Key species and habitats jeopardized by climate change. - 22 Jan 2011  
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Issued by the US-based Endangered Species Coalition, the report, “It's Getting Hot Out There: Top 10 Places to Save for Endangered Species in a Warming World,” describes ecosystems that are already under threat due to climate change.

Based on data from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which states that up to 30% of all species face increased risk of extinction with a 3 degree Celsius rise in temperature, the report outlines vulnerabilities while urging the US government for greater protection of natural habitats. Top among the ten jeopardized ecosystems is the Arctic Sea region, noted to be warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, with dwindling habitats for polar bears, Pacific walrus and at least six species of seals.

Other ecosystems on the list include the Sierra Mountains in California, USA where 30 native species of amphibians, including the yellow-legged frog, are known to be at risk, and the Greater Everglades of the southern USA, home to 67 threatened and endangered species, including the beloved herbivorous marine mammal, the manatee.

Commenting on the imminent perils to animals and Earth as seen through these locations, Endangered Species Coalition Executive Director Leda Huta stated, “Climate change is no longer a distant threat on the horizon. It has arrived and is threatening ecosystems that we all depend upon, and our endangered species are particularly vulnerable. If we are serious about saving endangered species from global warming, then these are the places to start.”

Thank you, Executive Director Huta and Endangered Species Coalition for identifying these key areas that need our attention now.

Let us all join in immediate actions to protect our planet and her precious inhabitants. As part of her tireless efforts to protect all the irreplaceable beings on Earth, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke of the vital role of humanity's care for our animal co-inhabitants during an August 2009 videoconference in Thailand.

Supreme Master Ching Hai : The animal friends are in many ways more aware of climate change than we are because they are the ones on the frontlines holding up nature's delicate web of life. They are also, sadly, the first-hand victims of global warming, as we have witnessed and discovered.

They are in our hands, the humans' hands. And the essential change that will be the most restorative for our world is to be vegan. That is the essence of what we need to stabilize the planet, to bless the world through our everyday benevolent actions, meaning be vegan.
http://www.examiner.com/environmental-policy-in-national/new-study-reveals-climate-change-threatens-key-u-s-systems,
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2011/sierra-nevada-01-05-2011.html, http://itsgettinghotoutthere.org/ESC_Top_10_Digital.pdf