Potential tsunami puts millions at risk along the Mediterranean coast

According to the World Disasters Report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the lack of an early warning system in the area renders it highly vulnerable to damage and loss of life. The risk of such disasters as hurricanes, cyclones and tsunamis has been found to increase due to climate change.

Mr. Peter Rees-Gildea, a disaster expert from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said, 『If you look at population density along the Mediterranean coast and the topography and what could happen with a major tsunami, the figures are self-evident. It would be absolutely catastrophic.』

Many thanks, Mr. Peter Rees-Gildea and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, for your thoughtful assessment and timely warning.

Our prayers for the continued safety of those in the Mediterranean region and that our return to a kinder, gentler existence meanwhile minimizes dangers such as these.

Ever concerned for humanity’s welfare, Supreme Master Ching Hai addressed global warming and its grave prospects during an April 2００９ videoconference in South Korea.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: It is true exactly as you have said that we are facing a very serious situation.

However, the most effective effort that can be made by any country to avoid further catastrophe, whether natural or manmade, is to promote a compassionate, noble lifestyle. Not only does this benefit the planet in its reduction of greenhouse gases, but being veg opens up land and delivers crops to humans that were previously being grown for animal feed.

Swine flu develops resistance to Tamiflu

The World Health Organization reported that the number of confirmed cases has surpassed ７７,2００, with at least ３３2 known fatalities. After an alarming surge in lives lost this past week in Argentina, with １４ new fatalities over a two-day period, the nation’s government is closing schools in an attempt to protect millions of children from the swine flu virus.

Meanwhile, recent fatalities include a 2９-year-old Brazilian man,a 2０-year-old expectant Moroccan mother in Spain and a nine-year-old child who became the third loss in the UK, where swine flu numbers jumped in a few days to about 6,５００.

Pharmaceutical company Roche Holding AG has also announced the first known swine flu case for which the antiviral medication Tamiflu was ineffective.

Although the patient was able to recover with another medicine, this indicates that the virus is developing resistance by mutating its form, which could lead to a deadlier version of the swine flu. Virology experts say that this evolution has been occurring through the accomplice role of pig factory farms.

We thank all health officials, governments, and healthcare groups for your efforts to alert the public to the persistence of the swine flu problem and safeguard health.

Our heart goes out to all those afflicted or suffering due to loss of loved ones. As we pray for the virus to diminish, we know that the root solution remains in the adoption of an organic vegan lifestyle, to eliminate the risk of animal-related infections and restore the vitality of all humanity.

Reference
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/WEA8７９2.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2００９/０6/３０/health/３０glob.html?hpw
Buenos Aires mayor declares emergency
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN３０３９82１３2００９０6３０
http://www.examiner.com /x-３１22-Chicago-International-Travel-Examiner~y2００９m6d2９-Swine-flu- claims-first-victim-in-England-shows-resistance-to-Tamiflu, http://www.examiner.com/x-３１22-Chicago-International-Travel- Examiner~y2００９m6d26-Swine-flu-takes-a-deadly-turn-in-Argentina-１2- deaths-in-Illinois
http://www.france2４.com/en/2００９０62９-global-swine-flu-cases-leap-past-７００００-who
http://edition.cnn.com/2００９/HEALTH/０6/2９/swine.flu.death.uk/index.html?iref=2４hours
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8１26１１９.stm
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2００９_０6_2９/en/index.html
http://www.france2４.com/en/2００９０6３０-spanish-flu-created-viral-dynasty-study

Tainted beef sickens at least twenty-four

In what is now the seventh widening of scope since May, a Colorado meat company in the United States has updated its recall to include over 400,000 pounds of beef products that are suspected of contamination by the potentially deadly E.coli bacterium.

At least 18 illnesses so far have been linked to the meat, which has been distributed nationally and internationally. According to the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the type of E. coli bacteria that causes illness in humans comes from the intestines of ruminant animals, mainly cattle, and can result in symptoms ranging from intestinal disorders to kidney failure that can result in death.

Recently, members of the media such as independent journalists, Dan Flynn and Andrew Shain at The State newspaper in South Carolina have requested that the public be informed of retail locations receiving the tainted products.

Caring Journalists, we laud your request for the release of information that would enable greater protection of public health.

At the same time, we pray for humanity’s quickly advancement towards the more assured safety and manifold benefits of the plant-based diet.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN2833527820090628
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31596299/ns/health-food_safety/

Alcohol a lethal substance globally

Researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada have found that alcohol is responsible for one in 25 deaths internationally, one in 10 deaths in Europe, and one in seven deaths in the former Soviet Union countries.

Although moderate intake is often touted as an effective protection against cardiovascular disease, the researchers also noted that these so-called benefits were far outweighed by the significantly greater risk of disease associated with alcohol consumption, including mouth and throat cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, depression and stroke.

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of Britain’s Royal College of Physicians, stated, “This study is a global wake-up call. We need an international framework convention for alcohol control, similar to that on tobacco, as soon as possible, to put into practice the evidence-based measures needed to reduce alcohol-related harm.

These include increasing the price of alcohol, reducing its availability and banning advertising, and the action needs to start now."

Our grateful thanks, University of Toronto scientists and Professor Gilmore for this comprehensive study and compelling call to action. We look forward to seeing successful policies of governments worldwide that bring the freedom of alcohol-free lives to societies everywhere.

Reference
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8118475.stm

South African advocate working to save seals

Head of the organization Seal Alert-SA, Mr. Francois Hugo is calling for a halt to seal hunting in Namibia where, beginning July 1, the world’s largest seal cull is expected to begin.

The hunting season is scheduled to last until November 15 and is seeking a quota of 85,000 pups and 6,000 bulls, which will result in the brutal slaughter of 91,000 endangered Cape fur seals.

Francois Hugo – Head of Seal Alert-SA, South Africa (M): in english On the first of July when the seal babies are seven months of age weighing 12 kilograms each, the Namibian government issues a sealing quota for the sealers to go into the colony and round up 85,000 baby seals and club them to death.

VOICE: According Mr. Hugo, this annual practice has caused the former seal colonies that had inhabited 23 islands off the Namibian coast to become 97% extinct.

Seals that do manage to escape the cull instinctively abandon the islands and do not return to their homes.
Francois Hugo – Seal Alert-SA (M): The problem with the conservation of the species is the seal industry. So that is the first hurdle that has to be removed, and once the seals are no longer clubbed, we then need to reverse the damage man has done over the past few centuries.

Our next endeavor is to repopulate those extinct islands with the seals that are being killed on the mainland beaches in Namibia.

VOICE: Mr. Hugo has worked tirelessly for the past 10 years to rescue this endangered species. In 1990, seal culling was halted for good in South Africa. If the same could be done in Namibia, the entire species may still have a chance to be saved. Seal Alert-SA is now negotiating the purchase of the seal industry itself in order to halt the cull by raising US$14 million by July 1st.

Once the seal hunting has been stopped, Mr. Hugo plans to begin repopulating the abandoned Namibian islands with the 60 seal pups he has rescued so far.

VOICE: Our heartfelt appreciation and support, Mr. Hugo and Seal Alert-SA for your dedicated perseverance in saving the Cape fur seals.

We too pray for the immediate protection of these gentle beings and that humanity fully awakens to our compassionate nature to live in peaceful co-existence with all species on Earth.

http://www.youtube.com/user/sealmancam#play/uploads/5/uzPcAvEARwI.
http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17091:
hunting-seals-cruel-financially-not-viable&catid=542:headlines&Itemid=62

Mekong dolphins at the brink of extinction

An intensively polluted Mekong River has resulted in alarmingly low populations of the freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin. Numbers are now less than 100, with more than 50 calves who have lost their lives since 2003 from toxic levels of pesticides, mercury, and other pollutants that suppressed their immune systems.

The species has been listed as critically endangered by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) since 2004, and Seng Teak, Country Director of WWF Cambodia, stated, “A trans-boundary preventative health program is urgently needed to manage the disease-affected animals in order to reduce the number of deaths each year.”

We shed tears to know of the suffering of these aquatic co-inhabitants, and pray that they may remain strong as we strive to restore their habitat to healthy purity through our more caring stewardship of Earth.

During a July 2008 videoconference in Formosa (Taiwan), Supreme Master Ching Hai reminded once again of our impact on the lives of others, saying that it is through our consideration of other beings that we can ensure the welfare of all inhabitants.


Supreme Master Ching Hai: Farm animals get sick due to pesticides. Fish die because of farming insecticides, pesticides, etc. Wild species suffer similar fates because we also drain our chemical substances, insecticides, pesticides into the rivers, into the lakes, into the oceans.

So we lost many of these precious species, we lost many, many of us, because they are us.
And we also lose ourselves, many of us humans, because of these poisonous substances – even from the farm industry -and we still did not wake up yet.

So we must protect the environment. And the wild, they can take care of themselves. If the environments are friendly and conducive to a healthy lifestyle, then the wild will never get sick. The wild will have no problem.

Reference
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8106323.stm

Formosan (Taiwanese) city launches vegetarian school meal program

In efforts to promote a low carbon emission diet, Tainan city is encouraging self-catering schools to begin with one vegetarian lunch per month, moving to once a week while at the same time developing organic vegetable gardens on the school grounds. Amongst 51 elementary and middle schools in the city, 48 have adopted the program.

The city’s Director of Education, Mr. Suie-Wen Wong and Deputy Secretary of the Environmental Protection Bureau, Mr. Jen-San Lin, joined the students in Rihsin Elementary School for its launch of the eco-friendly lunches.

What encouraging news! We thank the Tainan City Education Department and Environmental Protection Bureau as well as the participating schools for your veg endeavors.

Wishing many teachers, students and families the manifold benefits of living in health with the compassionate and Earth-friendly vegan diet.

Reference
http://www.nownews.com/2009/06/05/11468-2460648.htm