Christian Vegetarian Association Blog - Monday, January 22, 2007


	CVA BLOG

CVA Blog
Monday, January 22, 2007

Earth: our damaged home

Welcome to the weekly CVA blog! In it you will find famous quotes, news and commentaries.

1. Global warming threatens polar bears
2. Famous quote – Havelock Ellis (1859 – 1939), British doctor, sex psychologist and social
reformer
3. Dairy waste into electric power
4. Bible verse – (RSV) Amos 5:14-15
5. China's largest lake is shrinking
6. EU focuses on global warming issue

1. Global warming threatens polar bears: The United States has proposed listing polar bears as a threatened species citing climate change as the culprit. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said that the rising temperatures in the Arctic are reducing the sea ice that polar bears need for hunting, making it difficult to find food.

Andrew Wetzler, a senior attorney at NRDC stated that "The time for half-measures and delay is over,"… "We must face the scientific warnings and address the challenge now."

To read the full article please visit http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Global_
Warming_Threatening_Polar_Bears_999.html

Polar bears are a very charismatic species that might help expose the effect of global warming in the fauna of the Earth. Given that modern agriculture is responsible for almost 20% of global warming gases released into the atmosphere, the choice of diet should be a primary human concern. The transition to a plant-based diet potentially holds solutions to some environmental problems.

2. “The sun, the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago... had they happened to be within the reach of predatory human hands.”
~ Havelock Ellis (1859 – 1939), The Dance of Life, 1923

3. Dairy waste into electric power: Dairy waste, such as cow manure, waste silage and cheese whey might become viable energy sources. Clarkson University researchers are researching these waste products in order to help area farmers meet their own energy needs. Last year's New York State budget included a $1-million appropriation for Clarkson to investigate ways that dairy waste from cheese manufacturing and dairy farms can be used as feedstock to produce biogas to generate heat and electric power on New York farms.

To read the full article please visit
http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/From_Dairy_Waste_
To_Electric_Power_999.html

While steps toward sustainable development are worthwhile, enterprises should also consider animal welfare issues. Turning waste into energy might solve the issue of pollution and non-renewable resources; however, it doesn’t help alleviate the pain and suffering farm animals undergo in factory farms. Moving towards a plant- based diet would reduce animal suffering and factory farm waste.

4. (RSV) Amos 5:14-15 “Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

God calls us to be as loving and just as our Creator. Jesus inspires and encourages us to be like Him in every way humanely possible.

5. China's largest lake is shrinking: Desertification due to overgrazing and overfishing are some of the most important culprits of China’s largest lake shrinkage. According to experts, Lake Qinghai will most likely vanish if it continues shrinking at its present rate.

To read the full article please visit http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/
newsid/39711/story.htm

The high demand for meat products has led to overgrazing of agricultural land in many parts of the world. Overfishing is causing havoc among aquatic fauna. The Earth’s ecosystems are so intrinsically connected that disturbance in one area affects another. We are called to be good stewards of God’s creation and current environmental problems are caused in great part by human activity. The transition to a plant-based diet would help reduce desertification and overfishing.

6. EU focuses on global warming issue: As more evidence supporting global warming comes to light, climate change is being taken very seriously by the European Union.

A new European Commission is urging leaders to take steps to contain global warming, warning that drought-like conditions, catastrophic damage to the economy and tens of thousands of deaths are imminent otherwise. Roland Goetz, energy expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs said, "(Climate change) is by far the world's greatest problem, and, unlike energy supply problems, there comes a moment when you can't control climate change anymore," … "This will be a problem that will dominate for the next years. If emissions continue to climb, soon enough, nature will hit back."

To read the full article please visit http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Climate_
Protection_Tops_EU_Plan_999.html

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