In
advance of the upcoming United Nations Conference of Parties 10 (COP10)
on biodiversity in Japan, the United Kingdom-based international news
service Reuters and British newspaper The Guardian have each published a
series of articles highlighting the dire global situation of
diminishing biodiversity.
To assist government leaders in making
recommendations that will help ensure the planet’s survival, The
Guardian launched a “Biodiversity 100” campaign, in which it sought to
gather 100 suggestions from readers and scientists.
Reuters
contributed by summarizing threats to remind the public of the severity
of the situation, including the fact that the extinction rate for plants
and animals is 1,000 times faster than at other times in the history of
the planet, and that the world’s top 3,000 listed companies will create
the equivalent of US$2 trillion in environmental damage this year.
Many
thanks, Reuters and The Guardian as well as the United Nations for your
combined efforts to remind and receive feedback from the public
regarding the consequences of failing to care for the environment. May
such efforts as yours galvanize global action toward all necessary
actions to preserve our planet.
During an interview published
in the September 2009 edition of the British Parliament's The House
Magazine, Supreme Master Ching Hai also emphasized the urgent need for
humanity’s sustainable, eco-conscious actions for the protection of the
Earth and all her inhabitants.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
No matter how small, each species has a role to help balance our
ecosystem, scientifically proven. And yet, consumption of both fish and
animal flesh continue and are wreaking havoc on biodiversity around the
globe.
In the oceans and fresh waterways, so many species of fish
have already been lost, with complete aquatic environments such as coral
reefs being decimated by such practices as trawling and fishing with
explosives.
The answer to all of this is quite clear. Stop the
meat consumption. Stop it yesterday. This will allow biodiversity to be
replenished. This is the way we need to go, and fast.
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFSGE68R0AP20100928 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/04/back-biodiversity-100-save-wildlife