Livestock feed production causing global resource loss and food shortage.

At a recent conference on glaciers and climate change hosted by the Norwegian Polar Institute, Dr. Christian Nellemann, a senior officer heading the global Rapid Response Assessments for the United Nations Environment Program, stated that the disappearance of the Himalayan glaciers would cause billions to lose all access to water, thus hugely impacting the food supply of Asia and beyond.

Dr. Christian Nellemann – Head of Rapid Response Assessments for United Nations Environment Program (M): I think the situation is actually extremely urgent, simply because of the fact that in Asia we’re talking about over three billion people that will be impacted,1.3 billion people directly impacted by the changes
in these water resources.

But globally, with the current food crisis, with the financial crisis that we are experiencing, any change, in 30-40 years from now is going to have a huge impact on global food supply and food prices, for anyone, whether you live in the United States or in Africa or in Asia, it's going to have an impact.

VOICE: With now more than a billion people going hungry in the world each year, Dr. Nellemann highlights the livestock industry as a more fundamental threat to food security because it is a major cause of global warming.

Dr. Christian Nellemann – Head of Rapid Response Assessments for United Nations Environment Program (M): The primary cause of loss of natural environments, of wildlife all over, it’s not by hunting, it is primarily by the loss of their habitat and their homes by cutting rainforest and converting these areas into crop lands [for animal feed].

VOICE: Dr. Nellemann forecasts that we may lose 25 percent of the global food supply due to current rates of meat production and meat consumption.

Dr. Christian Nellemann (M): In many areas the whole livestock sector is a major threat to not just climate change but also to global food supply. We need to ensure that we do not spend all of our cereals simply on feeding animals, because it is not sustainable. So one of the most significant things we can do globally to reduce the loss of biodiversity and help support feeding of the rising populations, is actually focusing on our global meat consumption.

VOICE: Our appreciation, Dr. Christian Nellemann and the United Nations Environment Program for helping us to understand the interrelated consequences of livestock production on the humans and the planet.

We pray we may stop this tragic and unnecessary loss of so many lives through a global shift away from meat and toward the sustainable vegan diet.

In March 2009, during a videoconference in Xalapa, Mexico with dignitaries and the public, Supreme Master Ching Hai offered once again a simple yet comprehensive solution to the crisis facing our planet.

Reference
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=528&ArticleID=5751
http://news.scotsman.com/world/One-billion-people-now-.5363018.jp

Scientists discover endangered whales near Greenland.

A team of scientists from Oregon State University, USA and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have detected the presence of the endangered right whale near Cape Farewell at the southern tip of Greenland. The team used a series of hydrophones to record vocalizations of what could be
hundreds of whales, whose numbers were thought to have dropped to approximately 400.

With Arctic melting potentially opening a new international shipping lane in the region, NOAA right whale specialist Phillip Clapham said, “It's vital that we know about right whales in this area in order to effectively avoid ship strikes on what could be a quite fragile population.”  Bravo Dr. Clapham and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration colleagues for your detailed observations in discovering this population of endangered marine mammals.

We pray that these wonderful beings are provided with protection and respect by humankind. Reference
http://www.canada.com/Technology/Endangered+whales+discovered+Greenland+coast/1625927/story.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_MoVplQ73oESymYhS3E79Dy21WgD98A8E580