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Saturday, February 28, 2009
French Get a Sober Warning to Give Up Wine for Their Health
From The Times
February 20, 2009
Charles Bremner in Paris
With gloom all around, President Sarkozy's Government might have chosen another moment for its latest campaign. This one tells the French people to stop drinking wine.
To the anger of the drinks industry and disbelief of many patriots, the Ministry of Health has made alcohol one of the chief villains in a drive against cancer.
"The consumption of alcohol, and especially wine, is discouraged," say guidelines that are drawn from the findings of the National Cancer Institute (INCA). A single glass of wine per day will raise the chance of contracting cancer by up to 168 per cent, claims the ministry's brochure.
Forget those 1980s findings that antioxidants in wine were good for health, said the French experts. "Small daily doses of alcohol are the most harmful. There is no amount, however small, which is good for you," said Dominique Maraninchi, INCA's president.
Authorities elsewhere have been telling people in recent years to go dry if they want to stay healthy. But the advice was especially sobering, coming from the Government of France, a country where wine is part of life and the national heritage.
The pleasantly illustrated ministry brochure makes grim reading. The INCA collated hundreds of international studies and summarised the relation between types of cancer with food, drink and lifestyle. Apart from wine, the dangerous stuff is red meat, charcuterie and salt. A pavé de rum-steakmight not sound so mouth-watering after reading: "The risk of colon-rectal cancer rises by 29 per cent per 100-gramme portion of red meat per day and 21 per cent per 50-gramme portion of charcuterie."
Alcohol facilitates cancers of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus, colon-rec-tum and breast, say the guidelines.
The wine producers are crying foul, accusing the health lobby of trying to kill one of the glories of the nation. They note the suspicious coincidence that France now has its first teetotal President. Mr Sarkozy sips mineral water and orange juice when all around him are knocking back the champagne and burgundy.
"This persecution of wine has to stop," said the General Association of Wine Producers. The growers say that the scientific evidence is contradictory and they point to a World Health Organisation study which found that moderate consumption helped to prevent cancer.
Xavier de Volontat, president of the wine producers' assocation in the southwestern Languedoc region, said: "The extremists must not be allowed to take consumers hostage... Wine consumption has dropped by 50 per cent over the last 20 years in France but cancer has increased. You have to admit, that's a paradox." (read more)
February 20, 2009
Charles Bremner in Paris
With gloom all around, President Sarkozy's Government might have chosen another moment for its latest campaign. This one tells the French people to stop drinking wine.
To the anger of the drinks industry and disbelief of many patriots, the Ministry of Health has made alcohol one of the chief villains in a drive against cancer.
"The consumption of alcohol, and especially wine, is discouraged," say guidelines that are drawn from the findings of the National Cancer Institute (INCA). A single glass of wine per day will raise the chance of contracting cancer by up to 168 per cent, claims the ministry's brochure.
Forget those 1980s findings that antioxidants in wine were good for health, said the French experts. "Small daily doses of alcohol are the most harmful. There is no amount, however small, which is good for you," said Dominique Maraninchi, INCA's president.
Authorities elsewhere have been telling people in recent years to go dry if they want to stay healthy. But the advice was especially sobering, coming from the Government of France, a country where wine is part of life and the national heritage.
The pleasantly illustrated ministry brochure makes grim reading. The INCA collated hundreds of international studies and summarised the relation between types of cancer with food, drink and lifestyle. Apart from wine, the dangerous stuff is red meat, charcuterie and salt. A pavé de rum-steakmight not sound so mouth-watering after reading: "The risk of colon-rectal cancer rises by 29 per cent per 100-gramme portion of red meat per day and 21 per cent per 50-gramme portion of charcuterie."
Alcohol facilitates cancers of the mouth, larynx, oesophagus, colon-rec-tum and breast, say the guidelines.
The wine producers are crying foul, accusing the health lobby of trying to kill one of the glories of the nation. They note the suspicious coincidence that France now has its first teetotal President. Mr Sarkozy sips mineral water and orange juice when all around him are knocking back the champagne and burgundy.
"This persecution of wine has to stop," said the General Association of Wine Producers. The growers say that the scientific evidence is contradictory and they point to a World Health Organisation study which found that moderate consumption helped to prevent cancer.
Xavier de Volontat, president of the wine producers' assocation in the southwestern Languedoc region, said: "The extremists must not be allowed to take consumers hostage... Wine consumption has dropped by 50 per cent over the last 20 years in France but cancer has increased. You have to admit, that's a paradox." (read more)
European Parliament Conference Addresses the Meat Impact on Climate Change
European Parliament conference addresses the meat impact on climate change, world hunger and animal rights.
European Parliament conference addresses the meat impact on climate change, world hunger and animal rights. "Feeding the World under the Climate Threat?" was the question posed in the forum on November 12 to 13 that was hosted by Swedish Member of the European Parliament and vegetarian Jens Holm. International experts discussed the harmful impact of mass-producing livestock on the environment and vulnerable populations.
Jens Holm - Swedish Member of European Parliament, Vegetarian: The greatest impact you actually could do, that would be to reduce your meat consumption or stop eating meat totally. You would create a surplus of crops that could be used to feed the people who are starving today.
The conference addressed potential measures from the European Union to tackle the animal agriculture sector's increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Jens Holm: Today, European subsidies going directly to advertisement campaigns for meat consumption. It should be the other way around. We should have awareness campaigns for vegetarian consumption, because that is the solution.
It's the solution not only for solving hunger and climate change, but according to Parliament member Holm, who is also a staunch animal advocate, vegetarianism protects countless animal lives.
Jens Holm: My hope for the children of the future is that they can live in a world which is in accordance to nature; also in accordance with the animals so that we don't breed animals; we don't transport animals, of course we don't kill the animals.
European Parliament conference addresses the meat impact on climate change, world hunger and animal rights. "Feeding the World under the Climate Threat?" was the question posed in the forum on November 12 to 13 that was hosted by Swedish Member of the European Parliament and vegetarian Jens Holm. International experts discussed the harmful impact of mass-producing livestock on the environment and vulnerable populations.
Jens Holm - Swedish Member of European Parliament, Vegetarian: The greatest impact you actually could do, that would be to reduce your meat consumption or stop eating meat totally. You would create a surplus of crops that could be used to feed the people who are starving today.
The conference addressed potential measures from the European Union to tackle the animal agriculture sector's increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Jens Holm: Today, European subsidies going directly to advertisement campaigns for meat consumption. It should be the other way around. We should have awareness campaigns for vegetarian consumption, because that is the solution.
It's the solution not only for solving hunger and climate change, but according to Parliament member Holm, who is also a staunch animal advocate, vegetarianism protects countless animal lives.
Jens Holm: My hope for the children of the future is that they can live in a world which is in accordance to nature; also in accordance with the animals so that we don't breed animals; we don't transport animals, of course we don't kill the animals.
European Parliament Leads the Way: Reduce Meat Consumption to Stop Climate Change
European Parliament's Temporary Committee on Climate Change: '...reduce meat consumption'
Brussels, 02/12/2008
A report voted today by the European Parliament's Temporary Committee on Climate Change, drawn up by Conservative MEP Karl Heinz Florenz, concludes the work of this committee by putting forward a series of recommendations for a future EU integrated policy on climate change.
Speaking after the vote, Roberto Musacchio (GUE/NGL, Italy), Vice-Chair of the Committee, said he was satisfied with the report which he said stresses the importance of adopting sectoral targets on energy efficiency as well as using public procurement to support renewable energies.
"I am particularly satisfied that nuclear energy is not considered as an alternative or renewable energy contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions," he said.
Expressing his satisfaction that the Committee had approved a reduction in meat consumption, particularly in the industrialised world, Jens Holm (GUE/NGL, Sweden), shadow rapporteur for GUE/NGL, said that the meat industry was one of the "world's greatest climate villains. It's almost historical to get such a wide support for the demand to reduce meat consumption".
http://www.evana.org/index.php?id=40260
Brussels, 02/12/2008
A report voted today by the European Parliament's Temporary Committee on Climate Change, drawn up by Conservative MEP Karl Heinz Florenz, concludes the work of this committee by putting forward a series of recommendations for a future EU integrated policy on climate change.
Speaking after the vote, Roberto Musacchio (GUE/NGL, Italy), Vice-Chair of the Committee, said he was satisfied with the report which he said stresses the importance of adopting sectoral targets on energy efficiency as well as using public procurement to support renewable energies.
"I am particularly satisfied that nuclear energy is not considered as an alternative or renewable energy contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions," he said.
Expressing his satisfaction that the Committee had approved a reduction in meat consumption, particularly in the industrialised world, Jens Holm (GUE/NGL, Sweden), shadow rapporteur for GUE/NGL, said that the meat industry was one of the "world's greatest climate villains. It's almost historical to get such a wide support for the demand to reduce meat consumption".
http://www.evana.org/index.php?id=40260
Aussies advised to eat less red meat, dairy to help the environment
Melbourne, February 2 (ANI): A leading public health group has advised Australians to have less red meat and dairy for their own good and that of the environment as well.
According to the Public Health Association of Australia, a more integrated approach was required towards dietary guidelines, in place of sole concentration on nutrients.
The Association's Chief, Michael Moore suggested cutting down on red meat and dairy products to help reduce carbon emissions.
"A small reduction in eating red meat and dairy would be a positive step for the environment and generally a positive step for health," News.com.au quoted him as saying.
"Reducing the amount of food that comes from cattle would actually have a greater impact on the environment than sourcing (food) locally."
"Australians tend to eat more red meat than is necessary," he added.
He further handed out advice that eating in groups, such as with family and friends, further eggs on healthier eating habits than dining alone. (ANI)
http://skytimes.co.uk/aussies-advised-to-eat-less-red-meat-dairy-to-help-the-environment/
According to the Public Health Association of Australia, a more integrated approach was required towards dietary guidelines, in place of sole concentration on nutrients.
The Association's Chief, Michael Moore suggested cutting down on red meat and dairy products to help reduce carbon emissions.
"A small reduction in eating red meat and dairy would be a positive step for the environment and generally a positive step for health," News.com.au quoted him as saying.
"Reducing the amount of food that comes from cattle would actually have a greater impact on the environment than sourcing (food) locally."
"Australians tend to eat more red meat than is necessary," he added.
He further handed out advice that eating in groups, such as with family and friends, further eggs on healthier eating habits than dining alone. (ANI)
http://skytimes.co.uk/aussies-advised-to-eat-less-red-meat-dairy-to-help-the-environment/
Saturday, February 21, 2009
A Delicate Balance - The Truth
A Delicate Balance - The Truth is a 2008 documentary created by Aaron Scheibner, outlining the disastrous effects of our diet on health and the environment. A Delicate Balance documents the latest discoveries by some of the most prominent experts on nutrition in the world. Over 50 years of research is skilfully woven into what may be considered as much needed revelation into what has struck affluent countries with an almost ill health epidemic: disease has been escalating over the last 50 years resulting in 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women being diagnosed with cancer.Three years in the making, A Delicate Balance is a succinct production featuring candid, heartfelt interviews with some of the world's leading experts. It gives you answers to the questions you never thought to ask, and sets you on the path to asking the questions the animal products corporations hoped you never would... Most importantly, it proves that life is a delicate balance - and we can all tip the scales. Watching this film will help you make informed choices about your health and the environment around you and how to reduce your personal impact. A Delicate Balance debunks the myths surrounding the production and consumption of animal products and exposes the harsh realities ...
* Why are you three times more likely to die of colon cancer if you eat meat?
* How is meat production causing water shortage, starvation and poverty?
* Are you inflicting Type 1 diabetes on your children by feeding them milk?
* Why don't our medical schools teach doctors about nutrition?
* Can becoming a vegan really lead to worldwide social equity?
Available to stream online at http://www.adelicatebalance.tv/. DVD purchase is also available online with NTSC formatting available for USA and Canada and PAL for elsewhere.
The young filmmaker Aaron ScheibnerIn 2009 A Delicate Balance is going on a University Tour, offering free screenings to students and the community. For the moment this tour includes USA and Australia. Please go to http://www.adelicatebalance.com.au/screenings.php to express interest in screenings and http://www.adelicatebalance.com.au/streetteam.html to join the street team.
The following is some of the comments from people who have watched the preview:
Lori: awesome!!! more and more of these films need to come out..I think that were really are all crying out for this type of film.i no longer am entertained by violence and sex..i want to be educated and make changes..i am one but i can do much..if we all think this way we can turn things around..it has to start somewhere..Let it be with you!! Peace and Love
Cheri: I too got goose bumps just from the preview! This is obviously a film that needs to be revealed to all humans on this planet. All other sentient beings know full well there is a Delicate Balance because they are loosing. I agree we need solutions, not just the message but I meet so many folks that still don't want to hear that message. This might just be powerful enough to turn more heads and stimulate more thinking towards solutions.
Marie: Yes Lori, I agree with your thoughts. if we all pull together and do our bit to spread the word surely we can educate those who are ignorant of the facts or too deeply entrenched in their everyday routines to even consider the truth... For too long there has been brainwashing through the media, consumerism dictates our lifestyle rather than conscience... It's a case of 'The Emperors New Clothes' and if one speaks out then more will follow!we have to open our eyes and save the planet before it's too late.
read more...
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View the interview with the filmmaker Aaron Scheibner by Supreme Master TV:
A Delicate Balance -the Truth" with Filmmaker Aaron Scheibner Part 1 http://suprememastertelevision.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=featured&wr_id=238&goto_url=&url=link2_0
A Delicate Balance -the Truth" with Filmmaker Aaron Scheibner Part 2 http://suprememastertelevision.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=featured&wr_id=238&url=link2_1#v
A Delicate Balance -the Truth" with Filmmaker Aaron Scheibner Part 1 http://suprememastertelevision.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=featured&wr_id=238&goto_url=&url=link2_0
A Delicate Balance -the Truth" with Filmmaker Aaron Scheibner Part 2 http://suprememastertelevision.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=featured&wr_id=238&url=link2_1#v
Friday, February 20, 2009
2 Minutes To Change
2 Minutes To Change-the Single Most Significant Thing You Can Do To Halt Global Warming.
Come to find out the single most significant thing you can do to halt global warming. It is more effective than changing to a fuel efficient car, changing to energy efficient light bulbs, all forms of transport & recycling put together.
PRLog (Press Release) – Feb 11, 2009 – Through on-going concern for the well being of our planet, the members of the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association Australia will be gathering together peacefully for a public utility event with worldwide repercussions in various places on the 22nd February at 12pm to raise awareness of the vegetarian diet and the effect of the non-vegetarian diet on climate change.
Join us to find out the single most significant thing you can do as an individual to halt global warming. Full colour vegetarian recipe books filled with delicious vegetarian dishes will be given out for free and there will be a question and answer session for any pressing questions.
We will be joined by local vegetarian and environmental groups making a unified stand for the Earth, so make a date and please join us! Visit http://www.feb22event.com/for more information or contact:
Northern Rivers Centre
Natalie Dougherty
(02) 66899422 or 0402500342
annai.smtv@gmail.com
# # #
About The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association: The Association comprises hundreds of thousands of people in over 300 centres on all continents. It is a non-profit and humanitarian spiritual organization promoting world peace through meditation and a vegetarian lifestyle based on compassion for all beings. For more than two decades, the Association has devoted considerable efforts towards providing humanitarian relief to disaster victims and the less fortunate. Some of their activities include disaster relief, helping the homeless, destitute, poor and vulnerable, visiting old age homes, cleaning the environment, reforestation within local communities and promoting a nobler, healthier way of life.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Bottom Line on Climate Change: It's What's For Dinner!
The Bottom Line on Climate Change: It's What's For Dinner!
Let's Act Now tells the public the other inconvenient truth - our meat eating habit is a principal cause of global warming and a meatless diet can stop runaway climate change
February 2nd, 2009, New York /PRNewswire/- Let's Act Now launched today a nationwide Public Service Announcement campaign stressing the urgency of climate change and its connection to our food choices. The campaign urges the public to understand their own personal responsibility in stopping global warming. According to a special report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, animal farming produces more greenhouse gases than all global transportation combined. A switch to a plant based diet is the single most effective action a person can take to mitigate the effects of accelerating climate change.
According to the chief climate scientist at NASA, Dr. James Hansen, "There are many things people can do to reduce their carbon emissions, but changing a light bulb and other things are much less effective than changing your diet. Because if you eat further down on the food chain rather than animals which have produced many greenhouse gases, and used much energy in the process of growing that meat, you can actually make a bigger contribution in that way than just about anything. So in terms of individual actions, it is the best thing you can do."
Animal agriculture, including"sustainable," locally-raised animals, is a huge cause of global warming, creating nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also uses up most of our water, is responsible for the majority of rainforest destruction in the Amazon, and is a direct cause of global hunger. Changing our diet to a meat-free, dairy-free, egg-free vegan diet can significantly and rapidly reverse global warming, lower emissions, reduce deforestation, avoid drought, and help feed the hungry.
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and winner of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Al Gore, has this to say about the matter: "If you were to take into account the entire chain of meat production and consumption, it is hugely intensive in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore I always say that if you eat less meat, you will be healthier and so would the planet. We consume far too much meat in this world! It would help the global community enormously if we ate less meat, the entire meat cycle is very, very intensive in terms of carbon dioxide emissions…more than anything else, it is a win-win solution if we eat less meat."
The Let's Act Now website (http://letsactnow.org) stresses that the simple act of reducing meat consumption in our daily diets would have a major impact on global warming. As a coalition of concerned groups and citizens, the Let's Act Now website includes extensive data published in "Livestock's Long Shadow," a study of factory farming produced by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2006. Also on the website are analyses of the impact a plant based diet has on food and water resources, and public health, as well as discussions of ethical and moral considerations. Moreover, it has links to many other data-rich sources, such as CNN, the New York Times and Supreme Master Television.
All lives on earth are interconnected. Just imagine the power we have when we make our simple daily decisions. We can determine our own well-being and the well-being of others; we can choose to protect or threaten the welfare of animals; and most of all, we can choose to help save or destroy the planet we all live on. We have come to the critical moment when we have to decide which direction we want to go.... Let's Act Now!
PSA Directed by Award Winning Producer Lionel Friedberg
The Let's Act Now PSA was produced by the multi-award winning producer/director/writer/cinematographer Mr. Lionel Friedberg. His film,"A Sacred Duty," is a stark reminder of the cruel and unsustainable practices of factory farming. According to Mr. Friedberg, "It may sound outrageous or far-fetched, but the only way to avoid an irreversible ecological catastrophe from destroying our world is to switch to a plant-based diet. From studies undertaken by dozens of organizations, including the United Nations, meat-eating is undermining our planet in so many ways. Beyond that there are the proven health benefits that are derived from a vegetarian lifestyle. And let us not forget that we are so distanced, detached and divorced from our food sources that people who eat the flesh of other beings pile not only toxic, tarnished and unhealthy commodities on their plates, but also heaps of unmitigated misery. The suffering endured by creatures destined for human consumption is beyond comprehension."
Let's Act Now tells the public the other inconvenient truth - our meat eating habit is a principal cause of global warming and a meatless diet can stop runaway climate change
February 2nd, 2009, New York /PRNewswire/- Let's Act Now launched today a nationwide Public Service Announcement campaign stressing the urgency of climate change and its connection to our food choices. The campaign urges the public to understand their own personal responsibility in stopping global warming. According to a special report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, animal farming produces more greenhouse gases than all global transportation combined. A switch to a plant based diet is the single most effective action a person can take to mitigate the effects of accelerating climate change.
According to the chief climate scientist at NASA, Dr. James Hansen, "There are many things people can do to reduce their carbon emissions, but changing a light bulb and other things are much less effective than changing your diet. Because if you eat further down on the food chain rather than animals which have produced many greenhouse gases, and used much energy in the process of growing that meat, you can actually make a bigger contribution in that way than just about anything. So in terms of individual actions, it is the best thing you can do."
Animal agriculture, including"sustainable," locally-raised animals, is a huge cause of global warming, creating nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. It also uses up most of our water, is responsible for the majority of rainforest destruction in the Amazon, and is a direct cause of global hunger. Changing our diet to a meat-free, dairy-free, egg-free vegan diet can significantly and rapidly reverse global warming, lower emissions, reduce deforestation, avoid drought, and help feed the hungry.
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and winner of the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Al Gore, has this to say about the matter: "If you were to take into account the entire chain of meat production and consumption, it is hugely intensive in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore I always say that if you eat less meat, you will be healthier and so would the planet. We consume far too much meat in this world! It would help the global community enormously if we ate less meat, the entire meat cycle is very, very intensive in terms of carbon dioxide emissions…more than anything else, it is a win-win solution if we eat less meat."
The Let's Act Now website (http://letsactnow.org) stresses that the simple act of reducing meat consumption in our daily diets would have a major impact on global warming. As a coalition of concerned groups and citizens, the Let's Act Now website includes extensive data published in "Livestock's Long Shadow," a study of factory farming produced by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2006. Also on the website are analyses of the impact a plant based diet has on food and water resources, and public health, as well as discussions of ethical and moral considerations. Moreover, it has links to many other data-rich sources, such as CNN, the New York Times and Supreme Master Television.
All lives on earth are interconnected. Just imagine the power we have when we make our simple daily decisions. We can determine our own well-being and the well-being of others; we can choose to protect or threaten the welfare of animals; and most of all, we can choose to help save or destroy the planet we all live on. We have come to the critical moment when we have to decide which direction we want to go.... Let's Act Now!
PSA Directed by Award Winning Producer Lionel Friedberg
The Let's Act Now PSA was produced by the multi-award winning producer/director/writer/cinematographer Mr. Lionel Friedberg. His film,"A Sacred Duty," is a stark reminder of the cruel and unsustainable practices of factory farming. According to Mr. Friedberg, "It may sound outrageous or far-fetched, but the only way to avoid an irreversible ecological catastrophe from destroying our world is to switch to a plant-based diet. From studies undertaken by dozens of organizations, including the United Nations, meat-eating is undermining our planet in so many ways. Beyond that there are the proven health benefits that are derived from a vegetarian lifestyle. And let us not forget that we are so distanced, detached and divorced from our food sources that people who eat the flesh of other beings pile not only toxic, tarnished and unhealthy commodities on their plates, but also heaps of unmitigated misery. The suffering endured by creatures destined for human consumption is beyond comprehension."
Friday, February 13, 2009
Climate Change Puts Human Health at Risk
UN: Climate Change Puts Human Health at Risk
GENEVA, Switzerland, April 8, 2008 (ENS)
Bringing a rise in air and sea temperatures and extreme weather patterns, global warming endangers not only the planet but also threatens human health, top United Nations officials warned on Monday - World Health Day - which marks the founding of the UN World Health Organization on April 7, 1948.
"The core concern is succinctly stated - climate change endangers human health," said Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, WHO.
"The warming of the planet will be gradual," she said, "but the effects of extreme weather events - more storms, floods, droughts and heat waves - will be abrupt and acutely felt."
She noted that human beings are already exposed to the effects of climate-sensitive diseases, including malnutrition, which causes over 3.5 million deaths per year, diarrheal diseases, which kill over 1.8 million people a year, and malaria, which kills almost one million people every year.
"Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its consequences will not be evenly distributed," said Dr. Chan. "In short, climate change can affect problems that are already huge, largely concentrated in the developing world, and difficult to control."
Recent events such as the European heat wave in 2003; Hurricane Katrina, which struck the United States in 2005; and cholera epidemics in Bangladesh are just a few examples of what can be expected in the future.
"These trends and events cannot be attributed solely to climate change but they are the types of challenges we expect to become more frequent and intense with climate changes," Chan said. "They will further strain health resources which, in many regions, are already under severe stress."
To address the health effects of climate change, WHO is coordinating and supporting research and assessment on the most effective measures to protect health, particularly for the most vulnerable such as women and children in developing countries.
WHO is advising member states on the changes they must make to their health systems to protect their peoples, and will work with them in the future to develop effective means of adapting to a changing climate and reducing its effects on human health.
"Nearly 10 million children under age five die every year of largely preventable diseases," said Ann Veneman executive director of the UN Children's Fund, or UNICEF. "Many of the main global killers of children - including malaria and diarrhoea - are sensitive to changes in temperature and rainfall, and could become more common if weather patterns change."
Women and children tend to be most affected by hurricanes and flooding, which climate change experts say will increase in intensity and frequency in coming years. The destruction of homes, schools and health centers resulting from natural disasters reduce services available to families.
"The voices of women and children must be heard and their needs assessed as part of the international response to prospective changes to the environment, and they must have access to the knowledge and tools necessary to protect themselves and their communities," UNICEF said.
(read more)
GENEVA, Switzerland, April 8, 2008 (ENS)
Bringing a rise in air and sea temperatures and extreme weather patterns, global warming endangers not only the planet but also threatens human health, top United Nations officials warned on Monday - World Health Day - which marks the founding of the UN World Health Organization on April 7, 1948.
"The core concern is succinctly stated - climate change endangers human health," said Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, WHO.
"The warming of the planet will be gradual," she said, "but the effects of extreme weather events - more storms, floods, droughts and heat waves - will be abrupt and acutely felt."
She noted that human beings are already exposed to the effects of climate-sensitive diseases, including malnutrition, which causes over 3.5 million deaths per year, diarrheal diseases, which kill over 1.8 million people a year, and malaria, which kills almost one million people every year.
"Although climate change is a global phenomenon, its consequences will not be evenly distributed," said Dr. Chan. "In short, climate change can affect problems that are already huge, largely concentrated in the developing world, and difficult to control."Recent events such as the European heat wave in 2003; Hurricane Katrina, which struck the United States in 2005; and cholera epidemics in Bangladesh are just a few examples of what can be expected in the future.
"These trends and events cannot be attributed solely to climate change but they are the types of challenges we expect to become more frequent and intense with climate changes," Chan said. "They will further strain health resources which, in many regions, are already under severe stress."
To address the health effects of climate change, WHO is coordinating and supporting research and assessment on the most effective measures to protect health, particularly for the most vulnerable such as women and children in developing countries.
WHO is advising member states on the changes they must make to their health systems to protect their peoples, and will work with them in the future to develop effective means of adapting to a changing climate and reducing its effects on human health.
"Nearly 10 million children under age five die every year of largely preventable diseases," said Ann Veneman executive director of the UN Children's Fund, or UNICEF. "Many of the main global killers of children - including malaria and diarrhoea - are sensitive to changes in temperature and rainfall, and could become more common if weather patterns change."
Women and children tend to be most affected by hurricanes and flooding, which climate change experts say will increase in intensity and frequency in coming years. The destruction of homes, schools and health centers resulting from natural disasters reduce services available to families."The voices of women and children must be heard and their needs assessed as part of the international response to prospective changes to the environment, and they must have access to the knowledge and tools necessary to protect themselves and their communities," UNICEF said.
(read more)
Main Climate Change Solution - Vegetarianism
Supreme Master Ching Hai - a world-renowned spiritual teacher, artist, and humanitarian
"The root of our problem is that we have been unkind to our co-inhabitants: the living, feeling, walking, acting, loving beings, like animals, of all size and shapes. And we have also been unkind to our environment. We have been massacring our co-inhabitant animals, and we have been destroying our environment, like deforesting and destroying the water and destroying the air. So, in order to solve the problem that we are facing right now, we have to reverse our actions. We have to be kind to our co-inhabitants. Instead of killing them, massacring them, sacrificing them, we have to take care of them. And instead of deforestation, we have to plant trees again. Take care of whatever environment that we have."
"The root of our problem is that we have been unkind to our co-inhabitants: the living, feeling, walking, acting, loving beings, like animals, of all size and shapes. And we have also been unkind to our environment. We have been massacring our co-inhabitant animals, and we have been destroying our environment, like deforesting and destroying the water and destroying the air. So, in order to solve the problem that we are facing right now, we have to reverse our actions. We have to be kind to our co-inhabitants. Instead of killing them, massacring them, sacrificing them, we have to take care of them. And instead of deforestation, we have to plant trees again. Take care of whatever environment that we have."
Dr. James Hansen - NASA's top climatologist
"There are many things that people can do to reduce their carbon emissions, but changing your light bulb and many of the things are much less effective than changing your diet, because if you eat further down on the food chain rather than animals, which have produced many greenhouse gases, and used much energy in the process of growing that meat, you can actually make a bigger contribution in that way than just about anything. So, that, in terms of individual action, is perhaps the best thing you can do."
"My message to you is: Be Veg, Go Green, Save the Planet."
"There are many things that people can do to reduce their carbon emissions, but changing your light bulb and many of the things are much less effective than changing your diet, because if you eat further down on the food chain rather than animals, which have produced many greenhouse gases, and used much energy in the process of growing that meat, you can actually make a bigger contribution in that way than just about anything. So, that, in terms of individual action, is perhaps the best thing you can do."
"My message to you is: Be Veg, Go Green, Save the Planet."
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri - The chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)"the entire cycle of meat production and consumption, it's hugely intensive in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. And therefore, I always say that if you eat less meat you would be healthier and so would the planet!
I think it would help the global community enormously, if we consume less meat. But I am only highlighting the fact that the entire meat cycle is very very intensive, in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. "
"I would say Go Veg, Be Green and save our planet!
Andrew Bartlett - Former Australian senator, animal welfare advocate "Global warming is probably the most important issue facing all of us and for taking the long term view we're facing an extremely serious threat of major climate change. And frankly, if we allow the current growth in livestock production to continue to occur, then all of the other things that we try and do in changing the way we generate our energy is going to be cancelled out."
Maneka Gandhi - India Parliament Member, former Indian Environment Minister "Unless we change our food choices, nothing else matters, because it is meat that is destroying most of our forests, it is meat that pollutes the waters, it is meat that is creating disease which leads to all our money being diverted to hospitals. So it is the first choice for any body who wants to save the Earth."
For more information, please visit:
Methane and Climate Change
The rapid release of methane into the earth's atmosphere 635 million years ago caused rapid warming and mass extinction of species, disrupting the climate for more than 100,000 years.and may happen again in the near future, reported in Nature .
The concern is that it could take a relative small rise in temperature to start unleashing the gas, which would then trigger an unstoppable warming cycle.
The first evidence that millions of tons of methane 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years is being released into the atmosphere from beneath the Arctic seabed has been discovered by scientists at Sep 2008 according to The Independent.
The livestock industry is the number one producer of methane which is the most potent greenhouse gases. The UN reports that meat production emits 37 percent of the world's methane gas.
The concern is that it could take a relative small rise in temperature to start unleashing the gas, which would then trigger an unstoppable warming cycle.
The first evidence that millions of tons of methane 72 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years is being released into the atmosphere from beneath the Arctic seabed has been discovered by scientists at Sep 2008 according to The Independent.
The livestock industry is the number one producer of methane which is the most potent greenhouse gases. The UN reports that meat production emits 37 percent of the world's methane gas.
Are we short of water?
Are we short of water?
１ serving of BEEF Over 1,200 gallons of water used
１ serving of CHICKEN 330 gallonsof water used
１ Complete VEGAN meal with TOFU, RICE, and VEGETABLES 98 gallons of water used
１ serving of CHICKEN 330 gallonsof water used
１ Complete VEGAN meal with TOFU, RICE, and VEGETABLES 98 gallons of water used
Meat Eating and Food Shortage
Rising food prices have plunged an additional 75 million people below the hunger threshold, bringing the estimated number of undernourished people worldwide to 923 million in 2007.
But are we really short of food?
1/3 of the world's cereal harvest and over 90% of soya is used for animal feed, despite inherent inefficiencies. Grain currently fed to livestock is enough to feed ２ billion people.
It takes 10 kg of animal feed to produce 1 kg of beef
4 to 5.5 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of pork
2.1 to 3 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of poultry meat
Source: FAO, 2006; CAST 1999; B. Parmentier, 2007
But are we really short of food?
1/3 of the world's cereal harvest and over 90% of soya is used for animal feed, despite inherent inefficiencies. Grain currently fed to livestock is enough to feed ２ billion people.
It takes 10 kg of animal feed to produce 1 kg of beef
4 to 5.5 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of pork
2.1 to 3 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of poultry meat
Source: FAO, 2006; CAST 1999; B. Parmentier, 2007
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Monkey Waiters
The amazing monkey waiters that serve tables in a Japanese restaurant
By Daily Mail Reporter
A Japanese restaurant has changed the face of customer service by employing two monkeys to help with the table service.
The Kayabukiya tavern, a traditional 'sake house' north of Tokyo has employed a pair of uniformed Japanese macaque called Yat-chan and Fuku-chan to serve patrons.
Twelve-year-old Yat-chan is the crowd-pleaser as he moves quickly between tables taking customer drink orders.
The younger of the two, Fuku-chan is quick to give the diners a hot towel to help them clean their hands before they order their drinks, as is the custom in Japan.
Yat-chan and Fuku-chan, who are both certified by the local authorities to work in the tavern are well appreciate by customers, who tip them with soya beans.
'The monkeys are actually better waiters than some really bad human ones,' customer Takayoshi Soeno said.
Tavern owner Kaoru Otsuka, 63, originally kept the monkeys as household pets - but when the older one started aping him he realised they were capable of working in the restaurant.'Yat-chan first learned by just watching me working in the restaurant,' he said.
'It all started when one day I gave him a hot towel out of curiosity and he brought the towel to the customer.'
A regular of the tavern, 58-year-old Shoichi Yano, says the animals are like her children.
'Actually, [they're] better,' she said. 'My son doesn't listen to me but Yat-chan will.'
Some clients, like retiree Miho Takikkawa, say Yat-chan appears to understand their exact orders.
'We called out for more beer just then and it brought us some beer," she said. "It's amazing how it seems to understand human words.'
The monkeys work in shifts of up to two hours a day due to Japanese animal rights regulations.
But the owner is hoping to bring up the next generation of monkey waiters, and is already training three baby monkeys to work as waiters.
By Daily Mail Reporter
A Japanese restaurant has changed the face of customer service by employing two monkeys to help with the table service.
The Kayabukiya tavern, a traditional 'sake house' north of Tokyo has employed a pair of uniformed Japanese macaque called Yat-chan and Fuku-chan to serve patrons.
Twelve-year-old Yat-chan is the crowd-pleaser as he moves quickly between tables taking customer drink orders.
The younger of the two, Fuku-chan is quick to give the diners a hot towel to help them clean their hands before they order their drinks, as is the custom in Japan.
Yat-chan and Fuku-chan, who are both certified by the local authorities to work in the tavern are well appreciate by customers, who tip them with soya beans.
'The monkeys are actually better waiters than some really bad human ones,' customer Takayoshi Soeno said.
Tavern owner Kaoru Otsuka, 63, originally kept the monkeys as household pets - but when the older one started aping him he realised they were capable of working in the restaurant.'Yat-chan first learned by just watching me working in the restaurant,' he said.
'It all started when one day I gave him a hot towel out of curiosity and he brought the towel to the customer.'
A regular of the tavern, 58-year-old Shoichi Yano, says the animals are like her children.
'Actually, [they're] better,' she said. 'My son doesn't listen to me but Yat-chan will.'
Some clients, like retiree Miho Takikkawa, say Yat-chan appears to understand their exact orders.
'We called out for more beer just then and it brought us some beer," she said. "It's amazing how it seems to understand human words.'
The monkeys work in shifts of up to two hours a day due to Japanese animal rights regulations.
But the owner is hoping to bring up the next generation of monkey waiters, and is already training three baby monkeys to work as waiters.
The Best Home Help
Faithful dog does the laundry, tidies up and brings shopping home
By ARTHUR MARTIN
Hazel Carter's home help tidies the house, does the washing and brings home the shopping. And the only payment she requires is a nice big bowl of dog food at dinner time. No wonder Connie the Newfoundland is her owner's best friend.
By ARTHUR MARTIN
Hazel Carter's home help tidies the house, does the washing and brings home the shopping. And the only payment she requires is a nice big bowl of dog food at dinner time. No wonder Connie the Newfoundland is her owner's best friend.
Helpful hound: Connie empties the washing, gets to grips with a watering can ...
When Mrs Carter was struck down with crippling arthritis in her back, she found herself unable to perform simple household tasks.
... and even carries Hazel Carter's shopping bag
But she used her skills as an animal behaviourist to teach Connie how to do the work instead.
The two-year-old animal picks out items of dirty clothing from the laundry basket and places them inside the washing machine.
Once it is full, she places a detergent ball on top of the clothes before reaching up and turning on the machine with her paw. When the washing cycle is over, Connie squeezes her head through the door of the frame and transfers the clean clothes to the tumble dryer.
Mrs Carter, 68, could leave the dog to complete the entire task unsupervised - if only Connie understood that dark colours must not be washed with whites.
"My arthritis is slowly improving these days," said Mrs Carter, from Uckfield, East Sussex. "But there was a point where I was almost bedridden and every movement was painful - so to have Connie there to pick things up and pass them to me was a lifesaver."
When Mrs Carter is short of essentials, she phones up the local shop with her requirements and sends Connie along to pick them up.
And the dog's tidying skills rival that of a professional cleaner. When Mrs Carter leaves anything lying around the house, Connie knows exactly where it came from and return it to its rightful home.
"She really loves helping out,' she said. 'Her tail is always wagging and she just does some of the jobs automatically now.
"She fetches her own dog bowl at dinner time, making sure to put it back afterwards. She picks up items like pens and knives that I drop on the floor.
"Connie can do a lot - she can even unties my shoelaces for me if I ask her. She is a brilliant help around the home - and really enjoys it too. She is a big dog - but she is so gentle.
"At one stage all I could do was lie in bed and Connie would bring me a toy from her toy box for me to throw from my prostrate position. She quickly learnt that to have a game she must first bring her toy to me, a very valuable lesson. "My idea was to keep her occupied and mentally stimulated while helping me at the same time."
Mrs Carter teaches Connie by giving her treats for tasks that are performed well and is keen to encourage other dog owners to train their pets to help out.
She recently spoke at a conference on animal behaviour and Connie has been successful at three obedience contests.
"I like to try to inspire people who are traumatised with injury that they too can do this," added Mrs Carter. "Even just a little bit of help goes a long way."
Australia & Global Warming
Australia & Global Warming: The Missing Link in the Garnaut Report : Experts say methane from sheep and cattle greater contributor to climate change than coal
Geoff Russell, Peter Singer and Barry Brook
July 10, 2008
The real climate change culprit is methane gas from cows and sheep.
PROFESSOR Ross Garnaut has managed to write a 548-report on climate change in which he mentions Australia's largest current contribution to climate change precisely once — in the glossary, where we find a definition of "enteric fermentation".
Never heard of it? It's what goes on in the digestive systems of ruminants, like cattle and sheep. It produces methane, Australia's largest but also most under-appreciated contribution to climate change over the next few decades.
The second-largest current contribution is coal. It gets mentioned 272 times in the report — as it should.
Why is methane so under-appreciated? There's a political reason and a technical reason.
The political reason is that if telling Australians that they need to pay more for petrol and electricity is tough, telling them they need to consume less beef, lamb and dairy products is going to be tougher still.
As for the technical reason, maybe the best way to explain it is like this: Suppose I offer you $1000 if you let me hold a blowtorch to your leg for 10 seconds.
When you decline, I explain that you should not focus on just that 10 seconds when the torch is applied to your leg. I have calculated that the average temperature applied to your leg over the 20-minute period that starts when I apply the blowtorch, will be only 48 degrees, which is hot, but quite bearable.
That, in effect, is the approach Garnaut takes to methane in his draft report.
Just like the crazy guy with the blowtorch, Garnaut underestimates the heating impact of methane by averaging it over 100 years.
Methane is mostly switched off after just a decade, and almost entirely gone after 20 years, so averaging it over a century dramatically reduces its apparent impact.
The problem is that during the decade in which it is doing its damage, it has had a much larger impact than talk about its average impact over a century would lead you to believe.
The source of Garnaut's methane howler becomes clear when he introduces the climate scientist's term "radiative forcing" in his report but soon shows that he does not really understand what it means and why it is so important.
Radiative forcing refers to factors that change the difference between incoming and outgoing energy in a climate system.
Positive forcings warm the system, negative forcings cool it down. There are two ways in which Garnaut misunderstands forcing. The first, as we have already seen, is the use of relative forcing averaged over 100 years.
That would be reasonable if there were no urgency about dealing with climate change, but we don't have 100 years before tipping points are crossed, so we should not be averaging methane's forcing over 100 years. This mistake leads Garnaut to rate methane as 25 times more potent, per tonne, than carbon dioxide in causing global warming, whereas the correct figure, if we average over 20 years, is that it is 72 times more potent. That's a hugely significant difference.
The second misunderstanding is the opposite of looking a century ahead. Garnaut includes in his report a chart of contributions to climate radiative forcing. It's an accurate historical description of what has heated up the planet. It includes the full impact not only of our recent activities, but of those of our parents, grandparents and more distant ancestors all the way back to 1750.
Carbon dioxide dominates this picture. No surprise there. Some of the carbon dioxide currently heating up the planet, and shown in Garnaut's chart, was put into the atmosphere by the pioneers who cleared 1 million square kilometres of the US forests more than a century ago.
More of it came out of the exhaust pipes of all the T-model Fords that came off Henry Ford's assembly lines.
On the other hand, the methane in the chart is all ours. Almost every bit of it was put there in the past 20 years. The historical chart is interesting if you want a historical picture, but it is irrelevant if we are interested in what we are doing now, and how we might get out of this mess. If that is our concern, we need to focus most attention on the impacts of current forcings during the next 20 years.
These are the forcings we are causing now and can do something about. If we were to chart them, methane and carbon dioxide would be almost equal in significance. That is what Garnaut seems to miss.
The practical implication is that his draft report recommends against including methane emissions from cattle and sheep in his proposed emission trading scheme.
To ignore Australia's biggest contribution to climate forcing is just plain silly.
Australia's methane emissions come primarily from 28 million cattle, 88 million sheep and a bunch of leaky coal mines. The livestock emissions, on their own, will cause significantly more warming in the next 20 years than all our coal-fired power stations.
The good news is that methane is easy to deal with.
We don't have to wait for engineers to solve a bunch of really tough infrastructural problems. We can do it now. Just stop breeding so many sheep and cattle in Australia. And because methane is such a huge contributor to climate change, this is not just an "earth hour" stunt. This is the real deal.
Geoff Russell is a mathematician and computer programmer. Peter Singer is professor of bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne. Barry Brook is Sir Hubert Wilkins professor of climate change at the University of Adelaide.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-missing-link-in-the-garnaut-report-20080709-3cjh.html?page=-1
Geoff Russell, Peter Singer and Barry Brook
July 10, 2008
The real climate change culprit is methane gas from cows and sheep.
PROFESSOR Ross Garnaut has managed to write a 548-report on climate change in which he mentions Australia's largest current contribution to climate change precisely once — in the glossary, where we find a definition of "enteric fermentation".
Never heard of it? It's what goes on in the digestive systems of ruminants, like cattle and sheep. It produces methane, Australia's largest but also most under-appreciated contribution to climate change over the next few decades.
The second-largest current contribution is coal. It gets mentioned 272 times in the report — as it should.
Why is methane so under-appreciated? There's a political reason and a technical reason.
The political reason is that if telling Australians that they need to pay more for petrol and electricity is tough, telling them they need to consume less beef, lamb and dairy products is going to be tougher still.
As for the technical reason, maybe the best way to explain it is like this: Suppose I offer you $1000 if you let me hold a blowtorch to your leg for 10 seconds.
When you decline, I explain that you should not focus on just that 10 seconds when the torch is applied to your leg. I have calculated that the average temperature applied to your leg over the 20-minute period that starts when I apply the blowtorch, will be only 48 degrees, which is hot, but quite bearable.
That, in effect, is the approach Garnaut takes to methane in his draft report.
Just like the crazy guy with the blowtorch, Garnaut underestimates the heating impact of methane by averaging it over 100 years.
Methane is mostly switched off after just a decade, and almost entirely gone after 20 years, so averaging it over a century dramatically reduces its apparent impact.
The problem is that during the decade in which it is doing its damage, it has had a much larger impact than talk about its average impact over a century would lead you to believe.
The source of Garnaut's methane howler becomes clear when he introduces the climate scientist's term "radiative forcing" in his report but soon shows that he does not really understand what it means and why it is so important.
Radiative forcing refers to factors that change the difference between incoming and outgoing energy in a climate system.
Positive forcings warm the system, negative forcings cool it down. There are two ways in which Garnaut misunderstands forcing. The first, as we have already seen, is the use of relative forcing averaged over 100 years.
That would be reasonable if there were no urgency about dealing with climate change, but we don't have 100 years before tipping points are crossed, so we should not be averaging methane's forcing over 100 years. This mistake leads Garnaut to rate methane as 25 times more potent, per tonne, than carbon dioxide in causing global warming, whereas the correct figure, if we average over 20 years, is that it is 72 times more potent. That's a hugely significant difference.
The second misunderstanding is the opposite of looking a century ahead. Garnaut includes in his report a chart of contributions to climate radiative forcing. It's an accurate historical description of what has heated up the planet. It includes the full impact not only of our recent activities, but of those of our parents, grandparents and more distant ancestors all the way back to 1750.
Carbon dioxide dominates this picture. No surprise there. Some of the carbon dioxide currently heating up the planet, and shown in Garnaut's chart, was put into the atmosphere by the pioneers who cleared 1 million square kilometres of the US forests more than a century ago.
More of it came out of the exhaust pipes of all the T-model Fords that came off Henry Ford's assembly lines.
On the other hand, the methane in the chart is all ours. Almost every bit of it was put there in the past 20 years. The historical chart is interesting if you want a historical picture, but it is irrelevant if we are interested in what we are doing now, and how we might get out of this mess. If that is our concern, we need to focus most attention on the impacts of current forcings during the next 20 years.
These are the forcings we are causing now and can do something about. If we were to chart them, methane and carbon dioxide would be almost equal in significance. That is what Garnaut seems to miss.
The practical implication is that his draft report recommends against including methane emissions from cattle and sheep in his proposed emission trading scheme.
To ignore Australia's biggest contribution to climate forcing is just plain silly.
Australia's methane emissions come primarily from 28 million cattle, 88 million sheep and a bunch of leaky coal mines. The livestock emissions, on their own, will cause significantly more warming in the next 20 years than all our coal-fired power stations.
The good news is that methane is easy to deal with.
We don't have to wait for engineers to solve a bunch of really tough infrastructural problems. We can do it now. Just stop breeding so many sheep and cattle in Australia. And because methane is such a huge contributor to climate change, this is not just an "earth hour" stunt. This is the real deal.
Geoff Russell is a mathematician and computer programmer. Peter Singer is professor of bioethics at Princeton University and Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne. Barry Brook is Sir Hubert Wilkins professor of climate change at the University of Adelaide.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-missing-link-in-the-garnaut-report-20080709-3cjh.html?page=-1
Global Warming and the Vegetarian Solution Gathering Acceptance
Recently the amount of information coming out about the devastating effects of meat eating on the ecology of the planet has been mind boggling.
Supreme Master Television has been moving forward in leaps and bounds as their television station can now be viewed in every corner of the world on their extensive satellite network, and also via the internet. Supreme Master Television was one of the first media outlets to point out the strong correlation between raising livestock, global warming, pollution, water problems and the global food crisis.
Also recently the European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA) launched a campaign against the raising of livestock which involves a petition that is sent to The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in an attempt to get the UN to recognize vegetarianism as a valid solution to global warming.
http://www.detox.net.au/articles/vegan-and-vegetarian/global-warming-and-the-vegetarian-solution-gathering-acceptance.html
====================
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri,Chief of UN IPCC on a Win-Win Situation for the Planet: Go Vegetarian!
http://www.suprememastertv.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=sos&sca=sos_2&wr_id=198
Supreme Master Television has been moving forward in leaps and bounds as their television station can now be viewed in every corner of the world on their extensive satellite network, and also via the internet. Supreme Master Television was one of the first media outlets to point out the strong correlation between raising livestock, global warming, pollution, water problems and the global food crisis.
Also recently the European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA) launched a campaign against the raising of livestock which involves a petition that is sent to The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in an attempt to get the UN to recognize vegetarianism as a valid solution to global warming.
http://www.detox.net.au/articles/vegan-and-vegetarian/global-warming-and-the-vegetarian-solution-gathering-acceptance.html
====================
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri,Chief of UN IPCC on a Win-Win Situation for the Planet: Go Vegetarian!
http://www.suprememastertv.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=sos&sca=sos_2&wr_id=198
Climate Change contributes to Australian Bushfires
Posted February 8th, 2009 by takver
Scorching temperatures setting new meteorological records and wild winds up to 100 km per hour have caused hellish bushfires across the state of Victoria in south east Australia on Saturday February 7. The bushfires have caused more than 100 deaths with the death toll continuing to rise as more bodies are discovered. Climate change has been identified as a contributing factor in increasing bushfire intensity. The bushfire disaster eclipses the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983 toll when 75 people died in New South Wales and Vicoria.
Senior NSW Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) climatologist Perry Wiles said on February 5 "Climate change is not only increasing average temperatures, but also the frequency and severity of extreme temperature events," Mr Wiles said in a statement. "While any one event cannot be attributed to climate change, this heat wave is certainly consistent with that expectation. In a warming world we can expect similar extreme events more often."
Gary Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of the Bushfire Co-operative Research Centre said on February 2 "We only need to look at the bushfires of recent years to understand the predictions that climate change will increase the frequency, intensity and size of bushfires in the decades ahead.”
Scorching temperatures in Victoria - Melbourne and several regional towns reached more than 46 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit) - and high gusting winds up to 100km per hour fanned bushfires. Marysville in the Kinglake area just north of Melbourne was totally obliterated by the fire. More than 3000 firefighters fought the blazes across the state with over 700 homes destroyed, 550 of them in the Kinglake area. The bushfire disaster eclipses the Ash Wednesday bushfire of 1983 when 75 people died in NSW and Victoria.
A cool change eventuated on Saturday night, but many fires in Victoria, including the Beechworth, Murrindindi and Kilmore regions, are still out of control and pose a significant threat, according to the Country Fire Authority Incidents list.
In western Sydney on Saturday the temperature peaked at 42 degrees. Current bushfire incidents, graded as class 3, presently being fought in NSW include the Bega Valley, Peats Ridge near Gosford, Muswellbrook, Singleton, and Tumut. Most regions of NSW and Victoria have a Total Fire Ban in effect.
Sydney's northern suburbs was covered in clouds of smoke from a blaze near Lake Macquarie. 60 firefighters worked to control this fire "They are doing a lot of back burning on that fire overnight, and that is what we are starting to see causing smoke to enter the Sydney Basin, especially in the northern suburbs," said Inspector Ben Shepard from the Rural Fire Service.
During this heatwave many locations in southern and south-western NSW have reached or exceeded their records for consecutive days at or over 35 or 40 degrees, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. "Record or no record, this heat wave has been extremely hot and unusually long" Ms. Agata Imielska, a climatologist with the NSW office of Bureau of Meteorology, said.
A number of climate records have been set across Australia in the last week including:
Tasmania's highest temperature on record – with site records broken by large margins in northern and eastern parts of the island.
Highest temperatures recorded in much of Victoria and southern South Australia since 1939 with Adelaide only missing recording their highest maximum temperature by a small margin. Melbourne recorded a new record temperature of 46.4 degrees on February 7.
Adelaide experienced the highest minimum temperature on record at 33.9 degrees on January 29.
The long duration of the event – with records reached for consecutive days over 43 at Adelaide and Melbourne.
Hospital emergency departments are recording an upsurge in heat related illness and deaths.
Record temperatures and bushfires have also damaged powerlines leading to blackouts, and stressing rail public transport systems. The high temperatures on Saturday however did not overburden the electricity power systems as most industrial users had closed down for the weekend.
Greens Leader: Whole world needs to act on Climate Change
Greens Leader, Senator Bob Brown told Sky News "Global warming is predicted to make this sort of event happen 25 per cent, 50 per cent more. It's a sobering reminder of the need for this nation and the whole world to act and put at a priority our need to tackle climate change."
In December 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that the Australian Federal government will cut Australia's carbon emissions by five per cent by 2020 and give billions in greenhouse credits to polluting industries. The low level cuts were denounced by Damien Lawson of Friends of the Earth: "A five per cent target locks Australia into runaway climate change. This target will not stop drought, it will not save the Great Barrier Reef, and it will not prevent ice melting and the sea rising," Mr Lawson said. "This is an emergency and the government must act within this term. Our carbon emissions must peak in the next year and then continuously decrease if we are to have any hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change."
According to Mr Lawson emissions cuts of 40 to 50 per cent by 2020 were needed, and he also called for a 100 per cent switch to renewable energy by the same year.
Scorching temperatures setting new meteorological records and wild winds up to 100 km per hour have caused hellish bushfires across the state of Victoria in south east Australia on Saturday February 7. The bushfires have caused more than 100 deaths with the death toll continuing to rise as more bodies are discovered. Climate change has been identified as a contributing factor in increasing bushfire intensity. The bushfire disaster eclipses the Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983 toll when 75 people died in New South Wales and Vicoria.
Senior NSW Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) climatologist Perry Wiles said on February 5 "Climate change is not only increasing average temperatures, but also the frequency and severity of extreme temperature events," Mr Wiles said in a statement. "While any one event cannot be attributed to climate change, this heat wave is certainly consistent with that expectation. In a warming world we can expect similar extreme events more often."
Gary Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of the Bushfire Co-operative Research Centre said on February 2 "We only need to look at the bushfires of recent years to understand the predictions that climate change will increase the frequency, intensity and size of bushfires in the decades ahead.”
Scorching temperatures in Victoria - Melbourne and several regional towns reached more than 46 degrees Celsius (116 degrees Fahrenheit) - and high gusting winds up to 100km per hour fanned bushfires. Marysville in the Kinglake area just north of Melbourne was totally obliterated by the fire. More than 3000 firefighters fought the blazes across the state with over 700 homes destroyed, 550 of them in the Kinglake area. The bushfire disaster eclipses the Ash Wednesday bushfire of 1983 when 75 people died in NSW and Victoria.
A cool change eventuated on Saturday night, but many fires in Victoria, including the Beechworth, Murrindindi and Kilmore regions, are still out of control and pose a significant threat, according to the Country Fire Authority Incidents list.
In western Sydney on Saturday the temperature peaked at 42 degrees. Current bushfire incidents, graded as class 3, presently being fought in NSW include the Bega Valley, Peats Ridge near Gosford, Muswellbrook, Singleton, and Tumut. Most regions of NSW and Victoria have a Total Fire Ban in effect.
Sydney's northern suburbs was covered in clouds of smoke from a blaze near Lake Macquarie. 60 firefighters worked to control this fire "They are doing a lot of back burning on that fire overnight, and that is what we are starting to see causing smoke to enter the Sydney Basin, especially in the northern suburbs," said Inspector Ben Shepard from the Rural Fire Service.
During this heatwave many locations in southern and south-western NSW have reached or exceeded their records for consecutive days at or over 35 or 40 degrees, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. "Record or no record, this heat wave has been extremely hot and unusually long" Ms. Agata Imielska, a climatologist with the NSW office of Bureau of Meteorology, said.
A number of climate records have been set across Australia in the last week including:
Tasmania's highest temperature on record – with site records broken by large margins in northern and eastern parts of the island.
Highest temperatures recorded in much of Victoria and southern South Australia since 1939 with Adelaide only missing recording their highest maximum temperature by a small margin. Melbourne recorded a new record temperature of 46.4 degrees on February 7.
Adelaide experienced the highest minimum temperature on record at 33.9 degrees on January 29.
The long duration of the event – with records reached for consecutive days over 43 at Adelaide and Melbourne.
Hospital emergency departments are recording an upsurge in heat related illness and deaths.
Record temperatures and bushfires have also damaged powerlines leading to blackouts, and stressing rail public transport systems. The high temperatures on Saturday however did not overburden the electricity power systems as most industrial users had closed down for the weekend.
Greens Leader: Whole world needs to act on Climate Change
Greens Leader, Senator Bob Brown told Sky News "Global warming is predicted to make this sort of event happen 25 per cent, 50 per cent more. It's a sobering reminder of the need for this nation and the whole world to act and put at a priority our need to tackle climate change."
In December 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that the Australian Federal government will cut Australia's carbon emissions by five per cent by 2020 and give billions in greenhouse credits to polluting industries. The low level cuts were denounced by Damien Lawson of Friends of the Earth: "A five per cent target locks Australia into runaway climate change. This target will not stop drought, it will not save the Great Barrier Reef, and it will not prevent ice melting and the sea rising," Mr Lawson said. "This is an emergency and the government must act within this term. Our carbon emissions must peak in the next year and then continuously decrease if we are to have any hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change."
According to Mr Lawson emissions cuts of 40 to 50 per cent by 2020 were needed, and he also called for a 100 per cent switch to renewable energy by the same year.
Eating greens 'makes you greener'
VEGETARIANS save 20 per cent at the checkout and have sixfold lower greenhouse gas emissions than carnivores, a new study shows.
Research comparing diets heavy, light and free of meat has found that vegetarianism is cheaper, healthier and easier on the environment.
But dieticians urge caution with the study, produced by the manufacturer Sanitarium, which is owned by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, saying going meat-free is not necessarily better.
The findings show it costs $508 a week to feed four adults on a traditional meat diet. A reduced meat diet costs $418 a week, while a vegetarian diet costs $394.
"A massive 20 per cent reduction in costs can be achieved by maintaining the vegetarian diet," the company said in a statement.
The analysis also showed the plant-based diet used 50 per cent less water, led to 12 times less land being cleared and had six times lower greenhouse gas emissions than a meat rich diet similar to the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.
It also contained almost 50 per cent lower saturated fat and 25 per cent more fibre and folate.
"The findings will shock most Australians and should cause a rethink about what we eat every day," Sanitarium said.
"The findings will shock most Australians and should cause a rethink about what we eat every day," Sanitarium said.
But Dr Manny Noakes, a weight loss scientist and co-author of the CSIRO diet, said while vegetarian diets could be beneficial, they could also be unhealthy.
"We have to be fairly careful about painting all vegetarian diets with the same healthy brush because there are many things, like doughnuts for instance, that are very unhealthy but could be part of such a diet," Dr Noakes said.
"The most important thing to remember is that some of the benefits of vegetarianism are not just due to the diet but the lifestyle, like not smoking, not drinking much and doing lots of physical activity."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24384992-12377,00.html
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