Issued by the US-based 
 
Endangered 
 
Species Coalition, 
 
the report, “It's 
 
Getting Hot Out There: 
 
Top 10 Places to Save 
 
for Endangered Species 
 
in a Warming World,” 
 
describes ecosystems that 
 
are already under threat 
 
due to climate change. 
 
Based on data from 
 
the United Nations 
 
Intergovernmental Panel 
 
on Climate Change, 
 
which states that 
 
up to 30% of all species 
 
face increased risk 
 
of extinction with 
 
a 3 degree Celsius rise 
 
in temperature, the report 
 
outlines vulnerabilities 
 
while urging 
 
the US government 
 
for greater protection 
 
of natural habitats. 
 
Top among the ten 
 
jeopardized ecosystems 
 
is the Arctic Sea region, 
 
noted to be warming 
 
at twice the rate of 
 
the rest of the world, 
 
with dwindling habitats 
 
for polar bears, 
 
Pacific walrus and 
 
at least six species of seals. 
 
Other ecosystems 
 
on the list include 
 
the Sierra Mountains 
 
in California, USA where 
 
30 native species of 
 
amphibians, including 
 
the yellow-legged frog, 
 
are known to be at risk, 
 
and the Greater Everglades 
 
of the southern USA, 
 
home to 67 threatened 
 
and endangered species, 
 
including 
 
the beloved herbivorous 
 
marine mammal, 
 
the manatee. 
 
Commenting 
 
on the imminent perils to 
 
animals and Earth as seen 
 
through these locations, 
 
Endangered Species 
 
Coalition Executive Director 
 
Leda Huta stated, 
 
“Climate change is 
 
no longer a distant threat 
 
on the horizon. 
 
It has arrived and 
 
is threatening ecosystems 
 
that we all depend upon, 
 
and our endangered 
 
species are particularly 
 
vulnerable. 
 
If we are serious about 
 
saving endangered species 
 
from global warming, 
 
then these are the places 
 
to start.” 
 
Thank you, 
 
Executive Director Huta 
 
and Endangered Species 
 
Coalition for identifying 
 
these key areas that 
 
need our attention now. 
 
Let us all join in
 
immediate actions 
 
to protect our planet and 
 
her precious inhabitants. 
 
As part of her tireless 
 
efforts to protect all 
 
the irreplaceable beings 
 
on Earth, 
 
Supreme Master Ching Hai 
 
spoke of the vital role 
 
of humanity's care for 
 
our animal co-inhabitants 
 
during an August 2009 
 
videoconference 
 
in Thailand.
 
Supreme Master Ching Hai : The animal friends are 
 
in many ways more 
 
aware of climate change 
 
than we are because 
 
they are the ones 
 
on the frontlines 
 
holding up nature's 
 
delicate web of life. 
 
They are also, sadly, 
 
the first-hand victims 
 
of global warming, 
 
as we have witnessed 
 
and discovered. 
 
 
 
 
 
They are in our hands, 
 
the humans' hands. 
And the essential change 
 
that will be the most 
 
restorative for our world 
 
is to be vegan. 
 
That is the essence 
 
of what we need 
 
to stabilize the planet, 
 
to bless the world 
 
through our everyday 
 
benevolent actions, 
 
meaning be vegan. 
http://www.examiner.com/environmental-policy-in-national/new-study-reveals-climate-change-threatens-key-u-s-systems,
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2011/sierra-nevada-01-05-2011.html,
 
http://itsgettinghotoutthere.org/ESC_Top_10_Digital.pdf