Although no single event 
 
can be attributed 
 
to climate change, 
 
scientists believe 
 
the intensity of 
 
the prolonged rains 
 
and flooding endured 
 
by residents of 
 
the Australian states 
 
of Queensland and 
 
New South Wales are 
 
indicative of the types 
 
of events that are linked 
 
to global warming. 
 
Meteorologists 
 
have already noted that 
 
flooding is more severe 
 
this year because 
 
the cyclical La Niña effect, 
 
which already results
 
in more seasonal rain. 
 
Then there is
 
the aggravating effect 
 
of global warming itself, 
 
as explained by 
 
Dr. Matthew England 
 
of the University 
 
of New South Wales' 
 
Climate Change 
 
Research Center, 
 
who stated, “The waters 
 
off Australia are the 
 
warmest ever measured, 
 
and those waters 
 
provide moisture 
 
to the atmosphere 
 
for the Queensland 
 
and northern Australia 
 
monsoon.” 
 
In addition, scientists 
 
state it is possible that 
 
the warmer temperatures 
 
may be further fueling 
 
the La Niña effect, 
 
especially as it has 
 
already been noted that 
 
this year is bringing 
 
what could be 
 
the strongest La Niña 
 
in recorded history. 
 
As observed by 
 
University of Melbourne's 
 
Earth Sciences expert 
 
Professor David Karoly, 
 
“Australia has been 
 
known for more than 
 
a hundred years 
 
as a land of droughts 
 
and flooding rains, 
 
but what climate change 
 
means is Australia 
 
becomes a land of 
 
more droughts and 
 
worse flooding rains." 
 
Our appreciation, 
 
Drs. Karoly and England 
 
for helping us to understand 
 
how climate change 
 
creates conditions 
 
that are increasingly 
 
devastating and dangerous. 
 
May we quickly choose 
 
wiser ways of living 
 
so that the climate 
 
will return to being more 
 
conducive to human 
 
and planetary survival. 
 
As in an August 2009 
 
videoconference 
 
in Thailand, 
 
Supreme Master Ching Hai 
 
has often expressed 
 
concern about climate 
 
change-related disasters 
 
on a global scale, 
 
reminding of humanity's 
 
ability to diminish 
 
or even halt them.
 
Supreme Master Ching Hai : If we look around, 
 
we can see the growing 
 
frequencies and strength 
 
of disasters everywhere. 
 
Flood events worldwide 
 
are now three times 
 
higher than in the 1980s. 
 
Now, 
 
thanks to the millions 
 
of people who have
 
become vegetarian 
 
or vegan recently, 
 
already some of 
 
the disasters that were
 
already at our doorstep
 
were mitigated or, 
 
in some cases, 
 
even dissolved completely. 
 
But you see, even so, 
 
we must still continue to 
 
spread the urgent message.
 
 
 
 
 
 
I want to plead
 
with everybody, 
 
with everyone in power, 
 
with every media agency, 
 
every reporter, 
 
everyone that has power, 
 
everyone that has 
 
some power, everyone 
 
who is ordinary citizens, 
 
please be veg 
 
to save our planet. 
 
We have to stop the 
 
cause of global warming 
 
and the cause of 
 
destruction to our planet - 
 
that is the meat industry. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If we do not heed 
 
the scientists' warning 
 
and all the evidence 
 
and become veg, 
 
then more disaster 
 
will keep on coming, 
 
and one may be worse 
 
than another. 
 
Maybe we will 
 
not be able to cope. 
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/fates-conspire-to-concoct-a-recipe-for-disaster-20110111-19mp7.htmlhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41041650/ns/us_news-environment/