Today’s Planet Earth: Our Loving Home will be presented in Chinese, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Environmentally aware viewers, welcome to today’s Planet Earth: Our Loving Home featuring the first in a two part series where we present excerpts of the documentary “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face.” The film focuses on the effects of climate change in Formosa (Taiwan) and was produced by famed Formosan (Taiwanese) television host Sisy Chen.

The documentary’s title refers to the goal adopted at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark of preventing the Earth’s average global temperature from rising more than two degrees Celsius in the future as beyond this point runaway climate change will occur and endanger humankind’s survival.

I think that each individual should try to adopt green energy technologies. It’s very important. I hope everyone can make an effort; I also hope that people won’t forget that 80% of his effort should be put into using our right to vote, telling our leaders, such as the legislators, the mayor or the president, “If you don’t make significant changes, you won’t get my vote.”

The film has received enormous attention in Formosa (Taiwan), with its February 22, 2010 premiere attended by heads of various government branches, top entrepreneurs, academics, celebrities, and volunteers from local environmental groups. More than a thousand people participated in the grand event. The premiere was followed by a series of promotional activities in movie theaters, universities and other venues.

The film’s producers are encouraging everyone to download and view the documentary free of charge from its official website. It’s hoped that more than a million people in Formosa (Taiwan) will watch the film, thus increasing awareness about the urgent need to take action to halt climate change. We’ll now present part one of “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face.”

I’m so much concerned about climate change, because I don’t want our future generations to question us, just as I’m questioning the need for more concrete action on climate change today.

Behind me is the Earth, the place we all call home. When Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, he looked back and declared he never realized the Earth was so beautiful. It appeared like a falling teardrop. The Earth has nurtured humankind for millennia.

And ever since the Industrial Revolution began in the mid-18th century, Earth and humankind have kept a delicate relationship. In the beginning, the Earth was tolerant, but over time, it gradually became angry! In 1990 a significant age began. From 1990 through 2009, Earth and humankind entered a completely new struggle with each other.

Since June 2009, Earth and humankind entered a completely new struggle with each other.

On June 16, 2009, in Beijing, a rainstorm plunged the city into complete darkness. At high noon, the sky was shrouded in dark clouds. Locals even mistakenly thought a solar eclipse had occurred.

There’s no solar eclipse today, is there?

Eclipse?

I don’t think so.

Starting in July 2009, torrential downpours swept across 22 Chinese provinces, causing large-scale flooding in Sichuan, Hunan and Hubei, as well as provinces that had rarely seen such flooding in the past, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Guizhou. Precipitation in areas south of the Yangtze River drastically exceeded historic records.

One night in Chongqing, lightning struck 11,400 times, the equivalent of 18.3 strikes every minute or one jolt of lightning every 0.3 seconds. The people of Chongqing endured a sleepless night. On November 29, 2009, a sandstorm struck Australia with a scale and severity unseen in seven decades.

“The color was amazing. I’ve never seen that. I’m 72 years old, and I’ve never seen that in my life before. This is the first time ever. So it’s really a phenomenon.”

In Sydney alone, an estimated 40-million tons of dust and sand swept in. The city resembled the surface of Mars, covered in red as far as the eyes can see. Traffic fell into complete chaos. The celebrated landmark Sydney Harbor Bridge was buried under the storm. Looking out from the Sydney Opera House, there was nothing but red dust. Formosa (Taiwan) has also been defeated in its struggle against Nature.

Oh, the Moon in the sky
Have you been watching?

The entire three-storey building is gone. Several metal-sheet houses inside that area are all gone, too. We can’t find that building Everything is under water. Only two or three roofs can be seen.

Oh, the Moon in the sky
I’d like to gently call my beloved

On August 8, 2009, Typhoon Morakot washed away people’s homes right before their eyes. Villages disappeared in front of local government officials.

“Can we check out Xiaolin Village and stop in Wulipu? Stop in Wulipu to find out what’s going on. Have we passed Xiaolin?”

Typhoon Morakot pounced on Formosa (Taiwan) with a sudden rainstorm, causing some of the most severe damage in the island’s history.

Do you see why my heart feels so much pain?
Oh, the Moon in the sky
I’d like to gently call my beloved,
hoping that he’ll know and won’t let me be alone.
Oh, the Moon in the sky
Have you been watching?
Do you see why my heart feels so much pain?
Oh, the Moon in the sky…

This is a Google Earth image of devastated mountains in Formosa (Taiwan) taken a month after Typhoon Morakot. The water in the Gaoping River seems to be weeping, while the surrounding mountains have lost their green hue. The white patches are landslide areas. From this day on, the land once known as “Formosa,” Meaning “beautiful island,” has changed its name.

Apart from torrential rains, there are also severe droughts.

At the same time, the other side of the planet was plagued by devastating drought. The UN estimates that in the Horn of Africa, in 2009, 23-million people had no water and food. The number of suffering people and the scale of the calamity far exceed those of any war that has previously raged on the continent. This photo of an African refugee was published in the New York Times on September 7, 2009. He says, “I’m not as old as I look. It’s just I don’t have any food.”

In 2009, forest fires and wildfires scorch every patch of dry land from Australia to the United States to Greece. By the end of 2009, the Earth sent an important message to the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The first was the disappearance of autumn. Heavy snow began to fall when the trees were still green.

“To me, it is still too early for snow. Winter is at least another 20 days away. We’re here on holiday and had planned to enjoy autumn scenery.”

Temperatures suddenly plummeted below zero. It is estimated that in 2009, there were only 35 days of autumn weather. A climate expert says, “Long summers, short autumns, and then long winters and short springs. This will be the new pattern of Earth’s four seasons in the future.”

The Earth, The Earth, our home. Because we did not protect it, it is angry. Typhoons. Torrential rain. Windstorms. Forest fires. Autumn disappearing. Drought. Heat wave. Extreme cold. The Poles appearing everywhere. Please protect the Earth. Save humankind. ±2°C Do we still have enough time to save the Earth?

Our thanks, Ms. Sisy Chen for producing “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face” to awaken people about the issue of global warming and move them to take immediate action to save our endangered Earth. May we all quickly adopt the organic vegan diet as it is the fastest and most effective way to stop climate change.

I am Sisy Chen. ±2°C. Let's use green energy and be veg, so we can save our planet and humankind. Please join us again next Wednesday on Planet Earth: Our Loving Home for the second and final part of our presentation of excerpts from this important documentary.

For more details on “±2°C – the Truth Formosa (Taiwan) Must Face,” please visit www.正負2度C.tw
The film is available for download free of charge at the website Or www.mepopedia.com/?page=394

Precious viewers, thank you for your company on today’s program. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May your life always be filled with infinite light.