A
study by researchers at Shizuoka University and the National Institute
of Polar Research in Japan studying permafrost loss on Mt. Fuji has
revealed that the thaw rate is much faster than expected.
In
1976, the layer of permafrost, or permanently frozen soil, existed at
elevations of 3,100 meters and above. Today, the scientists find
permafrost only in patches around the 3,776 meter peak, along with an
increase in average August temperatures from 4.2 degrees Celsius in 1976
to 6.6 degrees in 2009. In a related study,
a team of scientists
from the University of Nevada, Reno in the USA led by Dr. Sudeep Chandra
have been collecting permafrost samples in Siberia, Russia.
There,
they discovered earth that had been frozen for the past 10,000 years is
now releasing methane gas into the atmosphere. This is a concern
because the permafrost layer contains immense stores of methane, which
as a greenhouse gas has 100 times the warming potential of CO2. This
gaseous release then traps more heat in the atmosphere, which in turn
melts more permafrost, creating a cycle that could set off an
irreversible warming process, with catastrophic consequences.
International
scientists, we appreciate your research on this aspect of global
warming, despite its disturbing implications. Let us engage in rapid
actions to renew our harmony with nature and restore conditions that are
conducive to human survival.
During an August 2009 videoconference
with Supreme Master Television staff in California, USA, Supreme Master
Ching Hai addressed this alarming aspect of global warming and spoke of
the one way to halt the release of methane into the atmosphere.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
If we don’t turn around and walk in the opposite direction, then we are
heading toward destruction of all kinds. You see planetary warming,
methane gas from all sides: from all sides now, not just from livestock.
But because of livestock, it triggers methane gas from all sides: from
the river bed or from the permafrost,
from the bed of the ocean, from the mountains, from the dying forests, do you understand?
So
we are surrounded by trouble. There’s only one escape route that I have
told you already. I wish there were several. There’s only one: Be Veg.
That’s the path to go, then maybe we still can have time.
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201009090330.html http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1969767,00.htmlhttp://x-journals.com/2010/researchers-find-receding-permafrost-in-siberian-arctic/