A rally of hope and climate solving action.

On Tuesday, an Earth Day Climate Super Rally was held as part of a growing movement in the US capital toward urgent, society-wide action for the environment. Notable speakers inspired audience members gathered at George Washington University. Supreme Master Television correspondents in Washington, DC provides this report.

Amy Goodman, Democracy Now TV host and award-winning journalist author: I just want to remind us how fast everything is moving, not just on the bad news, but on the good news.

Reverend Jim Wallis, best selling author: You change the nation when you do one thing: you change the wind. We have to be those who change the wind. We have to rise up now, and you are the new generation of wind changers.

Dr. James Hansen, who is known as the country’s top climatologist, also presented the urgency of climate change, saying that humans have created the “perfect storm” for climate change.

Dr. James Hansen, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, leading world climate scientist

Dr.  James Hansen, top US climatologist: We have reached a point where we have a real emergency. And the result is that we have in the pipeline much larger climate changes than what we see we’ve seen so far.

Dr. Hansen said that many natural phenomena crucial to the climate’s stability have passed their points of no return, such as the melting Arctic sea ice.

Dr.  James Hansen, top US climatologist:
So even without more greenhouse gases, there’s enough warming in the system that we’re going to lose all of that sea ice.

Dr. Hansen, however, concluded with calls to action from the scientific community, including a halt on coal power plant expansion as well as the inevitable need to switch to sustainable energy.

Dr.  James Hansen, top US climatologist: Now, the bright side of this picture is that if we  at once understand this, and take the necessary actions, then we actually have a much better situation, a cleaner atmosphere, a cleaner ocean. And the jobs that are created are actually good jobs, better than coal mining. And I think we could get to this big tipping point where the government and the public all begin to work in the right direction.

Dr. James Hansen is also the recipient of the Shining World Hero Award from Supreme Master Ching Hai. Please stay tuned for a feature program about Dr. Hansen on Saturday on Enlightening Entertainment's Shining World Leadership series.

We convey our thankfulness, participants of the Earth Day Climate Super Rally. May the proactive energy in all of us inspire one another, along with our societies, governments and nations, to quickly progress towards a sustainable world.

speaking about climate change, Supreme Master Ching Hai  has also urged for an immediate and large-scale:

Excerpt from Supreme Master Ching Hai’s lecture:
December 31, 2006 – Germany

So we better be prepared, and whoever in authority and have power must use it to change the way we live our life. Have to clean up our planet, and quick.
REFERENCE: BMD WEEK 73 – EPISODE: 514
AIRDATE: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2008

Excerpt from Supreme Master Ching Hai’s lecture:
December 2007 – Paris, France

 If it were up to me, I’d forbid everybody to eat meat. Yeah? Stop immediately. Stop all the pollution cars.
REFERENCE: BMD WEEK 72 – EPISODES: 505-506
AIRDATES: FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1-2, 2008

National Public Radio (NPR) evaluates the carbon impact of food choices.

NPR show hosts spoke with Dr. Gina Solomon, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Dr. Solomon stated, “One pound of beef generates the equivalent of over 36 pounds of carbon dioxide.” She also referred listeners to a carbon calculator at www.coolcalifornia.org to explore how changes in dietary choices change our carbon footprint.

Kudos, Dr. Solomon and NPR, for raising awareness of the connection between what we choose to eat and the health of our environment. We pray that many will explore the carbon footprint calculator and realize that even one person’s choice of a vegetarian (vegan) diet greatly benefits our planet. Go green and go veg!

 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89808292 

Rising sea levels could displace hundreds of millions. 

Scientists from UK-based Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory have stated in a new report that they predict that sea levels globally could rise between 0.8 to 1.5 meters by the end of this century.  These calculations take into account the accelerated melting of ice sheets around the world due to global warming. The World Bank has estimated that as many as 56 million people in developing nations could become refugees with a one-meter rise in sea level. 

Thank you, scientists, for these vital findings on the life-changing effects of continued climate change. May all governments and individuals alike act now to stop global warming. 

http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=14531&channel=0 http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7010721260

US food providers focus on carbon efficiency.

The phrase “low carb” has taken on new meaning for a food service company in California, USA. Bon Appetit, which serves meals in 400 school, museum and business cafeterias, is turning to low-carbon intensive food sources as a way to halt global warming. Meat and dairy products top the list of foods to be reduced or eliminated, says the plan’s architect, Ms. Helene York. These are being replaced with environmentally friendly fare such as fruits and herbs.

What delicious news! Our thanks, Bon Appetit, for helping raise awareness and providing alternatives for meat and dairy products. May God bless you and all food providers in creating tasty, “low carbon” vegetarian (vegan) meals to nourish our planet as well as the people. 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89836312


Earth Champion winners discuss climate change issues.

Following the award ceremony in Singapore on Tuesday that recognized seven of today’s leaders in environment and sustainable development solutions, a press conference was held.  Supreme Master Television was in attendance to hear the experts expand on their foremost concerns about climate change.

As the European winner, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, is a world advocate for sustainable policies.

Prince Albert of Monaco: We cannot go on as business as usual.
 
Ms. Liz Thomspon, who was the Earth Champion winner for Latin America and the Caribbean region, spoke about the severe impact of climate change on small island developing states.

 Ms. Liz Thompson, former Minister of the Environment and Energy of Barbados, 2008 Earth Champion for Latin America and the Caribbean

Ms. Liz Thompson: Any damage to the environment affects your ability to earn and pay your way as a country. I believe it is important for us to explain to the globe that climate change is not just a new mantra, some new language that has been used on the international conference circuit, but that for some people it represents a threat to their very life.

Dr. Atiq Rahman, Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), 2008 Earth Champion for Asia and the Pacific

 Dr. Atiq Rahman is a leading environment and sustainable development specialist from Bangladesh. He explained how climate change is creating more situations of food insecurity for vulnerable nations.

 To Dr. Atiq Rahman, you mention a lot about the relationship of food scarcity and climate change. Can you comment a little about how you see these relationships are going to be developing?

Dr. Rahman:  The critical question is there must be enough food supply and enough food security. Food supply is how much food you produce in the field and taken to the storehouse. Food security is food on the plate. And there is, between those two situations, there is a whole politics of distribution and access. So how do you make sure the poor get their food? Right now, the rice prices have gone so high, that many poor people in Asia don’t have money to buy that food. So, we’re getting into these areas where climate change will create such an amount of natural disasters, where there is drought, floods, cyclones, wrong timing of rainfall, erratic rainfall behavior. So this will bring out instability in the food production system, which will reflect in the market.

Our gratitude goes to the concerned leaders in every country who are raising our attention to the important matters that affect people's livelihoods and all beings' lives. May the international community act to address the preventable damage by helping one another in this time of global need.