Go veg to mitigate dangers of methane release.

According to some scientists, an estimated 400 gigatons of methane are locked within the frozen Arctic tundra. Strong geologic evidence suggests that in the history of the Earth’s ancient past, warming caused large amounts of methane to be released from the depths of the ocean, which resulted in the disappearance of 95 percent of all marine species  at that time. Compared to the deep ocean, Arctic permafrost is even more vulnerable to being warmed by the surrounding air.

Dr. Eystein Jansen, Research Director of the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (M): What people are afraid of is that if the permafrost melts, then this methane will be released to the atmosphere and we will have an accelerated warming.

VOICE: Dr. Eystein Jansen is the Research Director of the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research in Norway and is studying Arctic records of climate change in times past. He says it’s difficult to gauge how much or how soon accelerated warming could send us past the point of no return. We should, however, act now to prevent that from happening.

Dr. Eystein Jansen, Research Director of the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (M): If we get the highest rates of warming and we don’t do anything about emissions of greenhouse gases from human influences, then we could come into the danger zone. The only thing we could do is to be more forceful in terms of climate policies, and reduce emissions as much as possible.

VOICE: Dr. Jansen, like most scientists, recommends we all do what we can to lower our carbon and methane footprints, in all aspects of life.

Dr. Eystein Jansen (M): All sorts of our modern life needs to be changed, and also the way we produce and consume our food. And it’s clear that if more people had a vegetarian diet, it would lead to less, less emissions!

VOICE: Dr. Jansen and the world’s climatologists, thank you for the time you  dedicate to communicating what is important for us to do. Let’s all go veg so that the event of a methane release remains a geological study of the distant past.

Desert tortoises disappearing in the western United States.

Wildlife experts are expressing their concern over the drastic decline of the Mojave Desert tortoise across the western United States. Even though the shy, sand-burrowing herbivore has been under legal protection for the last 18 years, its numbers have continued to diminish. With the latest source of jeopardy to the tortoise’s 100-year lifespan now including climate change effects, environmentalists are calling for more significant protective measures.

We are grateful to all the scientists and advocates who are striving to ensure the preservation of the gentle tortoise. We pray these warning signs of potential harm to God’s beloved creations motivate us all in taking steps to stop global warming.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Earth/Flora__Fauna/
Desert_tortoise_numbers_continue_to_decline_in_US/articleshow/3403115.cms