Global warming threatens floods from glacial melts in Bhutan. - 17 May 2010  
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Global warming threatens floods from glacial melts in Bhutan.
As the Thorthomi glacier near Punakha Dzong, Bhutan is noted by scientists to be melting rapidly due to climate change, grave concern is now being expressed over the threat of a glacial lake outburst flood, which is caused by a sudden and large release of water held under a glacier.

Dowchu Dupka, Engineer with the Bhutanese Ministry of Geology and Mines : People term it as the tsunami from the sky. If this whole glacier melts, which it will do in the course of time that could create the worst-case scenario.

Karma, Bhutanese village resident: When it comes to myself, I may be able to run away but we worry for our elderly relatives who may not be in a apposition to escape immediately. When they talk about the likely chance of a lake bursting, I am terrified.

Dzongpon Ugey, Bhutanese farmer: When I built this house two years ago, no experts from the outside had ever visited this area and so I was not aware of the dangers of flooding. Now that I know the danger, I really regret building it here.

Dowchu Dupka, Engineer with the Bhutanese Ministry of Geology and Mines :The plan is to install sensors at the source here as well as a little bit further downstream that would give enough lead time for the settlements or for the people to evacuate.

Such an event would destroy the historic, administrative, and religious center of the Punakha district, including the sacred Punakha Dzong Buddhist monastic temple.

In addition, forests and ancient villages downstream from the lake would suffer the impact of an overwhelming rush of river water due to the so-called “mountain tsunami.”

According to a report published by the International Center for integrated Mountain Development and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), 24 out of 2,674 glacial lakes in Bhutan are at risk of bursting, with other experts saying that Bhutan’s glaciers are retreating on average 30 meters each year.

In an effort to protect the Bhutanese people, the government hired US-based Sutron Corporation in April to install a glacier lake outburst flood early warning system for the Punakha district region.
We pray for the safety of the Punakha Dzong and all Bhutanese villagers of this beautiful and special place. May we quickly reverse these harmful warming effects through our conscientious actions to exist harmoniously with the environment.

In an August 2008 interview by Ireland’s East Coast FM Radio, as on previous occasions, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke of the decisive actions needed to avert such forecasts of global warming calamity.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: According to the scientists, whatever they have predicted or prescribed about our critical situation is accurate up to 99%. They want us to change the way we live our lives by cutting down CO2 emissions. And the fastest way that individuals can do, without a lot of protocol and ado, is to be veg.

It’s truly critical now, as we have witnessed increasing disaster worldwide, due to climate change.

We still have time, we still have a little time to change the course of destiny, thanks to the vegetarian population, old and new members that reduce the most karmic retribution in the shortest span of time.
Thus we have like an extended deadline before the no return point. But it’s not much. We must change fast to avoid much more damage to the Earth as well as loss of more lives and resources.

Extra News
With increased volcanic activity being linked by experts to global warming, concern is being raised for the Sakurajima volcano in southwestern Japan, whose record-level activity exceeds 500 eruptions so far this year.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/sakurajima-volcano-shows-record-level-activity
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=500108

His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco launches the first integrated solar-thermal power station in the country and Africa, which is expected to produce nearly 15% of the country’s needed energy.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2010/05
/13/newsbrief-04
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804060020.html
http://www.afdb.org/en/projects-operations/project-portfolio/project/p-ma-fac-012/

With temperatures five to six degrees Celsius above what is typical for this time of year, 130 heat-related fatalities have been reported so far this season in India’s Andhra Pradesh state.  
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/heat-wave-claims-26-lives-in-andhra-
pradesh_100363872.html
http://expressbuzz.com/nation/heat-waves-claims-three-in-ap-toll-crosses-130/173529.html

To help address the oil spill off the US coast, Hollywood actor and environmental activist Kevin Costner demonstrates a machine that uses centrifugal force to extract 97% of oil from water and can clean up to 200 gallons per minute.  
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2010/05/14/dnt.kevin.costner.oil.spill.wdsu?iref=24hours
http://www.wdsu.com/green-pages/23553391/detail.html