Ocean scientists sound the alarm

Chemical oceanographer Dr. Jeremy Mathis and a team of researchers at the University of Fairbanks Alaska in the USA have found that the rising acidity of northern ocean waters has decreased its ability to absorb calcium and aragonite.

These minerals are vital for shell-bearing animals, with related studies already demonstrating that the region’s king crabs suffer higher mortality rates as ocean acidity increases.

Meanwhile, oceanographer Dr. Jack Barth and colleagues at Oregon State University have also expressed concern about the effect of global warming on the Pacific Ocean, having observed that hypoxic, or low oxygen, regions have expanded.

Recently, species such as Dungeness crabs, sea stars and sea anemones have been seen dying off in massive numbers due to oxygen deprivation. Moreover, noxious bacteria thrive in these conditions.

Highlighting the forecast of such events from previous climate change models, Dr. Barth stated, “The real surprise is how this has become the new norm. We are seeing it year after year.”

Dr. Mathis, Dr. Barth and colleagues at the University of Fairbanks and Oregon State University, we appreciate your detailed studies and share your concern about this disruption to ocean ecospheres.

Let us all quickly join hands in meaningful actions to halt climate change and protect all lives on our planet. Supreme Master Ching Hai has often expressed concern about the grave state of the oceans while also highlighting the solution for the entire planet, as during a May 2009 videoconference in Togo.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Scientists are now concerned that dead zones like this will just continue to be more and more, get bigger and bigger, which of course is lethal for all life.

From the oceans themselves, we are seeing warming temperatures, rising sea levels, increasing acidification and terrible levels of pollution. So global warming is affecting the oceans, which in turn is affecting the fish.

This is an equally urgent situation as the one presented by livestock industry, and it has the exact same solution. Stop eating the flesh; stop killing for food; stop eating the fish. This will help restore the balance of both the ocean and land, immediately.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Global-Warming/2009/1204/global-warming...
http://www.sfos.uaf.edu/directory/faculty/mathis/
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/sci/2010-03/08/c_13201667.htm

Recovery of coral reefs linked to healthy fish

A study by the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom indicates that coral reefs damaged by climate change can recover. Over a two-and-a-half year time period, the scientists evaluated reefs at 10 sites throughout the Bahamas that had been severely damaged, first by acidification and bleaching and then by a devastating hurricane in 2004.

The study showed that coral reefs located within marine reserves had increased in growth by an average of 19%, while reefs in non-reserve sites showed no recovery.

This finding does not bode well for reef recovery as only about 2% of the world's coral reefs are located within marine reserves that are protected against damaging activities like fishing.

Lead study scientist, Professor Peter Mumby explained that certain marine life like parrotfish eat seaweed, which then allows the corals to grow freely and that governments should thus consider expanding the protected areas. He explained: “In order to protect reefs in the long-term we need radical action to reduce CO2 emissions.

However, our research shows that local action to reduce the effects of fishing can contribute meaningfully to the fate of (the) reefs.” Professor Mumby and University of Exeter researchers, you have our heartfelt thanks for your encouraging findings. May governments and individuals alike join in sustainable actions to save our precious marine environments.

Supreme Master Ching Hai has frequently spoken of the need to preserve Earth’s biodiversity, as in an interview published in the September 2009 edition of the British Parliament's The House Magazine.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: No matter how small, each species has a role to help balance our ecosystem, scientifically proven. And yet, consumption of both fish and animal flesh continue and are wreaking havoc on biodiversity around the globe.

In the oceans and fresh waterways, so many species of fish have already been lost, with complete aquatic environments such as coral reefs being decimated by such practices as trawling and fishing with explosives.

The answer to all of this is quite clear. Stop the meat consumption. Stop it yesterday. This will allow biodiversity to be replenished. This is the way we need to go, and fast.

http://www.physorg.com/news182237863.html
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0110-hance_coralrecover.html

Fish-based oil and animal feed from dwindling species.

Menhaden, a fish that plays a vital role in maintaining Atlantic Coast ecosystems, is suffering from decades of depletion through overfishing and global warming. Hundreds of millions of pounds of menhaden are ground into feed for hogs, chickens, pets and salmon, while also being used in omega-3 oils and in lipstick, paint, and other items.

As described by New York Times journalist Paul Greenberg and US author H. Bruce Franklin, the menhaden is an herbivorous fish whose algae consumption actually purifies tremendous amounts of water.
However, due to population losses, places such as Chesapeake Bay in the USA are now muddy-brown and contain a growing number of dead zones. In addition, the waste of commercial pig and chicken operations flowing into the Neuse River of North Carolina, USA, has caused vast algal blooms. As millions of menhaden try at once to consume the massive amounts of algae, the insufficient oxygen in the warm water has caused them to suffocate en masse. In the summer of 2009 alone, up to 50 million menhaden were killed and washed ashore along the Neuse River.

Of note is the fact that according to nutritional experts at the US-based Mayo Clinic, substitutes for oil obtained from menhaden readily exist in the form of plant-based oils such as flax seed.

Our appreciation Mr. Greenberg, Mr. Franklin, and Mayo Clinic scientists. We pray that humans quickly cease to consume fish and meat, which are at the root of climate change and environmental imbalance. May all of us strive to develop compassion and live in harmony with our animal co-inhabitants. At a March 2009 climate change conference in Xalapa City, Mexico, joined by Mexican dignitaries and the public, honored guest Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke, as in other occasions, about the preciousness of every species to all life on the planet.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: It’s not only oil but other of our actions as well, such as overfishing and chemical run-off from farms and factories. These all cause harm, because they do not consider the impact of our actions on other beings.

Every being on Earth and in the sea has value, no matter how small they might look, and something unique to do on this planet. It is our ignoring of this balance and the preciousness of all lives that has contributed to our global danger right now.

The way to solve this problem is through greater consideration for all lives. This means we should respect all lives, and in action. If everyone is vegan, having an animal-free diet, then there is a different outlook, different conception for development of all kinds. In our case, it will proceed with compassion and care, which is what we need to restore the wonders of our marine life.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/opinion/16greenberg.html?_r=1
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A407465
http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/03/23/menhaden/
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/top-54224-economy-journal.html
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/environment/2009/dec/Dwindling-Population-of-Crucial-Fish-Could-Require-Federal-Attention.html

Market fish and meat fail health safety tests

Inspections by the Vienna Labor Chamber in Austria have resulted in “unacceptable” findings at fish supermarkets, where three of 20 samples were discovered to contain extremely high levels of bacteria due to high shelf display temperatures. This report follows last month’s meat inspection, in which about half of 21 samples were deemed “unfit for human consumption,” with six being categorizedas hazardousto human health. The worst contained an entero-bacteria, caused by animal fecal contamination, at levels more than 380 times those considered acceptable.

Thank you Vienna LaborChamber for yourthorough inspections for the safety of the public. May such reports help all humanity refrain from consuming any living beings’ flesh in favor of the far morewholesome andfresh plant-based fare.

Reference:
http://austriantimes.at/news/Panorama/2009-08-07/15362/Vienna_supermarkets_slammed_over_fish

Market fish and meat fail health safety tests

Inspections by the Vienna Labor Chamber in Austria have resulted in “unacceptable” findings at fish supermarkets, where three of 20 samples were discovered to contain extremely high levels of bacteria due to high shelf display temperatures. This report follows last month’s meat inspection, in which about half of 21 samples were deemed “unfit for human consumption,” with six being categorizedas hazardousto human health. The worst contained an entero-bacteria, caused by animal fecal contamination, at levels more than 380 times those considered acceptable.

Thank you Vienna LaborChamber for yourthorough inspections for the safety of the public. May such reports help all humanity refrain from consuming any living beings’ flesh in favor of the far morewholesome andfresh plant-based fare.

Reference:
http://austriantimes.at/news/Panorama/2009-08-07/15362/Vienna_supermarkets_slammed_over_fish