Sad day in the USA
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Posted on October 23, 2007
Filed Under Global warming/Climate change, Deep ecology, Greenhouse gas emissions, Ecological hope, Environmental disasters, Earth spirituality
Fostering Ecological Hope
Today from Margaret Swedish:
What a sad day in this country. I sat for a while this morning watching the CNN coverage of the California inferno. There are no words for it. So many factors are at work here — 2-3 years of drought, record low rainfall this year (only 2 inches in L.A.), development built out into deserts, brush that is nothing but tinder — all mixing with the annual Santa Ana winds to create this catastrophe.
Last night, these images were mixed with reports of the nationwide drought and the critical water shortages in Georgia, parts of the Carolinas and Florida. Atlanta has a three-month drinking water supply left, and nothing yet that indicates that enough rain will fall to mitigate this potential disaster. Some very hard decisions will need to be made about where the water goes. Some of the flow bypasses Georgia, for example, to supply water for a power plant in Florida, or to keep enough flow for river wildlife to exist.
In the Atlanta area, too, suburban and exurban sprawl has added its measure to the crisis.
Who would have thought the southeast would become bone-dry to this extent? We continue to use water in this country like there’s no tomorrow. Now we know there actually might not be.
So here’s the headline that leaped off the page for me this morning in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Increase in greenhouse gas exceeds expectation. It’s an AP article that should be required reading in every US household.
Be scared, be very scared.
A report just released by the National Academy of Sciences shows that carbon dioxide emissions ‘were 35% higher in 2006 than in 1990,’ a far faster growth rate than scientists had anticipated. The reason? The warm oceans, already saturated with CO2, cannot absorb the excess gas.
Oceans act as a carbon ’sink,’ and one of the indicators of disaster feared by climate scientists is precisely this scenario.
“In addition to the growth of global population and wealth, we now know that significant contributions to growth of atmospheric CO2 arise from the slow-down” of nature’s ability to take the chemical out of the air, said Josep Canadell, director of the Global Carbon Project at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia.
This call to the US public from one of the scientists involved in the study:
Kevin Trenberth of the climate analysis section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. said the “paper raises some very important issues that the public should be aware of: Namely that concentrations of CO2 are increasing at much higher rates than previously expected and this is in spite of the Kyoto Protocol that is designed to hold them down in western countries.”
Alan Robock, associate director of the Center for Environmental Prediction at Rutgers University, added: “What is really shocking is the reduction of the oceanic CO2 sink,” meaning the ability of the ocean to absorb carbon dioxide, removing it from the atmosphere.
You need to know this. And we need to demand from our political leaders some drastic action to cut US carbon emissions — NOW!
In the researchers new report, they indicate that:
changes “characterize a carbon cycle that is generating stronger than expected climate forcing.”
We get the meaning of that — climate is changing faster than predicted, and the evidence of that is all around us — in last week’s record tornados, in the persistent extreme drought across the southeast and southwest, in the rampaging fires, and more — like the sinking island nations in the Pacific Ocean, and the open waters of the Arctic in late summer.
Folks, it is getting very late. It is a reminder about the centerpiece of our project, Spirituality and Ecological Hope. It is not just about staving off disaster anymore; it is deciding how we are going to live through it, transition to a healing and appropriate way of life on the planet, while quickly changing our lifestyles and ways of doing business to keep the disaster from getting far worse.
We can do this, but it needs our earnest commitment.
A reminder: tonight and tomorrow night — the 23rd and 24th — CNN is showing its two-part series, ‘Planet in Peril.’ The previews indicate a serious look at our planetary crisis. We’ll see. I’ll be watching and commenting. If you can, give it a view and let us know what you think.
Technorati Tags: carbon sink, carbon dioxide emissions, Josep E. Canadell, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, planet in peril
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2 Responses to “Sad day in the USA”
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This is the result of the humans going after the materialistic aspects, may be whatever it is, at least now one should learn how to protect the natural disasters. Greedy and egoistic humans brain is the root cause of the so many disasters in the world. Only thinking positively and living positively can only reduce this sort of disasters. No body is great in this world or no body is boss for others. But as we need some body to inspire and to us in right tracks of glory, where every body follows their own faiths peacefully, live harmoniously and maintain serenity, that’s where we humans pray to the almighty with different names like Jesus, Krishna and Allah etc.
Suklam Bhartharam Vishnum Sasi Varnam Chaturbhujam Prasnnavadanam Dhyayeth Sarva Vignopa Shantaye.
The meaning of this is O God we the descendants of human beings request you to give a heart as white as the full moon, and the brain that is ever green if any disturbances are there please give us power to bear it, so as the life on this earth continues in Peace, harmony and serenity.
“Environmental problems and The Terrorism”
This is the result of the humans going after the materialistic aspects, may be whatever it is, at least now one should learn how to protect the natural disasters. Greedy and egoistic humans brain is the root cause of the so many disasters in the world. Only thinking positively and living positively can only reduce this sort of disasters. No body is great in this world or no body is boss for others. But as we need some body to inspire and to guide us in right tracks of glory, where every body follows their own faiths peacefully, live harmoniously and maintain serenity, that’s where we humans pray to the almighty with different names like Jesus, Krishna and Allah etc.
“Suklam Bhartharam Vishnum Sasi Varnam Chaturbhujam Prasannavadanam Dhyayeth Sarva Vignopa Shantaye”.
The meaning of this is O God we the descendants of human beings request you to give a heart as white as the full moon, and the brain that is ever green if any disturbances are there please give us power to bear it, so as the life on this earth continues in Peace, Harmony and Serenity.
Just like Jesus tried help the oppressed during his times, he stood by his principle and sacrificed himself for the cause elimination of slavery, but still this is continued even now with different forms and names, which is mainly due to economic differences.
Mohammad has condoned killing whores/prostitutes by stones finally he was also stoned. The same thing is continuing even now in different form. People are doing all sorts of atrocities against women, girls and even with kids.
Rama has lived for his principle of having one wife, lived with her even after Ravana taken her into his custody for some time.
Gautham Buddha even though lived happily and merrily after getting knowing about the difference about life and death left every thing and preached about individual spiritual enlightenment.
It is the humans brain which has to be enlightened and not the body, this brain which controls the body and its desires and makes one a human being. Otherwise we can call them as animals/in-humans or whatever it is.
For such enlightenment of the brain there is no barrier of religion/race/region. The need of the hour is more and more enlightened people for the development of the world towards peace harmony and serenity rather trying to develop particular religion or race or region. Today entire world each and every individual country is facing more and more complicated problems, which are mainly due to in-humans and illogical people at the helm of the affairs.
Each and every individual institution has to come forward for rebuilding and enlightening the people for, improving moral and ethical values, so as the HUMAN culture is reestablished.