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General Buddhism => General Buddhism => Topic started by: jeremyg on March 18, 2012, 11:20:48 AM
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This past week i was thinking about the world. And how that everything the world experiences as a whole must be due to collective karma of all living beings on this planet. This i truly believe.
However I was also thinking if we do no recycle, waste water, waster food, waste electricity, and contribute to climate change and global warming, do we gain negative karma? I say this because we are directly, and also indirectly creating more suffering for others. Its quite a hard idea to wrap ones mind around, but what do you think?
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Global warming are cause by green house gases that comes from heavy industry such as the meat production industry.
Fight Global Warming by Going Vegetarian.
Science shows that going vegan is one of the most effective ways to fight global warming.
A recent United Nations report concluded that a global shift toward a vegan diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change. Senior U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization official Henning Steinfeld reported that the meat industry is "one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems." The official handbook for Live Earth, the anti-global warming concerts that Al Gore helped organize, says that not eating meat is the 'single most effective thing you can do' to reduce your climate change impact.
Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide together cause the vast majority of global warming. Raising animals for food is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide and the single largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
Soure from: http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/global-warming.aspx (http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/global-warming.aspx)
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I agree with you sonamdhargey, global warming is the direct result of our selfish nature and short sightedness .
We only think of our own comfort and satisfaction of our own greed. Out of greed ,to maximize their profits in the shortest time, manufacturers only think of shot term solution without looking into the long term effects of their actions eg. depletion of natural resources, dumping of toxic wastes carelessly.
Years ago, we had been warned of the green house effect. However, we had selfishly thought - this would happen after we are long gone; leave it to others to solve. We did not even bother to reflect the "others" will be our own children or children's children.
Buddha taught us to take responsibility of all our actions because the effects of our actions will come back to us sooner or later; if not in this lifetime ,it'll be the next. Each of our actions are interconnected with actions of others. It never fail to amaze me how the Buddha's view transcends time and space.
Conceited mere mortals like us will need to suffer the consequence such as global warming before we embrace wisdom propounded by the wise one 2,500 years ago.
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This past week i was thinking about the world. And how that everything the world experiences as a whole must be due to collective karma of all living beings on this planet. This i truly believe.
However I was also thinking if we do no recycle, waste water, waster food, waste electricity, and contribute to climate change and global warming, do we gain negative karma? I say this because we are directly, and also indirectly creating more suffering for others. Its quite a hard idea to wrap ones mind around, but what do you think?
What you said is true, everything the world experiences as a whole is due to our collective karma.
My two cents: We have the individual karma to exist on this Earth. Out of all the planets and planes of existence we have the karma to be born on this planet, in whatever form it may be.
So if we are born in this world and create a negative impact whilst in existence, then we will incur the corresponding negative karma.
Thinking about what you said, perhaps signing up with the hundreds of campaigns out there which promotes reducing our carbon footprint would be the best step forward. It should be renamed "Less Negative Karma" campaign!
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There is our individual karma and collective karma as a group. Both of which contributes of course to the larger picture. But I reckon Global warming falls under the category of collective karma. Natural disasters also fall under this. I do not think one person's karma is negative enough to cause such catastrophic results or can it?
Whatever the case is, we cannot say we live in doubt or ignorance anymore... in this day and age we cannot ignore the facts of the matter and we must do our bid for the planet. Not for ourselves but for the future generations. As cliche as it sounds, we are borrowing the planet from our kids!
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All the world's problems are due to the three root delusions of ignorance, desirous attachment and hatred.
Due to the above , we indulge in self cherishing. We think we are most important and as a result our selfish attitudes create waste and excesses to deplete our planet's natural resources. There is enough in the world for our needs but not our wants.Due to greed , we become thiefs of our planet's natural resources . We change the natural order and balance of things to suit ourselves through force, deception etc, disregarding others and nature's delicate balance. Not being able to fufill our wants and greed , we become angry and promote hatred until the whole world, as prophesised by Buddha will be consumed by the fire of hatred.
Global warming is only one aspect or manifestation of the result of living beings' collective negative karma.
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All the world's problems are due to the three root delusions of ignorance, desirous attachment and hatred.
Due to the above , we indulge in self cherishing.
We think we are most important and as a result our selfish attitudes create waste and excesses to deplete our planet's natural resources.
There is enough in the world for our needs but not our wants.
Due to greed , we become thiefs of our planet's natural resources .
We change the natural order and balance of things to suit ourselves through force, deception etc, disregarding others and nature's delicate balance.
Not being able to fufill our wants and greed , we become angry and promote hatred until the whole world, as prophesised by Buddha will be consumed by the fire of hatred.
Global warming is only one aspect or manifestation of the result of living beings' collective negative karma.
Thank you KG for this post.
I do so agree with every point you make.
YES, global warming is karma, what else could it be?
And the debate will go on about karma when scientists say that the cause for global warming is carbon dioxide production, pollution, intensive industrialization, meat production, etc....
The thing is: IT IS ALL THAT AND IT IS KARMA.
How does karma manifest itself? By a "miraculous" global warming?
Of course it would have a material cause, just like rainbows have a cause, and yet are divine signs...
Only when we can let go of our materialistic minds can we see matter-less miracles...
The question to answer on this topic though is this one, I think:
"WHAT ARE THE KARMIC CAUSES TO REVERSE GLOBAL WARMING AND GLOBAL WORLD POLLUTION?"
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This past week i was thinking about the world. And how that everything the world experiences as a whole must be due to collective karma of all living beings on this planet. This i truly believe.
However I was also thinking if we do no recycle, waste water, waster food, waste electricity, and contribute to climate change and global warming, do we gain negative karma? I say this because we are directly, and also indirectly creating more suffering for others. Its quite a hard idea to wrap ones mind around, but what do you think?
Interesting question... well I'd say it's yes and no at the same time. Why? Here's my reasoning...
Global warming if you see it in a bigger picture, is the cause of our greed. How is it so? Let's be honest, do you really need to have 5 houses, 1 hummer and 2 more spare cars, on the airconditioning 24 hours a day, and eat meat (we all know that's one of the major cause of global warming too)?
So lets just do an equation... attachment = greed + -ve karma + global warming
Any objections? lol...
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I think global warming or any natural disasters fall under collective karma. Raising animals for our consumption is one of the main problems of global warming caused by the emission of green house gases. So the first step to fight global warming is to cut down our attachment to meat. By cutting down on meat, we will not be collecting the negative karma of eating meat and at the same time play our part in reducing global warming.
We must take care of this planet we are living now as in our future lives we may come back to this planet and it would not be a nice place to be if it is affected by the worsening of global warming.
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Whatever we do, the karma will come back.
If we abuse our nature, we chop down tree, we waste water, we waste food, etc, it will come back.
If we take care of our nature, we use what we need, we save water, etc, it will come back.
I felt that reincarnation is a very good way to "warn" people about saving resources on this planet earth, because YOU WILL COME BACK and don't think it will not affect you :) [Most of the people never believe that they will "come back" after death, so they just don't care about how they use the resources]
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Whatever we do, the karma will come back.
If we abuse our nature, we chop down tree, we waste water, we waste food, etc, it will come back.
If we take care of our nature, we use what we need, we save water, etc, it will come back.
I felt that reincarnation is a very good way to "warn" people about saving resources on this planet earth, because YOU WILL COME BACK and don't think it will not affect you :) [Most of the people never believe that they will "come back" after death, so they just don't care about how they use the resources]
kris , agreed with you and this make me think about what harm had we caused to our planet as a buddhist when we make incense offering to buddha : -
the process of making incense involve of chopping down trees ,grind it to powder form , combined with tree leaves ..ect....how do we saving resources on this planet earth by doing so ?
and here comes another one : -
when we burned incense,it will cause damaging effects of incense smoke on the atmosphere. ( the Environmental Protection Agency has warned again that burning such incense outdoors is illegal and will result in large fines ).
With the EPA imposing such a ban, it is clear that just as burning incense outdoors poses a threat to the environment, burning incense indoors is extremely hazardous to human health. While often marketed as a method for promoting a sense of peace and purifying the air, incense simply masks odors by emitting large quantities of particulate matter. And because these particulates have a mere diameter of no more than two and a half microns (a micron equals one millionth of a meter), they are easily able to avoid filtration and make their way deep into the lungs.
now, making incense offering to buddha can gain merit while the karma could come back to us when we harm planet earth... :o
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Whatever we do, the karma will come back.
If we abuse our nature, we chop down tree, we waste water, we waste food, etc, it will come back.
If we take care of our nature, we use what we need, we save water, etc, it will come back.
I felt that reincarnation is a very good way to "warn" people about saving resources on this planet earth, because YOU WILL COME BACK and don't think it will not affect you :) [Most of the people never believe that they will "come back" after death, so they just don't care about how they use the resources]
This is so true... we are actually destroying our own futures if we keep on this self destructive path and ruining our planets natural resources. However, it is also presumptuous that we will have the chance to come back in human form.
If we do not transform our minds, I am pretty sure most of us will go to the 3 lower realms. We are in the most opportune condition now... make a change now and ensure we DO RETURN in yet another opportune condition to further our practice.
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kris , agreed with you and this make me think about what harm had we caused to our planet as a buddhist when we make incense offering to buddha : -
the process of making incense involve of chopping down trees ,grind it to powder form , combined with tree leaves ..ect....how do we saving resources on this planet earth by doing so ?
and here comes another one : -
when we burned incense,it will cause damaging effects of incense smoke on the atmosphere. ( the Environmental Protection Agency has warned again that burning such incense outdoors is illegal and will result in large fines ).
With the EPA imposing such a ban, it is clear that just as burning incense outdoors poses a threat to the environment, burning incense indoors is extremely hazardous to human health. While often marketed as a method for promoting a sense of peace and purifying the air, incense simply masks odors by emitting large quantities of particulate matter. And because these particulates have a mere diameter of no more than two and a half microns (a micron equals one millionth of a meter), they are easily able to avoid filtration and make their way deep into the lungs.
now, making incense offering to buddha can gain merit while the karma could come back to us when we harm planet earth... :o
Wow, Nagaseeker, doesn't this sound like a vicious cycle?
I guess as long as we are born in this desire realm as a human, we are bound to collect good/bad karma simultaneousy, sometimes good karma more and bad karma less, and sometimes bad karma more and good karma less.
I thank jeremyg for starting this post, because this is indeed a serious topic that we should start paying attention too before it is too late. Definitely there are karmic consequences of whatever we do to the earth out of either our selfishness, ignorances, or attachments.
We should seriously start educating our children regarding this, school should start an active campagin of how as citizens of the world, we can play our part in contributing to a cleaner and more condusive environment to live. This must be a topic that the government of every single country should start in their school curriculum.
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The environment that all sentient beings live in arose from the causes that they have created individually and collectively in the past. For example on the Planet Earth, every human or animal has different living conditions. Some live in luxury like the gods whereas some live in harsh conditions like the hell beings.
I fully agree with what KhedrubGyatso had said: “All the world's problems are due to the three root delusions of ignorance, desirous attachment and hatred.” These three poisons of ignorance, attachment and anger are the causes for earthquakes, droughts, extreme weather conditions, thunderstorms, floods and global warming.
Our environment is constantly changing moment to moment due to ripening of collective karma of all sentient beings living on Planet Earth. No matter how insignificant our negative action is, it adds on to the karma. Global warming does not happen overnight, it had built up over the last few decades.
Yes I do agree that when we ignorantly waste our natural resources like water, food, electricity, we are depriving ourselves and others of those resources in the future. We are causing harm to not only ourselves but others. And that’s negative karma!
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Definitely, global warming is the result of our collective karma due to our actions arising from the 3 poisons. If we want to illustrate this without using the word "karma" or "3 poisons", the value chain for global warming can be explained as follows:
Some contributors to global warming:
Demand for meat - Particularly in affluent societies (especially where there is strong fast food culture) where consumption of meat is very high, this inevitably results in mass breeding of livestock. Moreover a lot goes wasted due to meat being easily obtainable and affordable.
Demand for products of convenience - for example if you walk into Daiso, you will see a lot of innovative and cheap products which we don't really need, and that are made out of plastic. Actually if you just walk to any shopping mall or flea market stalls... how many of those things are what we NEED? trinkets, things that seemed like such a good idea at the time, ornaments.. We are greedy for cheap things which look pretty and makes us feel good in the short term.
Demand for convenience - simplest example is choosing not to use public transport. Ok fair enough that not every country's public transport system is awesome, but if everyone REALLY cared for the environment and the carbon footprints they are making and thought about the future generations from the start, there would be much better public transport systems and less private cars on the road, definitely.
Demand for profit - because everyone wants gain so much that they forget to weigh/ignore the expenses of obtaining such gains to others... we supply whatever the masses demand even though it is detrimental to them and the environment e.g. cigarettes, Styrofoam packets.
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Demand for meat - Particularly in affluent societies (especially where there is strong fast food culture) where consumption of meat is very high, this inevitably results in mass breeding of livestock. Moreover a lot goes wasted due to meat being easily obtainable and affordable.
The statement shared by Negra above is something not a lot of us know. It is actually quite a scary number/contributor to the global warming effect. The methane (flatulence) produced by animal agriculture is one of the major contributors to the greenhouse effect. Read more about it:
Methane and Vegetarianism
By far the most important non-CO2 greenhouse gas is methane, and the number one source of methane worldwide is animal agriculture.
Methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together. Methane is 21 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2. While atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have risen by about 31% since pre-industrial times, methane concentrations have more than doubled. Whereas human sources of CO2 amount to just 3% of natural emissions, human sources produce one and a half times as much methane as all natural sources. In fact, the effect of our methane emissions may be compounded as methane-induced warming in turn stimulates microbial decay of organic matter in wetlands—the primary natural source of methane.
With methane emissions causing nearly half of the planet’s human-induced warming, methane reduction must be a priority. Methane is produced by a number of sources, including coal mining and landfills—but the number one source worldwide is animal agriculture. Animal agriculture produces more than 100 million tons of methane a year. And this source is on the rise: global meat consumption has increased fivefold in the past fifty years, and shows little sign of abating. About 85% of this methane is produced in the digestive processes of livestock, and while a single cow releases a relatively small amount of methane, the collective effect on the environment of the hundreds of millions of livestock animals worldwide is enormous. An additional 15% of animal agricultural methane emissions are released from the massive “lagoons” used to store untreated farm animal waste, and already a target of environmentalists’ for their role as the number one source of water pollution in the U.S.
The conclusion is simple: arguably the best way to reduce global warming in our lifetimes is to reduce or eliminate our consumption of animal products. Simply by going vegetarian (or, strictly speaking, vegan), , , we can eliminate one of the major sources of emissions of methane, the greenhouse gas responsible for almost half of the global warming impacting the planet today.
Advantages of Vegetarianism over CO2 Reduction
In addition to having the advantage of immediately reducing global warming, a shift away from methane-emitting food sources is much easier than cutting carbon dioxide.
First, there is no limit to reductions in this source of greenhouse gas that can be achieved through vegetarian diet. In principle, even 100% reduction could be achieved with little negative impact. In contrast, similar cuts in carbon dioxide are impossible without devastating effects on the economy. Even the most ambitious carbon dioxide reduction strategies fall short of cutting emissions by half.
Second, shifts in diet lower greenhouse gas emissions much more quickly than shifts away from the fossil fuel burning technologies that emit carbon dioxide. The turnover rate for most ruminant farm animals is one or two years, so that decreases in meat consumption would result in almost immediate drops in methane emissions. The turnover rate for cars and power plants, on the other hand, can be decades. Even if cheap, zero-emission fuel sources were available today, they would take many years to build and slowly replace the massive infrastructure our economy depends upon today.
Similarly, unlike carbon dioxide which can remain in the air for more than a century, methane cycles out of the atmosphere in just eight years, so that lower methane emissions quickly translate to cooling of the earth.
Third, efforts to cut carbon dioxide involve fighting powerful and wealthy business interests like the auto and oil industries. Environmental groups have been lobbying for years to make fuel-efficient SUVs available or phase out power plants that don’t meet modern environmental standards without success. At the same time, vegetarian foods are readily available, and cuts in agricultural methane emissions are achievable at every meal.
Also, polls show that concern about global warming is widespread, and environmental activists often feel helpless to do anything about it. Unless they happen to be buying a car or major appliance, most people wanting to make a difference are given little to do aside from writing their legislators and turning off their lights. Reducing or eliminating meat consumption is something concerned citizens can do every day to help the planet.
Finally, it is worth noting that reductions in this source of greenhouse gas have many beneficial side effects for the environment. Less methane results in less tropospheric ozone, a pollutant damaging to human health and agriculture. Moreover, the same factory farms responsible for these methane emissions also use up most of the country’s water supply, and denude most of its wilderness for rangeland and growing feed. Creating rangeland to feed western nations’ growing appetite for meat has been a major source of deforestation and desertification in third world countries. Factory farm waste lagoons are a leading source of water pollution in the U.S. Indeed, because of animal agriculture’s high demand for fossil fuels, the average American diet is far more CO2-polluting than a plant-based one.
SCARY THOUGHT HUH... Well... if we all became vegetarians the problem will be solved very quickly but seeing as the human race cant seem to stop killing, we may not have a planet to come back to even if we did have the merits to return to this opportune human condition... How is that for karma!
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Here are some shocking data about the global warming :
- 5 warmest years since 1890 are in this order: 2005, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004 – only a coincidence?
-global warming is caused by gases like: CO2, CH4, N2O, O3. Trees help reduce the gases, but if we cut them down and burn them, CO2 is released back in the atmosphere;
-1/3 of global warming caused by humans is due to electricity and heating, 1/3 due to traffic and 1/3 due to our activities at home, work, farms, industry, waste etc.
- prior to industrial revolution concentration of CO2 in the air was 280 ppm (parts per million).
Today it is 380 ppm, scientists warn that concentration of 500 ppm could cause a disastrous instability of the climate system.
- in the last decade of the previous century the number of natural disasters tripled compared to the decade of 1960-70.
-scientists forecast that the average global temperature will raise for 1,4 C to 5,8 C in the period from 1990 to 2100. This is from two times to ten times more than the average raise in temperature in the 20th century.
- warming will be more severe in north and south pole and in the continental climate zone; it will be less severe at equator and at the coastal areas; until 2035 half of the existing glaciers in the Alps could disappear, until the middle of the century 3/4 will be gone. Due to the melting of the ice sea level will raise. In the 20th century this process was a millimeter or two each year, which is already much faster than in the 19th century; in the middle term the level of sea will raise for 5 cm each 10 years.
More than half of the world's human population will be hurt by natural disasters, weather extremes like storms and droughts will occur more frequently.
Climate zones will change – Siberia might grow cereals, some places now fertile but a bit dry, might turn into deserts.
Timing of seasons might change in the agriculture as well as growth levels of the plants.
From the above shocking data and seriously think about THE MOTHER EARTH right now, all the natural disasters that happened to the earth, definitely causing by HUMAN COLLECTIVE KARMA.
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The Dalai Lama's website has a section on Environment.
http://www.dalailama.com/messages/environment (http://www.dalailama.com/messages/environment)
One of the earlier messages he said about the environment:
It is not difficult to forgive destruction in the past, which resulted from ignorance. Today, however, we have access to more information, and it is essential that we re-examine ethically what we have inherited, what we are responsible for, and what we will pass on to coming generations. Clearly this is a pivotal generation. Global communication is possible, yet confrontations take place more often than meaningful dialogues for peace... Many of the earth's habitats, animals, plants, insects, and even microorganisms that we know of as rare or endangered, may not be known at all by future generations. We have the capacity, and the responsibility. We must act before it is too late.
I feel quite heart broken to know that this message was delivered on June 5, 1986 when I was not even 1 years old. The things we are all talking about today, he had already spoken of it almost 30 years ago, and obviously hardly anyone at that time paid any heed. Now my generation and the generations after me will have to deal with this mess which our predecessors have left for us.
If it weren't for dharma, I would've been really angry and feel that the blame is on the developed countries, the politicians, everyone else, oh poor me and future generations. But from a Buddhist perspective, I am and everyone are jointly responsible. It is good to know that a lot of people realise this too and are taking action to counter the causes of global warming/climate change, starting with themselves.
Being a vegetarian, my conscience feels much lighter =p
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Yes I agree that global warming is a result of karma. This is our collective karma manifesting. All the answers are available to turn around global warming. Unfortunately, we choose to ignore them because of our selfish attachments. When do we all accept the fact that global warming will lead to more sufferings in the future? Do we not have enough natural calamities to wake us up?
Must we lose someone first due to global warming before we do something right? Are we so deluded that we don't even see danger coming our way?
It is our social responsibility to protect our environment. We only have 1 planet to live on. When we destroy it, where else can we go? Perhaps the 3 lower realms.
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Whatever we do, the karma will come back.
If we abuse our nature, we chop down tree, we waste water, we waste food, etc, it will come back.
If we take care of our nature, we use what we need, we save water, etc, it will come back.
I felt that reincarnation is a very good way to "warn" people about saving resources on this planet earth, because YOU WILL COME BACK and don't think it will not affect you :) [Most of the people never believe that they will "come back" after death, so they just don't care about how they use the resources]
It’s so true. Global warming is all due to karma. [Most of the people never believe that they will "come back" after death, so they just don't care about how they use the resources] We are selfish, greedy to get what we want and abused and neglected the world. It’s our collective karma that causes the world falls sick, tsunami, earthquakes, floods, extreme weather conditions etc.
Luckily with the law of Karma, we can do something to create the positive causes to reduce global warming too.
1. Reduce the wastage of the resources, paper, water, electricity, etc. Save energy and go green!
2. Vegetarianism! As shared by Positive Change on Negra’s statement “The methane (flatulence) produced by animal agriculture is one of the major contributors to the greenhouse effect.”, we should all go vegetarian. Actually, this is the initial cause for me to go vegetarian other than religious reasons for not killing.
3. Reuse and Recycle.
If we believe we have future lives, we should even do more for our world. All of us play a part and let’s work towards a beautiful world for our next generation... actually, for ourselves too!
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Contributing to Global Warming would be a form of negative karma, because you are acting out of selfishness and causing suffering to others. Why would you litter, pollute, contribute to greenhouse gases etc otherwise if it does not benefit you somehow or for personal gain? The Earth does not belong to us, so therefore, depleting something that is shared amongst everyone and not owned by us, at the cost of others would incur negative karma, no?
I like what Kris said and how Kris tied it back to reincarnation. We act the way we do, because we ignorantly think that whatever we do, we will not have to suffer the consequences later eg. in this case, adding to global warming. We think that after we pass on, that's it. We won't have to come back to experience what we had a part to play in...but little do we know that what goes around comes around. :)
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definitely gotta be our collective negative karma! We humans did too many "too unnatural" things to the earth that caused polution and the vanishing of the supposedly thick ozone layer. that also does not include our killings on animals everyday, did everyone here realise that killing an animal for food or fun (!) is also considered as "unnatural". i read it somewhere in an article that says killing is not natural to all beings that lives on earth. imagine how many chickens, boars, cows etc were slaughtered everyday just to satisfy our humans' desire for food and good taste. and anyone here actually realised the amount of polution we have contributed to the society including the vehicle, garbage, winter heaters and air conditionings plus many other machines that can cause polution to the mother earth. now we realised. so Global warming is just another result of our wrongdoings actually. we created the cause for the pollution to happen everyday because either anyone device or any catergory we name, we are guilty of it too....
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definitely gotta be our collective negative karma! We humans did too many "too unnatural" things to the earth that caused polution and the vanishing of the supposedly thick ozone layer. that also does not include our killings on animals everyday, did everyone here realise that killing an animal for food or fun (!) is also considered as "unnatural". i read it somewhere in an article that says killing is not natural to all beings that lives on earth. imagine how many chickens, boars, cows etc were slaughtered everyday just to satisfy our humans' desire for food and good taste. and anyone here actually realised the amount of polution we have contributed to the society including the vehicle, garbage, winter heaters and air conditionings plus many other machines that can cause polution to the mother earth. now we realised. so Global warming is just another result of our wrongdoings actually. we created the cause for the pollution to happen everyday because either anyone device or any catergory we name, we are guilty of it too....
It is interesting and true what you say here... It is indeed unnatural. What is more unnatural is that we do not even "kill" per se. We leave it up to someone to do the killing and we buy the body parts packed in further environmentally unfriendly materials! The human race has become desensitized to this heinous daily act. We do not even bat an eyelid as to where and how our so called food comes from!
Moreover, we have gone completely away from organic farming which was the norm before and everyone eused to cultivate or plant what they needed according to the seasons. Nowadays, the food is flown halfway across the world to satisfy our so called needs... sad if you ask me. It was not so long ago when I recall that we could only get seasonal vegetables or fruits but now, we can get anything and everything we want the moment we walk into a supermarket...
And has anyone wondered what happens to the expired goods? Which I am sure amounts to A LOT! There must be tons of food wasted while half the planet is starving... is this karma or what? Sigh!
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I believe that karma is what of a persons own individual doing that they choose to inflict upon themselves. Global Warming is a huge issue going on at the moment, I believe yes, that each and everyone of us plays a huge part in keeping our environment a clean yet safe place for all of us, sentient beings to feel secure. What each of us individuals do reflects us, humans as a whole. By being a part of any Go Green committee we are changing our karma for the better. The more we don't care about the global issues around us, the more inconsiderate we grow which also leads to a lack of compassion. Compassion is crucial in collect good merits. As we litter we may dirty what seem to us is a street or a bus stop but to some others it is their home. As a child I've always wished when I grew up I would solve a theory on the reversing the causes of global warming that causes the imbalance weather and natural disasters that have been occurring around the world, such as the recent Earthquake in Japan. This maybe a difficult opinion to base on as I intertwine my thoughts of religion with science, but in my opinion both science and religion would not exist without each other.
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Recently I read in the Newsweek magazine that an island in the pacific is sinking due to the melting of the ice and the resultant rise of the sea level. This means that the inhabitants of the island will have to move to another place and thus lose their homes. How sad...
If the glaciers continue to melt, a lot of precious land will be lost and humans will suffer lack of habitable land. Efforts have been made but they are still not enough to stop global warming due to lack of cooperation from certain nations. I think it is necessary to educate the younger generations to care for the environment more. If we take care of the environment, it will take care of us. Very simple but not easy to implement at a global level.
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I appreciate the concern global warming and what it does to our next generations..
Let's take a step back and look at the situation from a longer time frame (across lifetimes) and the entire universe and beyond. Planet earth is only ONE of the abode for beings which exist in physical forms, there are countless places in the entire universe that we can take rebirth ! Do we still need to place so much emphasis on environmental issues of planet earth? Would I be wrong to say that we are making such big fuss over One sand when we know we are standing on a beach?
Don't get me wrong, I am just trying to look at this issue from another angle, i will ddefinitely send used cans, bottle and papers for recycling (just in case I am taking rebirth in this same planet again!)
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I think that global warming is a direct cause of our collective karma even if it is not from this life. Ever since the industrial revolution, pollution has been consuming this planet. It is mostly the selfishness of some people on Earth who think that if they pollute, then the new generations suffer, not them. They do not understand the concept of reincarnation. They could actually be reborn on Earth when environmental damage is at it's peak. I agree with SonamDhargey, vegetarianism is very important right now because slaughterhouses produce a lot of smoke and the fishing industry pollutes the oceans with tons of fish guts, there are may other examples about how eating meat contributes to environmental damages. Also, there is a compassionate aspect to vegetarianism. When you feel compassionate towards the animals that are dying for the sake of people's stomachs, you would create the causes for attainting a mind of bodhicitta which is a mind of compassion. Humans require this form of compassion because it will make them better people.
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Global warming are cause by green house gases that comes from heavy industry such as the meat production industry.
Fight Global Warming by Going Vegetarian.
Science shows that going vegan is one of the most effective ways to fight global warming.
A recent United Nations report concluded that a global shift toward a vegan diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change. Senior U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization official Henning Steinfeld reported that the meat industry is "one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems." The official handbook for Live Earth, the anti-global warming concerts that Al Gore helped organize, says that not eating meat is the 'single most effective thing you can do' to reduce your climate change impact.
Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide together cause the vast majority of global warming. Raising animals for food is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide and the single largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
Soure from: [url]http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/global-warming.aspx[/url] ([url]http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/global-warming.aspx[/url])
Definitely global warming is a result of our collective karma. Even without believing in karma, if we look at the ways we exploit our planet, it all makes sense. There must be a change in our attitudes from extreme selfishness to being more caring to others and our environment.
Sonamdhargey pointed out that meat production is the main contributor to the greenhouse effect. There are also other factors that contribute. If all us do our part consistently to reduce harm to our environment this will require a change in our attitudes. In Buddhism, we call it a mind transformation.
My Lama says that the most effective way to purify our karma is to transform our mind. It will also generate the most merits. In a nutshell, there is hope in saving ourselves.
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The stark truth of the matter is we are going past a precipice of change already... to a point where there is no turning back, that is if we have not already past that point.
We all know the saying, "this is not our planet but the planet we have borrowed from our children!". It may ring true before or perhaps now but no so true in the very near future if we did nothing. Why? Well, when we borrow something, we give it back... but in the case of out planet, we may not have anything to give back!!!
A truer statement would be "Sorry I stole the planet from you my children!!!"
And this drastic change (which we need) could well come from just refraining from eating meat... a simple solution yet we hold on to our selfish wants and needs... And we call ourselves human? Which by the way, the word humane kinda stems from... go figure!
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Definitely our collection of negative karma cause the global warming.
Human are very intelligent to create so many wonderful thing to make ourselves more convenience but human never think how to pay back to nature, or at least how to save it or use it less, most of us do not think about that.
Why there are so many diseases that very difficult to heal, why so many disasters happen in different area very often. its because we destroy the system of nature so the climates are up side down, in some area can have cold, hot and rain in one day etc..
Now there are the hype to go more on natural environment and preserve the nature which hopefully we will be able to change the karma of it towards these good actions.
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Global Warming is when the earth heats up and it happen when greenhouse gases trap heat and light from the sun in the earth's atmosphere,animals and plants.Every person is responsible for his or her acts and thoughts.People are blaming their actions on someone or something other than themselves.Ignoring this reality cause people to shirk their responsibilities because they do not believe that their actions really caused reaction.Global warming is quite a recent phenomenon that came to international prominence by the end of the 20th century.Man made pollution was known to affect the climate system of the planet as long as the middle of the nineteenth century.
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Of course global warming is a direct result of our collective karma ! Who else could have caused this on earth ? Can't be the trees or chimpanzees !
We are the ones who plunder and pollute the earth with our selfish and short sighted deeds. I agree mostly with what kris said earlier, if only all of humanity realise that not only are they polluting their future generations world but also potentially the world that they are going to be reincarnated in their next rebirth .
I think the acceptance of the concept of karmic effect would resonate well with the issue of global warming and that, put together with the idea of reincarnation would be a very good antidote to our careless attitudes towards the environment.
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I found this article which I find rather disturbing and alarming if it were to come to fruition. I have highlighted some shocking truths:
Some like it hot. According to environmentalist James Lovelock, we'll get plenty of hot between now and the end of the century. "We are so far down the path toward the hottest we have been, since we were 55 million years ago," Dr. Lovelock, who is also a leading atmospheric scientist, told StockInterview in a tape-recorded interview last week, "that as many of us look at it, it's not going to make very much difference what anybody does." In stronger commentary, which he wrote for England's Independent newspaper, this past January, Lovelock warned, "The Earth is about to catch a morbid fever that may last as long as 100,000 years." And we were worrying about another Ice Age?
Skeptics might wonder if his 1200-word essay was just book publicity hype. Lovelock's scathing our-world-is-doomed article was published about two weeks before Penguin Books (UK) began selling his latest work, The Revenge of Gaia, in bookstores across the British Isles. He did admit within his newspaper commentary, "This article is the most difficult I have written." While interviewing Dr. Lovelock, during our transatlantic phone conversation, the octogenarian sounded sad with his prediction, but still optimistic, despite his ruthless appraisal of what may lay ahead for the rest of this century. "I see the crunch coming as an opportunity to improve ourselves in a way. Who knows? Man may have a better chance when he starts again."
ONLY ABOUT ONE BILLION HUMANS WILL SURVIVE
What does he mean by starting again? "By the end of this century, there is a high probability that the bulk of our species on the planet will be eliminated," the soft-spoken Lovelock gravely remarked. "There may be something, plus or minus, on the order of a billion left." Is there much hope, we asked. "I don't see our current civilization hacking it," he lamented in his response. But, but, what if? "Enormous changes must be made," he stressed. "Society is much too slow in cutting back." He insisted these changes should have started at least 50 years ago. Later he added, as an afterthought, "If Europe and USA were trying to be good and cut back by 30 percent, it's really not going to help much. I don't think the public wants to do it."
In Lovelock's forecast, he envisions, at the end of this century, the last few humans would be forced to rebuild the remnants of our civilization in the Arctic. It won't be as cold up there by then, as you might think. He told us, "Within 25 years, most of the global ice in the Arctic will be gone. You will be able to take a sailboat to the North Pole." How long before we begin to feel these changes? "In my own modeling, I rather think it is an unknown number of years," Lovelock explained. "It may be five years or it may be 30 years." He offered a visual, "Think of it as a rope or a string. Global warming may run up in a straight line or a curve lying a bit loose as the IPCC seems to project."
Lovelock summarized why his forecast is dire and probably irreversible, "Everybody forgets the greatest damage we've done to the earth is not so much the emissions from greenhouse gases, but taking away the natural resistance from the farmland ecosystem. By doing that, we have disabled the planet's ability to regulate itself." Lovelock does not enjoy painting a picture of what earth might look like several decades from now. He wrote in the Independent, in January, "Much of the tropical land mass will become scrub and desert, and will no longer serve for regulation; this adds to the 40 per cent of the Earth's surface we have depleted to feed ourselves." Through his book and in various articles, Lovelock has repeatedly blasted environmentalists who gamble away earth's future by campaigning for renewable energy sources.
That's when we began talking about environmentalists, especially the idealists who claim to be helping preserve the earth. So, we asked this leading environmental scientist what was really wrong with today's environmental movement. Bitterness entered his voice when Lovelock answered, "It's mostly made up of urban people, who know almost nothing about the countryside and still less about the ecosystem." He scoffed, "Their solutions are basically urban-political solutions. They continue to insist on wanting to run their cars on bio fuels. This is one of the maddest ideas of the lot." Lovelock cuts no slack for those championing the cause of bio fuels. He writes in The Revenge of Gaia, "It would require us to burn every year about two to three gigatons of carbon as bio fuel (a gigatons is one thousand million tons). Compare this quantity with our yearly food consumption of half a gigaton tons... We would need the land area of several Earths just to grow fuel."
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Does he believe environmentalists are wrecking the environment? "I'm afraid I do," he glumly responded. Because we know there remain several environmental groups who refuse to embrace nuclear energy as a much-needed solution to the planet's energy mix, we asked what he would like to say about them. "They are being very foolish," he quickly shot back. After a pause, he added, "They are living in a dream world." Like the father figure he is, Lovelock is disappointed but tries to remain buoyant. He wrote in his recent book, "My feelings about modern environmentalism are more parallel with those that might pass through the mind of a head-mistress of an inner-city school or the colonel of a newly formed regiment of licentious, and naturally disobedient young men: how the hell can these unruly charges be disciplined and made effective?"
LOVELOCK WANTS THE WORLD TO GO NUCLEAR NOW
The headline of a recent editorial in a Boston newspaper asked, "Are Pro Nuclear People the New Greens?" We discussed that. "It's a bit of an old term, really," he grinned. "Nuclear has been around for more than 40 years at least. I suppose in some countries, like the United Kingdom, you will find some groups are looking more toward nuclear."
Make no mistake in thinking James Lovelock is anything but Pro Nuclear. His quote adorns the top of the front page of the World Nuclear Association's website, "There is no sensible alternative to nuclear power if we are to sustain civilization." Rightly so, the trade association refers to their proponent as the "preeminent world leader in the development of environmental consciousness." In his book, Lovelock writes, "There is no alternative but nuclear fission until fusion energy and sensible forms of renewable energy arrive as a truly long-term provider. Nuclear energy is free of emissions and independent of imports from what will be a disturbed world."
Lovelock briefly analyzes the value and harm of each energy source in The Revenge of Gaia. He has a burning disgust for coal mining, and finds carbon-based fuels inefficient and dangerous, not only to humans but also to earth as a self-regulating system. He has frequently warned that renewables are insufficient to meet our planetary energy needs. In contrast to renewable advocates Amory Lovins or Senator Hillary Clinton, Lovelock sees little value in the immediate future for either solar or wind energy programs, and has harsh words for them, writing, "It will fail and bring discredit both to the greens and to the politicians foolish enough to adopt renewables as a major source of energy before they have been properly developed." He believes their renewable energy solutions might only hasten our civilization's demise.
Because Lovelock strongly opposes widespread mining, and because nuclear power depends upon the mining of uranium, how does he feel about uranium mining? "I don't think it matters because it will never be a very big operation," he replied. "When you consider the ratio of the energy produced from uranium compared to coal, on a ratio of millions to one, the quantity of uranium being mined is trivial compared to coal mining." We explained to Dr. Lovelock how U.S. uranium companies replaced conventional mining with In Situ uranium recovery. Lovelock thought the In Situ is "a good idea because it mobilizes the uranium with the oxygen in the water and doesn't make a god-awful mess of the environment."
CALLS NAVAJO NATION URANIUM BAN ABSURD
Because of our coverage regarding environmental developments in New Mexico for companies such as Uranium Resources (OTC BB: URRE) and Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM; Other OTC: STHJF), we talked about uranium mining in that state. Given that it was such an odd event, we discussed the Navajo Nation ban on uranium mining in the four-state tribal reservation area, called 'Four Corners.' Puzzled ourselves by this, based upon the latest scientific developments of the in situ uranium recovery method, we discussed an earlier conversation we had with Dr. Fred Begay.
This past November, while visiting Los Alamos National Laboratories (LANL), we had asked Dr. Fred Begay about the new face of uranium mining. Dr. Begay, who is both a nuclear physicist and a Navajo, was continuing his affiliation with LANL by conducting community out-reach programs on the Navajo reservation. He told StockInterview, "The Navajo don't get it. They have illiteracy on mining and uranium."
We asked James Lovelock what he thought of the Navajo uranium ban in the context that the tribe also receives about $100 million annually from coal mining royalties. "Had there been no mining at all in the Navajo Nation, and they wanted to keep the deposits pristine as part of a natural ecosystem, I could understand their rejection to any mining," he explained. "But if they allow coal mining, then it's absurd to reject uranium mining."
What would James Lovelock say to Navajo Nation president Joe Shirley, Jr. or to any of the aborigine tribes in Australia and elsewhere, which dislike uranium mining? "Very little," he abruptly replied. Then, he clarified his response. "It's almost like trying to persuade any religious person that their belief is unfounded. I wouldn't dream to explain to a devout Catholic that I'm doubtful about the virginity of the Virgin Mary." He compared it to an article of faith, adding, "They don't think about it. They don't know that it is wrong. It is very difficult to deal with people like that." Does that apply to the average anti-nuclear environmentalist? He explained how he does deal with the uninformed, "The only thing I found effective in this country, the United Kingdom, is to say, 'Yes, it may be slightly dangerous, but nothing quite so dangerous as global warming. So, we may have to use it to overcome this.'"
CHINA AND FINAL WORDS
One can not talk about 21st century nuclear energy without bringing up China's dilemma. The world's largest coal miner and one of the worst air polluters, China is planning the most aggressive nuclear energy expansion program of the past thirty years. "The Chinese government is the strongest government in the world," Lovelock began. "I have a friend that goes over there regularly to advise the Prime Minister on their environmental problems." Thus began a classic Lovelock anecdote:
"They say to him, 'We're all doing our best to have more renewable energy than anybody else. We are building nuclear power stations, as fast as we possibly can, so as to not add more carbon to the atmosphere. However if we can't develop the resources for our people, strong as our government is, there will be a revolution tomorrow. We are in no position to stop using the coal resource until we build enough nuclear or other renewable sources to meet our needs.'"
He concluded, "If the Chinese can't do it, how the heck can the Western democracies do it?" Therein lies what some consider his fatalism about Earth's health. Is he truly the pessimist some make him out to be?
"Quite to the contrary," he responded. "I've been accused of being a pessimist, but no, I don't think that way." Lovelock compared the current threat of global warming to his experiences as a student and young worker, during World War II. "In 1940, we were threatened by invasion by a very powerful enemy," he reminisced. "Some people threw up their arms in horror and said, 'There's nothing we can do.' But it was a very enjoyable time for those who worked hard and faced the threat." Britain and Lovelock survived the threat, passing to the next generation what he learned from this experience, "It is terrible to think of Global Warming, but it is nevertheless challenging. It can be quite a wonderful time for a lot of younger people."
Some have reported The Revenge of Gaia is Lovelock's last will and testament. We instead read Lovelock's masterpiece in a different light. Our conversation with Dr. Lovelock led us to believe his book is his sternest warning to the world's politicians and scientists to speed up their embrace of nuclear energy in order to avert a very possible series of catastrophic events, which may come to us in the decades ahead. He did say there was "a high probability," but Lovelock never said "definitely." In this broad difference, Lovelock yet looks into his cup and finds it half full, not half empty.
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Like what Buddha said 2,500 years ago, Earth is not the only one around in this universe. There are many other galaxies out there. If we don't take a step in helping Earth now, it will be hard for future generations to use. We cannot be selfish and think for ourselves. We were born on this Earth because of the conditions of our karma. I don't want to be born on this earth again and find it worse. Below are some of the things that future generations will have to endure. Now we know why degeneration. Even the conditions of living will create more obstacles to practice.
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-effects/ (http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-effects/)
The planet is warming, from North Pole to South Pole, and everywhere in between. Globally, the mercury is already up more than 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius), and even more in sensitive polar regions. And the effects of rising temperatures aren’t waiting for some far-flung future. They’re happening right now. Signs are appearing all over, and some of them are surprising. The heat is not only melting glaciers and sea ice, it’s also shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals on the move.
Some impacts from increasing temperatures are already happening.
- Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth’s poles. This includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice.
- Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the decline of the Adélie penguins on Antarctica, where their numbers have - fallen from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years.
- Sea level rise became faster over the last century.
- Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas.
- Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average.
- Spruce bark beetles have boomed in Alaska thanks to 20 years of warm summers. The insects have chewed up 4 million acres of spruce trees.
Other effects could happen later this century, if warming continues.
- Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).
- Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger.
- Species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active.
- Floods and droughts will become more common. Rainfall in Ethiopia, where droughts are already common, could decline by 10 percent over the next 50 years.
- Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either.
- Some diseases will spread, such as malaria carried by mosquitoes.
- Ecosystems will change—some species will move farther north or become more successful; others won’t be able to move and could become extinct. Wildlife research scientist Martyn Obbard has found that since the mid-1980s, with less ice on which to live and fish for food, polar bears have gotten considerably skinnier. Polar bear biologist Ian Stirling has found a similar pattern in Hudson Bay. He fears that if sea ice disappears, the polar bears will as well.