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Permafrost receding northward.
In two concurring studies, researchers from Canada’s Université Laval and Sweden’s Lund University have found that the permanently frozen ground known as permafrost is melting at southern latitudes.

In the case of Canada’s James Bay region, the permafrost layer now begins 130 kilometers north of where it had been 50 years ago. In Sweden, scientists found over a several-year period that the permafrost in one peat mire region completely disappeared. The Canadian researchers also noted a temperature rise of some 2 degrees Celsius over the last two decades, saying that if this continues, permafrost in the James Bay region will vanish.

Not only is the melting of permafrost a sign of acute global warming, scientists have warned previously that its effects include the collapse of entire communities, which has already been seen in Arctic locations like Alaska, USA.

Worse yet are the vast underground stores of methane that are released as the permafrost melts, with tipping points beyond which runaway global warming is inevitable.

We thank you for your careful observations, Canadian and Swedish scientists, despite our alarm at what they foretell. May everyone turn to harmonious lifestyles that sustain our environment while there is still time.

As in a September 2009 videoconference held in Peru, Supreme Master Ching Hai has frequently spoken of such warning signs as permafrost melt, along with the way we can all act to halt it.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: US and Canadian scientists traveling to the Arctic have noted increased methane gas being released from the Earth’s melting permafrost, which is storing immense amounts of methane beneath the frozen surface. Other research has also highlighted how quickly the temperature is rising in the Arctic, much faster than in the rest of the world.

This means a vast quantity of methane could be released from the previously frozen soil very quickly, which would be a complete disaster for life on Earth.

One fact is clear: if we stop meat consumption and livestock raising, we will also eliminate one of the most heat-trapping gases, which is methane.

And since this gas disappears more quickly from the atmosphere, the planet will cool almost immediately.
This will also address problems like the melting permafrost, which will otherwise emit more methane if nothing is done to halt it.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100217101129.htm
http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCATRE61G5BG20100217?sp=true
http://www5.fsa.ulaval.ca/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218081629.htm

Eco-friendly plastic disposal discovered.
Bioengineering Professor Mukesh Doble and research scholar Trishul Artham of India’s Institute of Technology in Chennai worked with microscopic organisms and ultraviolet light in seeking a safe way to dispose of the some 2.7 million tons of plastics manufactured each year containing the substance Biphenyl A.

The scientists found that this plastic decomposed harmlessly through a process involving pretreatment with UV light, along with heat and several types of fungi.

The fungi was able to use the plastic chemicals as a source of energy, resulting in significant decomposition within 12 months without releasing any of the potentially harmful Biphenyl A. Professor Doble and Mr. Artham, a green hats off for your exciting technological development! Wishing you the best in continuing to bring such
wholesome advancement that help restore our planet for the benefit of all beings.

http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/02/01/Way-found-to-dispose-of-plastic-with-BPA/UPI-35241265052708/

Extra News
British Antarctic Survey scientist Huw Griffiths reports that current Arctic ice decreases and resulting warmer ocean temperatures are likely to populate the region with jellyfish while eliminating the more fragile penguins, sea birds and whales.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/globalwarming/7263568/Penguins-in-Antarctica-to-be-replaced-
by-jellyfish-due-to-global-warming.html

Severe water shortages in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, have necessitated restriction of tap water availability to night-time only, forcing many families to incur extra expenses to buy water.  
http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/water-crisis-persists-cameroons-capital-city

European Union President José Manuel Barroso requests Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard to work with key international partners in reviving international efforts to save the environment.  
http://thegovmonitor.com/world_news/europe/president-barroso-informs-the-eu-on-next-step-for-climate-change-
24275.html

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) introduces a new web site, available at climate.nasa.gov/warmingworld that offers abundant scientific information to benefit the public in understanding climate change.
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2010/02/23/NASA-Web-page-explains-global-warming
/UPI-25991266954679/
http://climate.nasa.gov/warmingworld/