Green Amida

christians and buddhists: caring for the planet earth

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

food per acre

Cars and cows both emit noxious gases that deplete the ozone layer. Cars, we now know, can be fuelled by plants, just like cows. The trouble is, there are billions of people on this planet who are rather fond of eating. An acre of land can grow up to 20,000 pounds of potatoes but, when that same acre is used to grow cattle feed, it produces just 165 pounds of "edible cow flesh". Cows and cars both put pressure on the planet's scant resources.

~ Jonathan Cainer

paul mccartney urges vegetarianism to fight climate ills

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.

climate-change calamity in waiting in the himalayas

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.

::read more

drought in australia

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

wilkins ice shelf collapse

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.::link

First Mercury Free Computer Unveiled at Macworld 2008

Apple's new laptop is the first computer to be mercury free.

Kashmir suspends stray dog cull

The programme to poison hundreds of stray dogs in the city of Srinagar has been halted after animal rights campaigners threatened court action on grounds of cruelty.

user generated green news

Take a look at Hugg ::thanks to rebecca

M&S to start charging for plastic carrier bags

Marks and Spencer customers will have to pay 5p for plastic bags, with the money raised going to an environmental charity.

Chief executive Sir Stuart Rose said the company wanted to "make it easy for our customers to do their bit to help the environment".

Antarctic glaciers surge to ocean

UK scientists working in Antarctica have found some of the clearest evidence yet of instabilities in the ice of part of West Antarctica.

If the trend continues, they say, it could lead to a significant rise in global sea level.

creating zero waste

Here's the blog of someone who's trying to create zero waste during a one week period.

::via jane perone of horticultural, who has written a post - 10 uses for a woolly jumper

this is not a plastic bag

Here are instructions on making your own cotton shopping bags which you can then label. Make lots and give them to your family and friends. Create a group (pod) with your family and friends. Save our planet from plastic! Thanks to the February edition of Good Housekeeping

Book Review: Global Warming Survival Handbook

The Handbook is broken down into four primary sections Food and Shelter, Survival Strategy, Energy and Transportation, and Work and Commerce ::link

Producing biofuels from fast-growing grass

Grass biofuels 'cut CO2 by 94%'

Solastalgia

-- "a form of homesickness one gets when one is still at home," according to Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht; in essence, it's pining for a lost environment. It's the mashup of the roots solacium (comfort) and algia (pain), which, when combined, forms a term (and an idea) reminiscent of nostalgia.

::link

tiny crabs are destroying an island

The island...

has been under steady attack for the last few years; millions of crustaceans - relatives of crabs and shrimp known as "nanatsuba-kotsubumushi" - are boring into the island, a process dubbed "bio-erosion."

::read more

making a home for minibeasts

I talked with my sister on her mobile as she was accompanying her husband on his walk - he added this photo at my request so I could see what the log home looked like:

This strange looking "log-sculpture" is one of the wildlife features at the park, where these logs are being allowed to rot down and decay. This newly installed beetle-pyramid will hopefully provide a home for all sorts of creepy-crawlies.

Australian Politicians Scrap Green Vouchers for Schools

The Australian government has scrapped plans to offer grants to schools working to reduce their carbon footprint by installing rainwater tanks and solar hot water systems as methods to help slow climate change.

zenn and the art of green driving

This is the way to go!

Making 2008 the Year of the Frog

The coming year is playing out to be a pivotal one for many of the planet's endangered species; whether or not they endure will - to a large extent - depend on the steps humanity takes to protect their habitats and avert the worst of global warming ::link

Climate Change: Global Consensus, Lingering Discrepancies

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has achieved a general consensus with respect to the report presented at its 27th session this week in Spain, but it must still overcome discrepancies raised by some countries ::link

Paying Farmers to Protect the Planet Is Vital: UN

Paying farmers to protect the environment - rather than just for their produce - will be an important way to ensure a rapidly increasing demand for food does not destroy the planet, a U.N. agency said on Thursday ::link

21 "mega-cities" in danger from rising seas

The nonprofit Worldwatch Institute has released a list of 21 "mega-cities" of 8 million people or more that are in direct danger as a result of global warming and rising seas

Scientist: Greenhouse Gas Levels Grave

Strong worldwide economic growth has accelerated the level of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere to a dangerous threshold scientists had not expected for another decade, according to a leading Australian climate change expert  ::read more

Tree planting, worm farming on World Environment Day

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian protesters held a "picnic rally" against the logging of native forests while hundreds of Indian policemen swapped guns for spades to plant trees on Tuesday to highlight World Environment Day.

Across Asia, people learned about worm farming and composting, listened to lectures about renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions, while school children took part in plays and painting competitions.

::read more

NASA: Just 10 Years To Climate Change "Tipping Point"

Even "moderate additional" greenhouse emissions are likely to push Earth past "critical tipping points" with "dangerous consequences for the planet," according to research conducted by NASA and the Columbia University Earth Institute ::link

U.S. stops breeding chimps for research

Good news!

The U.S. National Institutes of Health, which supports a variety of biomedical studies using animals, will stop breeding government-owned chimpanzees for research -- a step animal rights advocates lauded on Thursday.
::link

Green exercise is effective in treating depression

::via Lamentations

Green exercise such as walking in the country or gardening is an effective treatment for depression, according to a report from the mental health charity Mind.

The report, Ecotherapy - the green agenda for mental health, looked at two studies carried out by the University of Essex to find out if "ecotherapy" was helpful in improving mental health.

Greenland ice melt

::link to a one minute video showing how the melting of Greenland's ice cap has increased.