August 24, 2007 at 4:08 pm (Buddhism, Gaia, belief, civilisation, climate change, conservation, earth, earthquake, environment, general, global warming, global warming fears, love, nature, philosophy, religion, science, spirituality, thoughts)
In Buddha teaching, human body are made of mind and matter. The matter are make up of four elements, ie soil, water, fire and air. Our Earth, is also make up of this four elements.
Thus, soil is our Earth’s skin, the water on earth is just like our bloodstream, and air our breath. The fire is our sun, evaporating water and regulating the weather.
Our earth regulates its own temperature, oxygen levels, CO2 level, etc, much like our own human body controls temperature and rebuilds its parts constantly. If our body regulation is inbalance, we will have fever. Similary if the earth temperature was not properly regulated, our earth will have fever. Human body are operate exactly like our earth. When human die, our physical body will return to our mother earth as soil, water, fire and earth. So, we are part of the earth. Human species are the only special with moral intelligence, therefore our mind, human being mind are the mind of Gaia (The Greek earth Godness). So, without love, morality and ethics from the individual person, it is difficult to devise a sustainable environmental.
Accordingly, if we take the notion that “The world is our body”, then Gaia is our mind and conscience. Without our love of our body – planet, How can we maintain our health ?
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August 11, 2007 at 4:48 pm (Buddhism, civilisation, climate change, conservation, earth, environment, global warming, global warming fears, science, spirituality, thoughts, vegetarian, water scarcity)
Many know that the other most important non-CO2 greenhouse gas is methane, and the number one source of methane worldwide is animal agriculture.
Methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together. Methane is 21 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2. While atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have risen by about 31% since pre-industrial times, methane concentrations have more than doubled.
The number one source of methane worldwide is animal agriculture. Animal agriculture produces more than 100 million tons of methane a year.
The root of farming livestock is the demand of human desire. This addiction from the mouth is poisoning and depleting our potable water, land, and clean air. Forests are being bulldozed for factory farms and feed crops to feed farmed animals. Farmed animals consume 70 percent of the corn, wheat, and other grains that we grow.
The conclusion is simple: one of the best way to reduce global warming in our lifetimes is to reduce or eliminate our consumption of animal products. Simply by going vegetarian (or stop eating beef, pork and chicken). Just a simple determination from the heart, and everyone can do it, why not we all start immediately ?
Ref . 1. saveearth.org
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August 9, 2007 at 4:45 pm (civilisation, climate change, conservation, earth, environment, general, global warming, global warming fears, love, nature, penguin, philosophy)
Is global warming really happening ? Scientist and ecologist would know the easiest way to find prove is at the poles, namely the Arctic and Antarctica. Scientist found that the population of emperor Penguin is half what was thirty years ago, while the number of Adelie penguins has decline by 70%. Krill is the food for the Penguin has been reduced due to changes in the sea ice cover that was home for the Krill and overfished by the new vacuum technology in fishery which suck out the Krill even in deep sea.
Penguins are literally starving to death as a result of krill depletion. In the absence of some dramatic changes these species may be sacrificed on the altar of human progress.
According to experts we have ten years to reverse the current trend before the build-up for greenhouse gases becomes irreversible. Ten Years !
Ref :
1. Video of “March of The Penguin”, http://wip.warnerbros.com/marchofthepenguins/
2. Above Photo is the courtesy of warnerbros inc.
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August 4, 2007 at 2:09 pm (Tzu Chi, TzuChi, civilisation, climate change, conservation, earth, environment, general, global warming, global warming fears, nature, poverty, science)
So far, 19 million resident have to be displaced, 166 dead after heavy monsoon floods in India, Bangladesh.
“I have not seen such flooding in the last 24 years. It’s a sheet of water everywhere,” said Santosh Mishra, a resident of Gonda district in India’s Uttar Pradesh state.
In New Delhi, India’s Meteorological Department said unusual monsoon patterns this year led to heavier than usual rains. “We’ve been getting constant rainfall in these areas for nearly 20 days,” said B.P. Yadav, a spokesman for the department.
‘Compared to the 280 millimetres of rains we recorded during all of the last monsoon, we received 873 millimetres in July alone. It’s raining non-stop,’ said Mr Sharma.
‘There is just nothing left to eat,’ said drenched farmer Ashish Thakur in submerged Kaanti village in Darbhanga district.
‘People are fighting for food like dogs, I have no strength left,’ the farmer wept, hugging his two hungry children and shivering wife.
Is the heavier rainfall related to global warming ? Environment scientist claim that with each additional degree Celsius added by the global warming, the planet gets an extra 7% of water into its atmosphere. [3]
Ref :
1. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/02/asia/AS-GEN-South-Asia-Monsoon-Floods.php
2. http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Asia/STIStory_145110.html
3. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Global-Warming-Means-In-Fact-More-Rains-56209.shtml
4. http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/RMS/june99/papers/nachtnebel.pdf
5. http://www.livescience.com/environment/051116_water_shortage.html
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August 2, 2007 at 3:45 pm (Buddhism, Tzu Chi, TzuChi, civilisation, climate change, conservation, earth, environment, general, global warming, inspiration, nature, philosophy, science, thoughts, water scarcity, 慈济)
Restrain and conserve might not good for the economy, but it makes good economic sense. We always heard about “A dollar saved is a dollar earned”, the same concept apply. “A kilowatt-hour saved is a kilowatt-hour earned.”, “A kilo-liter water saved is a kilo-liter water earned.”
Whenever I was tempted to spend, I will think about the above phrase : Restrain ourself, restrain ourself and this definitely help us to reduce spending, reduce usage, reduce pollution hence reduce CO2.
This is what everyone of us can do to reduce CO2 and also prevent being trap into the debt slavery in this debt based monetory system society.
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July 28, 2007 at 4:33 am (civilisation, climate change, conservation, earth, environment, general, global warming, nature, philosophy, poverty, science, spirituality, wealth)
Some are asking, what civilisation, conservation got to do with global warming ?
Let assume there is an economy transaction between two peoples, say Tom and Jerry.
(before ) (after)
Tom + Jerry = (Tom + 3) + (Jerry – 3)
Jerry loss 3 units of wealth that gave to Tom his profits of 3 units. In the universe defined by Tom and Jerry, the units are conserved. It is a zero sum game.
But when nature is addded into the transaction
(before) (after)
Tom + Jerry + Nature = (Tom + 4) + (Jerry +2) + (Nature – 6)
The stated loss of (-6) suffered by the nature may take the form of : loss of oil, loss of forest, pollution, ozone, increase greenhouse gases. Tom gain (+4) because he pumping oil from the ground, Jerry gain (+2) because he furnished it to automobile for burning. What peoples have taken from the nature, nature has lost. One day, the nature cannot bear the lost anymore, it has to adjust itself from the losses. What will happen to Tom and Jerry ?
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