Today’s Planet Earth: Our Loving Home will be presented in Chinese, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Environmentally aware viewers, welcome to today’s Planet Earth: Our Loving Home featuring the first in a two part series where we present excerpts of the documentary “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face.” The film focuses on the effects of climate change in Formosa (Taiwan) and was produced by famed Formosan (Taiwanese) television host Sisy Chen.

The documentary’s title refers to the goal adopted at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark of preventing the Earth’s average global temperature from rising more than two degrees Celsius in the future as beyond this point runaway climate change will occur and endanger humankind’s survival.

I think that each individual should try to adopt green energy technologies. It’s very important. I hope everyone can make an effort; I also hope that people won’t forget that 80% of his effort should be put into using our right to vote, telling our leaders, such as the legislators, the mayor or the president, “If you don’t make significant changes, you won’t get my vote.”

The film has received enormous attention in Formosa (Taiwan), with its February 22, 2010 premiere attended by heads of various government branches, top entrepreneurs, academics, celebrities, and volunteers from local environmental groups. More than a thousand people participated in the grand event. The premiere was followed by a series of promotional activities in movie theaters, universities and other venues.

The film’s producers are encouraging everyone to download and view the documentary free of charge from its official website. It’s hoped that more than a million people in Formosa (Taiwan) will watch the film, thus increasing awareness about the urgent need to take action to halt climate change. We’ll now present part one of “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face.”

I’m so much concerned about climate change, because I don’t want our future generations to question us, just as I’m questioning the need for more concrete action on climate change today.

Behind me is the Earth, the place we all call home. When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, he looked back and declared he never realized the Earth was so beautiful. It appeared like a falling teardrop. The Earth has nurtured humankind for millennia.

And ever since the Industrial Revolution began in the mid-18th century, Earth and humankind have kept a delicate relationship. In the beginning, the Earth was tolerant, but over time, it gradually became angry! In 1990 a significant age began. From 1990 through 2009, Earth and humankind entered a completely new struggle with each other.

Since June 2009, Earth and humankind entered a completely new struggle with each other.

On June 16, 2009, in Beijing, a rainstorm plunged the city into complete darkness. At high noon, the sky was shrouded in dark clouds. Locals even mistakenly thought a solar eclipse had occurred.

There’s no solar eclipse today, is there?

Eclipse?

I don’t think so.

Starting in July 2009, torrential downpours swept across 22 Chinese provinces, causing large-scale flooding in Sichuan, Hunan and Hubei, as well as provinces that had rarely seen such flooding in the past, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Guizhou. Precipitation in areas south of the Yangtze River drastically exceeded historic records.

One night in Chongqing, lightning struck 11,400 times, the equivalent of 18.3 strikes every minute or one jolt of lightning every 0.3 seconds. The people of Chongqing endured a sleepless night. On November 29, 2009, a sandstorm struck Australia with a scale and severity unseen in seven decades.

“The color was amazing. I’ve never seen that. I’m 72 years old, and I’ve never seen that in my life before. This is the first time ever. So it’s really a phenomenon.”

In Sydney alone, an estimated 40-million tons of dust and sand swept in. The city resembled the surface of Mars, covered in red as far as the eyes can see. Traffic fell into complete chaos. The celebrated landmark Sydney Harbor Bridge was buried under the storm. Looking out from the Sydney Opera House, there was nothing but red dust. Formosa (Taiwan) has also been defeated in its struggle against Nature.

Oh, the Moon in the sky
Have you been watching?

The entire three-storey building is gone. Several metal-sheet houses inside that area are all gone, too. We can’t find that building Everything is under water. Only two or three roofs can be seen.

Oh, the Moon in the sky
I’d like to gently call my beloved

On August 8, 2009, Typhoon Morakot washed away people’s homes right before their eyes. Villages disappeared in front of local government officials.

“Can we check out Xiaolin Village and stop in Wulipu? Stop in Wulipu to find out what’s going on. Have we passed Xiaolin?”

Typhoon Morakot pounced on Formosa (Taiwan) with a sudden rainstorm, causing some of the most severe damage in the island’s history.

Do you see why my heart feels so much pain?
Oh, the Moon in the sky
I’d like to gently call my beloved,
hoping that he’ll know and won’t let me be alone.
Oh, the Moon in the sky
Have you been watching?
Do you see why my heart feels so much pain?
Oh, the Moon in the sky…

This is a Google Earth image of devastated mountains in Formosa (Taiwan) taken a month after Typhoon Morakot. The water in the Gaoping River seems to be weeping, while the surrounding mountains have lost their green hue. The white patches are landslide areas. From this day on, the land once known as “Formosa,” Meaning “beautiful island,” has changed its name.

Apart from torrential rains, there are also severe droughts.

At the same time, the other side of the planet was plagued by devastating drought. The UN estimates that in the Horn of Africa, in 2009, 23-million people had no water and food. The number of suffering people and the scale of the calamity far exceed those of any war that has previously raged on the continent. This photo of an African refugee was published in the New York Times on September 7, 2009. He says, “I’m not as old as I look. It’s just I don’t have any food.”

In 2009, forest fires and wildfires scorch every patch of dry land from Australia to the United States to Greece. By the end of 2009, the Earth sent an important message to the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The first was the disappearance of autumn. Heavy snow began to fall when the trees were still green.

“To me, it is still too early for snow. Winter is at least another 20 days away. We’re here on holiday and had planned to enjoy autumn scenery.”

Temperatures suddenly plummeted below zero. It is estimated that in 2009, there were only 35 days of autumn weather. A climate expert says, “Long summers, short autumns, and then long winters and short springs. This will be the new pattern of Earth’s four seasons in the future.”

The Earth, The Earth, our home. Because we did not protect it, it is angry. Typhoons. Torrential rain. Windstorms. Forest fires. Autumn disappearing. Drought. Heat wave. Extreme cold. The Poles appearing everywhere. Please protect the Earth. Save humankind. ±2°C Do we still have enough time to save the Earth?

Our thanks, Ms. Sisy Chen for producing “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face” to awaken people about the issue of global warming and move them to take immediate action to save our endangered Earth. May we all quickly adopt the organic vegan diet as it is the fastest and most effective way to stop climate change.

I am Sisy Chen. ±2°C. Let's use green energy and be veg, so we can save our planet and humankind. Please join us again next Wednesday on Planet Earth: Our Loving Home for the second and final part of our presentation of excerpts from this important documentary.

For more details on “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face,” please visit www.正負2度C.tw
The film is available for download free of charge at the website Or www.mepopedia.com/?page=394

Precious viewers, thank you for your company on today’s program. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May your life always be filled with infinite light.

Today’s Planet Earth: Our Loving Home will be presented in Chinese, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Excellent viewers, welcome to today’s Planet Earth: Our Loving Home featuring the second part of a two-part series where we present further excerpts of the documentary “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face.” The film focuses on the effects of climate change in Formosa (Taiwan) and was produced by famed Formosan (Taiwanese) television host Sisy Chen.

The documentary’s title refers to the goal adopted at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark of preventing the Earth’s average global temperature from rising more than two degrees Celsius in the future as beyond this point runaway climate change will occur and endanger humankind’s survival.

The film has received enormous attention in Formosa (Taiwan), with its February 22, 2010 premiere attended by heads of various government branches, top entrepreneurs, academics, celebrities, and volunteers from local environmental groups. More than a thousand people participated in the grand event. The premiere was followed by a series of promotional activities in movie theaters, universities and other venues.

The film’s producers are encouraging everyone to download and view the documentary free of charge from its official website. It’s hoped that more than a million people in Formosa (Taiwan) will watch the film, thus increasing awareness about the urgent need to take action to halt climate change. We’ll now present part wo of “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face.”

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC released the results of its 2009 study. They revealed that the melting of icebergs in the Arctic and Greenland was far worse than what was predicted in Al Gore’s documentary. The phenomenon has also reached western and eastern Antarctica for the first time. Antarctic icebergs float out into waters south of Australia like warriors dispatched by nature, marking the end of the Earth’s tolerance for humankind.

What is the significance of the Earth’s temperature rising 2° Celsius?

Rising sea levels, combined with intensified typhoons, that is number one and two. Fires. In the semi-arid regions, which have a long dry season adding temperature increases the probability of wildfire. And I’m very, very concerned that we’re looking at two to five meters of sea level rise over the next two to four centuries and once you start this process to what we call a “tipping point,” you probably cannot reverse it.

Remember the figure “two degrees.” Institutions around the globe, including those who attend the Copenhagen meeting and those in the European Union, Japan, the United States, China, and India, multinational corporations, Greenpeace and political groups, etc., have all agreed that temperature increases must be contained within two degrees.

The two-degree threshold was chosen because once this threshold is crossed, the Earth’s ecological system will rage out of control. “Two degrees Celsius” has therefore become crucial to humankind’s survival. Experts estimate that if the temperature of the Earth rises by one single degree, some wild animals will become endangered. Certain species will be forced out of their habitats or even become extinct.

Should the temperature rise by two degrees, as much as 30% of the Earth’s animals and plants will become extinct. Drought and famine will spread, coral reefs will start bleaching, and human beings will face a survival crisis. In case of a three degrees rise, 30% of the coastal wetlands will become submerged. Heat waves and drought will prevail, leaving billions of people without water.

In case of a four degrees rise, Asia, Africa and low-lying deltas will suffer constant flooding. In case of a five degrees rise, more than 40% of the Earth’s animals and plants will become extinct. If the temperature rises more than six degrees, humankind and most species will become extinct.

In 2009, the U.N. tried to convince powerful decision makers of the impending global crisis. Environmental ministers from various countries and the international media witnessed the change taking place in the Arctic and Greenland. Standing on the edge of the world, they saw the pure, white floating ice contrasted with the blue ocean. Yet, the beautiful vast Arctic Ocean exudes a sense of sadness, because each and every floating iceberg was calved from the 1000 year-old glaciers in Greenland.

In recent years, glaciers have been melting at an alarming rate into the sea. International science teams have discovered that the speed of glacier movements in Greenland, the world’s largest island, has increased drastically compared to four years ago. The situation is far more serious than humankind has ever imagined.

The Greenland ice sheet contains about seven meters of sea level equivalent. In other words, If you were to completely get rid of the Greenland ice sheet, put all the ice that’s frozen on the land’s surface as liquid water into the ocean, sea levels around the world would be about seven meters higher than they are today.

A bird’s eye view of the coastline reveals broken ice floating about in the sea. Signs of global warming are everywhere. The speed of ice melting in Greenland will determine the fate of humankind in this century. What does ± 2 degrees Celsius mean? Actually, if the average temperature of Earth rises by two degrees, many islands will disappear.

This is Kiribati, an island nation comprised of 33 atolls in the Pacific Ocean. Now, the highest place here is less than four meters above sea level. The main inhabited area is only about one kilometer away from the coast. Due to global warming, the rising sea levels have already submerged three islands of Kiribati.

Let’s look at some figures: Formosa’s (Taiwan’s) population density is the second highest in the world, only after Bangladesh. With a dense population living on limited space, many poor people are forced to live in uninhabitable or unsafe areas. Formosa’s (Taiwan’s) steep mountains and swift river currents mean that about two percent of the island’s mountain areas get eroded every year, and its level of geological fragility ranks among the world’s top ten.

Formosa (Taiwan) sits on a chain of Asian islands affected by typhoons, which also includes the Philippines and the Ryukyu Islands. Along this chain, Formosa (Taiwan) is second only to the Philippines in terms of typhoon damage, with an average of four typhoons every year.

This is an authentic historical map of Formosa (Taiwan). The Central Weather Bureau has drawn lines representing the routes of all the typhoons that struck the island from 1947 to 1996. The land of Formosa (Taiwan), our home, looks as if it has been squashed under woven strands of bamboo. The bamboo strips represent the areas with the greatest density of rainfall. These areas are concentrated in Hualien County and central and southern Formosa (Taiwan) south of Mount Ali.

Professor, will we become climate refugees?

On this day, after arriving at Taipei’s Fuhsing High School, a student asked this question to a visiting top climatology expert: “Professor, which wave of climate refugees, caused by global warming, will the Formosan (Taiwanese) people fall in?”

Global warming is the most important issue determining your future, your survival and your lives. Now, do you have any questions? You can ask now.

There will be a first wave and a second wave of refugees caused by global warming. I would like to ask you, to which group would we belong?

In terms of climate refugees, Formosa (Taiwan) people will not only be part of the first and second waves, but they will also be in the subsequent waves. At the same time, Formosan (Taiwanese) belongs to the high-risk group. It’s a place that very, very urgently requires preventive measures.

Professor, will another Typhoon Morakot strike Formosa (Taiwan) next year?

Typhoon Morakot was an extreme incident. It has impacted the country in ways never seen before. As to whether another Morakot will strike again next year, judging from history, we can only say that it’s highly likely. You’re faced with a colossal challenge.

But it’s also an historical opportunity. If you can seize this opportunity, you will be creating or rewriting history. You will be able to reverse the Earth’s history. This is a unique mission of your generation, so you must prevail. Three Major Truths that Formosa (Taiwan) must face.

Professor Wang of Academia Sinica estimates that for every degree the Earth’s temperature increases, the average extreme rainfall events across the globe will increase by six percent. However, as Formosa (Taiwan) is on the Tropic of Cancer and is also close to the equator, adding other factors such as terrain and geography, rainfall intensity in Formosa (Taiwan) will increase by 100% at least. If the Arctic melts and the sea level rises by six meters, Formosa (Taiwan) will lose 11% of its land.

The front lines of this potential disaster would include Dongshi in Chiayi county, Linbian and Donggang in Pingtung County, the Lanyang Plain in Ilan County, and Mailiao in Yunlin County, where the island’s largest petrochemical industrial region is located. If the sea level rises even further, Formosa’s (Taiwan’s) most prosperous cities will be second to receive the impact, including the Taipei Basin and the city of Kaohsiung.

A ranking compiled by world top climatologists places the residents of Formosa (Taiwan) among the first wave of climate refugees, which also includes Âu Lạc (Vietnam) and Bangladesh, as well as islands in the South Pacific and the Caribbean. In Formosa (Taiwan), all areas below an altitude of 100 meters will eventually become uninhabitable.

Another major crisis is looming in Formosa (Taiwan), and this one is immediately evident. The typhoons that swept through the island have choked up Formosa’s (Taiwan’s) large reservoir. This is an aerial photograph of the Shihmen Reservoir. We shouldn’t assume that the rains brought about by typhoons like Morakot will only fall in southern Formosa (Taiwan); all of a sudden, the beautiful scenery of a reservoir like this could be transformed into a major disaster.

A rainfall of 1,500 millimeters

Rainfalls caused by extreme climate are becoming ever more unpredictable. Let’s imagine a probable scene. If just over half the amount of rainfall brought by Typhoon Morakot on Ali Mountain would be shifted to the Shimen Reservoir, which is located near the capital city of Taipei in the North, what would happen?

Professor Lee Hung-yuan of the National Taiwan University’s Hydrotech Research Institute estimates that if the amount of rainfall exceeds 1,500 millimeters, Shimen Reservoir’s maximum flood discharge capacity will be exceeded, and the whole dam might collapse. Some 200 to 300 million tons of water will gush out and flood the nearby cities and towns, including Daxi, Sanxia, Tucheng, Banqiao and Xinzhuang, before finally flooding the entirety of Taipei itself.

Formosa (Taiwan), the beautiful island, has embraced her people like a loving mother. Our proud ancestors are watching our every step. They remind us repeatedly: Do not forget. Do not forget. They are constantly reminding us. Through many hardships, the lands are cultivated.

The boundless Pacific Ocean embraces the land of freedom. The sun shines from above on the mountains and fields. Here we have courageous people and through many hardships, the lands are cultivated. Life abounds here: buffaloes, rice, bananas, and magnolias.

This film is dedicated to all the young people of Formosa (Taiwan). Regain control of your lives and grow up in safety.

Save the Earth. Save Formosa (Taiwan). Save the Children.

We once again deeply thank Ms. Sisy Chen for producing “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face” to awaken people about the issue of global warming so that they will take immediate action to save our endangered Earth. May we all quickly adopt the organic vegan diet as it is the fastest and most effective way to stop climate change.

For more details on “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face,” please visit
www.正負2度C.tw
The film is available for download free of charge at the website or www.mepopedia.com/?page=394

Knowledgeable viewers, thank you for joining us on Planet Earth: Our Loving Home. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment, following Noteworthy News. May all beings live in eternal happiness.