Unprecedented
ocean warming
speeding Arctic melt.
The latest evidence
of global warming
presented by a team of
German, Norwegian, and
US scientists has shown
that the northern end of
the Gulf Stream current,
which is flowing
into the Arctic Ocean,
is warmer now
than it has been
for at least 2,000 years.
Analyzing
ocean sediment cores
dating back two millennia,
the scientists found
that the waters
in the Fram Strait
between Greenland
and Svalbard, Norway
have warmed roughly
two degrees Celsius
in the past century.
The Fram Straight
is the main carrier of
ocean heat to the Arctic
and in recent summers
registered at around
6 degrees Celsius,
which is warmer
than at any other
previous time included
in the data.
Dr. Robert Spielhagen
of the Academy of
Sciences, Humanities
and Literature in Mainz,
Germany,
noted the implications
of the unnaturally warm
temperatures, stating:
“We must assume that
the accelerated decrease
of the Arctic sea ice
cover and the warming of
the ocean and atmosphere
of the Arctic measured
in recent decades
are in part related to an
increased heat transfer
from the Atlantic.”
As the ice melts,
darker colored waters are
exposed, which soak up
more heat from the sun
and further accelerate
warming.
With Arctic ice cover
at a record low as of
January 2011, scientists
warn that the region
is all too quickly heading
toward ice-free summers,
with repercussions that
range from the loss of
vital habitat to more
far-reaching changes
such as
weather disturbances
in the British Isles.
Dr. Spielhagen
and associates,
our sincere thanks for
your dedicated efforts to
reveal these interrelated
factors of global warming.
May we all do our part
to adopt lifestyles
that protect
and cool our planet.
Speaking of
the situation's urgency
during a September 2009
videoconference
in South Korea,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
described the most
effective means by which
we may halt Arctic
warming, as well as all
threats of climate change.
Supreme Master Ching Hai
: As you saw for yourself
how quickly the
North Pole is melting -
it's at least twice as fast
as the rest of the globe.
First, we have to survive.
We cut down
the number one cause
of global warming.
We have to eliminate
animal products
because we want to
save the planet.
No animal products means
having the planet.
And even a heavenly world
we will have because
being veg changes
everything drastically.
With temperatures
stabilized,
ecosystems balanced,
animals thriving in peace,
one of the results is that
the ice in the Arctic will
be restored, and quickly,
along with
the repairing of nature
in every corner
of the planet.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-north-atlantic-tied-arctic.html,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/28/us-climate-arctic-idUSTRE70P6TE20110128
http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0208-hance_ice_arctic.html?utm_campaign=facebook-mongabay&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_source=SNS.analyticshttp://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/01/26/melting-arctic-ice-melt-will-bring-freezing-winters-say-scientists-115875-22875847/
Extra News
Following years of
court involvement,
the US Environmental
Protection Agency makes
a final ruling that forbids
the establishment
of a huge mountaintop-
removal mining project
in West Virginia,
to protect the health
and water supply
of Appalachian wildlife
and communities.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/17/obama-coal-crackdown-sends-message-industry/,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/science/earth/14coal.html
With climate change
causing potential disease
and loss to corn species
in other parts
of the world,
Mexico decides
to preserve the integrity
and resiliency of her 60
native varieties of corn
by turning down the offer
to implement genetically
modified versions.
For its thoughtful and
eco-conscious actions,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
is honoring
the Mexican government
with the Shining World
Leadership Award.
http://redgreenandblue.org/2011/02/07/mexico-stands-up-to-monsanto-says-no-to-gmo-corn/
Commemorating
the launch of
the UN Year of Forests,
Afghan officials
highlight the dangers
of deforestation such as
flash flooding and threats
to biodiversity as they
affirm the government's
plan to implement
national policies
to prevent further loss.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/LSGZ-8DPJ4H?OpenDocument
http://www.afghanistan-un.org/2011/02/a-year-long-celebration-of-vital-role-of-world%E2%80%99s-forests/