Around 
 
250 million years ago, 
 
a series of global warming 
 
events resulted in 70% 
 
of life on land and 95% 
 
of marine life 
 
being extinguished. University of Calgary 
 
scientists in Canada are 
 
the first to have found 
 
evidence in the Arctic 
 
that a huge volcanic 
 
event led to the burning 
 
of vast amounts of coal. 
 
At that time, 
 
the Earth's land was 
 
contained on one large 
 
continent called Pangaea, 
 
where volcanoes 
 
covering an area the size 
 
of Europe began to erupt 
 
through underground 
 
coal beds, igniting 
 
the carbon-dense material 
 
and causing it to produce 
 
immense ash clouds. 
 
 
This in turn released 
 
sufficient amounts 
 
of greenhouse gases 
 
to initiate runaway 
 
global warming. 
 
Speaking about 
 
the findings 
 
from their expedition, 
 
researcher Dr. Benoit 
 
Beauchamp stated, 
 
“We saw layers with 
 
abundant organic matter, 
 
and … immediately 
 
determined that they 
 
were layers of coal-ash, 
 
exactly like that produced 
 
by modern coal burning 
 
power plants.” 
 
In addition, earlier research 
 
has shown evidence 
 
of hydrogen 
 
sulfide poisoning. 
 
Scientists believe that 
 
during the Paleozoic era, 
 
the planet was already 
 
warming due to elevated 
 
carbon dioxide levels 
 
in the atmosphere. 
 
The enormous amounts 
 
of ash released 
 
by the coal-burning 
 
volcanic eruptions caused 
 
an even further reduction 
 
in oxygen supplies 
 
to both land and water. 
 
This in turn caused 
 
a proliferation of 
 
the bacteria that produce 
 
poisonous hydrogen sulfide, 
 
setting off changes that 
 
resulted in what is now 
 
regarded as the worst 
 
extinction event 
 
in the Earth's history. 
 
We appreciate these 
 
fascinating findings, 
 
Dr. Beauchamp 
 
and colleagues, and the 
 
insights they provide into 
 
our planet's ancient past. 
 
May such cases aid 
 
as warnings regarding 
 
our own climate change 
 
predicament today, so 
 
that through wise actions, 
 
devastating planetary 
 
impacts can be averted. 
 
During a September 2009 
 
videoconference in Peru, 
 
Supreme Master Ching Hai 
 
spoke of the often 
 
unforeseen dangers 
 
accompanying 
 
climate change, along 
 
with the ways we could 
 
avoid them entirely.
Supreme Master Ching Hai: We are not ready 
 
for the changes 
 
that are coming. 
 
We are not ready at all. 
 
We are not prepared enough. 
 
Some of the changes 
 
are even anticipated 
 
to be unexpected, 
 
because there are 
 
many complicated 
 
interacting factors. 
 
The wisest action would be 
 
to fix the situation 
 
we have now and 
 
prevent further damage, 
 
then we won't even have 
 
to worry about the future. 
 
 
 
 
 
The smartest way would be 
 
to stop the worsening 
 
of global warming 
 
by being vegan. 
 
It sounds very simple 
 
but it is the best solution, 
 
the most effective 
 
and the effect of it will be 
 
felt almost immediately. 
 
So please, 
before the situation gets 
 
any more out of hand - 
 
let's choose the vegan diet.
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/23/evidence-planets-largest-extinction-discovered/?test=latestnews,
 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110123131014.htm