing a global series of workshops for thought leaders in a variety of ocean- and space-related fields and industries. Called the Sea-Space Summit, these workshops will be powerful networking and educational opportunities within a truly unique peer group.

Supported by The Baum Foundation the Sea-Space Summit is a two-day event including a blended model of “traditional” conference talks, “unconference” dialogues, and opportunities for networking and informal conversations. There are 25-50 invited participants per event spanning leaders in exploration, research, entrepreneurship, innovation, education, training, communication, and collaboration. Representatives from government, nonprofit, for-profit and all nations participate. The first Summit of 2013 occurred February 20-23 in Washington DC.

Sustainable urban development.

Baum Foundation program the Future We Want has had an enduring impact in inspiring and guiding sustainable development on a global level. The United Nations adopted their slogan in June 2012 and continue to use it to define their goals, escalating language to at the recent United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council to strengthen and upgrade UNEP to achieve successful implementation of the Future We Want. Read the full press release to find out more.

AP  |  By DINA CAPPIELLO

Obama Could Act On Climate Change Without Congress, Experts Suggest

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is talking about climate change like it was 2009.

Obama State of the Union.

The president, who rarely uttered the words “climate change” or “global warming” during the second half of his first term and during the re-election campaign, has re-inserted it boldly back into his lexicon. In his latest State of the Union address before Congress, Obama sounded like he did in his first, urging lawmakers to limit gases blamed for global warming “for the sake of our children and our future.” Those words followed his inaugural address, in which he said, “We will respond to the threat of climate change.”

The difference between then and now is that Obama knows Congress is unlikely to agree. He said that if Congress won’t act, he will through executive action. The question is: What will he do?

Read the full article in the Huffington Post to find out what PCAP recommendation the Obama administration has revealed plans for.