Climate change causes unprecedented coral bleaching

According to a team of scientists from Australia’s Southern Cross University, warming ocean waters have imperiled coral reefs in Lord Howe Island Lagoon, the world’s southernmost such ecosystem, This year has seen the hottest, driest, most cloudless January in recorded history, and Dr. Peter Harrison, who led a survey of the reefs east of Sydney said that the two degree Celsius rise in temperature since 1993 has endangered the reefs as well as a sea anemone that is home to a rare type of fish.

As such overheating causes the coral to expel crucial algae that give them their color, a soon return to normal temperatures could allow the reefs to survive but only after decades of recovery.

Dr. Harrison explained that global warming is behind these changes as he stated. “It's exactly what you predict from warming seas. This is a warning of likely future increases of stress on this world's southernmost reef.”

Dr. Harrison and colleagues at Southern Cross University, we appreciate your detailed observations of the imperiled coral reefs. Our prayers that all are motivated to speedily adopt sustainable lifestyles that preserve the delicately interconnected life on our planet.

During a November 2008 interview with Ireland’s East Coast Radio FM, Supreme Master Ching Hai reiterated a concern she has often expressed about the preciousness of coral reefs as part of the biosphere affected by global warming.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Now, the coral reefs are there for some reason. See, there are many factors that affect coral reefs, like coastal development, water pollution, changing sea water temperature because of global warming.

Some scientists predict that most of the coral reefs could disappear in the near future if global warming increases.

Coral reefs are just like the forest on land. They are the protectors of 100-plus countries’ coastlines against storm surges and hurricanes. They are the protectors. And they are also the supporters of over 25% of all marine species.

So you see how important it is. And there are many more things that we have not discovered about the benefits of coral reef and marine life. We must protect a living and healthy sea, as it relates to our living and healthy self.

The solution is vegetarian diet

http://www.france24.com/en/20100324-climate-change-puts-australian-reef-knife-edge
http://www.scu.edu.au/research/whales/index.php/14/
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/pacbeat/stories/201003/s2855135.htm
http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20102603-20767-2.html

New film focuses on climate change in Formosa (Taiwan)

Indian girl speaking before UN delegates (F): I’m so much concerned about climate change, because I don’t want our future generations to question us, just as I’m questioning the need for more concrete action on climate change today.

VOICE: Through compelling facts intermingled with voices of eminent scientists along with powerful music and imagery, a new documentary has been bringing citizens together in shared concern for Formosa’s future in the face of global warming.

The film “±2 Degrees C” was named based on scientists’ conclusion that human survival depends on limiting global temperature rise to within 2 degrees Celsius.

Producer Sisy Chen, a renowned Formosan media personality, said she wished to bring the climate change reality, such as rising sea levels, closer to home.

Sisy Chen – Formosan (Taiwanese) media host, producer of “±2°C” (F): On a global scale, the first group of people who might be wiped out the most vulnerable are those on the islands in the Pacific Ocean and Africa. Next, it affects the Asian countries like Formosa.

VOICE: Based on data from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Central Research Institute, the documentary informs viewers that Formosa’s densely populated areas are in locations vulnerable to disasters; that the island has one of the world’s 10 highest rates of erosion, and that typhoons and heat waves are increasing in severity.

In fact, the film was made deliberately within just six months of Typhoon Morakot, so that it would be widely screened on television and in city and county government venues by the time the next storm season struck.

Chung-Ming Liu – National Taiwan University Climate Change Center (M): Extreme weather events will be happening continuously in the future. We predict that the temperature will hit the record high next year.

VOICE: During the February 22 premiere of the film, the unprecedented gathering of more than 1,000 people was also attended by high-level government officials, including Formosan Premier Wu Den-yih and Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-Pyng.

When asked how global warming should be addressed, President Wang, along with producer Sisy Chen, expressed their support of the veg diet solution.

Wang Jin-pyng – Legislative Yuan President (M): Cows, pigs and so on release gases and feces which are part of the cause of greenhouse gas emissions.

So if you consume less meat, people will raise less livestock. The less livestock raising, the less gas emissions It’s simple logic.

Sisy Chen (F): I am Sisy Chen. “±2 Degrees C,” Be Veg, Go Green, Save the Planet.

VOICE: Kudos and our appreciation, Ms. Chen and all involved in the making and promotion of this timely documentary. We join the Formosan people in shared resolve to halt the real cause of climate change, praying that all will do so in time through the most effective organic vegan diet.

In an October 2009 videoconference in Formosa (Taiwan), Supreme Master Ching Hai once more shared her concern for those who suffer from the effects of our urgent planetary situation, asking governments and citizens to quickly take proper action.

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.

* This documentary is also available for downloading at its official website http://正負2度c.tw

Slow Arctic ice growth foretells summer melt

US scientists have noted minimal ice formation this winter in the Arctic, with only 34,000 square kilometers’ growth per day in January compared to more than twice that rate in the 1980s.

Warmer temperatures were observed to be a contributing factor in the slowed ice growth. US National Snow and Ice Data Center Director Dr. Mark Serreze cautioned that such a winter phenomenon would likely mean a bigger summer melt, stating that this year’s winter ice would create only a thin layer that takes less energy to melt the following summer.

This process in turn exposes additional areas of darker ocean waters, which absorb more heat than the reflective ice and accelerate melting even further.

Dr. Mark Serreze: We will probably see, for example, an accelerated hydrologic cycle, because we were talking earlier that you warm it up, you put more water vapor into the atmosphere. Well water vapor fuels storms. So you would have, for example, more and more severe weather events.

Many thanks, Dr. Serreze and colleagues at the US National Snow and Ice Data Center, for this vital information about the disappearing Arctic ice. As we all realize the danger of the Earth’s changing climate, let us make united steps toward lifestyles that return stability to our planet.

Speaking as on previous occasions with concern for our planet’s urgent state, Supreme Master Ching Hai emphasized during a September 2009 videoconference in Japan the dangers posed by such melting, while offering the most effective solution.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: I think we’d better heed the warning of the scientists because otherwise it’s not just the ice melt, maybe we will melt also. I hope not. I hope not! And we are working frantically toward saving the planet. So if we be vegetarian, our good karma of saving lives will in turn reward us with our lives saved. That’s all I can say.

And the more vegetarian people join us, the more time we will have. That is the thing. Well, green technology, planting trees does help, but this is very secondary, very little. But the vegetarian diet will help stop 80% of the global warming and save our lives.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6135TD20100204

British climate chief speaks up for the veg climate solution in India

During an interview with Indian newspaper Financial Express, British climate economist Lord Nicholas Stern voiced his encouragement for the meat-free lifestyle as a viable climate solution, stating, “A vegetarian diet is climate friendly. It’s less carbon intensive. Though eating food is a matter of personal choice, it is desirable to help people make informed decisions.”

While in India, Lord Stern was delivering a lecture on “Building an Equitable Agreement on Climate Change.” Lord Stern is joining several other notable leaders in voicing support for the climate benefits of a vegetarian diet. These include United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) chairman Dr. Rajendra Pachauri; United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change chief Yvo de Boer, and British former Beatles member, Sir Paul McCartney.

Lord Stern and all other noble voices, our accolades and admiration for encouraging the public to consider food choices as an integral part of an eco-friendly lifestyle. May we all be inspired toward adoption of the plant-based diet, for our planet and our future.

Supreme Master Ching Hai has long been a tireless advocate for the world-saving organic vegan diet, as in an interview with The House Magazine for the September 2009 edition.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: I wish I could find another solution, but all the evidence doesn’t favor any other solution except the vegan diet, and then we can have other solutions when we have more time We have only a few years now, and we don’t know what comes yet even. Now it’s the swine flu, but what else? I don’t want to know. I don’t have any other solution Be green is just by the way. Be veg is the only, the main, the 90% solution.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Vegetarianism--the-mantra-to-overcome-climate-change-
challenges/539753/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/2008/06/is_it_time_to_turn_vegetarian.html

Global shift to vegan diet would reduce emissions and mitigate costs 80%.

Governments worldwide are challenged with the task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency analyzes and makes recommendations for Dutch and international policy for environmental sustainability.

In February, researchers issued a proposal involving a dietary change that would also reduce the cost of mitigating global warming. Department Director Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis said in a phone interview that this study was one of a growing number being conducted in Europe.

Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis – Department Director, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (M): We are now at the point that science has more and better numbers on the effect of changing our diet and eating less meat. So there is more consensus on that side if you look at the total picture of the chain. It did lead to several heavy discussions in Germany, in the Netherlands, some in Belgium and in the UK.

VOICE: The Netherlands study, entitled “Climate Benefits of Changing Diet,” analyzed the entire chain of animal-raising activities from field to fork. It calculated the monetary cost of halting climate change, which was defined as stabilizing atmospheric CO2 at the level of 450 parts per million.
The report concluded that US$20 trillion, or 50 percent of a total US$40 trillion estimated cost, could be saved from the global shift to a low-meat diet.

What would happen in the case of a vegetarian or vegan diet?

Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis (M): If you would go for a completely meatless diet in the next 10-15 years, then in the year 2050 you would have a 70% reduction of attaining the climate goals That is a substantial cost reduction in getting to the same climate targets.

VOICE: Going even further, the researchers found that a completely vegan diet with no animal products would save an enormous 80% by 2050. What’s more, another benefit was discovered. Because plant-based diets produce much more food for humans than meat and dairy-based diets, some of the land not used to grow livestock could be turned back into carbon-absorbing forests, which are known to help reduce CO2 emissions.

Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis (M): We assumed that the grasslands that were not used by cattle anymore would go back to their natural state. For that reason, several parts of the world will grow forests and retain carbon in terms of more woodland.

VOICE: Dr. Oude Lohuis said the trend toward plant-based alternatives to meat has already gained momentum as consumers learn about meat’s harm to health and the environment.

Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis (M): If you look around in shops, maybe two years ago there were four, five, or six alternatives in terms of soy products or alternatives for a piece of meat. And now it has quadrupled; maybe there are 20 or 25.It’s a very easy way to change your buying behavior and have a fantastic quality of your meal. It saves lives as well.

VOICE: We thank Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency for demonstrating to us the tremendous power of a plant-based diet in reducing both financial costs and our carbon footprint. May we all quickly make this free and immediately beneficial choice to save lives and our planet.

In July 2008, during a videoconference with our Association members in the United States, Supreme Master Ching Hai once more encouraged the worldwide trend toward vegetarianism.

All those positive changes do indicate the higher level of consciousness as the world population become more aware of the ephemeral nature of life and how fragile the planet can be and realizing their lifestyle habits should be changed. So now they begin to treat the environment with respect.
They begin to have more vegetarian choice. It’s good to see.
.
All that change is good. And if we hasten this process, there will be Heaven on Earth. I hope we can make it. Just change to vegetarian diet. How easier can it be!

http://www.biomarkt-karo.de/index.php/cPath/253_116/online-shop/1/bioprodukte/Tofu_Seitan_Lopino.html ,
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16573-lowmeat-diet-could-slash-cost-of-climate-change-action.html

Vegetarian Diet Could Cut Climate Change Mitigation Costs by 70%, If Enough Of Us Make the Switch

Scientists offer hope in addressing global warming. Despite a week filled with bleak updates on the speed at which the effects of global warming are being felt, scientists at the Copenhagen Climate Change conference last week concluded that our world could still be saved and that the tools for addressing climate change are at hand. Conference organizer Professor Katherine Richardson of the University of Copenhagen pointed out how combined efforts in the past had reversed seemingly insurmountable problems such as removing harmful chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from the atmosphere.

Professor Peter Gregory – Scottish Crop Research Institute (M): While we knew a lot of things were changing, we've come to realized that they're actually changing much faster than we thought be… than we thought before. So we have much less time to actually act.

Professor Pete Smith – Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen (M): We’ve definitely had a significant impact on the planet and on the atmosphere but it’s not too late to do something about it, to counter the big dangerous climate change problems that we have in the future.

Professor Dale Jamieson – Director of Environmental Studies at New York University, USA, Vegan (M): I think as far as new goals go, we know what we have to do, the question is really doing it.

Professor Peter Gregory – Scottish Crop Research Institute (M): We have the knowledge. I think increasingly, we have the will. We can make steps individually to change our style of life, to insulate our homes, make sure that we don't waste energy, to use our transport efficiently, to produce our crops and eat effectively and healthily. And I think all of these things are things that we can do as individuals. We don't have to wait for governments to act on those things.

VOICE: Our gratitude international conference scientists, for your prevailing optimism even while delivering the dire facts about global warming. We join you in confidence that humanity’s swift adoption of practices such as the vegan lifestyle will rapidly reverse this trend and restore our Earth.

In a videoconference for the Climate Change International Conference with experts on health, science and the media, on July 26, 2008 in California, USA, Supreme Master Ching Hai explained why being vegan is the priority solution at this crucial time.


Rebroadcast of Live Videoconference with Supreme Master Ching Hai
“Climate Change International Conference” July 26, 2008 – West Hollywood, California, USA

Supreme Master Ching Hai: So, I have only one solution, that is being vegetarian, and the sooner the better, and then everything else we will have time to take care. We will have time to develop different technology, we will have time to invent new cars, we will have time to tackle many other things that right now are not that urgent as the planetary warming.

Because truly it might destroy the whole planet and we will all go. And this is still a very beautiful planet, it’s still repairable. So just one request: vegetarian diet. Then everything else, we will have time to do and to think of. So, just spread out the vegetarianism, spread out all that information about the benefit of it. And that’s the best thing we can do for the planet and for our children. I wish all of you all the best. God bless you and your mission.