| Master Says
Let’s Make the Change
-Protect the Environment Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai, Veracruz, Mexico Conference, June 4, 2009(Originally in English)
Bienvenido, respected dignitaries, media members, notable speakers, and all noble conference participants: Hola! (“Hallo” in Spanish) As a very concerned citizen of the world, I humbly greet you, thank you and respectfully salute all of you here today who have come with open hearts and minds for the welfare of this beautiful and beloved planet that we call home. I am deeply grateful for the conference that is being held here today in Veracruz, Mexico, to address the urgency of global warming due to climate change, which sadly, has killed hundreds of thousands and affects hundreds of millions of humans, not including other species. It is my hope that it will raise higher awareness and inspire action toward the most serious international issue of our time.
The information communicated and the noble work being done here today is of paramount importance. It is an honor to share the planet with dedicated people such as yourselves, who strive for the betterment of others. We all know that climate change is a grave issue; we all know what it is, and that the current critical condition of our planet calls for immediate and wise action from every one of us. Please do take note of all info from this conference today and spread them far and wide to save our world from perishing.
I take the opportunity to inform you of the general urgent scenario, though perhaps some of you, or many of you, have already known.
You see, our current course of climate change is worse than the worst case scenario projected by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), with the damaging and often fatal effects already being seen through such extreme events as hurricanes, flooding, droughts and heat waves. Even if the world reduces greenhouse gas emissions, the planet will take time to recover from the gases already in the atmosphere. This is why it is necessary to focus on short-lived gases, namely methane. Methane traps at least 72 times more heat than CO2, averaged over a 20-year period. Methane's biggest source is the livestock industry, which is indeed one of the top causes of global warming that must be stopped.
But first, please allow me to share just some of the latest evidence of the impact, the impacts of climate change on humans’ and animals’ lives.
Here we have first, Arctic melt. The Arctic, or North Pole, may be ice-free by 2012, 70 years ahead of IPCC estimations. Without the protective ice to reflect sunlight, 90 percent of the sun's heat can enter the open water, thus accelerating global warming. The change in Arctic ice cover is dramatic, with climatologists saying that only 10 percent now is older and thick ice, while over 90 percent is newly formed and thin. Another Arctic change is the thawing of permafrost, a normally frozen layer of earth containing methane stores. The thawing of this layer in recent years has caused methane to be released, with atmospheric levels that have risen sharply since 2004. Further global warming beyond a 2-degree Celsius rise could cause billions of tons more of methane to be released into the atmosphere, leading to mass extinctions of life on this planet. As the massive ice sheets of Greenland and the Antarctic continue to melt as well, catastrophic sea level rise and stronger storms are expected to follow. If the entire West Antarctic sheet melts, global average sea levels would rise at least by 3.3, 3.5 meters, affecting over 3.2 billion people,- that is half of the world population,- who live within 200 miles of a coastline. And US scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center now say that if all of Antarctica were to melt, the sea level could rise to a much higher level than expected, some say even up to 70 meters, which means more deadly to all lives on Earth.
Next problem: We have lands sinking and climate refugees. Right now, at least 18 islands have completely submerged around the world, with more than 40 other island nations at risk from rising sea levels. A report from the International Organization for Migration stated that there may be 200 million, or even up to 1 billion people, who will be climate refugees by 2050, or within our lifetime. These are people who must leave their island or coastal homes due to rising sea levels or permafrost melts that cause entire communities or nations to sink and collapse.
Next problem we have: Glacier retreat and water shortage. Most of the planet’s glaciers will be gone within a few decades, jeopardizing the survival of more than 2 billion people. One billion of these people will suffer the effects of the Himalayan glacier retreats, which have been occurring at a pace more rapid than anywhere in the world, with two-thirds of the region’s more than 18,000 glaciers receding. The initial effects of glacier melt are destructive floods and landslides. As the glacial ice retreat continues, reduced rainfall, devastating droughts and water shortages are the result.
Next: Oceanic dead zones. Climate change is creating areas of sea known as dead zones, which now number more than 400. These arise due to fertilizer runoff largely from livestock, contributing to the lack of oxygen which is necessary to support life.
Now we have also record heat. The past decade has twice, at least, seen the hottest average annual temperatures ever recorded in our planet’s history. In 2003, a record heat wave hit Europe, claiming tens of thousands of lives. Heat waves also preceded the worst wildfires ever in Australia’s history.
Next: Storms increasing. The intensity and duration of hurricanes and tropical storms have been noted to increase by 100% over the past 30 years, which scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA say is likely due to climate-related increases in ocean temperature.
Next we have wildlife disappearance. Leading ecologists say that the decline of wildlife due to species extinction is so rapid that there is no modern comparison. Scientists also now predicted that the Earth’s 16,000 endangered species may become extinct 100 times faster than previously thought.
Next, we have drought, desertification. In Nepal and Australia, wildfires this year have been severely intensified by drought conditions. In Africa, people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, to name just a few, have been crippled by drought. According to the United Nations, desertification, which often results from felling too many trees and damage that occurs from such activities as cattle grazing, is affecting the well-being of more than 1.2 billion people in more than 100 countries at risk. Precious fresh water supplies are also drying up, such as aquifers under the major cities of Beijing, Delhi, Bangkok and dozens of other regions such as the Midwestern United States; while the rivers Ganges, Jordan, Nile and Yangtze have been reduced to a trickle for much of the year. In China’s worst drought in five decades, vital crops were lost in at least 12 northern provinces, costing the nation billions of US dollars in drought relief to farmers with losses.
Next we have the human health problem. According to Swiss-based research, climate change is already responsible for some 315,000 deaths a year, with another 325 million people who are severely affected. This comes in addition to an economic loss of US$125 billion every year. The worst affected are developing nations in Africa, with other very threatened areas being in South Asia and small island nations. Solution Okay, we have enough with the problem, but we have solutions to this problem. It might not be that early, but it’s still not too late, we still can rescue our home, planet home. Okay, the number one solution is vegan, organic vegan. Veganism will save our world. I will report to you one by one how the vegan diet would save our world.
We already know about the efforts to reduce emissions such as from industry and transportation. But changes in these sectors are taking too much time – more than we can afford at this rate, at this hour. One of the most effective and fastest ways to reduce the heat in the atmosphere is to eliminate methane production. Methane not only traps up to 72 times more heat than carbon dioxide does, it also goes away from the atmosphere much faster than CO2. So if we stop producing methane, the atmosphere will cool more quickly than if we stop producing carbon dioxide. See what I mean? Organic vegan will produce a beneficial cooling effect as it will cut down methane and other greenhouse gases which are fatal to our survival.
We can start by cutting down on the biggest methane producer in the world, that is, animal raising. So, to cool the planet most quickly, we have to stop consuming meat in order to stop the livestock raising industry, and thus stop greenhouse gases, methane and other toxic gases from animal industry. If everyone in the world would adopt this simple but most powerful practice of an animal-free diet, then we could reverse the effect of global warming in no time. We would then have time to actually be able to adopt longer-term measures such as more green technology, to also remove the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In fact, if we neglect to stop meat production, either all these green efforts will be canceled out in effect, or we may lose the planet before we even have a chance to install any green technology such as wind power or solar power, or more hybrid cars, for that reason. Please also keep in mind that although livestock has been reported to generate 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions—which is more than the world’s transportation sectors combined—this is actually an underestimate. Because recently revised calculations have placed it at generating possibly more than 50% of total global emissions. I repeat: Livestock has been recalculated as to generate possibly more than 50% of total global emissions. More than 50% is from the livestock industry. So that was the number one solution.
Now, number two: eliminating other gases. Besides methane, other lethal toxic gases are emitted by the livestock industry as well. It is the largest source at 65% of global nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas with approximately 300 times the warming potential of CO2, it also emits 64% of all ammonia, which causes acid rain and hydrogen sulfide, a fatal gas. So to stop livestock production is to eliminate all these deadly gases, as well as methane.
Number three: Halting dead zones. There are other huge benefits gained by halting livestock production. Oceanic dead zones, for example, are caused primarily by fertilizer runoff from agriculture that is mainly used for animal feed. Dead zones are a serious threat to the ocean’s ecosystems, but they can be revived if we stop polluting them with our livestock-related activities. Stop fishing, too, then marine life will rebound. Since the heavy fishing that caused the sardines to disappear from the coast of Namibia, eruptions of harmful gases have created a dead zone that is destroying the area’s ecosystems due to the absence of that one humble but eco-beneficial, powerful species. Can you imagine? Just the sardines. So we have to stop fishing as well as using all animal products, to protect our living ocean and water bodies, which is crucial to our survival. You know it.
Now number four: we have to stop desertification. We can. Desertification is another climate change effect that is linked to livestock, again. For example, in Mexico, recent research stated that 47% of your country has already taken the toll of desertification, has become desert, due to damage from the cattle industry. And another 50-70% of the country of Mexico is also suffering from some degree of drought. Overgrazing by livestock, which occupies nearly a third of our Earth’s land surface worldwide, is a major cause of desertification and other damage, and is responsible for more than 50% of land erosion. Now, we must stop livestock grazing to protect our soil and protect our life.
Number five: We can stop water shortage. While droughts are plaguing more populations, we cannot afford to waste water. Meat production uses massive amounts of water, as you know. It takes up to 1,200 gallons of fresh and good clean water to produce just one serving of beef. In contrast, a full vegan meal costs only 98 gallons of water. That is like 90-plus percent less. So, if we want to stop water shortage and to preserve precious water, we have to stop animal products.
Now, six: we can stop deforestation. We have to ban deforestation. And we have to plant more trees, of course. Wherever there’s erosion or empty land, we have to plant trees. Now, deforestation is also largely driven by meat production. With the United Nations estimating that deforestation accounts for approximately 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions, nearly all deforestation itself is related to meat production. Eighty percent of cleared Amazon forest is designated as a cattle grazing area to prepare the animals for slaughter, and the remainder is planted as soy crops used also largely for animal feed. So to stop animal products is to protect our precious forest, the lungs of our Earth, and the crucial factor for our survival.
Now, seven: We have to alleviate financial cost. Our leaders are worried about the cost of mitigating climate change. However, the good news is, if the world shifted to a reduced, or meatless diet, animal-free diet, then we could reduce the cost by half or more. That means we would reduce tens of trillions of US dollars. If the world shifted to a vegan diet we could save more than 80% of the cost, or approximately US$32 trillion.
Number eight: We must minimize health cost. The health risks of eating meat are more and more evident these days. Livestock are routinely given excessive hormones and antibiotics, which then, when consumed as meat, can in turn endanger human health. There are also toxic byproducts in slaughter places such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. These poisonous substances have caused deaths among workers due to their extreme toxicity. As a so-called food, meat is simply one of the most unhealthy, poisonous, unhygienic items that could ever be ingested by humans. We should never eat meat at all if we love and cherish our health and our life. We will live longer without meat, and be healthier and wiser without meat. Meat has been scientifically shown to cause all kinds of cancers, also heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and obesity. The list goes on and on and on. All these diseases kill millions of people every year. Millions and millions of people die due to meat-related diseases, making millions others seriously sick and disabled as well. There is no end to the tragedies which are caused by a meat diet. Meat eating is a no-no. We should know this by now through all the scientific and medical evidence. Please stop eating meat. Just even for your health’s sake. You want to live long for your children and your grandchildren, and live healthily. We did not even mention the filthy conditions, the confined environments where the animals are kept until their slaughter, which promote the transmission of diseases such as the swine flu virus. In fact, some meat-transmitted diseases like the human form of mad cow disease are tragically fatal in every case. Whoever contracts mad cow disease is doomed to die, sadly, sadly and sorrowfully. Other contaminants such as E. coli, salmonella, etc., can also cause serious health problems, long-term damages, sometimes even leading to death.
In short, simply saying no to meat will make us richer, healthier, and most importantly, it will make us a wiser person, and a great hero. Because it is the only timely way that we ensure the survival of our children and grandchildren.
CLOSING To conclude my report: Respected, honorable, wise, beloved, esteemed audience members, we now can see how imperative it is to stop the warming of the planet with the greenest of all green policies and actions, the most compassionate, the most heroic, the most life-saving action, that is, the vegan diet, organic vegan to be exact. It’s better for your health as well. It is the long-term insurance against climate change. We must be the solution and encourage others with all the convincing and supporting scientific, physical and moral data that is available to us - so they do the same. Adopting a plant-based diet can halt as much as 80% of global warming, eradicate world hunger, stop war, promote peace, and it will free up the Earth’s water as well as many other precious resources, offering a lifeline for the planet and for humanity. In short, it will very quickly halt many of the global problems facing us right now. Therefore, it is vital that we change our lifestyle. It’s very easy to do it, setting a noble example for others to follow, and doing our part to bring the public’s attention to the urgent climate change issue and its solutions; the foremost being the vegan diet, to safeguard our precious planet. It is time to walk the talk, because there is not much time left now. In coming here today, it is quite clear that all of you already know that the issues at hand are very urgent and need to be resolved immediately. Thank you all statespersons, media members, speakers, conference participants, ladies and gentlemen, for all your time and care in coming here today. And thank you all noble persons involved in organizing this awakening event. I truly appreciate your sincerity and willingness to join with those who share the same goal, for taking initiatives to inform the public and for wanting to implement prompt actions. Together we can usher in a new golden era, where we can all live the noble qualities of love, compassion and benevolence as was intended, live up to the principles of nonviolence and forgiveness, exemplifying the human standard of virtuous living, righteous living, and live a more sustainable life in peace, joy and harmony with each other, with all our co-inhabitants;- humans, animals, plants, trees alike. I am quite sure that this conference will contribute greatly
to the worldwide efforts of all nations to save our planet. My most
heartfelt gratitude to all who took part in making this a reality.
May Heaven bless you, your loved ones and your countries. And may
all your noble endeavors be graced with glorious success!
To watch the Supreme Master Television coverage of this videoconference, please visit:
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Luckily there are easy actions we can take. I will list them for your reference. Now, many of these areas where we are seeing such devastating effects of climate change, such as Arctic melt, lands sinking, water shortage from glacier melt, and even storms increasing are all directly related to the Earth’s temperature increasing. So, we must cool the planet, first and foremost. And the best way to stop global warming is to stop producing the greenhouse gases that create the heat. Logical, no? Yes.
