sayuri

the pope urges us to save the earth

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:02:50 +0100

Pope Benedict called on Thursday for the earth to be protected for future generations, saying the world had been "scarred" with erosion and deforestation and its oceans squandered to fuel an insatiable consumption.

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a buddhist response to global warming

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 21:19:31 +0100

There's a new website here with different sections including quotations, solutions and a blog

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taking individual responsibility

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:47:24 +0100

Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace, for example starts within each one of us. When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities, and so on. When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. And there are ways in which we can consciously work to develop feelings of love and kindness. For some of us, the most effective way to do so is through religious practice. For others it may be non-religious practices. What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take seriously our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment.

~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “Nobel Peace Prize Lecture,” in The Dalai Lama: A Policy of Kindness, edited by Sidney Piburn

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california dreamin'

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:55:18 +0100

A dream well worth actualising, California and the rest of the world:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California on Thursday took a major step forward on its global warming fight by unveiling an ambitious plan for clean cars, renewable energy and stringent caps on big polluting industries. The plan, which aims to reduce pollutants by 10 percent from current levels by 2020 while driving investment in new energy technologies that will benefit the state's economy, is the most comprehensive yet by any U.S. state.

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biking it

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:14:13 +0100

Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama has won our admiration before, thanks to his support of cycling and his support of public transportation, as well as his eagerness to address climate change, as exemplified by the fact that he would want Al Gore to help him on climate issues (however, we have also been less-than-impressed with Obama's stance on "clean coal" technology). Now, after a protracted, difficult campaign, Obama has finally won the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. So how did he celebrate? According to the Associated Press, the Senator took the weekend off and "joined family and neighbors for a bicycle ride along the shores of Lake Michigan on Sunday."

::link to story and photos

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christians and buddhists: caring for the planet earth

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Fri, 02 May 2008 14:12:16 +0100

VATICAN CITY, 29 APR 2008 (VIS) - Made public today was the annual Message to Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh, issued by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the council.
Vesakh, the main Buddhist festivity, marks three fundamental moments in the life of Gautama Buddha. It is held during the full moon of the month of May because, according to tradition, Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment and passed away in that period.

This year's message - published in English, French and Italian - is entitled "Christians and Buddhists: Caring for the Planet Earth". It indicates that:

"Preservation of the environment, promotion of sustainable development and particular attention to climate change are matters of grave concern for everyone. Many governments, NGOs, multi-national companies, and research and tertiary institutes, in recognising the ethical implications present in all economic and social development, are investing financial resources as well as sharing expertise on bio-diversity, climate change, environmental protection and conservation.
"Religious leaders too", the message adds, "are contributing to the public debate. This contribution is of course not just a reaction to the more recent pressing threats associated with global warming. Christianity and Buddhism have always upheld a great respect for nature and taught that we should be grateful stewards of the earth. Indeed it is only through a profound reflection on the relationship between the divine Creator, creation and creatures that attempts to address environmental concerns will not be marred by individual greed or hampered by the interests of particular groups.

"On a practical level can we Christians and Buddhists not do more to collaborate in projects which confirm the responsibility that falls to each and everyone of us? Recycling, energy conservation, the prevention of indiscriminate destruction of plant and animal life, and the protection of waterways all speak of careful stewardship and indeed foster goodwill and promote cordial relations among peoples. In this way Christians and Buddhists together can be harbingers of hope for a clean, safe and harmonious world".

The message concludes by expressing the hope that such ideas may be promoted "within our respective communities through public education and our good example in respecting nature and acting responsibly towards our one common planet Earth".

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paul mccartney urges vegetarianism to fight climate ills

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:32:54 +0100

Former Beatle Paul McCartney is urging the world to go vegetarian in a bid to fight global warming and is surprised more green groups don't promote it....
A 2006 United Nations report found that cattle-rearing generated more greenhouse gases than transportation.

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climate-change calamity in waiting in the himalayas

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:28:47 +0100

High in the Himalayas, above this peaceful valley (in Bhutan) where farmers till a patchwork of emerald-green fields, an icy lake fed by melting glaciers waits to become a "tsunami from the sky."
The lake is swollen dangerously past normal levels, thanks to the global warming that is causing the glaciers to retreat at record speed. But no one knows when the tipping point will come and the lake can take no more, bursting its banks and sending torrents of water crashing into the valley below.

Such floods from above have hit Punakha before, most recently in 1994, a calamity that killed about two dozen people and wiped out livelihoods and homes without warning. But scientists say a new flood could unleash more than twice as much water and be far more catastrophic.

drought in australia

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:25:47 +0100

There's now a global shortage of rice, the price of which has doubled in the last three months

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wilkins ice shelf collapse

nobody@vox.com(Sujatin) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:37:22 +0000

A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.
Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.

This is the result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.
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