You are watching Words of Wisdom Rebroadcast of Live Videoconference with Supreme Master Ching Hai “Global Unity: Together in Saving Lives” Hong Kong - October 3, 2009

Ben (m): Good afternoon, distinguished guests, worldwide viewers of Supreme Master Television, ladies and gentlemen. A heartfelt welcome to this SOS climate change action conference entitled “Global Unity: Together in Saving Lives” in Hong Kong - Fragrant Harbor.

Ben(m): We're very pleased to announce that this conference is broadcast live through Supreme Master Television via 14 satellite platforms, IPTV, as well as internet at www.SupremeMasterTV.com.

Sylvia(f): Happy Moon Festival! Moon Festival in some Asian cultures is a day of family reunion and community unity, and enjoying moon cakes to signify the wish for perfection. So glad to have you all here today as a family on this very, very special day.

Ben (m): We are very honored to be your hosts this afternoon.

Sylvia (f): According to many prophecies, in this challenging era the Rainbow Warriors will appear. They are both guardians and pioneers of the Earth. By following an animal-free diet, protecting the environment, and using God-given power derived from spiritual practice, they aspire to build a new era of peace, freedom, and harmony. Some of us remember our sacred mission as Rainbow Warriors; while some are yet to be awakened. We must be united irrespective of race and religion to bring the divine power to the world. This is the spirit of our climate change conference today: “Global Unity: Together in Saving Lives.” Now, let's enjoy a performance entitled “The Rainbow Warriors,” brought to you by members of the Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.

The prophecy Rainbow brings us here messengers of God, Tender_loving_care Is the Golden Rule of our lives. Rainbow Lady unites us here with Celestial Music and Light Beyond color, race or religion In prayer and solitude We find wisdom and courage.

We are the Rainbow Warriors in the legend Safeguarding the planet with veganism, with going green We are the Rainbow Warriors in the legend In justice, in peace and in freedom a harmonious new world.
We are the Rainbow Warriors in the legend Safeguarding the planet with veganism, with going green We are the Rainbow Warriors in the legend In justice, in peace and in freedom, a harmonious new world.

Together we make the dream come true Rivers run clear Forests be abundant.
Together we make the dream come true Animals and birds are replenished Mother Earth restored to her natural beauty We are the Rainbow Warriors in the legend.

Safeguarding the planet with veganism, with going green. We are the Rainbow Warriors in the legend In justice, in peace and in freedom, a harmonious new world. We are the Rainbow Warriors in the legend
Safeguarding the planet with veganism, with going green. We are the Rainbow Warriors in the legend In justice, in peace and in freedom, a harmonious new world A harmonious new world.

Sylvia (f): Beautiful song, beautiful voice and beautiful dance! Thank you very much! Let's give them another round of applause! Thank you!

Ben (m): Our beautiful planet is now experiencing a planetary emergency with natural disasters such as heat waves, world hunger, food crisis, occurring frequently as never seen before. This is the time of urgency. Based on the higher awareness, immediate action must be taken in time to save all our co-inhabitants on the Earth. How much do we know about Mother Earth and the impact of global warming? Here is a short film unveiling the truth.

Fungi were the first organisms that came to land. 1.3 billion years ago, fungi marched onto land from the oceans; plants followed several hundred million years later. They were the gateway species and they led the way, and in the trail of mycelium that they created, plant and animal communities then marched forward upon the mantel of mycelium. Every day up to 270 species are erased from existence. One-third of all animal species have been lost since the 1970s.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: It is our behavior that caused so much the loss of our planetary species; scientists have proved it. So we all know that fishing, hunting, polluting the environment are the causes of global warming and the decrease of animals on the planet. And many of the advices to stop often have gone unheeded. And it's a pity. We should protect the species because when we protect them, we protect the ecology. And the ecology links with our health, the health of the planet and the people.

According to the World Health Organization, the 2009 swine flu pandemic is the fastest ever spreading pandemic in history, with millions today likely to be infected. Canadian agencies have seen a 99% correlation between the number of pig factory farms and the total number of human swine flu cases per province. When we cram tens of thousands of animals in these cramped, filthy football-field-size sheds to lie snout to snout on top of their own waste, it's just a breeding ground for disease. Pig and other animal factory farms also create antibiotic resistant bacteria.

In the US, where 70% of all antibiotics are fed to farm animals, bacterial infections claim 18,000 human lives each year, which is more than all the AIDS fatalities in the country. Ocean dead zones are increasing. Satellite data from a recent study published in the journal, Geophysical Research Letters, showed that barren zones in the world's oceans increased in one decade by around 5 million square kilometers - an area equivalent to about half the size of the United States.

These so-called “ocean deserts” appear very dark as they lack green chlorophyll from plankton. As with their land counterparts, the deserts are also hotter than the surrounding areas. Animal agriculture is largely responsible for these regions that support no life, as fertilizers and manure make their way to the oceans, ultimately robbing it of oxygen and killing marine animals and plants in increasingly larger areas.

Dr Pachauri(m): Since people found out about this talk that I was going to give here today, I've received a number of emails from people that I respect saying that the 18% figure is an underestimate; it's a low estimate and, in actual fact, it's much higher.

(m): I had some information just recently that the new figures now indicate that at least half of the greenhouse gases that are up there now - not that 15 or 20%, at least half, and maybe considerably more, are due to livestock production. Greenhouse gases are emitted during virtually every step of the meat producing process.   Of the three major greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide - methane is up to 72 times more potent than CO2, while nitrous oxide is up to 300 times more potent. Sure, we have to deal with CO2 in the long run, but if you want to make an impact on climate in the next 20 years, the place to do it is with the shorter-lived greenhouse gases, most important of which is methane.

(m): We have a critical environmental crisis now happening with effects that we're seeing around the world, and if we want to address the warming we're seeing now, the best bang for our buck comes in addressing the other gases, mostly methane, and its #1 source - animal agriculture.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: The migrating birds have to fly farther and farther to find a place to nest, and the polar bears swim longer and longer now because there is no more ice, until sometimes they drown of exhaustion, or why the neighboring country has so many floods in recent years, so many disasters, etc. Tell them how climate change is affecting real lives, real animals, real people, and their own lives as well. But it's also important to show the young people that there is still hope; we can still save the planet. It's a chance to be true heroes, by being vegan and spread the news of this solution. Together we can save lives.

Ben (m): Now, we all know how seriously global warming is affecting our life. Today, we are very honored to have distinguished guest speakers from Beijing, Formosa (Taiwan), and Hong Kong to share their views on the impact and solution for global warming. Please accept our sincere gratitude for your attendance and support.

Sylvia (f): It is also a privilege that our special Guest of Honor, Supreme Master Ching Hai - a world-renowned humanitarian, artist and spiritual teacher - will join us in the Q & A session to discuss the most constructive means of addressing the impending problems of climate change, in order to ensure that we do not pass the point of no return.

Ben (m): Before starting the speeches by our distinguished guests, let's share an interview with Professor Lin Pay-Liam regarding global warming and climate change. Professor Lin is Chairman of the Department of Atmosphere Sciences Graduate Institute of Atmosphere Physics National Central University, Formosa (Taiwan). Professor Lin Pay-Liam has some advice for us on global warming.

Greetings to all the viewers. Today, I am going to talk about the greenhouse effect and global warming. Global warming has been the focus of worldwide discussion and is now the biggest problem humans are facing. Although global warming is unavoidable, we can mitigate it. If we choose a frugal lifestyle and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we may be able to maintain a relatively good environment.

But if we keep releasing so much greenhouse gases, we will be facing a very horrible environment in 100 years. Greenhouse gases cause warming through two processes. First, with the development of human society after the industrial revolution, a lot of greenhouse gases were released, including methane - which we've just mentioned - carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, etc.

Next, greenhouse gases trap longwave radiation and keep part of the energy in the atmosphere, thus causing warming. The greenhouse effect and global warming have a huge impact. In Formosa (Taiwan), many researchers have discovered a change in diurnal temperature variation, and the temperature increase is particularly obvious. Some researchers even found a close relationship between global warming and extreme precipitation.

In particular, some people believe there is a close connection between the amplified typhoon intensity and global warming. Of course, this is to be proven by more research; but we should in no way neglect the relationship between those phenomena. I think, since the planet as a whole is facing such a dilemma, humans worldwide should join hands and find a solution together to save the Earth.

We should try our best to live a frugal lifestyle and reduce our desires. With a more frugal lifestyle and less desires, we can reduce our need for resources. In this way, together we may be able to save the Earth. I think today's event is very meaningful. We do need everyone to join efforts to save the Earth, to prevent the greenhouse effect from getting worse. I hope this conference, “Global Unity: Together in Saving Lives” held in Hong Kong, is a great success. And I wish you all a healthy, peaceful and joyful life. Everyone should take part in dealing with the phenomena of global warming.

We want to especially thank Supreme Master Ching Hai for leading so many people to contribute their efforts towards the solution of global warming, and enabling everyone to be united at heart. Thank you.

Ben (m): Thank you, Professor Lin, for your advice on leading a more simple life.

Sylvia (f): Now, we have our distinguished speakers who will describe the kinds of problems that our planet is facing, as well as the possible solution. We have our first distinguished guest, Professor Geng Shu who will share his view on “Climate Change and Fundamental Combat Strategy.”

Ben (m): Professor Geng Shu is currently Professor and Dean of the School of Environment and Energy of Peking University's Shenzhen Graduate School. Professor Geng is a renowned expert in environmental ecology, simulation models, especially risk assessment methodology of global environmental changes and water resource management. He is an elected Fellow of American Society of Agronomy and American Association for the Advancement of Science. Let's give a warm applause to welcome Professor Geng.

Professor Geng, Shu (m): Good afternoon. Thanks to the organizers' invitation that I have this opportunity to be here to meet so many distinguished guests and also individuals who have a common commitment, that is, to improve this world so we have a better place to live, not only for ourselves, for the generations to follow. So, let me start. I want to share with you a little bit our understanding about the problem and our approach. How do we solve this problem?

The IPCC who've become world-famous because they received the Nobel Prize in 2007, here's a copy from IPCC report indicating that all the fundamental gases are increasing and those gas increases cause climate changes. So, I am not going to go into detail, but the only thing I want to point out is - there are three pictures here: on the left is the simulation info. It only considers what natural changes could be and compared to the real numbers.

And the second one shows that if we are adding the anthropogenic effects and the last picture shows both effects from natural and also from human contribution and then the two graphs are almost coincident, one over the other. So, it shows the close relationship between the human contribution and the natural changes. Now, when we talk about change, this picture shows that it's not a simple change of temperature. The implication is that when temperature is increasing, extreme conditions can also be increasing. This can happen in all three possible scenarios.

If you just change absolute temperature, for example, how the tail probability is being affected, and if also, if you change the variation, then how the tail probabilities change. And lastly, when you have both average and also the variation change, the impact on extreme events can be enormous. Well, I'll give you an example. These are two pictures, and not related at all. On your left is a picture from the Himalayas. And on your right is a picture taken at Washington D.C. It happens these two pictures were taken on the same day, in January 2007.

The winter is cold, but this picture shows the contrary phenomena, that it's hot and warm on the same day and almost at the same temperature, 21 Celsius degrees. It's enormous. It's unheard of. It's a record broken. I mean, it's a coincidence of two unrelated, far apart in the world, in two different locations, that happens at the same time; an unlikely temperature and all happen at the same time. So, we have a lot of problems, all kinds of disasters. In Sichuan province, for example, Sichuan is known historically for rainfall and it's a “land of abundance.”

It's well known for agriculture because of a lot of water. But in recent years, even in those places where they used to have lot of water has become prone to drought. And here's a picture, it shows again a very serious drought happened in Sichuan in the last few years. I came from California. I've been in California for a little more than thirty-something years. I teach at the University of California at Davis, I am still a professor at Davis.

And in California, we already analyzed and concluded that in the 21st century, the most serious problem is global climate change. And the global climate change effect on California is in many, many different ways, but the most critical is water resource. California is running out of water and it has a severe impact on all ecological phenomena and human well-being. And this picture shows the economic impact. This actual number shows what happens over the last thirty-some years. As you can see, the extreme climatic conditions, how they impact the economic situation. And all you need to know from this picture is that it's not something that affects here and there. I mean, it's something happening to the economy.

That probably is of more concern to the larger population. We all worry about it. The bottom line is how it's affecting our economy. And extreme climate conditions have a tremendous toll on the cost on the economy. Everybody is paying a lot of money trying to remedy the problems. The changes are not small changes. The earthquake a year ago in Sichuan, maybe it's not directly related to the weather change; however, it is all an indication of an unstable world. Personally, I have researched on global climate change and how they impact various things that we are concerned with.

One, for example, the water resource. Here's the rice in Formosa (Taiwan). And this picture shows one condition, water demand, and the normal conditions. Another, the red dots and lines represents the water demand after global climate change. And here it shows you under the global climate change scenario and water demand is increasing. I mean for rice, if you are above 6 millimeters evapo-transpiration a day, after the global climate change will increase from 17% to 40% - three times more. And here is another example, in Taichung pear, and again, the water demand probably will increase from 8% to 49%. And here is another example of grape, an increase from 12% to 47%.

Now, those are the problems. Why does it happen? In my opinion, they largely have something to do with energy consumption. The thing is, what we've been mostly familiar with and largely consumed fossil fuel energies. Those energies are limited and therefore they are depleted. The depletion is quick, and we'll probably have exhausted those kinds of energies we are seeing - depends on how you estimate and depends on which report you're reading - in somewhere from 50 to 100 years.

So those are exhaustible and used up very quickly, and we are facing the challenge. And those are also the cause of the emissions of various kinds of gases which cause global climate change. So we worry about energy. People always want to live in the same way or better. They want to raise their living standards. The developing countries want to do same thing too - everybody wants the best for living style. However there are costs for that.

Now, when fossil fuels already cause problems, and also it's exhausting, we begin to think: Do we have enough energy? The answer is yes, there is plenty. Actually, the solar energy is plenty, because every year, Earth receives enough sunlight, 10 times more than all possible energy resources existing on Earth. On an annual basis, the solar energy can reach to the Earth at least 50,000 times more than the energy consumed by the whole world. So there's plenty. There's ways we can improve ourselves by using those energies, no pollution and also efficient, and it can maintain our living styles, or even improve our living styles at the same time improving the environment.

So, our school, therefore, is called “Environment and Energy.” We intend to integrate all of these problems in a new way to solve the environment energy problems through research and education. And we have many collaborators, and we want to establish a new platform, which is multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional and we will have science and we have management, we have economics, we have a policy to solve this problem. That's our goal, and I think we can make a contribution in the environmental energy areas with, of course, all your support. Thank you.

Sylvia (f): Thank you.

Ben (m): Thank you, Professor Geng, for giving us scientific analysis on the extreme weather events due to climate change, and also for presenting us with the recent green energy policy and a sustainable development plan to address climate change.

Guest (1): We did not understand the actual meaning of saving our planet. Now, we understand the real aim is reviving our innate kindness and Buddha Nature. When we are back in Shanghai, we will not only promote the vegetarian diet, but in various ways show the importance of being a vegan. We want them to know the real meaning of being a vegan, and how to regenerate our innate kindness and Buddha Nature. Thank you.

Mr. ChengHeadmasterTranscription of Middle School Headmaster(Mr. Cheng) Headmaster: Not only Hong Kong but the whole world need to educate the next generation on environmental protection, especially the pollution to the environment caused by meat eating. Thus, we need to educate our young the importance of eco-awareness and environmental protection. We totally agree to be veg, go green, and save the planet!

Lin ChiehAssociate professorInterview of Associate Professor Lin Chieh (speaker) in Putonghua_ after vc I think I've gained a deeper sight. I know what we can do, what we should do and what we must do.

We should strictly restrain the livestock industry's contribution to global warming. We should encourage people, the government, as well as tax payers, to try their best not to help the development of the livestock industry, especially on the issue of subsidies to the livestock industry. We should deliver this information to the public at large, and work together to prevent the livestock industry from destroying the Earth. After this conference, I will assert more efforts in switching to a more suitable diet. I will be more self-motivated to be veg, go green, and save the planet.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Whether people will become vegan or vegetarian, whether the world will save itself or not, it all depends on humans' actions. But the countdown is there to remind us that we have a very short time, just a little over 3 years, for every single person to be veg to save life on Earth.

Tune in to Supreme Master Television for part 4 of the rebroadcast of the live videoconference with Supreme Master Ching Hai in Hong Kong entitled “Global Unity: Together in Saving Lives” on Words of Wisdom this Tuesday, November 24.

Tune in to Supreme Master Television today for the rebroadcast of the live videoconference with Supreme Master Ching Hai in Hong Kong entitled “Global Unity: Together in Saving Lives” on Words of Wisdom.