A
 study by researchers at Shizuoka University and the National Institute 
of Polar Research in Japan studying permafrost loss on Mt. Fuji has 
revealed that the thaw rate is much faster than expected.
In 
1976, the layer of permafrost, or permanently frozen soil, existed at 
elevations of 3,100 meters and above. Today, the scientists find 
permafrost only in patches around the 3,776 meter peak, along with an 
increase in average August temperatures from 4.2 degrees Celsius in 1976
 to 6.6 degrees in 2009. In a related study, 
a team of scientists 
from the University of Nevada, Reno in the USA led by Dr. Sudeep Chandra
 have been collecting permafrost samples in Siberia, Russia.
There,
 they discovered earth that had been frozen for the past 10,000 years is
 now releasing methane gas into the atmosphere. This is a concern 
because the permafrost layer contains immense stores of methane, which 
as a greenhouse gas has 100 times the warming potential of CO2. This 
gaseous release then traps more heat in the atmosphere, which in turn 
melts more permafrost, creating a cycle that could set off an 
irreversible warming process, with catastrophic consequences. 
International
 scientists, we appreciate your research on this aspect of global 
warming, despite its disturbing implications. Let us engage in rapid 
actions to renew our harmony with nature and restore conditions that are
 conducive to human survival.
During an August 2009 videoconference 
with Supreme Master Television staff in California, USA, Supreme Master 
Ching Hai addressed this alarming aspect of global warming and spoke of 
the one way to halt the release of methane into the atmosphere.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
 If we don’t turn around and walk in the opposite direction, then we are
 heading toward destruction of all kinds. You see planetary warming, 
methane gas from all sides: from all sides now, not just from livestock.
 But because of livestock, it triggers methane gas from all sides: from 
the river bed or from the permafrost, 
from the bed of the ocean, from the mountains, from the dying forests, do you understand?
So
 we are surrounded by trouble. There’s only one escape route that I have
 told you already. I wish there were several. There’s only one: Be Veg. 
That’s the path to go, then maybe we still can have time.
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201009090330.html http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1969767,00.htmlhttp://x-journals.com/2010/researchers-find-receding-permafrost-in-siberian-arctic/