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.
Excellent viewers,
welcome to
today’s Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home
featuring the second part
of a two-part series where
we present further 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.
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 wo of “±2°C –
the Truth Formosa (Taiwan)
Must Face.”
The United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, or
IPCC released the results
of its 2009 study.
They revealed that
the melting of icebergs in
the Arctic and Greenland
was far worse
than what was predicted
in Al Gore’s documentary.
The phenomenon
has also reached western
and eastern Antarctica
for the first time.
Antarctic icebergs
float out into waters
south of Australia
like warriors
dispatched by nature,
marking the end
of the Earth’s tolerance
for humankind.
What is the significance
of the Earth’s temperature
rising 2° Celsius?
Rising sea levels,
combined with
intensified typhoons, that
is number one and two.
Fires.
In the semi-arid regions,
which have
a long dry season
adding temperature
increases the probability
of wildfire.
And I’m very,
very concerned
that we’re looking at
two to five meters
of sea level rise
over the next two
to four centuries and
once you start this process
to what we call
a “tipping point,”
you probably
cannot reverse it.
Remember the figure
“two degrees.”
Institutions
around the globe,
including those who attend
the Copenhagen meeting
and those
in the European Union,
Japan, the United States,
China, and India,
multinational corporations,
Greenpeace and
political groups, etc.,
have all agreed that
temperature increases
must be contained
within two degrees.
The two-degree threshold
was chosen because once
this threshold is crossed,
the Earth’s ecological system
will rage out of control.
“Two degrees Celsius”
has therefore
become crucial
to humankind’s survival.
Experts estimate
that if the temperature
of the Earth rises
by one single degree,
some wild animals
will become endangered.
Certain species
will be forced
out of their habitats
or even become extinct.
Should the temperature
rise by two degrees,
as much as 30%
of the Earth’s animals
and plants
will become extinct.
Drought and famine
will spread, coral reefs
will start bleaching,
and human beings
will face a survival crisis.
In case of
a three degrees rise, 30%
of the coastal wetlands
will become submerged.
Heat waves and drought
will prevail,
leaving billions of people
without water.
In case of
a four degrees rise,
Asia, Africa
and low-lying deltas will
suffer constant flooding.
In case of
a five degrees rise,
more than 40%
of the Earth’s animals
and plants
will become extinct.
If the temperature rises
more than six degrees,
humankind and
most species
will become extinct.
In 2009,
the U.N. tried to convince
powerful decision makers
of the impending
global crisis.
Environmental ministers
from various countries and
the international media
witnessed the change
taking place in the Arctic
and Greenland.
Standing on the edge
of the world,
they saw the pure, white
floating ice contrasted
with the blue ocean.
Yet, the beautiful vast
Arctic Ocean exudes
a sense of sadness,
because each and
every floating iceberg
was calved from
the 1000 year-old glaciers
in Greenland.
In recent years,
glaciers have been melting
at an alarming rate
into the sea.
International science teams
have discovered
that the speed
of glacier movements
in Greenland,
the world’s largest island,
has increased drastically
compared to four years ago.
The situation is far more
serious than humankind
has ever imagined.
The Greenland ice sheet
contains about
seven meters
of sea level equivalent.
In other words,
If you were
to completely get rid of
the Greenland ice sheet,
put all the ice that’s frozen
on the land’s surface as
liquid water into the ocean,
sea levels around the world
would be about
seven meters higher
than they are today.
A bird’s eye view
of the coastline
reveals broken ice
floating about in the sea.
Signs of global warming
are everywhere.
The speed of ice melting
in Greenland
will determine the fate of
humankind in this century.
What does
± 2 degrees Celsius mean?
Actually, if the average
temperature of Earth
rises by two degrees,
many islands
will disappear.
This is Kiribati,
an island nation
comprised of 33 atolls
in the Pacific Ocean.
Now,
the highest place here is
less than four meters
above sea level.
The main inhabited area
is only about one kilometer
away from the coast.
Due to global warming,
the rising sea levels
have already submerged
three islands of Kiribati.
Let’s look at some figures:
Formosa’s (Taiwan’s)
population density is
the second highest
in the world,
only after Bangladesh.
With a dense population
living on limited space,
many poor people
are forced
to live in uninhabitable
or unsafe areas.
Formosa’s (Taiwan’s)
steep mountains
and swift river currents
mean that about
two percent of
the island’s mountain areas
get eroded every year,
and its level
of geological fragility
ranks among
the world’s top ten.
Formosa (Taiwan) sits on
a chain of Asian islands
affected by typhoons,
which also includes
the Philippines
and the Ryukyu Islands.
Along this chain,
Formosa (Taiwan)
is second
only to the Philippines
in terms of
typhoon damage,
with an average of
four typhoons every year.
This is an
authentic historical map
of Formosa (Taiwan).
The Central Weather
Bureau has drawn lines
representing the routes
of all the typhoons
that struck the island
from 1947 to 1996.
The land
of Formosa (Taiwan),
our home, looks as if it
has been squashed under
woven strands of bamboo.
The bamboo strips
represent the areas
with the greatest density
of rainfall.
These areas
are concentrated
in Hualien County
and central and southern
Formosa (Taiwan)
south of Mount Ali.
Professor, will we
become climate refugees?
On this day,
after arriving at Taipei’s
Fuhsing High School,
a student asked
this question to a visiting
top climatology expert:
“Professor, which wave
of climate refugees,
caused by global warming,
will the Formosan
(Taiwanese) people fall in?”
Global warming is
the most important issue
determining your future,
your survival
and your lives.
Now, do you have
any questions?
You can ask now.
There will be a first wave
and a second wave
of refugees
caused by global warming.
I would like to ask you,
to which group
would we belong?
In terms of
climate refugees,
Formosa (Taiwan) people
will not only be part of
the first and second waves,
but they will also be
in the subsequent waves.
At the same time, Formosan
(Taiwanese) belongs to
the high-risk group.
It’s a place that
very, very urgently requires
preventive measures.
Professor, will another
Typhoon Morakot
strike Formosa (Taiwan)
next year?
Typhoon Morakot was
an extreme incident.
It has impacted
the country in ways
never seen before.
As to whether
another Morakot
will strike again next year,
judging from history,
we can only say
that it’s highly likely.
You’re faced with
a colossal challenge.
But it’s also
an historical opportunity.
If you can seize
this opportunity,
you will be creating
or rewriting history.
You will be able to reverse
the Earth’s history.
This is a unique mission
of your generation,
so you must prevail.
Three Major Truths
that Formosa (Taiwan)
must face.
Professor Wang
of Academia Sinica
estimates that
for every degree
the Earth’s temperature
increases, the average
extreme rainfall events
across the globe will
increase by six percent.
However,
as Formosa (Taiwan) is
on the Tropic of Cancer
and is also close
to the equator, adding
other factors such as
terrain and geography,
rainfall intensity
in Formosa (Taiwan)
will increase
by 100% at least.
If the Arctic melts
and the sea level rises
by six meters,
Formosa (Taiwan)
will lose 11% of its land.
The front lines
of this potential disaster
would include Dongshi
in Chiayi county,
Linbian and Donggang
in Pingtung County,
the Lanyang Plain
in Ilan County, and
Mailiao in Yunlin County,
where the island’s
largest petrochemical
industrial region is located.
If the sea level rises
even further,
Formosa’s (Taiwan’s)
most prosperous cities
will be second
to receive the impact,
including
the Taipei Basin and
the city of Kaohsiung.
A ranking compiled by
world top climatologists
places the residents
of Formosa (Taiwan)
among the first wave
of climate refugees,
which also includes
Âu Lạc (Vietnam)
and Bangladesh,
as well as islands
in the South Pacific
and the Caribbean.
In Formosa (Taiwan),
all areas below
an altitude of 100 meters
will eventually
become uninhabitable.
Another major crisis
is looming
in Formosa (Taiwan),
and this one
is immediately evident.
The typhoons that
swept through the island
have choked up
Formosa’s (Taiwan’s)
large reservoir.
This is
an aerial photograph
of the Shihmen Reservoir.
We shouldn’t assume that
the rains brought about
by typhoons like Morakot
will only fall in southern
Formosa (Taiwan);
all of a sudden,
the beautiful scenery
of a reservoir like this
could be transformed
into a major disaster.
A rainfall
of 1,500 millimeters
Rainfalls caused
by extreme climate
are becoming
ever more unpredictable.
Let’s imagine
a probable scene.
If just over half the amount
of rainfall brought by
Typhoon Morakot
on Ali Mountain
would be shifted
to the Shimen Reservoir,
which is located near
the capital city of Taipei
in the North,
what would happen?
Professor Lee Hung-yuan
of the National Taiwan
University’s Hydrotech
Research Institute
estimates that
if the amount of rainfall
exceeds 1,500 millimeters,
Shimen Reservoir’s
maximum flood discharge
capacity will be exceeded,
and the whole dam
might collapse.
Some 200 to 300 million
tons of water will gush out
and flood the nearby
cities and towns,
including Daxi, Sanxia,
Tucheng, Banqiao
and Xinzhuang,
before finally flooding
the entirety of Taipei itself.
Formosa (Taiwan),
the beautiful island,
has embraced her people
like a loving mother.
Our proud ancestors are
watching our every step.
They remind us repeatedly:
Do not forget.
Do not forget.
They are
constantly reminding us.
Through many hardships,
the lands are cultivated.
The boundless
Pacific Ocean embraces
the land of freedom.
The sun shines from above
on the mountains
and fields.
Here we have
courageous people and
through many hardships,
the lands are cultivated.
Life abounds here:
buffaloes, rice,
bananas, and magnolias.
This film is dedicated
to all the young people
of Formosa (Taiwan).
Regain control
of your lives
and grow up in safety.
Save the Earth.
Save Formosa (Taiwan).
Save the Children.
We once again deeply thank
Ms. Sisy Chen
for producing “±2°C –
the Truth Formosa (Taiwan)
Must Face”
to awaken people
about the issue
of global warming
so that they will
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.
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
Knowledgeable viewers,
thank you for joining us
on Planet Earth:
Our Loving Home.
Up next is
Enlightening Entertainment,
following
Noteworthy News.
May all beings
live in eternal happiness.