Care for Earth
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 Nature is the temple of god; all other temples are false, man-made. A man-made temple cannot be much of a temple, and because of the man-made temple there has been much violence in the world. Love has not grown out of it. Churches and mosques and temples have created more misery rather than bringing more bliss. The only temple that can help people to grow and to be more loving, is nature. So it is always my feeling that if you are doing something natural -- farming, gardening -- it's tremendously beautiful, mm? That's what a religious man should do.
And when you are close to nature you start feeling life more... because it is pure life! It is life being manifested in millions of forms. It is impossible to miss it! How can one miss it and how can one go on avoiding life? -- it is everywhere! But in a man-made city you can forget all about god.
God does not exist in a man-made world. He is excluded, he is not allowed in. In a modern city you can live for months, for years, without thinking of god, without thinking of life. Everything is concrete; everything is mechanical. Even people have become robots; they don't give any indication of being alive.
It is very good to be on a farm with animals, with trees, with sky, with the sun is very good, very meditative.
OSHO
The Further Shore,
Chapter-11
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| Coral bleaching |
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 Coral bleaching is the whitening of corals, due to stress-induced expulsion or death of their symbiotic, zooxanthellae, or due to the loss of pigmentation within the protozoa. The corals that form the structure of the great reef ecosystems of tropical seas depend upon a symbiotic relationship with unicellular flagellateprotozoa, called zooxanthellae, that are photosynthetic and live within their tissues. Zooxanthellae give coral its coloration, with the specific color depending on the particular clade. Under stress, corals may expel their zooxanthellae, which leads to a lighter or completely white appearance, hence the term "bleached".
 Once bleaching begins, it tends to continue even without continuing stress. If the coral colony survives the stress period, zooxanthellae often require weeks to months to return to normal density.The new residents may be of a different species. Some species of zooxanthellae and corals are more resistant to stress than other species.
Bleaching occurs when the conditions necessary to sustain the coral's zooxanthellae cannot be maintained.Any environmental trigger that affects the coral's ability to supply the zooanthellae with nutrients for photosynthesis (carbon dioxide, ammonium) will lead to the zooxanthellae's expulsion. This process is a "downward spiral", whereby the coral's failure to prevent the division of zooxanthellae leads to ever-greater amounts of the photosynthesis-derived carbon to be diverted into the algae rather than the coral. This makes the energy balance required for the coral to continue sustaining its algae more fragile, and hence the coral loses the ability to maintain its parasitic control on its zooxanthellae.
Coral bleaching is a vivid sign of corals responding to stress, which can be induced by any of:
increased (most commonly), or reduced water temperatures
Increased solar irradiance
(photosynthetically active radiation and ultraviolet band light)
changes in water chemistry (in particular acidification)
starvation caused by a decline in zooplankton
increased sedimentation (due to silt runoff)
pathogen infections
changes in salinity
wind
low tide air exposure
cyanide fishing
Temperature change is the most common cause of coral bleaching.
 Large coral colonies such as Porites are able to withstand extreme temperature shocks, while fragile branching corals such as table coral are far more susceptible to stress following a temperature change. Corals consistently exposed to low stress levels may be more resistant to bleaching. Factors that influence the outcome of a bleaching event include stress-resistance which reduces bleaching, tolerance to the absence of zooxanthellae, and how quickly new coral grows to replace the dead. Due to the patchy nature of bleaching, local climatic conditions such as shade or a stream of cooler water can reduce bleaching incidence. Coral and zooxanthellae health and genetics also influence bleaching
Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_bleaching
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| News Update |
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Global warming shrank carnivores 55 million years ago
The Times of India
ANI, Aug 26, 2010, 05.05am IST
 WASHINGTON: Extinct carnivorous mammals shrank in size during a global warming event that occurred 55 million years ago, according to a new University of Florida study.
The study describes a new species that evolved to half the size of its ancestors during this period of global warming.
The hyena-like animal, Palaeonictis wingi, evolved from the size of a bear to the size of a coyote during a 200,000-year period when Earth's average temperature increased about 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Following this global warming event, Earth's temperature cooled and the animal evolved to a larger size.
 "We know that plant-eating mammals got smaller during the earliest Eocene when global warming occurred, possibly associated with elevated levels of carbon dioxide," said lead author Stephen Chester, a Yale University doctoral student who began the research at UF with Jonathan Bloch, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
"Surprisingly, this study shows that the same thing happened in some carnivores, suggesting that other factors may have played a critical role in their evolution."
Researchers discovered a nearly complete jaw from the animal in Wyoming's Big Horn Basin in 2006 during a fossil-collecting expedition, led by Bloch, a co-author on the study.
Bloch said the new findings could help scientists better understand the impact of current global warming.
"Documenting the impact of global climate change in the past is one of the only real experiments that can inform us about what the effects global warming might have on mammals in the near future," said Bloch, who has studied this climate change event for nearly a decade.
 Scientists think the Earth experienced increased levels of carbon dioxide and a drier environment during the warmer time period, but they do not completely understand what caused mammals to shrink.
One theory is that carbon dioxide levels reduced plant nutrients, causing herbivorous mammals to shrink. The newly described species primarily consumed meat, meaning plant nutrients couldn't have been the only factor, Bloch said.
Mammals in warmer climates today tend to be smaller than mammals in colder climates, Chester said. For example, brown bears in Montana are generally smaller than those found in Alaska.
The study's other authors are Ross Secord, assistant professor at the University of Nebraska, and Doug Boyer, assistant professor at Brooklyn College.
The study is scheduled to appear in the December print edition of the Journal of Mammalian Evolution.
Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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China-Pak floods are a stark warning
By DNA | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Published: Monday, Aug 23, 2010, 22:56 IST
 The recent floods in Pakistan and China, which have resulted in the deaths of thousands of people and the evacuation of millions, prove once again how vulnerable we are to the fury of nature. Water has inundated villages and towns and the damage is already incalculable as rescue workers struggle, aid agencies scramble and medics try and contain epidemics.
The biggest price, of course, is the human cost and this is where the changing patterns in world weather have to be examined. So far, we have looked at global warming as a way to apportion blame — the west versus the east, the already industrialised versus the newly industrialising, the intelligently aware versus the profligate. But the planet seems to remind us again and again that we are in this together. The after-effects of natural calamities do not confine themselves within national boundaries.
 Whether global warming is caused by human error and callousness or is the result of changes in weather patterns - as has happened several times over billions of years — the fact is the Earth is far more populated today than it ever has been. Humans could survive the last ice age 10,000 years ago because we hid in caves.
That option is no longer open to most of us. Instead, we need to seriously examine how best to withstand such events and the regularity at which they occur. Past industrialisation may be partially responsible, but so is destruction and tampering with the environment.
 China has been forced to downscale its claims about the controversial Three Gorges Dam and the amount of water it can absorb. Environmentalists have pointed out for years how heedless manipulation of nature can be detrimental in the long run. In the past, we made mistakes because we did not know any better. It would be a shame if we went ahead with dodgy plans in spite of knowing it all.
The immediate need is to streamline rescue plans. We need better science with which to forecast severe weather changes and protocols to help the affected. The global warming debate needs to become practical.
Courtesy: http://www.dnaindia.com
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Dalai Lama concerned about global warming in cloudburst-hit Leh
By Ravinder Singh Robin (ANI)
Amritsar, Aug.12 (ANI)
 Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama said on Wednesday that the world needs to pay attention to the impact of Global Warming seriously and look at it as the biggest environmental issue.
Talking to ANI at Amritsar, Dalai Lama expressed his deep condolences to the people who died due to cloudburst in Leh, as he said: "All what happened in Leh is very very sad. These are all natural disasters. What we can do is pray for the victims and also offer condolences to the surviving family members and give donations for their rehabilitation."
 Dalai Lama also said that the natural disaster in Pakistan, fire in Russia calls for attention. He said as per ecologists these are the symptoms of global warming and it is very sad.
The Tibetal Spiritual Leader said that preservation of ecology should be part of our daily life. Ahimsa, which is the tradition and culture of Bharat, was relevant in the present time.
Dalai Lama was in the holy city of Amritsar for a night halt on his way to Dharmshala from New Delhi.
Courtesy: http://news.oneindia.in
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| Steps you can take to help save the Environment |
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- Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs: Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) will help increase your energy efficiency.
- Use reusable bags.
- Up to 20 percent of heating and cooling energy is lost due to poorly sealed or insulated ducts in your home. Make sure your ducts are properly insulated and install weather stripping around windows and doors for a better seal.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Reducing your garbage by 25 percent will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,000 pounds per year. Recycling aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic, cardboard and newspapers can reduce your home's impact by 850 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Decreasing carbon dioxide emissions can help stop global warming.
- Conserve Water: Purifying and distributing water takes lots of energy. You can make simple changes to reduce the amount of water you use. Replacing an older toilet can save about 7,500 gallons of water a year. Fixing a leak in a toilet can save as much as 200 gallons a day. Use low-flow shower heads and turn your water heater thermostat down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. These steps can add up to serious savings on your water and energy bills.
- Air Dry Your Clothes: Line-dry your clothes in the spring and summer instead of using the dryer.
- Buy Products Locally Buy locally and reduce the amount of energy required to drive your products to your store.
- Buy Minimally Packaged Goods: Less packaging could reduce your garbage by about 10%.
- Plant a Tree: Trees suck up carbon dioxide and make clean air for us to breathe.
- Turn off Your Computer: Shut off your computer when not in use.
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