ABC News recommends people eat less meat to halt global warming.

A special series on the US leading television network ABC reports on “The Power of Two,” or two small steps people can take to address climate change. According to reporter Dan Harris, these steps are to reduce meat consumption and to obtain an energy audit for detecting leaks in the home.  In the report, Mr. Harris said, “You are staring into the face of one thing you can do to fight climate change: Leave this cow alone and eat less beef.  According to the United Nations, 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions come from sending beef and dairy products to your kitchen table.” Mr. Harris concluded by saying, “If we all reduced our meat consumption by just 20%, it would be as if we all switched from regular cars to hybrids. It will also be good for our health.”

We convey our gratitude ABC News, for offering your viewers the opportunity to understand the harmful environmental effects of consuming meat and dairy. May everyone find a lighter carbon footprint in turning to an animal-free, plant-based diet. 

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4845543&page=1  


Climate change effects are deemed responsible for recent storms in India.

Intense 75 kilometer per hour winds whipped through the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, uprooting trees and taking out phone and electricity wires. Nearly 100 lives have been lost. The winds were followed by intense thunderstorms. Scientists state that these storms were caused by disturbances to the jet streams, which are fast-moving currents of air high above the Earth. Jet stream disruptions are a known effect of global warming.  

We send our prayers, people of Uttar Pradesh, for your quick recovery from this upheaval. May our actions worldwide quickly reflect the steps needed to stem the tide of climate change  http://www.ciw.edu/news/changing_jet_streams_may_alter_paths_storms_and_hurricanes, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7403284.stm, http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/news/15052008news.shtml, http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2006-05-25-wider-tropics_x.htm  

Research shows more links between global warming and impacts in nature.

Published in the journal Nature, the report says many shifts in natural patterns such as the melting of glaciers and permafrost, earlier spring seasons, and coastal erosion, are due to man-made global warming. One of the contributing scientists, Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig, from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, stated, “This provides up-to-the-minute impetus that climate change is changing how the world works. We need to get our act together, both for adaptation to these changes that are happening now, and for mitigation to reduce long-term risk.”  

We express our deep gratitude to all scientists involved for this report to inform us of our Earth’s fragile ecosphere. We pray that our cumulative actions will curb global warming and preserve our unique planet and all her inhabitants.  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7399162.stm

Meat production continues to be the leading driver of deforestation in Brazil.
 
In the first quarter of 2008, the two Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Para, where 70% of deforestation is occurring, witnessed a near tripling of the area being destroyed compared to the same period last year. Luis Laranja, Farm Policy Coordinator for Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Brazil, estimates that 50 million hectares of former rainforest are currently being used to graze cattle. After the land can no longer support grazing and is converted to growing soy, approximately 80 percent of those crops are used to feed animals bred for meat production.

Our grateful appreciation, WWF and all involved in raising this alert as to the peril of the Amazon rainforest. We pray that world governments will help Brazil truly reverse the trend of deforestation caused by farming animals and their feed crops for food.     

http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=59952, http://www.mariri.net/content/view/38/1/,http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/feed/, http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/eating-up-the-amazon.pdf
 
Global warming a factor in intense cyclone activity.

 To many scientists, Cyclone Nargis, which brought great tragedy to the vast Myanmar delta was a symptom of a climate system being destabilized by global warming. The fourth report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last February noted an increase in intense tropical cyclone activity worldwide, concluding that warming oceans are playing a role. 

Swedish meteorologist Pär Holmgren has been the longtime chief editor of weather forecasts for Swedish Television, and has specialized in climate change for the past decade. Now a lecturer in Stockholm's Uppsala University, he focuses on teaching about climate change. We asked Mr. Holmgren to explain the connection between global warming and intensifying storms such as the recent cyclones and hurricanes. 

Pär Holmgren, Swedish meteorologist: Global warming is not only about the atmosphere getting warmer. It’s also about the oceans that are becoming warmer. As they (tropical storms) get their energy from the oceans we could see that the seasons of these tropical hurricanes become longer, and also that more of them become very, very intensive hurricanes. Unfortunately I think that we will see more of these intensive hurricanes during the next years.  

VOICE: Another problem resulting from a warmer climate is increased evaporation, which causes dry areas of the Earth to become even drier. At the same time, however, evaporation sends more water vapor into the atmosphere, where it builds into precipitation. 

Pär Holmgren, Swedish meteorologist: Which means, in the end, that a lot of areas where you now have quite heavy precipitation, the precipitation will become even more heavy. So in many, many areas of the world, you will see a trend towards dry areas becoming more dry and wet areas becoming more wet. This could create big problems. 

VOICE: We thank veteran meteorologist Pär Holmgren for sharing this analysis. Whether Hurricane Katrina in North America or Cyclones Sidr or Nargis in Asia, stronger-than-ever storms are reflecting the planet’s rising temperatures. We appreciate the ongoing studies of these events and meanwhile pray for the safety of the many people being globally affected. 

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jc3qimBeHZZVdK4kKeexLYkwBo4wD90HLNSO0
http://www.wunderground.com/education/ipcc2007.asp