Scientists say extreme winter weather fits global warming

According to the assessment of both US and European researchers, the frigidly cold weather and massive storm systems that occurred this past winter throughout the US and Europe were all part of a warming climate.

Frank Boettcher, Director of the German Institute for Weather and Climate Communication, stated, “Right now, temperatures in Greenland are 15 degrees Celsius above the season's long-term average.”

He went on to say that even with the cold temperatures in Central and Northern Europe, German weather statistics reveal an average temperature that is at least one degree Celsius higher than 100 years ago.

Moreover, a 2009 US Climate Impacts Report stated that global warming has caused large cold weather systems to move northward, with mid-latitude storms decreasing in frequency but rising in intensity as the hotter air retains more moisture, resulting in the release of enormous amounts of snowfall.

Satellite data in fact showed that the two large winter storms that recently impacted the US occurred during the warmest winter on record for the region. Director Boettcher and other European and US scientists, we are grateful for your insights that remind us of the perilous state of our ecosphere.

Let us all do our utmost to restore planetary stability by acting now in united and Earth-supporting ways.

As during a January 2009 videoconference in Mongolia, Supreme Master Ching Hai has often emphasized the real urgency of global warming and our actions that can quickly counter it.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: We are already facing so many untold natural disasters on a daily basis such as earthquakes, severe storms never seen before, volcanoes, ice melting and many island nations that have sunk under the water already and many are sinking.

And the climate has become very, very strange, like it became warm where it should be cold and it became cold where it should be hot. And this can only be alleviated through a return to the ancient ways of our wiser elders, one that exists in harmony with nature and respect of other beings, a true brotherhood of love with all.

We can still do that; it’s not too late.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: We should remind everyone to be veg, to invoke the mercy of the Buddhas, and we will be better protected.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ips/...
http://www.whitefieldconsulting.com/wordpress/?p=2463
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1962294,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/11/science/earth/11climate.html
http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts/full...

Past natural disasters the result of human activities

The Nasca culture that flourished in South America is famous for its mysterious lines, best viewed from the air, that depict animals and other shapes across the deserts in Peru.

While being aware that the Nasca civilization ended suddenly between the 6th and 7th centuries, scientists at the University of Cambridge in the UK have recently revealed that the Nasca demise was related to deforestation.

This was due to their clearing of huarango trees, whose deep roots played a key role in regulating moisture and soil richness. Thus, removing so many trees eventually caused a tipping point to be reached, after which the ecosystem was irreversibly damaged and the climate became more and more dry.

The study's authors say that these findings are highly relevant in view of parallels with humanity’s situation today.

Meanwhile, experts from the Leibniz Oceanography Institute in Kiel, Germany announced their discovery of signs that a severe natural disaster occurred in the Atlantic Ocean two millennia ago.

According to the scientists, the edge of an African continental shelf broke off, scattering debris over 150,000 square kilometers across the deep Atlantic off the coast of Morocco, south of the Canary Islands.

This event could have set off a massive tsunami that some say impacted the lost city of Atlantis, believed to have existed in the Atlantic basin before being engulfed by the sea.

What intriguing findings! Thank you University of Cambridge and Leibniz Oceanography Institute scientists for your reports that offer insights into past civilizations.

Let us strive to prevent the repeating of such devastations through our increased stewardship of the environment. During a videoconference in Togo in May 2009, Supreme Master Ching Hai gave a spiritual perspective on such cases in history as well as ways for humanity to choose a safer course today.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: At least 2 major times, our planet has undergone major destruction due to detrimental human activities. It may be that past civilizations on Earth did not last also because their moral standard did not develop along with their technical power.

Spiritual development and compassion are what ensures the safety and balance of every other endeavor. I pray that our civilization will be different, will be wiser, and more advanced in many beneficial ways.

So, let us not neglect to cultivate our virtues. If we want good things then we have to do good. If we want life, we have to spare lives. Because that means we spare life, we want life, we want constructive energy, we don’t want destruction. So vegan is the answer.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE5A100O20091102
http://www.kew.org/science/anniversary-conference/Kew-250thConferenceProgramme.pdf
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2008/2432894.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com/028358_deforestation_human_civilization.html
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/315771,oceanographers-find-signs-of-at...
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1543702.php/Oceano...
http://en.mercopress.com/2010/03/27/german-scientists-find-evidence-of-major...

Climate change reaffirmed as human-caused

A year-long study by an international team of scientists has reached the same conclusions as the 2007 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, namely that global warming has been induced by humans.

Led by the United Kingdom’s Met Office, the study evaluated more than 100 recent scientific papers, finding that only human activities could account for the millions of tons of greenhouse gases emitted and the corresponding steep rise in global temperatures since the mid-twentieth century.

Lead researcher Dr. Peter Stott stated, “The fingerprint of human influence has been detected in many different aspects of observed climate changes. Natural variability, from the sun, volcanic eruptions or natural cycles, cannot explain recent warming.”

Other signs include new evidence of warming in the oceans, which in turn is causing increased atmospheric evaporation, with resulting accentuation of weather extremes worldwide, so that places like the United Kingdom become wetter while arid areas such as East Africa are even more dry.

Our sincere appreciation, Dr. Stott and other Met Office scientists for your factual assessment of humanity’s role in the Earth’s now-perilous state.

Let us heed such compelling conclusions and swiftly adopt lifestyles that protect our planet for future generations. Supreme Master Ching Hai has often emphasized the human-based causes and need for immediate action in curbing global warming, as during an interview published in the September 2009 edition of The House Magazine.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: It’s too serious. Too serious. Although there is no way to assess completely, for the moment, already more than a decade ago the United Nations conservatively estimated that there were 25 million climate change refugees – a decade ago, these are people forced from their homes and communities due to rising sea levels and a host of other natural disasters, so-called natural disasters, but in fact these are all man-made.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: These situations will only worsen, not improve, until we stop the cause. This means to halt the livestock production and meat consumption.

If humans switch to the vegan diet, the Earth will begin cooling immediately and many of these dilemmas can even be reversed. So please, be veg and do good, to save the planet and all the beings on it, including you and me.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/humans-umustu-be...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2832934a-27f6-11df-9598-00144feabdc0.html

Climate change to bring more intense tropical storms

A study by the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has analyzed four years of peer-reviewed research on the ocean storms that are known as hurricanes in the Atlantic and typhoons in Asia.

Using a mid-range forecast of 2.8-degrees Celsius temperature rise for global warming, the WMO research forecast future storms with more powerful winds and higher amounts of rainfall.

Moreover, some areas would likely see big jumps in the number of severe weather patterns.

The WMO also reported that these findings were consistent with ones published in 2007 by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, noting the likelihood of more intense cyclones, with additional rainfall and higher wind speeds.

United Nations World Meteorological Organization scientists, we sincerely appreciate your careful work that alerts the public to the likelihood of such perilous extreme weather.

Let us join in wholehearted efforts toward planet-protecting lifestyles to ensure a stable home for future generations. Expressing her concern as she has on many occasions for humanity’s plight, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke of such intensifying weather extremities during an August 2009 videoconference in Thailand.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: If we look around, we can see the growing frequencies and strength of disasters everywhere. Flood events worldwide are now three times higher than in the 1980s. In 2008, there were 40 category 5 storms, the most ever recorded including in the Atlantic, India and Bangladesh, and in the Philippines.

It takes just one category 4 or 5 storm to destroy a major city, just one.
These are truly almost always the consequences of humans’ violent actions. The number 1 action is meat eating. We can stop the disasters, make them go away for good, forever, if all of us switch to the organic vegan diet. Pray it be so.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/tropical-storms-to-be-more-intense-20100222-oo8z.html

History shows that sea levels can rise very quickly

An article published in the February 12 issue of Science magazine describes a study led by US geoscientist Dr. Jeffrey Dorale, in which rock samples were collected from caves off the coast of Mallorca, Spain.

In so doing, the researchers not only identified sea level changes over the past 135,000 years, they discovered that the oceans can rise as much as 2 meters in a century.

Noting that this is nearly 12 times as fast as in the past 100 years, Dr. Dorale stated, “This has major implications for future concerns with sea-level change.

The mechanisms underlying these dramatic changes need further onsideration as we look to a future of impending climate changes.”

Our thanks, Dr. Dorale and team, for your detailed work and its cautionary forecast for our future. Let us all engage in actions that restore harmony and beauty to our shared Earthly home.

Concerned for humanity, Supreme Master Ching Hai has often addressed the tolls of global warming such as rising sea levels and the need for actions to curb them, as during an interview for the September 2009 edition of The House Magazine.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: People forced from their homes and communities due to rising sea levels and a host of other natural disasters, so-called natural disasters, but in fact these are all man-made.

Sea level rise, for example, threatens half of the world's population living within 200 kilometers of a coastline. Seventeen million in Bangladesh have fled their homes already, mainly because of coastal erosion.

At least 18 islands have completely submerged around the world thus far, with more than 40 other island nations at risk from rising sea levels, and planning to relocate.

If humans switch to the vegan diet, the Earth will begin cooling immediately and many of these dilemmas can even be reversed. So please, be veg and do good, to save the planet and all the beings on it, including you and me.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=sea-caves-reveal-rapid-rise-in-ancient-ocean-levels
http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2010/02/12/sea-levels-erratic-during-latest-ice-age.html

The changing tides and lives in the Sundarbands.

A photography exhibit in London, England by photographer Peter Canton and field partner Cris Aoki Watanabe documents the devastation of climate change on one of the most impacted areas of the world – the low-lying Sundarbans in India’s Ganges delta.

The Sundarbans, which means “beautiful forest” in Bengali, have long been considered a region of ecological and cultural importance. However, the photographers were shocked to see the ruins that Cyclone Aila had inflicted in May 2009, as they also documented the increasingly higher water levels and more intense storms.

Families are continually displaced as they have to relocate to shelters at every coming catastrophe.

Livelihoods are at dire stakes with the encroaching salt water contaminating their rice paddies, which renders them useless for the next three years.

With the people’s lifestyles considered to leave one of the lightest carbon footprints, the photojournalists’ exhibit highlights the suffering inflicted by climate change that is wreaking havoc on the isolated and poor.

A resident grieves: “The water level is increasing and the temperature too. We cannot live here, the heat is becoming unbearable. We have received a plastic sheet and have covered our home with it. During the coming monsoon we shall wrap our bodies in the plastic to stay dry. We also have two children and we cannot manage their food either.”

Our hearts are saddened to know of our brethren suffering through the demise of their communities and our planet. May we quickly change our ways and hearts in consideration for our co-inhabitants and the environment. In an October 2009 videoconference in Formosa (Taiwan), Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke with concern for all Earth’s residents afflicted by global warming, urging citizens and world leaders to help halt these calamitous changes.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: We also do not forget all the islands and other countries who are submerging or sinking or disappearing or disappeared because of climate change. My heart is troubled every day, thinking of all these innocent people and all the defenseless animals who have to suffer in this great upheaval we call climate change.

But we still have time. We could not reverse the effect of climate change in the past. Whatever happened due to typhoons and floods and earthquakes, etc.,

we could not reverse the effect. But we could stop future disasters by returning to the compassionate vegan diet and encouraging others to do the same. The government has the power to do this. I beg all the governments of the world, please, do this before it’s too late, for the sake of your citizens and your own children as well.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/the-sinking-sundarbans-
1862267.html?action=Popup
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/the-sinking-sundarbans-1862267.html

Echoes of storms may contribute to Antarctic ice shelf collapse

Besides global warming, a new study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters says that tsunami-like “infra-gravity waves” may be causing some of this past decade’s biggest ice collapses.

As most ice shelves are over 1,000 feet thick, they are generally not affected by ocean waves. However, infra-gravity waves occur when the energy of the waves from a storm is echoed back out to the ocean for thousands of miles.

Just before the Wilkins Shelf disintegrated in 2008, a large storm had pounded the coast of Patagonia, sending off an infra-gravity wave. Dr. Peter Bromirski of the US-based Scripps Institute of Oceanography stated, “Regular sea swells chip off little icebergs from the edges. Infra-gravity waves could be affecting a much greater part of the ice shelf.”

Dr. Bromirski and colleagues, we appreciate this new information about ice shelf disintegration. Let us hasten our steps toward lifestyles in harmony with nature to stabilize the climate and help preserve our Earth.

Ever-concerned for our planetary welfare, Supreme Master Ching Hai addressed such effects of an unbalanced ecosphere and the need for action during a January 2009 videoconference in Mongolia.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: We are already facing so many untold natural disasters on a daily basis such as earthquakes, severe storms never seen before, volcanoes, ice melting and many island nations that have sunk under the water already and many are sinking. And the climate has become very, very strange, like it became warm where it should be cold and it became cold where it should be hot. And this can only be alleviated through a return to the ancient ways of our wiser elders, one that exists in harmony with nature and respect of other beings, a true brotherhood of love with all.

We can still do that; it’s not too late.

We should remind everyone to be veg, to invoke the mercy of the Buddhas, and we will be better protected.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34638036/ns/technology_and_science-science

The human face – and human power – in climate change

Marking the final high-level phase of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, United Nations and partner organization representatives observed Humanitarian Day at the summit locale in Copenhagen, Denmark, raising awareness of the human implications of climate change. Supreme Master Television’s correspondent in Copenhagen shares details.

Supreme Master Television Correspondent: “Nature does not negotiate.” These were the words shared by United Nations Secretary-General Ban to signal the firm decisions that must be made now to stop worsening climate catastrophes.

The human-caused decline of nature was well illustrated by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes.
John Holmes, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator (M): Whereas 20 years ago there were perhaps 200 natural disasters a year, now we’re facing more like 400. Whereas 5 years ago, half of those disasters were related to climate, now, three-quarters of those disasters are related to climate. Climate change is not some abstract future threat. Climate change is now, climate change is affecting people now.

Supreme Master Television Correspondent: Like many others who travelled to Copenhagen to lend their own individual energy, members of the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association continued spreading information about the power of each person to reverse global warming through a switch to the plant-based diet.

The veg solution was also discussed by the European Parliament just before the Climate Summit and specifically advocated by eminent leaders such as United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Chairman, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri.

Dr. Rajendra Pachauri – Chair, United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Vegetarian (M): I think we have to use every means to mitigate the emissions of greenhouse gases, and I’d submit to you once again that cutting down on meat consumption would be an extremely effective way of doing so.

Supreme Master Television Correspondent: This week, the Association hosted a sumptuous organic vegan banquet at the Hilton Hotel in Copenhagen, inviting 150 conference delegates and organizations to participate in a greater understanding of the dietary solution to climate change. The response was enthusiastic.

Niti Desuderai – President of Malaysian Environmental Protection Society, Vegetarian (M): I’d like to congratulate your organization for all the tremendous work you are doing for creating awareness on the importance of eating a vegetarian diet.

COP 15 Vegan dinner interview Phillipines EurporeanParliament 20091214 Ignacio T. Arroyo - Philippine Congressman (M): We would like to try your vegan food, and in fact it’s been talked of a lot by our colleagues. And also I’d like to greet your Supreme Master and thank her for all these.

Supreme Master Television Correspondent: This is Supreme Master Television reporting from Copenhagen, Denmark.

VOICE: Our gratefulness to all the dedicated conference participants, leaders and co-citizens alike, in Copenhagen. We join in thanking Supreme Master Ching Hai for her steady support of the crucial vegan change and pray that the more than 130 heads of state and government will accept this win-win deal so needed by our planet to survive.

In an October 2009 videoconference, Supreme Master Ching Hai addressed world leaders, calling for their actions in accordance with the law of harmony with nature, including our animal co-inhabitants.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Ladies and gentlemen, all the powerful people in the world, in our society, the law only punished someone who has done something wrong to the society. The animals have never done us any wrongs.

If we want to receive the mercy of Heaven for our life here on Earth, we must first be merciful in granting the same dignity and freedom of life to the animals. Only then can we have a return of the environmental balance that I know you also seek to protect. So please everyone, plant veg, be veg and we can go green later
when we already save the planet. Save our planet. Please, I wish you the best.

Ecuador offers an innovative plan for preserving the rainforest, with the country leaving an estimated one billion barrels of oil in the ground and instead selling certificates for the unreleased carbon, with proceeds going toward continued conservation and other eco-projects.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091105143823.htm?utm_source=feedburner&
utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+(ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News)

Natural disasters are on the rise

According to a report just released by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), weather catastrophes have increased over the past decade. The average of 200 per year in the 1990s has increased to 350 per year this decade. Last year there were over 235,000 fatalities from disasters linked to weather such as Cyclone Nargis.

Speaking of the impact of global warming through these extreme events, IFRC Secretary-General Dr. Bekele Geleta said, “The disasters which climate change will trigger potentially threaten more lives and livelihoods than any before.”

Our sincere appreciation, Secretary-General Geleta and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for this disturbing reminder of our planet’s fragile state.

Let us safeguard all lives on Earth through the loving vegan, meaning animal-free, lifestyle. In a July 2008 videoconference with our Association members in Washington, USA, Supreme Master Ching Hai conveyed her deep regard for humanity’s plight in facing global warming, as she offered a way to address its effects.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: If the planet is polluted and poisoned, then people will die slow and in agony. So many disasters happen, and people will suffer so much.

Everybody has to join to into the vegetarian diet, and stop the killing, stop the harm to other people and the animals and save energies every way possible and go green wherever possible. Then we still can save the planet.

Reference
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Tech%2Band%2BScience/Story/STIStory_391419.html
http://www.rcstandcom.info/m-geleta.shtml