Save our Planet

The news coming out of Washington , USA, doesn’t look good: The ocean is sick. The shrimps are leaving town because there isn’t enough O₂ to pass around. Oysters are not having babies in four years for the same reason. What’s worse, life-saving medicines derived from fungus on seaweed and bacteria in the deep sea may be in jeopardy.

The state of the ocean is getting the researchers, scientists, and even Jacques Cousteau’s granddaughter worried. It’s not a pretty picture they’re painting for the future of the US coastal states. What’s going on? Apparently, global warming is the culprit. It’s causing changes in oceans around the world.

Ocean acidification or diseases that thrive in acidified, oxygen-depleted seawater could be responsible for oysters not reproducing in Washington state, said Brad Warren , who oversees the ocean health and acidification program of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership in Seattle .

Federal studies also found acidity levels in the North Pacific and off Alaska are unusually high compared to other ocean regions. The high acidity is already taking a toll of such tiny species as pteropods, which are an important food for salmon and other fish.

It’s definitely not a pretty picture. The way we’re going right now, things won’t change and damage to the oceans will continue.

As greenhouse gas emissions increase, billions of tons of carbon dioxide from smokestacks and vehicle tailpipes are absorbed by the oceans. The result is carbonic acid, which dilutes the “rich soup” of calcium carbonate in the seawater that many species, especially on the low end of the food chain, thrive in…”

Runoffs from farms are also causing dead zones in the oceans. These are areas where marine life cannot survive. Imagine a room of toxic gas. That is what dead zones are like in the oceans. That is also one of the reasons why you find whales and other sea mammals heading for shores and ended up dying there. They were trying to get away from the toxic sea.

The evidences are plenty. It saddens me that there are some of us who still think all this a hoax or that we’re alarmists. Even in the most unlikely event that it is so, I still think precautionary measures are needed. We pay through our noses for all sorts of insurance - cars, house, health, and who knows what else - why not do the same for our planet? If our planet goes, everyone goes. So why not take the steps to prevent it before it is too late?

The solutions are there. We can recycle, drive less, carpool, use and develop more sustainable energy, and cut down on our meat consumption or just be veg. And pray. It’s not a pretty picture right now, but we still have a little time to change that. If you have never gambled before, or an addicted gambler, this is the time to do it, the reason to do it, after all, the life as we know it is at stake here.

Awesome news today! US President Obama has set the limit on greenhouse-gas pollution from cars. Based on a standard that was proposed by the state of California, automakers have to manufacture cars that run on average 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. According to the news, the President has pushed the new legislation four years sooner than previously planned. That’s great. For the US to reverse its policy on car pollution from the Bush Administration, it is a step in the right direction:

Obama’s action is the “biggest single step to curb global warming,” Dan Becker, director of the environmental group Safe Climate Campaign, said in an interview.

It’s not the biggest step, but it’s a step, nevertheless. There is still more to be done. I hope the US continues to push forward to make positive changes in its policy to deal with climate change. According to the UN’s report “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” the transportation sector is the #2 contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The #1 culprit is the meat industry. The methane gas emits by cattle is far more efficient in trapping heat than carbon dioxide produced from cars, 72 times more potent over an average of 20 years. That’s huge!

There is still much to be done at the government level; but for each one of us, we help by reducing our meat consumption as much as we can. Go veg, try a vegan meal. There are more restaurants nowadays that offer a vegetarian or vegan menu. One great resource to check online for a healthy and environmentally sound diet anywhere in the world is www.happycow.net.

It’s awesome that there are more and more good news every day about governments taking action to curb climate change: the Philippines, the European Union, the city of Ghent in Belgium. We can do our part. Yes we can!

After his visit to both the North and South Poles, Prince Albert of Monaco wants to learn more about climate change and what must be done to stop it in its track. He paid a visit to Cambridge’s Polar Research Institute and speak with research students and scientists there.

Kudos, Prince Albert of Monaco, for taking the necessary steps to protect our planet and the livelihood of all beings on the planet!

Eels Population Disappearing in Europe

According to recent findings of the European Environment Agency, 95 percent of the European eel population has been lost in the past 25 years. Mr. Andy Don of the Agency said, “There is no doubt that there is a crisis.” The Agency is attempting to help the eels with such initiatives as the construction of fish passes in England and Wales so that young eels may more easily travel upstream in rivers without being blocked by obstacles. Another program currently in place accomplishes the same goal by receiving the eels in containers and then releasing them beyond the barriers.

Hallelujah for the city of Ghent! They’re going veg for the planet, at least once a week! That’s incredible news! This is an excerpt from a BBC news article that was posted just yesterday, May 12:

Starting this week there will be a regular weekly meatless day, in which civil servants and elected councillors will opt for vegetarian meals.

Ghent means to recognise the impact of livestock on the environment.

The deputy mayor of the city, Tom Balthazar, explains that going veg is good for the environment and cited the famous UN report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow”:

18% of the gas emissions is caused by the meat industry.

He also shared another reason that his city is promoting the vegetarian diet:

The second reason is that the fight hunger will go better and smoother if we eat less meat, for producing 1KG of meat we need 7-10 KG of grain and 50,000 liters of water that can help other forms of agriculture.

The city’s leaders are stepping up to be role models: they will be the first to give up meat for a day. Wow. Hip hip hurrah for these great leaders!

And it doesn’t stop there, schoolchildren will also have their day of veg in September to reduce their carbon footprint and help prevent obesity. All very good reasons to go veg!

I love their cute ad - a sailor in an eggplant boat! Let’s hope other cities will follow their example and make the Earth a safer and sustainable home for all of us.

Way to go Ghent!

A great example of leadership from the Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is advocating the expansion of the production of healthy and affordable vegetable fare in her country.  Early last month, she had authorized funding and assisted in the inauguration of the Benguet Vegetable Processing Center at Benguet State University (BSU) in La Trinidad. The three-year project to be conducted at the center utilizes fresh agricultural produce to create wholesome and inexpensive plant-based products such as noodles, meatless burger patties and veggie-fruit juice drinks. The goal is for the inexpensive foods to reach the disadvantaged as well as to enhance the income of vegetable farmers.

There is another benefit to this: the President is promoting a more plant-based diet that in the long run, will have a great impact on the mitigation of climate change. With such wholesome and tasty plant-based foodstuffs, more people will be more open to trying the veg diet.  This surely will cut down on meat consumption and thereby cut down on the need to produce more meat to feed the mass. Less cows on factory farms means less methane emission. Less methane emission means a decrease in global warming since methane is known to a lot more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere. So, if there is less of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere - less heat equals a mitigation in global warming.

That’s way cool, Prez! Thanks for your wise leadership

Speaking to the Italian Parliament on Monday, Prince Charles cautioned that environmental experts project only a few years left before the effects of greenhouse gas emissions become irreversible. He stated, “The world is struggling with the consequences of the economic crisis in which we find ourselves, (but) any of the difficulties we face today will be as nothing when the full horror of global warming unfolds.” He pointed out that the sea levels have been rising and was conservative in his estimate that it could rise over a meter. Other scientists have pointed out that in extreme cases, it could rise over 50 meters or more.

With the Copenhagen, Denmark United Nations climate change meeting upcoming in December, His Royal Highness also called for inspired leadership, “take action before it’s too late….If we don’t succeed … our grandchildren will never, ever forgive us.” Following his address of the Parliament, Prince Charles met for the first time with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, where they discussed environmental protection as well as intercultural and interfaith communication.

Some great news, and from Africa! This should be interesting - Be Organic Vegan to Save the Planet.  Maybe it can point out real issues about climate change and what we can do to halt global warming.  It’s pretty surprising that it’s coming from Africa and not some more advanced countries like in the EU or the US, etc.

If you happen to be in Lome on May 9,  check out the climate change conference “Be Organic Vegan to Save the Planet.” I heard yummy vegan food will be provided free of charge. Maybe there is even an entertainment program afterward.

If you can’t go in person you can hear the live broadcast at the following media outlet:

1. Togo TV live broadcast: Supreme Master TV, LCF (French television with branch in Togo; all large African cities may watch via satellite)

2. Radio live broadcast: Togo - Radio Nostalgie 92.7, Radio Sport FM 91.5, Radio NANA FM 95.5; Benin - Radio Tokpa; Ghana -Ghana Hot FN Radio interview

I’ll be tuning in via sopcast . It’s a very handy little gadget that doesn’t cost me a dime. Boy, I hope I can get up early enough to see it, and on a Saturday too! Supposedly, it’s on at 3PM in Lome. You have to check your time zone to tune in.

Happy weekend, everybody!

A friend sent me this website - Let’s Act Now - and I would have to say, “Way to go, guys!” It got the “Cool Beans” award from me (granted the cute little gif file up there was sent to me by a friend - I have no idea who the creator is.) I like the way it looks - very clean and crisp. Very appealing. It has a lot of information about our diet, the health of our planet, the facts from all the experts, and steps on how we can make a difference. The graphics are cool too. I even found the veg starter kit from Vegetarian Times on this site. It got loads of useful information about how to start a veg diet, what to eat, and even debunks some of the myths floating around out there about our food needs.

What I love best about this website? The message - we all can do something to save ourselves and our planet. Check it out. It can only broaden your horizon

We may not be aware of it but there is a new species of refugees, climate refugees. Who are they? Why aren’t anything done for them? As a result of the changing climate, sea levels are rising and many island nations are sinking. The consequence? Inhabitants of these islands have to flee their home since it’s no longer safe to live there. They are the new species of climate refugees. And what’s worse, the number is increasing day by day. The website World View of Global Warming documents this terrible tragedy that’s happening to the people in India:

Asia’s largest rivers, the Ganges and the Bramaputra, join in the world’s most extensive delta and flow into the Bay of Bengal. There lies Bangladesh, a nation of 140 million people beset by poverty and the floods of the rivers, and now also affected by rising sea level. Gary Braasch visited to document this threat, traveling by boat south from Dhaka and speaking to villagers, fishermen, and scientists. Already a million people a year are displaced by loss of land along rivers, and indications are this is increasing. Villagers spoke of losing a town mosque to unexpectedly fast erosion, even in a time of good weather in the dryer season. The one meter sea level rise generally predicted if no action is taken about global warming will inundate more than 15 percent of Bangladesh, displacing more than 13 million people and cut into the crucial rice crop.

The governments are not doing enough to help their people. In fact, climate refugees are not officially recognized as refugees since they are not a result of political instability. Check out this video about the climate refugees from Carteret Atoll off the coast of Papau New Guinea . Another eye-opening video about the crisis of climate refugees, Submerged Islands , is produced by Supreme Master Television.

Most of us know by now that global warming is real, and it’s happening all over the world. Humankind industrial revolution has done a great deal of harm to the planet for many decades. But scientists have discovered that the number one contributor to climate change is the production of meat for human consumption. The number one emitter of methane, a greenhouse gas that is about 70 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat, are cows. It’s not their fault though. It’s just a natural process for them to burp and pass methane as a natural process of their bodily function. The main problem is that there is an explosion of the number of cattle on the planet as a result of factory farms. Billions of cows are burping and passing gas at the same time, and all that gas is going up in the atmosphere, trapping the heat which results in the warming of the planet.

We can stop the tragedy of climate refugees, and it begins with our fork at our breakfast, lunch, dinner table. Each one of us can do it, reduce our meat consumption, thereby reducing the number of cows that are producing methane from both ends.  We can make a difference, not only to our lives, the health of the planet, but we are also making a difference to the lives of the cows that are brutally killed for our palate every day. Let’s do our bit, save ourselves and save the planet by cutting down on our meat consumption. Or try going veg.


SupremeMasterTV.com

This is hot off the press - or the airwave: Richard Greene, a radio show host on K-TALK AM 1150, has just asked all of his listeners to go meatless once a week every Monday. Whoo-hoo! What’s the reason? He cited that the number one cause for global warming is from cows. This is a fact that not everyone knows. The reason is that the gas that cows emit through the natural process of belching and passing gas is methane. Methane is a greenhouse that is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide (or 72 times more potent over a 20 years span). What exactly does that mean? According to Richard Greene, that means that methane traps carbon dioxide 20 times more effectively than carbon dioxide itself. That is bad. What’s more, the meat diet waste a number of vital resources, like water, animal cruelty, economy, health, the unsustainability of the diet that may eventually lead to the destruction of our planet, and a bunch of other problems.

He even had David Cromwell on the show to talk about vegetarianism, spirituality, and Earth. David Cromwell is an actor who acted in the movie Babe (LA Confidential, Deep Impact). After his close interaction with the animals during the shooting, the guy went vegan. Wow. That’s pretty cool. During the show, Richard also revealed that he has been a vegetarian for 25 years. That’s pretty amazing!

Way to go, Richard! Thank you for launching Meatless Monday to help stop the climate change crisis. That’s a great start. Let’s join the campaign and go meatless on Mondays, everybody!

Photo by: Rex

An article by James Gill published by New Scientist  pointed that if we cut back on our meat consumption, about $20 trillion could be saved off the cost of fighting climate change. That’s quite a huge amount of money. This information is based on a study called “Climate benefits of changing diet” published in the Climate Change journal.

The researchers involved say that reducing our intake of beef and pork would lead to the creation of a huge new carbon sink, as vegetation would thrive on unused farmland.

The model takes into account farmland that is used to grow extra food to make up for the lost meat, but that requires less area, so some will be abandoned. Millions of tonnes of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, would also be saved every year due to reduced emissions from farms.

The researchers also pointed out that the raising of livestock is particularly harmful to the environment since factory farms are the number one source of methane, a greenhouse gas that is 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a span of 20 years. Hydrogen sulfide and nitrous oxide, 2 other extremely toxic greenhouse gases that can cause death at certain levels, have been attributed to factory farms.

The article also points out that eating less meat would free up a lot of land which would enable vegetation to grow. This is important since vegetation helps to absorb carbon dioxide that’s hanging around. Otherwise, we may be facing planetary disasters.

Let’s do our part. Save the planet for ourselves. Reduce our meat consumption to save our future. Be vegetarian.

Some good green news from China: Dr. Huang Yunbao, the nation’s policy advisor, is recommending less meat. It’s pretty great that people higher up in the government are taking acknowledging that climate change exists. What is even better is that they’re doing their jobs to protect the lives of their citizens.

As a member of China Democratic League and associate professor in mathematics from the School of Science at the Hangzhou Normal University, Dr. Huang Yunbao spoke at the city of Hangzhou’s Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference where he linked meat consumption with climate change. He advised the government to launch a campaign to encourage citizens to reduce meat consumption as part of the city’s Energy Conservation and Emissions Mitigation Plan. Walking the talk, the good doctor is a vegan. He was quoted as saying: “From the scientific point of view, we should be vegetarians. From the health point of view, we should be vegetarians. From the economic point of view, we should be vegetarians. From the spirit of the slogan ‘Save the Planet,’ we must be vegetarians.”

Well said, Doctor.

Source: Supreme Master Television

This is a very cool youtube video: Save the Human - Don’t Eat the Planet. It’s a very engaging and very relevant at this time of our planet. We  need to work together in order to save the only planet that all of us call home - Earth. Going green is not fast enough. It’s one of the good solutions, a gentle way of living, but it’s not quick enough to stop the greenhouse gas emissions. I heard somewhere that although methane is 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20 years span, but it disappears quicker from the atmosphere, while carbon dioxide hangs around for years and years. And the number one source of methane? Factory farms where cattle are raised for human consumption and where every day billions of these gentle animals let out gas from both ends since it’s a natural process for them.

The quickest solution and most effective to halt climate change? Boycott the meat industry by reducing or cutting meat from your meals to “save the humans”.

Come join us for a 2 minute ‘freeze’ on the 22nd of the 2nd month and be part of history at the “Be Veg, Go Green - Save the Planet” event.

Concerned about the current situation that our planet is facing, the Association members from the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association from over 20 countries are hosting a climate change event, “Be Veg, Go Green, Save the Planet,” on February 22, 2009. Countries that are hosting the event include Australia, Belgium, France, Chile, Argentina, Bulgaria, Mexico, New Zealand, Ireland, Indonesia, S. Korea, Costa Rica, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Colombia, Thailand, Togo, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Peru, and the United States.

The purpose is to bring awareness to the urgency of climate change and the number one solution to stop it in its track: Be Veg. Though similar in theme, each country has their own unique program for the day. One main activity that the “Be Veg, Go Green, Save the Planet” international campaign is the “2 Minutes to Change” activity.

Do something meaningful and fun on your Sunday. Join the event in your local area. Check out the website for more information, http://www.feb22event.com.

Photo by my friend, C.

Hurray! The Australians are jumping on board to fight climate change! According to this article, “Give up red meat, go green” , the Public Health Association of Australia is recommending that Australians lower their carbon emission by eating less meat. In fact, the organization advises less dairy, too:

“A small reduction in eating red meat and dairy would be a positive step for the environment and generally a positive step for health.”

Getting food locally is just not effective enough to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, according to Michael Moore, the association’s chief:

“Reducing the amount of food that comes from cattle would actually have a greater impact on the environment than sourcing (food) locally.”

The good news is, in light of the Public Health Association of Australia’s recommendation, the country’s dietary guidelines are under review by the National Health and Medical Research Council. Let us hope that Australia will honestly and rationally look at the scientific data and come to with the same conclusion like the city of Cincinnati in Ohio, USA. Perhaps this time, Australia will consider a national implementation of a climate action plan to promote a more environmentally friendly diet.

Photo by my friend, M.N.

At last, some good news! The city of Cincinnati in Ohio, USA, is doing what it is supposed to do, inform and advise its citizens about what is best for themselves and the planet: Eat more fruits and vegetables, cut back on the meat to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Kudos, Cincinnati, and thank you!

In October 2007, its City Council unanimously called for a climate action plan. That’s what we need in every city on the planet, a wise council that acts on behalf of the people. As a result, the Climate Protection Action Plan: Green Cincinnati Plan was developed and eventually passed in June 2008. The 212-page long action plan include a Climate Protection Food Task Team with the goal to reduce “consumption of meat in individual and institutional diets.” It cited scientific data from the United Nations report “Livestock’s Long Shadow”:

A 2006 report by the United Nations‘ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Livestock’s Long Shadow, found that the production of animals for food is responsible for over 18% of the planet‘s greenhouse gas emissions. This is more than twice that of the office buildings and homes (8%) and nearly 40% more than transportation emissions (13%). This figure represents 9% of the planetary carbon dioxide emissions, 37% of the methane (mostly from livestock flatulence and waste matter) and 65% of the nitrous oxide; the latter two gases having 23 times and 296 times the global warming potentials of CO2.

The report concluded “The livestock sector emerges as one of the… most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global” and finds it must become a major policy focus.

The city really did its homework. The action plan cited the results of an earlier study done by the University of Chicago - Diet, Energy and Global Warming:

…the added burden of meat diets above plant based diets accounts for 6% of US total greenhouse gas emissions. The Standard American Diet (SAD), of which around 28% of the caloric intake is derived from meat, produced 1.485 metric tons CO2 equivalent emissions (per person per year) more than an all plant based diet (a conservative figure). A red meat eater’s mean diet increased this number to 2.52 tons CO2e. This is the equivalent difference between driving a sedan (Camry) and an SUV. A diet of just 20% meat produced an added GHG burden of 1 ton CO2e per person annually; this is the difference between a year of driving a standard sedan (Camry) and the highest efficiency hybrid (Prius).

With 80% of annual world deforestation connected to animal agriculture, an area the size of a football field is razed every second, a practice which has been termed “the ‘hamburgerization’ of our forests”. A single SAD meal levels 55 square feet of rain forest.

“Hamburgerization of our forests”. That’s food for thought. As we can see from an earlier post, countries such as Brazil do not really care and continue to raze down forests to increase beef production. Fortunately, there are cities that are paying attention and take the threat of climate change seriously.

Admirably, the city came up with some great suggestions to be more green:

A public campaign to educate Cincinnatians about the environmental (and specifically the planetary warming) consequences of meat consumption. “Fight Global Warming, One Bite at a Time” or “Cooling the Earth… with my Fork!”

The Green Cincinnati plan provides over 80 recommendations for specific changes to reduce the city’s carbon footprint. Part of the action plan includes bringing the information into schools and educating parents, less meat provided by the school cafeterias, and (I like this one) one meat free day a week with vegetarian or vegan options every other day. Fresh fruits and vegetables will be more readily available. Detention centers will also have a similar menu. It doesn’t just stop there. The city plans to encourage privately owned institutions - hospitals, sport facilities, restaurants - to do the same. Hats off to the wise City Council of Cincinnati!